Things I had to get used to eating — or at least get used to being served — at the Student University Restaurants (aka 'Resto U's) while in Paris: rabbit, sheep, kidneys, intestine ....
Actually the first two (rabbit and sheep) weren’t bad. The last two (kidneys and intestine) I’d simply toss focusing on veggies and, at least with the kidneys ('rognons' en français), sopping up the gravy with pieces of baguette. Interesting diet. Lost a whole lot of weight.
[source of photo]
Landline was dead on Tues. & Wed. last week. My shift for Chat Reference is 6p-9p so it was back to the Student Center at Lincoln Park -- at least till 8pm when the Center closed. One more hour to go -- no problem! I simply switched to the Quad with my laptop for the final 60 minutes. 'ChatRef under the Stars'?
So I wake up and look at the clock. Holy sh*t -- it's 6 o'clock! That's the start of my evening shift for chat reference! I rush into my workroom, turn on the computer, hook up to the library web-service page. Whew, that was close! Funny thing is, nobody else is hooked in. Huh? Usually at least someone from the earlier shift hangs around till you get settled. So where is everyone? I check out the time at the bottom of the computer screen. Just a couple minutes past 6 -- that's not bad! Then I notice something else: it's am at the moment -- not pm. Opps!
Update: Same thing happened a couple weeks later (12/1) only this time it was '5 o'clock' when I woke up. 5 o'clock? No problem! Shift doesn't begin till 6pm -- I had an hour! On the radio I was expecting NPR's evening show, 'All Things Considered'. Instead what I got was 'Morning Edition'. Okay, I get it...
#BallotDeliveryBoy : At the Cook County Election Board Office, 69 W. Washington St., Chicago.
I probably knew about this at the time (1987) and just plain forgot but yes, that’s me on the left. It's a brief appearance in the 'official music video' by well-known rock band 'Faith No More' in their tune, Anne's Song. I happened to know Anne and hung out with her and a whole bunch of other fascinating people during my one-year stay in NYC*.
Here's some background info from the FaithNoMore website: Faith No More released their second single Anne's Song 30 Years Ago!.
Here’s the YouTube video: "Faith No More - Anne's Song (Official Music Video)". (I appear at around 1:50.)
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* For the record, I returned to Berlin at the end of the year, staying there till Reunification in 1990 -- at which point, I returned to Manhattan for more than a decade.
First reference session (chat) of the school year! [Note: public access to library not yet possible. Everything done remotely from home.]
Things to do immediately after your library shift (chat reference in my case): Hit the beach!
Current Cites for July 2020 is out! You can find the issue here...
The issue is noteworthy for a couple of reasons: first that well-known library star Roy Tennant was ending his decade-long record as editor. My contribution was the featuring of two articles, one a snapshot of life as librarians in this age of COVID-19 and the other an interesting review of information literacy from the 1970s till now.
In addition, I'll be joining Roy in concluding my decade-long contribution. More and more my interests and activities are in library reference. Less tech and more public service -- that's the ticket! So bye-bye Current Cites! It's been a good -- very good -- run!
Binny's Closed! Now what?
Update (6/3/2020): "Binny’s Pledges to Reopen 11 Damaged Stores" (Sun-Times)
Update (6/11/2020): Yup, got drinks for the weekend!
Some beautiful shots from today's hike downtown to State & Roosevelt. (Actually the last one was when I got back home -- resting up & munching on a sandwich).
I have a confession to make: I'm what you call a 'baby-boomer'. That's what you are if you were born between the end of WWII and 1964. Of course there are different categories -- I personally am what's called a 'late boomer' but apparently assumptions are made for all of us. That said, WP has an interesting (and I would say distressing) piece titled "Millions of Baby Boomers are Getting Caught in the Country’s Broken Retirement System" (link).
Basically it relates problems that -- what I would call 'early' -- boomers are having surviving financially. The 401k accounts haven't worked out. People are losing their jobs and are being forced to cash out on their savings, etc. They’re taking Social Security early resultIng in far lower monthly payments. The key take-away is that things are hardly sugar-coated and if anything, they don't look like they'll be getting any better.
It’s 8:30pm on a Tuesday evening. Student contacts Reference Desk saying he/she is looking for 'research' articles on effects of poverty on success in education. Instructor wants list of articles from student by class tomorrow.
Student Worker Solution:
Reference Librarian Solution:
Observation : Both responses did in fact answer the student’s question. So what’s the diff?
Digitization in an Emergency: Fair Use/Fair Dealing and How Libraries Are Adapting to the Pandemic (Ryan Clough, ARL Blog):
“Like every other major institution operating during the coronavirus pandemic, research libraries are confronting sudden and radical shifts in their daily realities. Foremost among these challenges is the near-total loss of access to paper books and other physical library holdings. As of today, nearly every ARL member in the United States and Canada has closed its brick-and-mortar facilities and discontinued or severely limited access to print collections.... This emergency is truly unprecedented in modern times, even during times of war.”
The news came out on Tuesday (3/24/2020): No ALA in Chicago this year :-(
Already for a couple of days, I was wondering if maybe the organizers were taking a chance: you know, maybe things would clear up by June. Apparently not. Below is the official announcement sent to members already registered for the event. There's always next year, I guess.
Important Update for ALA Annual Conference Attendees
The American Library Association has made the difficult decision to cancel the Annual Conference & Exhibition scheduled for June 25-30, 2020, in Chicago.
We wanted you to be among the first to hear the news. We are grateful to you for registering for the conference and know that you share in our disappointment that we will not be meeting this summer.
