It's interesting to look at the offerings for e-readers now, a couple of years after they have gained a mass audience. It is only since Christmas 2009 that there has been significant demand for e-books at the library. Before that, our digital downloads from NetLibrary and OverDrive were focused on audio books.
Two years ago, e-readers were not connected devices, and had to be loaded with e-books that had been downloaded to a computer. Now they are all wireless, though they still have USB ports. I had hoped to find one with a large display, approaching the size of a page in an octavo book, but of the Sony, Nook, and Kindle e-readers, only the pricey Kindle DX, with its 9.7" screen, meets this requirement. The 6" screen is common, but I'm concerned that PDF's of out-of-print, copyright-expired books from libraries, of which I have many on my PC, will be hard to read on them.
I am not willing to go with a Kindle because they do not handle the EPUB format. The Sony PRS-T1 seems to work best with PDF's, with a pinch-zooming feature, but I'm not sure this is good enough.
I've been reading the reviews at The e-Book Reader.com. The video reviews have helped me understand how e-readers work. And he says, reviewing the Sony, "If you want a hardcore, everyday PDF reader I would suggest getting a tablet", something I was beginning to think on my own. Then, what is the e-ink display worth to me? I have done plenty of PDF reading on PC's. I just wish I could read PDF books in a comfortable chair. So, maybe a tablet?
2011/12/19
2011/12/17
E-Readers for Seniors, continued...
MK, a colleague at my library, in a comment, makes a good point in favor of the utility of e-readers for seniors:
This survey predates the launch of the Kindle Fire this fall, with which the e-reader morphs into an all-purpose text/music/video/gaming digital entertainment tablet. Barnes & Noble and Sony are in the race as well, with the NOOK Tablet and the Sony Tablet S. It looks as though these products are no longer primarily e-readers, as they seem to have back-lit displays, and not the reader-friendly "e-ink". I doubt that our Old Women will opt for these over a dedicated e-reader. Book readers are small potatoes. Book publishing has always been a marginal industry. They have decided to challenge Apple, and to compete for the music and video market, where the real money is.
I have to confess that my reservations about e-readers for older readers are in part due to my own frustration with taking calls asking for help using them. It is like not knowing how to drive a car, and trying to answer questions about driving by referring to the driver license manual. I try to talk them through the "dance" using the OverDrive help, but I don't have a picture in my mind of what they are seeing on their device. I don't own a "portable device" of any kind, be it a mobile phone, a Blackberry, an MP3 player, a tablet, or an e-reader. I don't even wear a watch. I use a desktop PC at home and at work.
And, dear reader, I too am, at 57, a "senior". I'm not alone, among librarians my age, in finding the whole digital scene too much to take in. There is a bewildering variety of devices; smartphones, iPods and other sound players, tablets, older e-readers that need to be loaded from PC's and newer, wireless ones that can download directly. All of them need different "apps" and set-up to work with our library audio books and e-books. I am grateful that we have some younger staff who are more able to help.
But I think the time has come to shop for an e-reader, late-adopter though I am.
In defense of e-readers for older patrons...most e-readers have the ability to enlarge the size of the type, turning all e-books into large print books. Consequently, e-books allow libraries to increase their large print collection without having to pay extra for a special copy of something they probably already own, and patrons who need large print aren't restricted to just the (relatively) small collection of books available in large type.I had also decided to look for some data about who is using e-readers. I found a Nielsen survey from last August that does not bear out my concerns. Changing Demographics of Tablet and eReader Owners in the US shows that by the second quarter of 2011, an impressive 30% of e-readers were owned by people aged 55 and over. Only 18% of smartphones were owned by the same age group. And whereas the majority of tablets, (iPads, etc.), are owned by men, and smartphones are evenly split between the sexes, a solid 61% of e-readers were owned by women, which shows that they have a unique appeal.
This survey predates the launch of the Kindle Fire this fall, with which the e-reader morphs into an all-purpose text/music/video/gaming digital entertainment tablet. Barnes & Noble and Sony are in the race as well, with the NOOK Tablet and the Sony Tablet S. It looks as though these products are no longer primarily e-readers, as they seem to have back-lit displays, and not the reader-friendly "e-ink". I doubt that our Old Women will opt for these over a dedicated e-reader. Book readers are small potatoes. Book publishing has always been a marginal industry. They have decided to challenge Apple, and to compete for the music and video market, where the real money is.
