OK, I have been brimming with anticipation all week toward making this announcement. It is my profound pleasure and privilege to introduce a new collaborative effort between myself and the estimable Steven M. Cohen:

LIS Blogsource - The library weblog about library weblogs (RSS feed)

The idea is to provide a portal for all things LIS bloggery: new blogs, redesigns, software migrations, what have you. As we have both devoted much bandwidth to covering this stuff in our respective blogs, the time seemed right to join forces and give you a one-stop news source on the ever-growing and changing LIS blogosphere.

It's a work-in-progress, but there is already some worthwhile content to check out. Suggestions are welcome, as are any notices about new or changing LIS blogs: greg at lishost dot com.

More on Bibliophilia from the Washington Post: So this is a sex-romp. Or a sex-something. It favors verbs like "diddle" and "swive." And nouns like "merkin."

I want to say to this writer, "What's your point?" Or, "Get a life!" Or even more harsh, "Get out of school!" The verb "diddle" does come to mind here. There's more to this world than "a Barbie doll wearing Band-Aids for bra and panties; a white chess rook against which two shiny golf balls leaned." There is, actually, life.

Inspyration - Everyday librarian-type ramblings.

This is sure to be a must-read:

Bibliophilia by Michael Griffith.

Some excerpts from the San Francisco Gate review:

A librarian stuck in a sexless marriage is deputized to thwart student hanky-panky in the stacks, a man afraid to tell his parents he's gay gets trapped in a chimpanzee cage, and a father literally becomes a pawn in his teenage son's life-size chess game at a county fair. That's just a sampling of what goes on in Michael Griffith's "Bibliophilia," a novella and five stories that are only occasionally credible and always sardonic, clever and beautifully stylized.

In the title novella, for example, Myrtle, the middle-aged librarian/sex policewoman, demands that the real police use a rape kit on a mangled grapefruit in order to prove that a student with a duffel bag filled with fruit and vegetables has been copulating with citrus at the school library.

I can imagine the dialogue:

Student - 'Hey, I don't see a sign that says "No Fruit Copulation in the Library". '

Librarian - 'Doesn't the sign clearly state "No food or drink in the library"?

Student - 'Does it look like I ate the grapefruit?'

Sadly (or perhaps mercifully), only the title story is library-related.

They just keep comin':

Tiny Little Librarian - Musings of a too-short girl in the high-stacks game of librarianship... (via dmoz submission)

And have I mentioned this one already?:

diy librarian - Bringing DIY and librarianship together (spotted first at Angry Thoat)

The author of diy librarian, Tara Murray, has a great job title: Information Core Director (for the Population Research Institute at Penn State).

After a lovely hiatus in scenic East Dorset, VT, I return to bring you a new weblog courtesy of a dmoz submission (still not updated, aargh!):

Tuna Breath - Judith E Bush discusses the launch and analysis of RLG.org's RedLightGreen.com website -- recasting traditional bibliographic metadata for a world that believes everything should work like Google(tm).

And a correction: John Gist is not a librarian. His post came from Zogby Blog via the Libertarian Librarian, Melissa Zogby. I thank him for the correction and note that it's a good thing I take my time adding things to dmoz.

I'm headed to a wedding up in Vermont tomorrow, so I'll be off my computer till Sunday. But before I pull the plug, a few final items are in order.

I received a great little note from the Planned Parenthood Action Network here in Indiana denouncing internet filters. I've decided to reprint it in its entirety:

What is Wrong with Mandatory Internet Filters for Public Libraries?

2. Write a letter to the editor.

Next item: According to this post, John Gist, author of The Lopsided Poopdeck, is a librarian.

And finally, I found a very strange comment on one of my older posts, whose author apparently didn't understand the post at all.

Anyway, be back in a few days.

In further anticipation of my forthcoming article, an interesting discussion on LLRX.com: The Internet Roundtable #36: Branding, Part II: What Are Blogs and Why Is Everyone So Excited About Them.

Courtesy of BeSpacific.

So here's the scoop on dmoz.org. On Monday, the public cgi scripts became active again, which means that the public is once again able to submit sites. However, edited categories are only now being updated on the public servers, one at a time, from the mirror dmoz site. This process should be completed sometime Thursday afternoon, so look for a current category listing then. Again, sorry for the misguidance.

Here's yet another article that does a nice job of discussing the relationship between libraries and blogs: Blogging and the U of M Libraries.

