Criminalizing a Generation

I was chatting with my 18 year old niece last week and in conversation I pointed out that downloading music using LimeWire was theft. Illegal. You could be sued. Infact, people have been. "Nah" she said, "how can it possibly be illegal". She went on to argue that it would be ridiculous if that was true, the technology was there. "How can it be illegal if its so easy to do". Quite.

So, I was very interested to read Lawrence Lessig's post today "Prosecuting Online File Sharing Turns a Generation Criminal" on USNews.com. more>>

Examples of Great Web Design

I am always interested in what makes a great website a great website so was easily tempted to check this story out on Digg:

"We live in a world of information saturation, and that translates to web design. In such a competitive world, it becomes more and more important to stand out by breaking conventions. Sometimes it’s about layout, sometimes about the graphics and cool illustrations or anything else that can be different from others.

In this post, we take a look at 100 websites that look really different from their peers and automatically captivate their audiences with their design of elaborate backgrounds, illustrations, and textures. Is different always good? Let’s take a look and decide by yourself…"

Poodle Grooming : an Extreme Sport ?

For the "Only in America' section of this blog, I offer for your holiday entertainment this crazy little story.

Ranganathan's 5 laws and FRBR

The Koha list has been awash with posts these last few days. What started as a cry of frustration has evolved into a really interesting discussion and I sense a positive aspiration to think about how we can acquisition and catalogue in Koha 3.0 at a range of different levels and for a range of different audiences.

Horowhenua Library Trust designed Koha 1.0 back in 2000 with BIBLIOS, GROUPS and ITEMS. This achieved a similar result to that possible with FRBR.
RDA is relevant here to.

The Koha database had ITEMS, which inherit all of the attributes of the GROUP record they are attached to, and GROUPS inherit all the attributes of the BIBLIO record they were attached to. This meant reserves could be placed at a BIBLIO level (if you didn't care which ITEM you got), or at GROUP level (if you wanted the first ITEM available of a particular edition) or at an ITEM level (when you wanted a specific issue of a periodical or a specific video to send away for cleaning etc).

It was designed this way because oftentimes patrons didn't care which copy of which edition they got when they reserved a book - they just wanted the first one that became available!

Brooke Johnson reminded me of Ranganathan's 5 Law's of library Science. These are:

1. Books are for use.
2. Every person his [or her] book.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The library is a growing organism.

William Denton blogged in 2007 :

"I think the laws should underpin everything we do every day. Memorize them so you can quote them in meetings. You’ll be amazed at how they cut things down to some sensible size and help you remember what’s important. FRBR fulfills the laws: it will help people find their books, it will help books be found, it will save the time of the reader, and it is part of the continuing growth of libraries not just in shelves and buildings but in ideas and services."

If we remember Ranganathan when designing cataloguing in Koha 3.0, I don't think we can go too far wrong!

Generation WE aka The Millennials

This YouTube video, apart from having a powerful political message, depicts a generation of library users whom we need to engage: the Millennials.



How will pubic libraries develop relevance for these kids as they move through adulthood?

A New Way of Learning

Michael Stephens, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University in Illinois. I found this video by Alex and Wendy Drexleron his blog Tame The Web. It explains how students are - or should be - learning in this new networked age.

Book buying has never been such fun!

From Pippa (naturally!)

Arty Bees Books is an actual bookshop in Wellington - I kid you not. You can find them at The Oaks and on Courtenay Place.

You can also browse their lovely collection online!

The catalogue of Bizarre books is by far my favourite. The History of Lesbian Hair looks good, or perhaps The Mullet is more your style, and don't miss Hair Care.

If you are looking for a special gift for someone do try the 'Inspirational Christmas Present Flowchart'.