I have to confess that my reservations about e-readers for older readers are in part due to my own frustration with taking calls asking for help using them. It is like not knowing how to drive a car, and trying to answer questions about driving by referring to the driver license manual. I try to talk them through the "dance" using the OverDrive help, but I don't have a picture in my mind of what they are seeing on their device. I don't own a "portable device" of any kind, be it a mobile phone, a Blackberry, an MP3 player, a tablet, or an e-reader. I don't even wear a watch. I use a desktop PC at home and at work.
And, dear reader, I too am, at 57, a "senior". I'm not alone, among librarians my age, in finding the whole digital scene too much to take in. There is a bewildering variety of devices; smartphones, iPods and other sound players, tablets, older e-readers that need to be loaded from PC's and newer, wireless ones that can download directly. All of them need different "apps" and set-up to work with our library audio books and e-books. I am grateful that we have some younger staff who are more able to help.
But I think the time has come to shop for an e-reader, late-adopter though I am.
2011/12/14
Are E-Book Readers Suitable Gifts For Aging Parents?
People are calling the library with this question this holiday season. Should they buy their old mom or dad an e-book reader? What does the library have to offer? Which reader is most compatible with the library's e-books?
Last week, a quite elderly man came in, an "eighty-something", wanting to get some library e-books for his Kindle. He seemed to think that he could check out a stack of e-books, take them home, and put them on his Kindle to read. Where was his Kindle? It was in his car. There was no way I could give him the help he needed. I was simply too busy. So I sent him down to KH, our e-media expert at the Media Desk, after calling her first. She was also busy, but said she'd do what she could.
Today, a man called from Boston, wondering about giving his father, who lives in our area, an e-book reader. I explained that the library currently offers fewer than a thousand e-book titles. Until recently, the Nook seemed to be the most commonly used reader, but that our vendor, OverDrive, had recently done a deal with Amazon to provide e-books for the Kindle. But Kindle owners had to have an Amazon account as well as a library card, since OverDrive will send them to Amazon to get the Kindle version of the e-book.
Did his father do e-mail? Many of the library's e-books have waiting lists, and users are notified by e-mail when their e-book is available. Yes, he said. Well, that was encouraging. Once the reader is properly set up to work with OverDrive, it should be pretty painless, I said.
The more I thought about it, the more I was filled with doubt. I remembered how we had given my parents DVD's we'd thought they would like, only to find them still in their wrappers when we visited. My parents had been unable to make their DVD player work with their new cable box, and had actually lost their remote controller.
These Boomer adults have gotten the impression that, if they buy their parents e-readers, the library will be able to supply their parents' reading needs with free library e-books. And at this point, that is just not realistic. Even if learning to use an e-reader is not too steep a learning curve for their parent, libraries don't have the funding to provide e-books in the same numbers as they do hard copies.
I've delivered services to senior communities, and I know how much they read. Assuming that they become comfortable with downloading e-books to their readers, they will very quickly read through our current selections. They will be able to get the most popular authors from the library, provided they are willing to wait. But they will also have to purchase additional titles on their own.
I guess I would ask a couple of questions when people call, wondering if an e-reader would work for their parent. Is the parent already computer literate, and using e-mail? Do they have any experience with portable devices, such as an iPod or a smartphone? If not, an e-reader may be outside their comfort zone,and will likely stay in its box in a closet.
Last week, a quite elderly man came in, an "eighty-something", wanting to get some library e-books for his Kindle. He seemed to think that he could check out a stack of e-books, take them home, and put them on his Kindle to read. Where was his Kindle? It was in his car. There was no way I could give him the help he needed. I was simply too busy. So I sent him down to KH, our e-media expert at the Media Desk, after calling her first. She was also busy, but said she'd do what she could.
Today, a man called from Boston, wondering about giving his father, who lives in our area, an e-book reader. I explained that the library currently offers fewer than a thousand e-book titles. Until recently, the Nook seemed to be the most commonly used reader, but that our vendor, OverDrive, had recently done a deal with Amazon to provide e-books for the Kindle. But Kindle owners had to have an Amazon account as well as a library card, since OverDrive will send them to Amazon to get the Kindle version of the e-book.
Did his father do e-mail? Many of the library's e-books have waiting lists, and users are notified by e-mail when their e-book is available. Yes, he said. Well, that was encouraging. Once the reader is properly set up to work with OverDrive, it should be pretty painless, I said.
The more I thought about it, the more I was filled with doubt. I remembered how we had given my parents DVD's we'd thought they would like, only to find them still in their wrappers when we visited. My parents had been unable to make their DVD player work with their new cable box, and had actually lost their remote controller.
