The television trivia (but not trivial) game show Jeopardy! is searching for librarians to be contestants, according to LISNews.

Try outs might be in Boston … Hhhmmm …

One of my favorite Massachusetts librarians, Tony Stankus, is on the cover of the March Information Outlook, the magazine for the Special Libraries Association, because of his profile.*

Tony’s a fabulous mentor, terrific science librarian, and quite an ambassador for the profession. He also has a sense of humor, which is why I feel like I can call him a cover boy in this blog post. ; ) No disrespect meant, of course.

*Information Outlook is restricted to SLA members.

It seems like early on in the life of this blog, v and I discussed card catalogs–as in the cabinets with drawers–and alternative uses for them. I can’t find those posts right now and am too tired to spend a lot of time searching for them. (It’s not this one.) It might have even mostly been blog comments, which aren’t really searchable in Manila.

On my way to work Wednesday, I found five card catalog drawers in the trash. I think they’re from a shelf list of a rather large collection because the drawers are numbered in the 100s and have ranges of Library of Congress call numbers printed on them. They aren’t consecutive. (I wonder where the rest are …) The rods are missing. I took them. I want a card catalog (as in the furniture) eventually because I could use the storage for some specific things. The drawers I picked up are cabinetless. They’re the right size for holding CDs. I wonder if I can find someone to make a cabinet for them that’ll work to hold CDs …

Why didn’t I take shop in middle school?

The Special Libraries Association Board of Directors election ends Friday, March 3.

National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation explored the modern public library and its role in the information economy Monday. Guests included Tom Frey, executive director of the futurist think tank The DaVinci Institute, Jo Haight-Sarling, director of access and technology services at the Denver Public Library System, and Charles Brown, director of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Callers expressed concerns over Internet access, getting non-commercial information from library resources, the importance of libraries as community centers, and accessing digitized images.

A respondent on the solo librarians list shared a Minneapolis StarTribune discussion between Frey and Minneapolis Public Libraries director Kit Hadley.

One value of the library brought out in these pieces is the physical space, especially as a place where people can gather together. In the article, Frey says:

"Yet libraries are a place, and that is an important resource. With a growing number of business executives working from a home office, they are looking for ‘another place’ to stimulate their thinking, alter patterns, meet people, and congregate. While libraries can build electronic tentacles into our homes, there is great value in being a ‘place’ — a place to go, different spaces for different moods, points to ponder, human sounding boards, room for introspection as well as extrospection."

In an age where many branch libraries are being shut down or having hours reduced because of budget cuts, it’s nice to learn that some people still find the space to be important. While many people believe virtual libraries might be all we need, it seems that other people recognize the institutions as more than just a storage place for information waiting to be digitized.

The cover story of the February 2006 American Libraries, the American Library Association’s magazine, is about military libraries. I knew the Special Libraries Association has a division for military librarians, so I was a little surprised to read about the libraries in an ALA publication, even though it makes lots of sense for some military librarians to belong to both organizations because many military libraries are also open to the public and/or serve the families of servicewomen and -men.

The article Get Out the Hair Dye—We Really Are Aging reports on a survey of 3,289 respondents showing basic demographics of those ALA members.

• About 80% are female

• 58% were born between 1940 and 1959
• 85% have an ALA-accredited library degree and almost one-third of those have another master’s degree
• 87% are white

The survey remains open. ALA hopes more members will voluntarily submit their demographic data so ALA can have a better idea of who’s in the organization and profession.

The magazine Women’s Day and the American Library Association (ALA) are soliciting brief stories about how libraries have changed lives.

U.S. President George W. Bush’s proposed budget supposedly includes $2 million in decreases to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)–cuts that could lead to the ending of some library services. An EPA press release doesn’t mention the potential impact on its libraries.

The press release from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) outlines the benefits of the libraries.

The American Library Association (ALA) and Special Libraries Association (SLA) released statements to discourage support of Bush’s proposed cuts.

reminder from Garrett’s Library News & Notes

One of the benefits to me not having a laptop right now and having a project on hold because of a vacationing coworker is that I can catch up on some of the things in my office that don’t require typing, like reading some of the magazines piled on my desk.

The June 2004 (Yes, I’m really that far behind. Actually, I’m further, but the 2003s and 2002s are in another pile.) information trends column* in Information Outlook, the magazine of the Special Libraries Association, is all about why librarians/information science professionals should write for their professional colleagues.

When I started blogging, I didn’t think much about the role I would play in my friends’ and colleagues’ professional development a few years down the road. I figured I’d just start writing and see what would happen. I’ve heard from many of you that you appreciate what I do. I appreciate knowing that.

Stephen Abram laments that more people don’t write about our profession(s) and suggests five means people can use to share words: blogs, ‘zines, databases, Web sites, and discussion lists. Here are some of his thoughts:

• "I see thousands of innovative ideas and projects across our profession, but far too few folks are writing about them so that we call can learn from their experiences."

• "When we share information, knowledge, and service, we are giving a valuable gift."
• "Next step: write about us for other professional communities. We really need to get the word out."
• "Remember, writing is not about the money – few of our vehicles pay much, and many articles, like this one, are donated. It’s about sharing and ensuring that our profession continues to grow, innovate, and succeed as a community."

*Access to the article is restricted to SLA members who can run the software ebrary.

In response to library staff sharing video with the authorities of a patron doing something illegal in a library elevator, LISNews has an interesting thread about what a patron record is and when sharing customer activities becomes a violation of their privacy.

Some people are relating this incident to the recent one where librarians refused to give computer equipment to the FBI without a warrant.