Thank you very much to everyone who answered my social bookmarking survey. If you have not already done so, could you please answer two questions? It’s research for a paper I’m writing. The survey is here. Thanks!
Continue readingTag: becoming a librarian
wmtc: support your local library – support tpl library workers!
As you know, the staff of the Toronto Public Library is on strike. Rob Ford is using the financial crisis as an excuse to “privatize everything that isn’t nailed down” (his words), including the library. Branch closures are still an issue. Service cuts loom. In times of austerity, working people
Continue readingwmtc: social bookmarking survey, take two
The poll in an earlier wmtc post wreaked havoc on my blog, so I’m trying again. If I might beg another moment of your time, please go here to take a two-question survey about your use of social bookmarking websites. By this I mean sites like Delicious, Reddit, CiteULike, BuzzFeed,
Continue readingwmtc: wmtc survey: social bookmarking websites
For a paper I am writing, I am researching tagging as used in social bookmarking websites, like Delicious (said to be the first successful social bookmarking site), Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon, CiteULike, and so on. There are hundreds of these sites, though they vary widely in popularity and effectiveness. Some people
Continue readingwmtc: information please
In at least one respect, I am a born librarian. Friends have said there should be a sign over my head: INFORMATION. Everywhere I go, people ask me for directions. In New York City, it was a rare subway trip that I wasn’t approached. “Does this train go to Grand
Continue readingwmtc: we like lists: lists of lists of lists
On our DIY top-ten list, M@ made a top-10 list of top-10 lists. David Weinberger, author of Everything Is Miscellaneous, takes it up a level, with a top ten list of top ten lists of top ten lists! I haven’t read that book yet, but I probably will over the
Continue readingwmtc: love a librarian: keep toronto public library public
Tell Mayor Ford you want a free, public Toronto Public Library. Go here.
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: # 3
“What are you doing?” “Putting books away.” “Why are you doing that?” “So people can find them later.” “Do you have any books about fishing?” “Books on fishing… let’s see. Oh look, here’s one with Winnie the Pooh fishing.” “I put that there!” “You did?” “I did! I put that
Continue readingwmtc: rob ford’s latest strategy in the war on toronto public library: slash, downsize, then try to privatize
From Maureen O’Reilly, library workers’ union, Toronto Public Library (emphasis mine): + + + + + It hasn’t taken Ford and company long before launching a new attack on our public library. Frustrated that we stopped him last month from wreaking massive reductions to open hours and slashing programs and
Continue readingwmtc: ten reasons i like being a library page
I needed to get a job as a library page in order to be “in the system” at the Mississauga Library. Job openings rarely, if ever, go external. Since after I earn my degree, I want to work as a librarian in Mississauga, and I was advised by several people
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: # 2
Girl, whispering so quietly I could barely hear her: Excuse me. Um, do you work here? Um… um… do you know where I can find books about diaries of wimpy kids? Ten minutes later, a boy: Do you have Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Not five minutes after that, another
Continue readingwmtc: odds, ends, and i-school
Shorter wmtc: Quebec in winter: the weather is cold, the people are warm, the food is good. I loved all of it, and I especially loved traveling with my sweetie. Driving home, we were on smaller country routes in Vermont and New York State for a good two hours before
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series
The most challenging part of being a library page has been not answering people’s questions. Pages are in the stacks, shelving books, so naturally people are going to ask us questions. Plus people always ask me for directions and information, it’s a lifelong MO. (That’s a story for another post.)
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the information, by james gleick
I’ve started reading a book that I cannot put down: James Gleick’s The Information. The book’s full title is The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood, and it is indeed a book of many intentions: a history of communication and information technology, a history of information theory, a historical
Continue readingwmtc: five of eight: another semester bites the dust
And I do mean bites. This was a grueling term, boring beyond belief, but I’ve just completed my last assignment, and am now gloriously free of school for a full month. I have a long list of things to do, and of course I still have work, but I am
Continue readingwmtc: my first days in the library
I love it. I love being in the library. I love being part of the public library, helping to make it work. I’ve been placed in the children’s department of Mississauga’s Central Library. It’s a huge department, and there’s a surprising amount to learn. Unlike the general library, where materials
Continue readingwmtc: in which i begin my first library job
It’s finally happened: I’ve been placed as a page! I begin my training this Thursday at the Central Library in Mississauga. This is a huge, beautiful library, a five-minute drive from our house, and right next door to YMCA that Allan and I belong to. I’ve been waiting for this
Continue readingwmtc: men of the stacks: busting stereotypes one hunk at a time
If you like men, and you like libraries, you’re sure to love Men of the Stacks. Proceeds from calendar sales support It Gets Better. Here’s a good story on Men of the Stacks in The Guardian. Plus I’m pretty sure Mr. June was my TA in Intro to Reference last
Continue readingwmtc: library in a phone booth
I meant to include this in my recent library-related post, but I misplaced the link. So now this lovely little library has a post of its own. Please go here to see a beautiful old UK “phone box” recycled into a tiny lending library. More and better photos of it
Continue readingwmtc: how not to ask a question: how q&a websites contribute to denialism
A little slice of the internet that irks me are Q&A websites like Wiki Answers and Yahoo! Answers, where people ask questions and any registered user can post an answer. A list of such sites is here. (That list includes Ask MetaFilter, which seems different, in that it encourages lengthy
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