These Boomer adults have gotten the impression that, if they buy their parents e-readers, the library will be able to supply their parents' reading needs with free library e-books. And at this point, that is just not realistic. Even if learning to use an e-reader is not too steep a learning curve for their parent, libraries don't have the funding to provide e-books in the same numbers as they do hard copies.
I've delivered services to senior communities, and I know how much they read. Assuming that they become comfortable with downloading e-books to their readers, they will very quickly read through our current selections. They will be able to get the most popular authors from the library, provided they are willing to wait. But they will also have to purchase additional titles on their own.
I guess I would ask a couple of questions when people call, wondering if an e-reader would work for their parent. Is the parent already computer literate, and using e-mail? Do they have any experience with portable devices, such as an iPod or a smartphone? If not, an e-reader may be outside their comfort zone,and will likely stay in its box in a closet.
2011/12/12
People Look East, An Advent Carol
We sang this lovely carol at mass this morning. I'd never heard it before.
1. People, look east. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
Trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the guest, is on the way.
2. Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That in course the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the rose, is on the way.
3. Birds, though you long have ceased to build,
Guard the nest that must be filled.
Even the hour when wings are frozen
God for fledging time has chosen.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the bird, is on the way.
4. Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim
One more light the bowl shall brim,
Shining beyond the frosty weather,
Bright as sun and moon together.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the star, is on the way.
5. Angels, announce with shouts of mirth
Christ who brings new life to earth.
Set every peak and valley humming
With the word, the Lord is coming.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Lord, is on the way.
"People, Look East" was written by Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965) and was first published as "Carol of Advent" in Part 3 of "Modern Texts Written for or Adapted to Traditional Tunes" in The Oxford Book of Carols, 1928. Farjeon, a native of London, was a devout Catholic who viewed her faith as "a progression toward which her spiritual life moved rather than a conversion experience." (The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion, p. 323) She achieved acclaim as an author of children's nursery rhymes and singing games, and is best remembered for her poem "Morning Has Broken."
Source:http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/people_look_east.htm
2011/12/06
NYPL & OWS
A couple of interesting articles linked to on Arts & Letters Daily,
the Chronicle of Higher Education's free aggregator of news, reviews
and essays. I read the CHE's daily updates at work by virtue of the
library's subscription to the print edition.
From The Nation, there is Upheaval at the New York Public Library, by Scott Sherman. Clearly the NYPL has it's own unique set of issues, but it made me think about the struggle over what a public library should be: a quiet temple of learning, (the traditional idea), or a lively community center with mass appeal.
Sherman catalogs the budgeting woes of public libraries in general. It is in the interest of library directors to increase the door count and circulation numbers. They are an index of community support. Our own library system has done comparatively well in recent years by welcoming all comers: doing away with the no-food policy, offering free printing from public computers, allowing cell-phone use, building a large DVD and audio book collection.
Inevitably, perhaps, the pendulum swung too far. Quiet areas are now more rigorously enforced, those with hot meals are asked to eat them elsewhere, and free printing may be limited in the near future.
From The New Criterion, Commune plus one: On Occupy Wall Street & the legacy of the Paris Commune, by James Panero, makes a doleful connection that I have not seen elsewhere, but which seems obvious once it is made. Live and learn, kids.
From The Nation, there is Upheaval at the New York Public Library, by Scott Sherman. Clearly the NYPL has it's own unique set of issues, but it made me think about the struggle over what a public library should be: a quiet temple of learning, (the traditional idea), or a lively community center with mass appeal.
Sherman catalogs the budgeting woes of public libraries in general. It is in the interest of library directors to increase the door count and circulation numbers. They are an index of community support. Our own library system has done comparatively well in recent years by welcoming all comers: doing away with the no-food policy, offering free printing from public computers, allowing cell-phone use, building a large DVD and audio book collection.
Inevitably, perhaps, the pendulum swung too far. Quiet areas are now more rigorously enforced, those with hot meals are asked to eat them elsewhere, and free printing may be limited in the near future.
From The New Criterion, Commune plus one: On Occupy Wall Street & the legacy of the Paris Commune, by James Panero, makes a doleful connection that I have not seen elsewhere, but which seems obvious once it is made.
2011/11/28
"French Wedding Cake"
It was the worst time to take a serious reference question. Right after opening, this Monday morning, a young man asked for help finding information on the "French Wedding Cake".
Monday mornings at the main library begin with a rush of people wanting Internet sessions and the daily papers, and with a flurry of phone calls.
