This week I just wanted to share a couple great resources for bibliophiles. First, just in case you weren’t already aware, is GoodReads. GoodReads is a great site for social networking while still using your brain! No Farmville here (sorry FB). Also, try BetterBookTitles for a laugh about your most beloved, most irritating, or persistant reads. With multiple new parodies every week its a little humor when the reference desk is slow. Any other favorites? Let us know in the comments section.

It’s a new semester and time for your friendly SCALA Blog to be a litte more active. This semester we want to focus on why we love our dear libraries, archives, museums, and technology of all varieties. To kick things off: SOPA.

In case you haven’t popped your head up in the past weeks, SOPA is the proposed Stop Onlince Piracy Act. Check out the Wiki, some news, the text of the bill, and more.

Today is the official SOPA protest day, but regardless of whether  you support the bill or black out your blog in protest, SOPA would have a large impact on library work as we know it. How would it affect your workplace and our education? Should this bill be passed? Let us know in the comments.

What happened when Harrison Bergeron escaped from the Handicapper General and decided that he, at least, was not going to be equal every which way.

The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law, they were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else; nobody was better looking than anybody else; nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.

Some things about living still weren’t quite right, though. April, for instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away.

It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn’t think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear — he was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter, and every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.

George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel’s cheeks, but she’d forgotten for the moment what they were about, as the ballerinas came to the end of a dance.

A buzzer sounded in George’s head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm.

“That was a real pretty dance, that dance they just did,” said Hazel.

“Huh?” said George.

“That dance — it was nice,” said Hazel.

“Yup,” said George. He tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They weren’t really very good — no better than anybody else would have been, anyway. They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat dragged in. George was toying with the vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn’t be handicapped. But he didn’t get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thought.

George winced. So did two out of the eight ballerinas.

Continue reading here.

What is your favorite banned book? Did you read one particular book when you were younger that left a profound impact on you? Did you ever read a book “so bad” that you hid it from the rest of the people in your house? I did! Share your experiences and let’s cherish all those fantastic pieces of taboo literature together!

The panel was unique for PAX in that everyone queued without being herded like cattle, respectfully asked questions, and didn’t push or shove to meet the authors at the end of the panel. We all took turns like good little literati. I won’t berate the “aspiring authors” for punishing the rest of us in their attempt to get published, but will simply say the panel was prepared to brush them off gracefully. On that panel were author Peter Orullian, Evan Narcisse, “professional nerd for hire,” sci-fi and horror author Mark Laidlaw, and Jeff Ryan, author of Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America. Moderating was Lev Grossman, Times book reviewer and avid gamer.

The gentlemen discussed a variety of topics, including “what do gamers like to read” and “what games do readers like to play?” There are many very real connections between gaming and literary communities, despite the popular misconception that “gamer’s don’t read!” and vice versa.  The panel also addressed the writing issues within video games (don’t get me started) and the problems portraying video games in literature. Two books stood out as particularly adept demonstrations of games in books: Snowcrash and Ender’s Game. Of course, there are also video games with exceptional stories. At one point during the panel Greg Lossman exclaimed “Holy *expletive,* Portal 2 is the best novel I’ve read this year!”

Something in particular resonated with me as I was sitting in the first row, chuckling at gamer jokes. As the discussion progressed I notice that everyone in the room was operating under the assumption that the only crossover between readers and gamers was the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre. Hadn’t I just picked up Ann Rand’s Atlas Shrugged? Wasn’t one of the best books I’d read this year The Fall by Albert Camus? Who says that an avid gamer (RPG girl, myself) can’t enjoy a little French Existentialist literature?

Then I considered the larger issue: how do we as librarians handle this? We have begun to carry movies, video games, all sort of multimedia and multimedia resources in our libraries. I think many of us can attest to the high demand for these types of materials. The younger generations are quickly growing into potential patrons and the older generations are adopting smart phones as quickly as the rest of us. What are we doing to serve these demographics? Are we capitalizing on the crossover between demographics, like gamer and reader? Isn’t the e-book enthusiast just as important as the page-turner? Libraries are houses of knowledge and guidance regardless of information format. What are we doing to ensure we are serving our patrons to the best of our abilities?

