Today's Purdy Purdy Snap-Shot ...

Taken late-afternoon from the home-balcony.

Um, Time Moves On ...

My candy at 10yrs old: Hershey's ?

My candy nowadays: a Peach ??

Wow, Really Crowded Downtown This Evening ...

I was headed to Navy Pier to see Mavis Staples (Chicago Live) but downtown was full as well!

United Against Book Bans

ALA's got a new report on the number of books banned.  Yuck! (and not only yuck but something we all need to oppose).  There's a form to join the campaign as well as a link to the (fast approaching) Banned Books Week (10/1-10/7).  We all need to get involved!  Let Freedom Read!

9/11 -- We'll Never Forget!

It's that time of year to remember the absolutely awful event that happened twenty-two years ago.  I did a write-up a couple years ago [link to write-up].

Living in New York at the time, I also put together a video of events as I and others experienced them [link to video].

We will never forget!

So Many Events!

 Wow, these all are happening this weekend:

• German American Oktoberfest
• Taste of Chicago
• Printers Row Lit Fest
• Lakeview East Festival of the Arts

Chicago Air & Water Show

 On my way to Navy Pier to see those noisy things in the sky :-)

Famous Last Words

 Famous Last Words: 'Get the App...'

Bud Billiken Parade

Currently at Bud Billiken -- Ran into some old acquaintances

Yippy, New Backpack!

Picked up a new backpack!  Originally -- as in this Fri. (7/28) -- its price of around $60 was just too high.  It was too high since originally I thought it was on sale (20% off).  Unfortunately, it wasn't on sale -- it was the other items on the same rack that were 😟.  Bummer!

But then I remembered:  I had a gift-certificate worth $25!  I got it at the Library Conference a couple weeks ago.  Hey, why not use that?  So I went back this afternoon and finally bought the thing, this time for $35!

[Almost 2 years later (7/15/25): And of course it wasn't till this week that the old baby finally fell apart (zipper -- she bust up). Happy to move everything over to this new baby!]

First Day With Air ...

Yup, first day this year with a little air (as in 'AC'). Weekend will get cooler outside, so won't need ...

ALA Conference (Chicago)

 

Proceeds from the ALA Conference -- enjoyed it the whole week!  So much to grab (books, bags, paraphernalia of all kinds)!  After a couple years of No-Can-Do, we're back in the good times... #ALAAC23

Lookin ' forward to the opening Welcome speech!

#ALAAC23 #McCormickPlace

Mayoral Election (Chicago)

 On my way to hand in my ballot for the mayoral.

Last Day Library

Reasons Why:

• Left due to inappropriate, nasty, mean-spirited treatment by library mgmt ...
• Ensuring a student who comes to us for research help -- ensuring that student from the ill-informed and disruptive behavior of a student worker is a professional responsibility...
• Because I was reprimanded (and put on probation) for having explained the system of how the library organizes its books (so the student could look the thing up herself next-time) instead of simply looking it up & giving her the call-number...
• When you're treated like shit, it's best to get out of the toilet...

It's called (on my part), 'Professional Responsibility', 'Teachable Moment', and 'Higher Education' ...

New Year, New Website

Hi y'all!  Happy 2023 !!!   I've been hosting my own websites since the dawn of time (or close to it).  To reduce the overhead slightly, I'm moving my blog to blogger.com.  The new address is:

https://leoklein.blogpost.com

See ya soon!

See Y'all in '23!

Chicago Reader 50ish UnGala - Wow!

Rushed over to the Reader 50ish UnGala Celebration right after I finished my early evening shift at the library. Hoo Baby! The place was packed. It occupied all 4 floors of the Museum of Contemporary Art and each floor was absolutely full of the most wonderfully dressed individuals -- not just a handful but hundreds. Incredible.

Tag der Mauerfall (Day the Wall Came Down)

I've written about this before (link). It's a day I'll never forget...

Election 2022

Dropped off my mail-in ballot at the County Clerk's Office.

Happy Birthday BBC!

It's the 100th anniversary of the British Broadcasting Corp. -- more widely known by its initials, BBC (link here). I first started listening to it during my years away from home -- i.e. in Paris, Rome and Berlin. The local broadcasting in any of those places wasn't in English so in the evening I'd switch over to the BBC via shortwave. By the time I made it home, it was broadcast here locally. It's something I listen to every evening! Happy B-day, BBC!