But you take it as it comes, and at least we had three librarians on the floor. He and I looked in the cake books in the Cookbook section. Nothing on French wedding cakes. We looked at the books on weddings, some of which had good chapters on choosing a cake. None mentioned a French cake. Had he looked online? Yes, but he wanted more. He was enrolled in a culinary course at Keiser College, and had to research the topic for class.
We had spent ten minutes looking, and already I felt the need to get back to the desk. We checked the reference collection, looking in Larousse Gastronomique without result, though it referred to the wedding cake, as such, as an English creation. He showed me the printout from his online search. Aha! His cake was a croquembouche, and for that we found an entry in Larousse. It was not a cake for weddings only, but it might be served at one, and at other special occasions as well, such as baptisms and first communions.
By now I really had to cut him loose and go help at the desk. Could he check the cake books for croquembouche on his own? He thought he could. Poor MF seemed a bit mauled when I got back. I apologized for being away so long, but I also felt bad about having abandoned my patron to his own efforts. Triage, I guess.
It shows how misleading a reference question can be. Neither he nor I knew how ethnically English the idea of a "wedding cake" was. Looking at home, I find in Google Books that Wedding Cakes and Cultural History, by Simon Charsley, (1992), expands on this:
At home tonight, over supper, I told R. of my search for the French wedding cake. "Oh, a croquembouche!", she exclaimed, "You should have called me." We had watched a program, years ago, in which Martha Stewart and a quite elderly Julia Child each made one. Martha's was, of course, perfect, while Julia's was more, well, rustic.
Viewed from the European mainland this wedding cake has always seemed a peculiarly English development. In periods of Anglomania such as the 1890s in France, it might be viewed with friendly amazement. Montagné in his great Larousse Gastronomique, originally published just before the Second World War, is more guarded. He identifies it as based on the distinctively English plum cake, by then marginally incorporated into the French and Belgian confectionery range. The wedding cake itself is 'a monumental cake', 'a symbol rather than a delicacy, a tradition handed down from one century to the next, whose origins are lost in the mists of antiquity.
If the French, Dutch, Germans, Italians, or other continental Europeans were to celebrate marriage with a cake of some kind it would be altogether lighter. It might share in the tendency to rise high and to be relatively large, but the standardisation and specialisation which are such marked features of the British cake developed much more hesitantly.
In France and Belgium there were two main styles. Regarded as the more traditional was a giant croquembouche. This is a cone, wide at the base, built up of small round choux pastries which are filled with confectioner's cream and dipped in hot toffee. As the toffee cools it solidifies, making a light brown glossy construction. This can then be decorated with ribbons and sugared almonds, birds and flowers, and often, for weddings, a small bride-and-groom mode on the top. For baptisms, first communions and other events, a similar though probably smaller cake may also be prepared with slightly different decorative motifs. Each guest will be served a number of choux broken out from the whole as a sweet course in the wedding meal.
2011/11/19
Blogging Reference
The Reference Desk
10:00 Open
He wants Batman and Superman novels, not graphic novels. "I call 'em comics!", he says. Find him Batman: No Man's Land by Greg Rucka, Batman: The Ultimate Evil by Andrew Vachss, Batman Forever by Peter David, and Superman Returns by Marv Wolfman.
It's Homecoming weekend for FSU, with the Seminoles playing the Virginia Cavaliers tonight. A beautiful day, bright and cool, perfect for a football game.
Do the Dewey numbers in the reference collection match the ones in the circulating collection?
Stapler.
Open conference room for Sister-to-Sister Support Group. She wants to post a flyer. Tell her where the community bulletin board is.
Stapler.
Where can he check out a netbook? Media desk.
10:45 S. has to see a doctor. I have the second floor to myself for a while. It's quiet, but all public PC's are in use.
Do we have a study guide for the Commercial Driver License? Yes, for in-library use.
Mr. Ellis says he wants to find out who has died, and may he see the Thursday paper? Thursday? Yes, that is when the black funeral homes publish their obituaries. I've wondered why the Thursday paper goes out so much, and occasionally goes missing.
Cartoons by Charles Addams. Find her The World of Chas Addams, Night Crawlers, Drawn and Quartered, Creature Comforts.
Phone: Mr. L. wants contact info for The Minka Group, a lighting company.
PC 45 has a fake antivirus virus. Power off and restart.
PC for Ellery
Phone: She wants Prison Writings: My Life is My Sundance by Leonard Peltier. Both copies lost.
Help woman find articles on end-of-life care for the elderly in Gale.
Today's NYT.
Mr. Ellis trades Thursday's paper for today's.
PC's for Marvin, April.
11:34 NYT comes back, WSJ goes out.