Shane Nackerud argues for blog hosting as a service of the University of Minnesota Libraries:

"As a library, we are already discussing ways that we can change the scholarly publishing paradigm, ways that we can create communities of interest, and ways that we can create a digital repository of scholarly output. Hosting blogs would give us an opportunity to investigate how this new medium can help us accomplish, or touch upon, all three of these goals."

"Hosting blogs would also make the University Libraries the center point for intellectual discussion on campus...Thousands of people would come to our site every day not just to look up a book, or find a full text article, but also to discuss important topics, read what other people are currently discussing, and possibly post their own opinions...Most importantly, hosting blogs would leverage the libraries' traditional role as a defender of intellectual freedom, and indirectly help our faculty, staff, and students participate in our democratic society."

Good points that deserve serious consideration by all academic libraries.

Courtesy of rawbrick.net.

Those of you who use dmoz regularly have probably noticed that there have been no changes to any directory in over a month. Sites that have been added or changed by editors in the past month or so have, up to this point, been invisible to the public. This was due to a system-wide upgrade that was apparently quite involved. The good news is that the freeze is expected to end tomorrow at noon PDT. Amongst other things, this means the count of LIS Weblogs should jump from the current 217 to over 250! When I started as an editor in March, this count was under 100. I see no indication that this growth has plateaued and look forward to seeing what the future holds for our little part of the blogosphere.

Update: It appears I misinterpreted the recent forum discussion, as nothing has changed at dmoz. Sorry for the apparent misinformation - I'll keep checking in and keep you posted.

So I had just submitted my article for editing, when I notice a comment from Guy Aron (of eprintblog) passing along a link to the blog he developed for the business info desk staff at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

It's called NEED2KNOW and it is awfully impressive - a true resource. If I worked there, it'd be my home page (and that's a serious endorsement, folks).

Might have to edit and resubmit, 'cause this is what blogging and libraries is all about. Great work, Guy, and thanks for the lead!

How's this for auto-discovery? Caught this one on its day of inception with only one post!

Notes to myself - Marlowe Crawford is "a law librarian by profession—and choice." (RSS? Yes, yes, yes.)

I'll say it again: "Thank you, Feedster!"

This one's been running since March?!?!

Tangognat - Blog of a reluctant librarian (yes, feed)

Say it with me now, "Thank you, Feedster."

We're you aware that Linda Absher, better known as the Lipstick Librarian, has a blog? I wasn't, but now we both are:

The Days & Nights of the Lipstick Librarian! - The diary of a library fashionista... (Yes, there's a RSS feed.)

A little taste from her first post:

Yes, the LL has capitulated and decided to join the endless chatter that is the web. Now you can learn the dishy details that make up the LL's life, such as

-did the cat run away because I switched from Tender Vittles to that generic dry crap?

Nice to see that my soon-to-be city of employment, Louisville, KY, ranked 8th in a study of America's Most Literate Cities. This gives me hope.

Courtesy of LISNews.com.

Not twelve hours after posting about the article I'm writing for WebJunction, Michael has to come along and burst my bubble:

Blogging: Digital Davids In An Internet Goliath

Unfortunately for me, this article is well-written with the added bonus of quotations from LIS bloggery's own Shifted Librarian:

"There are two sides to blogging, both of which can help librarians," Levine said. "The first reason is that it helps with information overload and staying current. Fellow librarian (and non-librarian) bloggers can help filter the overwhelming mass of data blindsiding us day in and day out. The second reason is that blogging can help librarians disseminate their own ideas, thoughts, and information, at a personal level and at the institutional level."

Damn! Well said.

The good news is that the scope of the article is broad, focusing on the blogging phenomenon, whereas I hope to maintain Jenny's focus on blogs as a tool for libraries/librarians.

It looks like I'm going to be writing a little piece on blogging and libraries for WebJunction in the near future. One of my main topics will be an exploration of how blogs are used in libraries and how their use might be further expanded.

So I ask of you, my gentle readers, to consider ways in which the potential of blogging is not already being exploited by libraries and share your thoughts with me. Of course, appropriate credit will be given for worthy ideas. Feel free to tell me about creative ways you see blogs being used currently, as I'm sure I haven't seen it all. While you're at it, ask your colleagues (or your readers). Let's brainstorm together. Much obliged.

Saw this article in Wired News today about Hypertag technology: Wired News: Cell Phones, Billboards Play Tag.

The idea is to attach little smart tags to all variety of displays (billboards, posters, musuem exhibits) that would allow users of mobile technology to access digital content about the display. So you could go to a museum, check out the mummy exhibit and call up relevant web materials related to mummies.