Midterm

It's mid-term at the library. We've got students working on their assignments, some in groups and some by themselves, sitting at work-stations on most of the floors. They come over to us at the reference desk. Often it's for help with the printers but also on how to track down books and articles for their research. We still wear masks - at least when we get too close - but boy does it seem like we're back to normal!

ALA's Letter to FBI

The letter to the FBI from ALA is titled 'Letter of Concern' -- the concern being 'over threats [of violence] that are being directed at public libraries and library workers'. ALA makes clear (at least for the moment) that:

"... there is no evidence at this time showing a direct connection between recent threats and opposition to library materials and programs."

'Opposition to library materials and programs'? For that go here... P.S. Have a look at their 'Intellectual Freedom' section (including the 'Fight Censorship' part).

Hoo Baby: Big Big Weekend!

 Quite a list of activities for the coming weekend:

• Friday, it's Chicago German-American Oktoberfest;
• Saturday, it's Lakeview East Festival of the Arts;
• Sunday, it's Printers Row Lit Fest;

And Monday (if I'm still kicking), it's opening day for the Hannover Messe USA...

Back at the RefDesk

First session of school year 22/23 ...

Illinois State Fair

On the way back home from the State Fair. Had a great time! Saw old friends, ate and (err) drank. First time in three years!!! Looking forward to next year...

Oh Come On CPS, You Can Do Better

 From yesterday's Chicago Sun-times:

In an Age of Misinformation, Why Are There So Few Librarians at Chicago Public Schools?
The nation’s third-largest public school system with 290,000 students in 513 district-operated, non-charter schools, CPS has only about 90 schools with full-time librarians.

Librarians -- whaddya need them for? The article goes over a few good examples including:

"Leslie Westerberg, one of those recently laid off, said librarians also help students with research projects and finding accurate information online."

Worth a read.

Trying Out the Workstation ...

Yup, works.

Google Now Links to Library Holdings

OCLC and Google Now Connect Web Searchers Directly to Library Collections
Google now links search results directly to records of print books in hundreds of libraries using WorldCat data
DUBLIN, Ohio, 13 April 2022—OCLC and Google are working together to link directly from books discovered through Google Search to print book records in the catalogs of hundreds of U.S. libraries. This feature is part of Google’s ongoing effort to connect people to their local libraries through Google Search. [Read more ...]

As OCLC explains: "Partner websites such as Google Books, Wikipedia, and Goodreads add 'find in a library' links to their pages that bring users to WorldCat.org where they can then click to library websites." [source]

Free Food at Mickey D's?

 

Sign Reads: 'Download our app to get free food.' (Clark just south of Diversey...)

ALA Stands With Ukrainian Library Community

 Interesting press release from the American Library Association:

CHICAGO — The American Library Association and its divisions support our Ukrainian colleagues and will work with the global library community to answer the appeal from the Ukrainian Library Association to provide accurate information as a means to support democracy and freedom of expression. [link to appeal]

ALA has adopted into its policies Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, which states, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers."

ALA continues to encourage our members to help raise public consciousness regarding the many ways in which disinformation and media manipulation are used to mislead public opinion in all spheres of life, and further encourages librarians to facilitate this awareness with collection development, library programming and public outreach that draws the public's attention to those alternative sources of information dedicated to countering and revealing the disinformation.

See complete release...

Chatting with Colleagues at the Research HelpDesk

 

Fun(ny) things you can do in this age of digital communication ...

First Shift of the Year (2022)!

 

First shift of the year at the RefDesk! I'll drink to that! :-)

Final Resting Place?

Okay, so where would you rather end up -- Chicago or Heaven? Obviously Chicago! I mean, you get the greatest caramel corn, the greatest deep-dish pizza, the greatest polish w/grilled onions and bbq rib-tips. It's just plain obvious!

 

Bye-Bye My Friend -- No More C&RL News (in Print)

 

Darn! They just announced on the ACRL listserv that December will be the last time College & Research Libraries News (C&RL News) will appear in print (link). Henceforth, you'll only be able to access it online.