DC introduces me to her sister, down from NJ for the holiday, and may they have copies of Sunday's and today's NYT crosswords?
PC for McKnight. He doesn't like the location, turns it down.
Teen boy doesn't know how to work copier, make copies for him.
Show man how to upload résumé to a job application.
Phone: How to spell "Cheyenne", as in Wyoming. Put Mr. L. on hold. S. is back, yay!
Books on liquidation and corporate taxation. Sorry, try FSU.
12:50 Back from lunch. Holding a book for Shapiro, Call Center Success. He goes down to check it out.
PC for Isaiah. PC's for Samuel, Dante.
Call Audrey D. back. She wants to donate books to the troops. Suggest Operation Paperback.
Where is program room? Tallahassee Authors Network is meeting.
PC for Lamont.
Today's paper.
He wants Facebook & Twitter for Seniors for Dummies and Easy Computer Basics. Just returned, find in check-in room..
S. goes to lunch.
Returns paper, how can he get a library card?
Phone: She wants The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Pull, place hold, take to circulation desk.
Does he need a library card to check out books? Yes, tell him where to get one.
Restart her PC.
Jeff returns USA Today, gets PC.
2:08 PC for Eric. Check sound for another man.
Holding The Friday Night Knitting Club for Carol G., who is here to pick it up.
Mr. Ellis is dismayed. He is writing a paper on territorial Florida, and has discovered that someone has already written on his topic, 70 years ago. He must take a new tack, but it's due Dec. 1.
Help her find articles in Gale on budget issues for non-profits.
He needs to pick a play for school. Take to shelf.
Do we have A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot? No, offer interlibrary loan. She doesn't have a card yet.
PC for Yolanda.
Job listings? He is a carpenter. Has he ever done a job search online? At Workforce, the state employment agency, but I can see in his face that he's not "computer literate" I give him the Sunday classifieds. Later, he wants to copy an ad for an apartment. I show him the copying machine, but he says he doesn't know how to use it. I'm helping someone else, but S. does it for him.
He gets to talking with S. He's 54, has his wife and kids in a motel room. The children are in school, at Cobb Elementary. "They didn't ask to be brought into this world. I'm out here for them", he says. He must earn at least $45 a day. He wants to get them into an apartment. Says he'll do anything. It breaks my heart. But I see hope and determination. St. Joseph, pray for him, a good father.
3:51 Just had a flurry of ILL renewal requests. Girl asked for anything on "Juneteenth", the celebration of Emancipation Day. She's looking through the Black History vertical file now. Tallahassee's local celebration is earlier, in May, Juneteenth having originated in Texas.
Phone: How can she get to the Favorite Authors Notification page. The FAN club lets people "subscribe" to new hardback releases for bestselling authors. Talk her through the links to it.
PC's for mom & daughter, Bridget & Shyla.
Today's paper.
4:30 30 minutes to closing.
2011/11/16
Another Working Day
By Wednesday, the press of need at the service desk that we see at the beginning of the week slackens, and today I caught up with the requests queue. In the workroom, I boxed Baker & Taylor lease book returns, marking them on my inventory list.
I had a request from a journalist in New York for Associated Press football polls ranking small college teams in 1967. He had been unable to get them at the NYPL or from AP, and somehow found that they had been published in our local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat. They appeared here because Florida A&M was one of those small colleges. I found all the polls he wanted save one on our microfilm, scanned them, and e-mailed them to him. The missing one I found in the Billings (Montana) Gazette, using the Access Newspaper Archive.
A grey-goateed father approached. He needed The Lady and the Tiger, by Frank Stockton, for his daughter, and couldn't find it in our catalog. It rang a bell. The title was actually The Lady or the Tiger? And Other Stories. Another student had asked for it in the last year, and I remembered that it was a tattered paperback shelved in the paperback fantasy carousels. It is not really fantasy, but a fable and a puzzle. You can read it at Archive.org if you are curious.
I had a request from a journalist in New York for Associated Press football polls ranking small college teams in 1967. He had been unable to get them at the NYPL or from AP, and somehow found that they had been published in our local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat. They appeared here because Florida A&M was one of those small colleges. I found all the polls he wanted save one on our microfilm, scanned them, and e-mailed them to him. The missing one I found in the Billings (Montana) Gazette, using the Access Newspaper Archive.
A grey-goateed father approached. He needed The Lady and the Tiger, by Frank Stockton, for his daughter, and couldn't find it in our catalog. It rang a bell. The title was actually The Lady or the Tiger? And Other Stories. Another student had asked for it in the last year, and I remembered that it was a tattered paperback shelved in the paperback fantasy carousels. It is not really fantasy, but a fable and a puzzle. You can read it at Archive.org if you are curious.