There could be endless applications for this. How about we put these Hypertags in every book on our shelves? The user points at a book and immediately the OPAC listing appears, or the NYT book review, or even, dare I say it, Amazon reader opinions. Maybe we can use Novelist and the like to call up a page of related books based on our catalog's descriptors. See where I'm going with this? Seems like we should be keeping our eyes on this technology and our minds open to the possibilities.

Apparently, a Seattle toymaker has seen fit to make a plastic action figure modeled on the executive director of the Washington Center for the Book, Nancy Pearl:

The Seattle Times: Toymaker finds librarian who's a real doll.

It seems they had a choice between giving the figure a shushing action or an "ejectable hair bun." By selecting the former, there is no doubt they made the wrong choice.

Let's look at it from two angles. First, the fun factor. What could be more entertaining than ejecting body parts! Nobody associates shushing with fun, certainly not the kids at any library I've ever used.

On the other hand, there is the stereotyped librarian image. Bad enough the action figure is dressed in a frumpy blue outfit, bespectacled and all (not to mention the obvious gender element, but I won't go there). Add the shushing action and she's pretty much the archetypal librarian that belies numerous jokes and misconceptions.

An ejectable hair bun was the perfect opportunity to make a symbolic gesture in defiance of that stereotype: "Cast off your hair buns, ladies, and do it with gusto!"

Here's an excerpt from the article in defense of their decision:

"The ejectable hair bun had many technical hurdles to overcome and we thought doing two clichés was over the top," he said. "So, we went with the shushing action. It gives the figure a certain dignity."

A certain dignity? Or a definite blandness?

Pearl predicts that the shushing motion — triggered by a button on the doll's back — will determine "which librarians have a sense of humor." She likes to believe that today's librarians are secure enough in their work that they won't take offense at the old cliché.

Hmmm, I have a sense of humor (weak though it may be). The ejectable hair bun would have been much funnier and less cliché. I'm certainly not offended, just disappointed.

Courtesy of librarian.net.

First off, SharpReader is simply the best RSS aggregator going. Luke has integrated both Technorati and Feedster support in the latest version.

Let me elaborate.

I click on a feed or a specific item... Ctrl-T...Bam! Instant Technorati Link Cosmos.

Type a term into the search box...Bam! Instant subscribable Feedster feed for that term.

Via my new Feedster feed for "librarian," I found epicrisis linked by our recently discovered compatriot Michael at Angry Thoat. In the words of the author, Laura:

I have no particular agenda for this blog, but I imagine that most of my posts will be about words and books and libraries.

Welcome aboard.

Sorry for the tangent, but I was stoked to see that Phish, a band that has consistently cultivated and reaped the benefits of its active Internet fanbase, just added an RSS feed for their News section and also a feed for the Tourdates portion of their recently relaunched website:

If you've got your geek on, you'll appreciate our RSS feeds. Frankly, we don't really understand what they do, but our site designers assure us that both news and tourdates have RSS feeds you can subscribe to read in any RSS Newsreader.

Score one for acknowledging the needs of your user community, whether you truly understand them or not (and sometimes you just don't). Librarians, please take note.

According to this dig_ref post, the wonderful Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center will be running a trial of virtual reference service for the visually impaired by implementing OCLC's QuestionPoint with the Enhanced capabilities, featuring the use of audio chat (VoIP) and co-browsing. Kudos to the MITBC for consistently being on the forefront of accessibilty pursuits. The service can be accessed here. If you're interested in helping them put it through its paces, details are in the dig_ref post.

As an aside, I was perusing the QuestionPoint site and saw that they offer an interesting (although clearly self-serving) partnership opportunity for LIS programs to help students (and faculty) gain practical experience with virtual reference. Sounds like fun.

It looks like my home state of Indiana on target when it comes to protecting its citizens from e-crime. As this press release reveals, there are two (actually, three, the third deals with credit history and insurance eligibility) interesting new public laws that have recently been enacted.

The first expands the definition of identifying information and facilitates easier recovery from theft scenarios. Of course, all librarians should have a vested interest in protecting vulnerable patrons from identity theft, so this can be viewed as a positive development.

I was more intrigued by the second law, which requires spammers to identify their unsolicited emails with a code in the subject line, as in {ADV} or for adult-oriented mail {ADV:ADLT}. Failure to comply will result in fines under the state's deceptive consumer sales laws, which carry penalties of up to $500 per offense. I love this concept and wonder if it's truly enforcable. I'm no expert on law, particularly e-law, but it seems to me that a single state enacting this kind of legislation will have virtually no effect as most traffic is likely to be interstate. Am I wrong? Seems like it's time for Congress to catch the wave, no?

Courtesy of BeSpacific.