Kind of a bummer. I mean, that plus ALA's more general, American Libraries, are just about the only two journals I still get in print. They're things I look forward to -- things I can toss in my backpack and maybe a day or two later, read while waiting for a bus or whatever. Oh well, no more.

P.S. I actually have an article or two in the thing.

P.P.S. Well, I guess I could start printing the thing out myself.

P.P.P. Update (10/20/2223): So I’ve taken the logical option: our friends at ALA put out a PDF version of both C&RL and C&RL News. I simply take those and print them out on my (very nice) HP OfficeJet Pro 902e printer. One heavy-duty staple on the top left corner of each print-out and voila!

Working from Home (When I'm Not)

 

Oy, was scheduled for ChatReference from home -- 'cept the internet connection really sucked (thanx AT&T). So I ran over to the Lincoln Pk campus, setting up shop on one of the tables in the SAC building.

At the Scanner

 

Tuesday evening (10/12) was really really nice. We had a good crowd and it almost seemed like we were back to -- err (rhymes w/'Formal') ...

Instructor contacted us via Chat asking if we had a scanner. I checked just to make sure it was working.

Facebook Took to Twitter

 So where do you go when your site is out-of-order? Why, you go to the site of your chief competitor(s) of course:

During the outage, the company [i.e. Facebook] took to Twitter to acknowledge the situation and apologize for the inconvenience. [source]

9/11 - Twenty Years Ago

 Yes, it's the 20th anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center -- the 20th anniversary of that absolutely horrifying loss of people both occupying the twin towers and those rushing in to save them. I was living in New York at the time. My experience for that reason was particularly direct.

I've written about this (link) and even put together a video (see below). As I've said before, the best event I ever personally experienced -- that was the the fall of the Berlin Wall; the attack on the World Trade Center -- that was the absolute worst.

RefDesk: First Shift of the School Year!

 
We're talking 2021-22! Happy! Happy!

No State Fair for Me This Year

Well-known columnist/blogger, Rich Miller, has an interesting article in Friday's Sun-Times, 'If I'd Caught the COVID-19 Bug, It Would Have Been On Me. I Walked into the Crowded Room'.

In it, he says:

"The State Fair is such an integral part of our state’s political culture that I think many of us desperately wanted to latch on to some sort of normalcy last week after a year and a half of nothingness. But this clearly ain’t over — though Illinois is doing much better than the southern states — and many of us should’ve known better."

"Integral part" -- I totally agree. It's also a whole lot of fun! There's bar-hopping in the evening; then all the activities at the Fair itself the next day. It really really is a great time! But this year, personally -- no way. Decided to stay home. That said, looking forward to 2022!

Be Aware of Flying Golf Balls

 

Interesting sign out near the golf range at Diversey and Lincoln Pk: 'Be Aware of Flying Golf Balls'. The golf range itself is in the background, on a raised platform.

First Day Back at the RefDesk

 

First day back at the RefDesk. It's been a while (after logging in, Google Calendar says 'March 2020'). Brought two friends along -- pillow & teddy bear.

Things I Had to Get Used to Eating in Paris

 

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]

View Out on the Porch

 

View out the porch on a very early evening in Chi-town...

Chat-Ref Under the Stars

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'? 

At Today's Zoom Get-together...

 

Great get-together with colleagues and old friends!

New Year's Party -- via Zoom (of course)

Had a great time with old friends (along with laptop, iPad, face-mask, cassette player, cellphone, can of beer and burnt pizza ...)

Doh-Doh Librarian

 

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...

Ballot Delivery Boy

#BallotDeliveryBoy : At the Cook County Election Board Office, 69 W. Washington St., Chicago.

Nice Fall Day (2020)

 

Nice fall day. Leaves in bloom(?). Roscoe walking north on Sheridan (Chicago).

Hey, That's Me in That Rock Video from the 1980s!

 

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.)
________

* 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.

1st Reference Session of the School Year

First reference session (chat) of the school year! [Note: public access to library not yet possible. Everything done remotely from home.]

After Reference, Take a Dip!

 

Things to do immediately after your library shift (chat reference in my case): Hit the beach!

Current Cites for July 2020 (Final)

 

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!

Darn! Binny's Closed! ZZZ

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!

Today's Hike

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).

Tough Times for Baby Boomers

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.