2011/11/12
The Call of the Desert
I have formed the habit, in recent months, of roaming the world's deserts online, using Google Maps, Google Earth's simpler, in-browser cousin. I turn on Terrain and Photos, and search for desolate vistas that people have uploaded with Panoramio. This image of La Sierrita Ojinaga in Chihuahua, Mexico, was uploaded by rrca8. There is something about deserts that soothes my soul.
I lived on the edges of the desert in the '80's, in Albuquerque and Austin. There are only a few livings to be had in the desert: rancher, storekeeper, scientist, artist, tour guide, hermit. There is not much call for a librarian in the desert.
Lately, my viewing has narrowed to a couple of areas on the edge of the great Chihuahan Desert: the "boot-heel" of New Mexico and Southwest Texas, around Alpine. R. and I camped in the Davis Mountains one night in 1981 on our way to California.
It was a happy coincidence, searching for titles for a "Cozy Mysteries" display, to discover Allana Martin's Texana Jones Mystery, Death of a Saint Maker, set in Presidio County, Texas. Martin draws a fine portrait of life in the border country near the Texas Big Bend. Texana Jones runs a trading post, and is married to a veterinarian.
A bonus, for me, is that she is a Catholic. As a nervous passenger in a light plane, she says a Hail Mary. She goes to Mass.
Nothing much happened on Sunday. I went to Mass, prompting a remark from Clay that my unaccustomed piety wouldn't impress the watchers from the DEA. I laughed at the joke, but my purpose was serious. When the world closes in, nothing expands the horizon like reflections on eternity.She burns a candle to St. Jude. It might not seem like a big deal, but evidences of religious faith are rare in mainstream fiction. Yes, "Christian Fiction" has its own genre now, but how often, outside that genre, does anyone routinely go to church?
2011/10/29
Blogging Reference
It's another Game Day Saturday, FSU plays NC State at noon. The weather is overcast and cool. The vane on the cupola of the old, WPA-built post office, (now a bankruptcy court), is pointing North.
The self-checkout machines are not working. Not sure what's wrong. Normally, if the library system is up, they're fine. I'll try again in a little while.
10:00 Open Phone: Rose C. wants to know how to dance the Tarantella. Don't find a "how-to" right off. The International Ency. of Dance has good article. "The figures of the tarantella...may be executed in any order..." Will mail her the article. Lots of YouTube videos are out there, but I don't think Rose is a computer person. She sounds quite elderly. Says they want to put on the dance at an Italian festival in February. She has a friend who says she knows how to do it, but is too old to actually perform it now.
10:24 The computer reservation system isn't working either. They're rebooting it. Our systems people were doing some work overnight.
He's doing a report on several species of rhinoceros. All I can offer is Grzimek's Animal Ency., our reliable fall-back.
There, do you see? I've use two print reference works in the last 30 minutes, and was glad to have them!
DC says all working now.
Old woman with no teeth wants a telephone book, wants to know if tote bag at Florida Dept. of Health "Food Safety and Temperature Control" display is free to take. Yes.
Phone: R. has bought me a sandwich at Crispers, is about to bring it.
Copy tarantella article to mail. Also mailing haiku poem, Springtime in Edo, to Ann P. Was published 2006 in Japan in a limited ed., but no libraries own it, so can't ILL it. Poem commemorating 300th anniv. of death of Kikaku, disciple of Basho. Found it online in the journal, Simply Haiku.
Today's paper? Sorry, was not delivered this morn. Takes Friday's. We've called the delivery man, should be here later.
11:36 Quiet. Here's the deputy. A little schmooze.
Process some requests.
Phone: number for Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood in St. Louis.
Phone: She wants video, Helping Your Child Sleep Thought the Night. Not on file. Try author search. No. Is she sure? She checks, it's Baby, not Child. Yes, is on shelf, transfer her to Media desk.
12:11 Lunch.
12:59 SE gone to lunch, DC sitting with me at the desk. It's cleared some outside. Sunny and still cool, a perfect day for a game.
Quiet, do some requests.
Explosive Eighteen, place hold.
Smokin' Seventeen, place hold.
Ego, Hunger and Aggression by Frederick Perls, place hold.
Today's paper? Don't have it yet.
Phone: how to renew her books with the new catalog.
He wants books on the mysteries of the pyramids. Have several, take to shelf.
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, place hold.