We will be in touch in the coming days and weeks to discuss your registration and provide information about potential alternative engagement opportunities.
Thank you for your continued support of ALA and we ask that you be patient with us as we work through this unprecedented situation.
We got the notice last week that the university (library included) would shut down. Students had to move out of dorms. Instructors had to reconfigure their classes -- not just for next quarter (Spring 2020) but for finals happening that very week. For the foreseeable future, we'll be handling library questions from home using email and IM (instant message). At the moment it's all about what to do with borrowed materials and when will the library reopen.
Schools across the country (not to mention world) are experiencing the same. I have absolutely the greatest sympathy for both our students and faculty. This is something none of us will ever forget.
Current Cites for Feb 2020 is out! You can find the issue here...
Wrote about an interesting study that looked at the characteristics of transfer students at the undergrad level. Rang a bell.
Yahoo! The ALA Annual Conference is coming back to Chicago! Me? I'm already registered.
Update (3/25/2020): Bummer, ALA Conference for 2020 cancelled! More here...
One way to demolish the Internet is to take over its address names.
Electronic Frontier Foundation:
"This month it was suddenly announced that the nonprofit that owns the .ORG domain registry was planning to sell it to a private equity firm, Ethos Capital. This could impact the millions of individuals and organizations that have a .ORG website, subjecting them to potential censorship and leaving the door open for price increases on domain registration and renewals."
Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 2019 was an important day -- or rather important evening. It was when WGN-TV broadcast the interview with me [link here] produced by the excellent reporter, Erik Runge. The actual interview took place a few days earlier at the DePaul Library.
The topic was my experience in West Berlin both before and after the Wall came down. The segment also included other witnesses both here and in Berlin. The fact that the reporter included so many other photos of me -- from my days in Paris to a shot of me in lederhosen at 4 years old holding on to Mayor Daley -- made the whole thing seem so much like a personal biography.
That said, I truly appreciate how the reporter let me have the last word. For so long the east side of Berlin was a symbol of oppression while the west side observed tolerance and liberty. It truly was a triumph of democracy -- something I shall never forget.
Update: Erik Runge and the good people at WGN-TV aired a follow-up segment on Thursday evening. The title was, "Lessons from the Fall of the Berlin Wall Still Ring True, 30 Years Later" [link here]. As the title suggests, the piece looks at the lessons from this period together with what people born afterwards think about it. My own comment which they include was to agree that lessons were drawn but that people can forget them -- if only (one hopes) temporarily.
Current Cites for Sept. 2019 is out! You can find the issue here...
Usability studies on the effectiveness of library research guides are popping up all over the place. The one I recommended appeared in the latest issue of Information Technology and Libraries. Naturally in the meantime another example popped up -- this one in the latest issue of Journal of Web Librarianship. Hot topic!
1st Saturday of the school year with colleague Jim from the West Desk. Note: folder was carrying all the articles I've been going through for a research project.
Interesting discussion regarding 'customer service principles' on the ALA Members Listserv. A number of responses include policy guides -- one with the promising title 'Get to Yes'; there are also a few personal lists, as well as this funny video clip.
Current Cites for Aug. 2019 is out! You can find the issue here...
Being the beginning of the academic year, I thought it'd be appropriate to write about an article on the future of academic libraries.
Interesting announcement via the ALA Members listserv:
Today, the American Library Association released the Libraries' Guide to the 2020 Census, a new resource to prepare libraries for the decennial count of every person living in the United States.
Talking to a student last week, I tried to remember the quote (and the source of the quote): "I spell like a gentleman and not like a ..." Finally found it: [LINK].
P.S. Initial Google search (with auto-correct) came up with, "I smell like a gentleman..." Ah, no.
List of classes I was taking in Spring Quarter (from an old letter):
Courtesy of Gary Price's InfoDocket, we learn of the agreement between publisher Wiley Global and "all German publicly and privately funded academic institutions" -- for the purpose of delivering "the benefits of open access to authors" (faqs here). Good move.
Update: Interesting development: UC decides to tell publisher Elsevier where to go (link).
Plowing through the style guides in 'Ready Reference', making sure they're all there. #shelfie #LibraryShelfie #LibraryShelfieDay
From the Series, Why We Need Librarians (IM edition) ...
Question: "Got the '3rd Symphony' by Copland? I had a look but couldn't find anything."
Answer: "Try 'third'..."
Current Cites for Dec. 2018 is out! You can find the issue here...
I wrote about a library research project where the investigators decided to scrap everything and go back to the drawing board. Highly unusual (at least for published accounts).
Grandfather Leopold Klein, born in Chicago but too sick to leave Berlin at the U.S. entry into WWI, wrote in his diary:
"This 'World War' must end soon. When it does come to an end, the principles of justice, mercy and, above all, reason - which dictates all the rest - must guide the nations concerned in the establishment of peace. Otherwise, these nations will only lay the foundation for later, and greater, world conflict.... If a true peace is not made when the shooting stops, the result may be a truly worldwide conflict - thrusting its horror to the four corners of the earth, a World War which will be the greatest catastrophe humanity has yet experienced." (Berlin, 1917)
Current Cites for Oct. 2018 is out! You can find the issue here...
I recommended an article on a new initiative from Europe promoting open access journals. Given the high cost of research journals and databases, this kind of topic is always interesting. In fact, the original link to this article was forwarded by a colleague where I work.
Current Cites for June 2018 is out! You can find the issue here...
I wrote about an interesting usability study published in Journal of Web Librarianship measuring the effectiveness of library research guides. I guess the best take-away from the article might be, 'know your audience'.