Update: According to this Slashdot post, Michigan is following suit submitting similar anti-spamming legislation with even harsher penalties.

I was toying around with Chris' Sideblog tool on Planet Neutral, but I've noticed a few different ways to accomplish the same goal in Movable Type without external applications. The central benefit of this for me is the ability to use Zempt to easily post random links to Open Stacks, especially when I don't have anything in particular to say in connection with the links. So the sidebar has a new Sideblog. I'm not sure how much use it will get, but you RSS fans can follow the OS Sideblog via syndication.

Pulled this one of off nycbloggers while searching for new ideas for Indiana Blogs!:

Angry Thoat - A man likes Science Fiction. A man likes libraries. This man--this geek of a man--is me. And this is my Thoat. And it is Angry.

According to his resume, Michael Simanoff is a Librarian Trainee at NYPL "seeking Electronic Resources, Web Services, or Government Documents Librarian position at an exciting, innovative library or research institution."

Ah, aren't we all...

I constantly keep my eye out for LIS blogs that I haven't seen before and new ways to go about unearthing them. I don't why it took so long for me to come up with this approach, but Blogrolling offers a "Search the Blogrolls" feature that lets me see who has a particular site listed in their blogroll. By searching on some of the bigwigs of LIS bloggery (you know who you are), I've found some new contenders (new to me, at least, some are actually quite old):

Jane's Addiction - Written by Jean Ferguson, a student in UNC-Chapel Hill SLIS program, who also works in the reference department.

letting loose with the leptard - This comes from a gentleman named Brendan Duffy who works in the library at the National University of Ireland, Galway

debgpi - Debbie is a Chicago-area librarian/lawyer/bunch of other stuff, so her blog covers a lot of linky terrain.

Expect more as the day goes on...

I found an interesting concept linked from Kottke's remaindered links. The idea is to create an XML-based book list (with the help of an easy-to-use interface), put it on your site and notify this site with your zip code and distance willing to travel. You can then be matched with others in your area, peruse their lists and connect with them to set up a swap. Nice way to trade out some of those dusty books from your shelves. It will definitely need a critical participation mass to be useful, but the seed has been planted.

Anyone happen to catch the news report on ABC tonight about libraries and their response to the PATRIOT ACT? It was nicely supportive of the library position with clips of the gag order workarounds and some quality soundbites from Bernie Sanders. Pretty good stuff.

On Steven's word, I'm giving Adam Kalsey's new version of Zempt a run-through. I've always been impressed by Adam's user-oriented development, so I have high expectations for this MT posting tool. But does it have TrackBack autodiscovery? Let's find out...

Update: First, how sweet that I can use Zempt to edit recent posts. And yes, the bookmarklet successfully discovered the TrackBack URL, so all systems are go as far as I'm concerned.

The latest issue of Network News, a online publication of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine - South Central Region, features a very brief article about blogs in its Technology Notes section. I'm not pointing to the article because you stand to learn anything from it, but because they used a screen shot of, you guessed it, Open Stacks as their exemplar.

Henk Ellerman posted a worthwhile commentary on why governments should promote Open Access:

The realization that accessible knowledge, and not just knowledge, is a vital part of our economy, can give the Open Access movement more momentum then it does seem to have now. The Open Access movement needs to make it's relevance for society as a whole very, very explicit. It should ask for more political and financial support.

Well I know I've made the blogging big show when Jenny, the Shifted Librarian is getting her news from me. Of course, I can't help but wonder if she's actually reading me or just getting the story from Steven, who happens to be very meticulous about properly citing his news sources. Either way, Jenny's post comes right on the heels of a discussion I had tonight about blogging as a form of ego stroking, so I'm feeling particularly satisfied.

One of the benefits of my new found employment is that I have an organization to list when I request information from vendors or, better yet, sign up for cool LIS portals like WebJunction.

In less than five minutes of browsing there, I stumbled on a new library blog for Texas' Whitewright Public Library. Chris, the author, is using the blog to advertise newly acquired materials and disseminate other library news. He's off to a great start.

And if you haven't already, pay WebJunction a visit.

In recent weeks, some people have been wondering what became of Erica's Librarian Avengers site. Fear not, she was simply lackadaisical about updating her registry, so she has a new domain (and a new look): www.librarianavengers.org

In yet another victory for the Trackback-enabled, Libraryman has migrated to Movable Type. His layout is a sea of white for now, but that's sure to change quickly as he has assembled a quality team to advise, design and conquer.

Oh and Michael, don't forget to check out the design in 800x600 640x480 (!?!). Accessibility, baby, accessibility.