Magic Graves by Jeanine Frost & Ilona Andrews; is e-book only, can't supply.
Two ladies, elder mom & middle-aged daughter want Kill Shot by Vince Flynn. Release date is Feb. '12, but can place request. Also want to know about getting library e-books on Kindle.
Can he get PC 64 again? No, give him another.
His computer shut off on him. Give him another.
Where does this computer print from?
Curran by Ilona Andrews; is e-book only, but send her link for free download.
Fathers and Sons by Ilona Andrews; is e-book only, but send her link for free download.
On Sparrow Hill by Maureen Lang. Send to Purchase/ILL.
Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly, place hold.
Break a $5 for Gene the Englishman.
PC for James.
House of Secrets by Tracie Peterson, place hold.
Sweet Sanctuary by Sheila Walsh, send to Purchase/ILL.
Phone: ILL renewal request for The Chief: Art Rooney and his Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pale, mumbling high school boy wants something about the "end of days" The end of days? "The popolips", he elaborates. Ah, the Apocalypse. We look at several titles, and he settles on Tim LaHaye's Are We Living In The End-Times?
She's writing a report on the Wesley brothers and the Methodist reforms. Give her a biography of John Wesley. All of our books on Methodism are on its history in the United States.
Copier is out of paper.
She wants Halloween Cookbooks. Surprised to find hardly anything in the catalog.
Fade to Blue by Julie Carobini, place hold.
The Herodian dynasty, show him entry in Ency. Judaica and v. 2 of Graetz's History of the Jews.
There's a problem with a woman's place on the reserve list for a book. She is sure she was next in line, and now she's number 64. She's upset. Call Super to hear her story.
PC for Eric.
Phone: it's DT in Youth Services. Is Super still there? No, she's gone away now.
3:16 PC for Dexter.
Facing the Giants by Alex Kendrick, send to Purchase/ILL.
Courageous by Randy Alcorn, send to Purchase/ILL.
PC for Jim. He can't believe they are supposed to get snow in the NE. And they just had a hurricane not long ago, I add.
Born to Die by Lisa Jackson, place hold,
PC's for Andrew, Marcus.
Where are vegetarian cookbooks? Take her to shelf. She has been diagnosed with gout, she says, and can only eat four ounces of meat per day. What else is there, she wonders?
Do we have today's paper yet? Sorry, no. Takes USA Today instead.
Hush by Nancy Bush, send to Purchase/ILL.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, place hold.
Where can she get library card?
He says the urinal's not working in the men's room. Seems ok. It flushes somewhat weakly, and complaints are not unusual.
Make copy for him from the World Aircraft Ency.
Standing Against the Wind by Martha Lou Peritti, place hold.
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, place hold.
Mudroom by Hillary Jordan, must mean Mudbound, place hold.
World Aircraft boy: may he take scrap paper home to make paper plane models? Yes.
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, place hold.
The School of the Seers: A Practical Guide on How to See in the Unseen Realm by Jonathan Welton, send to Purchase/ILL.
I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella, standing order author, send to Purchase.
Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult, standing order author, send to Purchase.
4:17 He wants books on "corporate governance, boards of directors." Show him business management section.
Where can she get a library card?
One Summer by David Baldacci, place hold.
The Book of Mahjong by Amy Lo, send to ILL.
Show her how to renew materials online.
Show her the quilting section.
30 min. to closing. Signing off.
The self-checkout machines are not working. Not sure what's wrong. Normally, if the library system is up, they're fine. I'll try again in a little while.
10:00 Open Phone: Rose C. wants to know how to dance the Tarantella. Don't find a "how-to" right off. The International Ency. of Dance has good article. "The figures of the tarantella...may be executed in any order..." Will mail her the article. Lots of YouTube videos are out there, but I don't think Rose is a computer person. She sounds quite elderly. Says they want to put on the dance at an Italian festival in February. She has a friend who says she knows how to do it, but is too old to actually perform it now.
10:24 The computer reservation system isn't working either. They're rebooting it. Our systems people were doing some work overnight.
He's doing a report on several species of rhinoceros. All I can offer is Grzimek's Animal Ency., our reliable fall-back.
There, do you see? I've use two print reference works in the last 30 minutes, and was glad to have them!
DC says all working now.
Old woman with no teeth wants a telephone book, wants to know if tote bag at Florida Dept. of Health "Food Safety and Temperature Control" display is free to take. Yes.
Phone: R. has bought me a sandwich at Crispers, is about to bring it.
Copy tarantella article to mail. Also mailing haiku poem, Springtime in Edo, to Ann P. Was published 2006 in Japan in a limited ed., but no libraries own it, so can't ILL it. Poem commemorating 300th anniv. of death of Kikaku, disciple of Basho. Found it online in the journal, Simply Haiku.
Today's paper? Sorry, was not delivered this morn. Takes Friday's. We've called the delivery man, should be here later.
11:36 Quiet. Here's the deputy. A little schmooze.
Process some requests.
Phone: number for Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood in St. Louis.
Phone: She wants video, Helping Your Child Sleep Thought the Night. Not on file. Try author search. No. Is she sure? She checks, it's Baby, not Child. Yes, is on shelf, transfer her to Media desk.
12:11 Lunch.
12:59 SE gone to lunch, DC sitting with me at the desk. It's cleared some outside. Sunny and still cool, a perfect day for a game.
Quiet, do some requests.
Explosive Eighteen, place hold.
Smokin' Seventeen, place hold.
Ego, Hunger and Aggression by Frederick Perls, place hold.
Today's paper? Don't have it yet.
Phone: how to renew her books with the new catalog.
He wants books on the mysteries of the pyramids. Have several, take to shelf.
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, place hold.
Magic Graves by Jeanine Frost & Ilona Andrews; is e-book only, can't supply.
Two ladies, elder mom & middle-aged daughter want Kill Shot by Vince Flynn. Release date is Feb. '12, but can place request. Also want to know about getting library e-books on Kindle.
Can he get PC 64 again? No, give him another.
His computer shut off on him. Give him another.
Where does this computer print from?
Curran by Ilona Andrews; is e-book only, but send her link for free download.
Fathers and Sons by Ilona Andrews; is e-book only, but send her link for free download.
On Sparrow Hill by Maureen Lang. Send to Purchase/ILL.
Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly, place hold.
Break a $5 for Gene the Englishman.
PC for James.
House of Secrets by Tracie Peterson, place hold.
Sweet Sanctuary by Sheila Walsh, send to Purchase/ILL.
Phone: ILL renewal request for The Chief: Art Rooney and his Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pale, mumbling high school boy wants something about the "end of days" The end of days? "The popolips", he elaborates. Ah, the Apocalypse. We look at several titles, and he settles on Tim LaHaye's Are We Living In The End-Times?
She's writing a report on the Wesley brothers and the Methodist reforms. Give her a biography of John Wesley. All of our books on Methodism are on its history in the United States.
Copier is out of paper.
She wants Halloween Cookbooks. Surprised to find hardly anything in the catalog.
Fade to Blue by Julie Carobini, place hold.
The Herodian dynasty, show him entry in Ency. Judaica and v. 2 of Graetz's History of the Jews.
There's a problem with a woman's place on the reserve list for a book. She is sure she was next in line, and now she's number 64. She's upset. Call Super to hear her story.
PC for Eric.
Phone: it's DT in Youth Services. Is Super still there? No, she's gone away now.
3:16 PC for Dexter.
Facing the Giants by Alex Kendrick, send to Purchase/ILL.
Courageous by Randy Alcorn, send to Purchase/ILL.
PC for Jim. He can't believe they are supposed to get snow in the NE. And they just had a hurricane not long ago, I add.
Born to Die by Lisa Jackson, place hold,
PC's for Andrew, Marcus.
Where are vegetarian cookbooks? Take her to shelf. She has been diagnosed with gout, she says, and can only eat four ounces of meat per day. What else is there, she wonders?
Do we have today's paper yet? Sorry, no. Takes USA Today instead.
Hush by Nancy Bush, send to Purchase/ILL.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, place hold.
Where can she get library card?
He says the urinal's not working in the men's room. Seems ok. It flushes somewhat weakly, and complaints are not unusual.
Make copy for him from the World Aircraft Ency.
Standing Against the Wind by Martha Lou Peritti, place hold.
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, place hold.
Mudroom by Hillary Jordan, must mean Mudbound, place hold.
World Aircraft boy: may he take scrap paper home to make paper plane models? Yes.
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, place hold.
The School of the Seers: A Practical Guide on How to See in the Unseen Realm by Jonathan Welton, send to Purchase/ILL.
I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella, standing order author, send to Purchase.
Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult, standing order author, send to Purchase.
4:17 He wants books on "corporate governance, boards of directors." Show him business management section.
Where can she get a library card?
One Summer by David Baldacci, place hold.
The Book of Mahjong by Amy Lo, send to ILL.
Show her how to renew materials online.
Show her the quilting section.
30 min. to closing. Signing off.
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