I had no idea what to expect on my first trip to an American Library Association Annual Conference.  Thursday afternoon I sat in the Kansas City International Airport, I noticed a few groups of people holding ALA Annual Conference registration information.  I was surprised because I had assumed that I would not see any other librarians or library students until I arrived in New Orleans.  During my hour long layover in Houston, I noticed that almost two-thirds of the people waiting at my gate were librarians.  Many were talking about their libraries; others were wearing t-shirts or holding bags that identified them as information professionals.

Friday morning, I made the short walk from my hotel to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to register for the conference.  There was a steady stream of people walking down the street holding red ALA shopping bags, but still didn’t know exactly how many librarians were at the conference.  I entered the north end of the convention center and it seemed odd that there weren’t very many people around.  It was noticeably more crowded after I had walked what seemed like a mile through the convention center.  I finally realized how many librarians attend ALA Annual Conferences.  Even with thousands of librarians milling through the convention center, I managed to run into John Sheridan, dean of the Emporia State University Libraries and Archives, on my way to the registration booth.

I spent Friday afternoon at the Opening General Session.  Mayor Mitch Landrieu welcomed us to New Orleans and thanked the American Library Association for being the first conference to be held in New Orleans, in 2006, after Hurricane Katrina.  There were a few speeches by ALA members and many librarians were presented with various awards.  Dan Savage gave an amazing and emotional speech about the work he has done with the Trevor Project and the It Gets Better Project.  He encouraged us all to add the It Gets Better book to our library collections for LGBT youth.  After the opening session, I knew had made the right choice in attending the ALA Annual Conference.

The rest of the weekend I spent time exploring New Orleans and attending different sessions on subjects ranging from job hunting, students transitioning into college, and what happens in academic libraries late at night.  There were so many different sessions offered I had a difficult time narrowing down those I wanted to attend.  I encourage others to plan in advance for ALA conferences, but be flexible. I had several sessions I wanted to attend, but could not because they took place in different conference hotels.  I did not have enough time to transfer from the convention center.  I also spent a great deal of time going through the exhibition hall.  I learned about new library products, shopped at the ALA Store, listened to speakers, and even got to try out a pair of shoe insoles.

I wish I could have spent more time at the conference and attended more sessions, but I know that I will go to more conferences in the future.  I hope to see SLIM students and alumni in Anaheim, California at the next American Library Association Annual Conference.

The term of office for each position is one year, beginning this fall semester.  Students may nominate themselves or a fellow SLIM student from their cohort.  Please send the name of your nominee (or your name), e-mail contact information, preference for officer position, and to which cohort you (or your nominee) belong(s), along with any questions or concerns, to me at mcarreir@emporia.edu by Friday, August 5.

To find out more about the duties specific to each position, please visit this page:  http://emporiascala.wordpress.com/officers/.

ALA Emerging Leaders Program

The American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leaders (EL) program is a leadership development program which enables newer library workers from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. It puts participants on the fast track to ALA committee volunteerism as well as other professional library-related organizations.

The  EL program kicks off with a daylong session during the ALA Midwinter Meeting. Afterward, it grows and develops in an online learning and networking environment for six months.  The program culminates with a poster session presentation to display the results of the project planning work of each group at the ALA Annual Conference.

Participants commit to participating in all aspects of the program.  Participants may be offered an opportunity to serve on  an ALA, division, chapter, or round table committee, taskforce or workgroup as well as other library-related groups upon completion of program.  However, appointments are not guaranteed.

The program is limited to no more than 75 participants.

Selection Criteria

The selection committee seeks diversity based on geography, gender, ethnicity and type of library. Particular attention is given to candidates’ personal statements as well as those of their references. No more than one person from any institution can be selected for participation in the program.  Preference will be given to those who do not have experience working on ALA committees, task forces, etc.and to those who meet the following criteria:

1. Be under 35 years of age or be a new library professional of any age with fewer than 5 years of experience working at a professional or paraprofessional level in a library and

2. Be able to attend both ALA conferences and work virtually in between the two conferences and

3. Be prepared to commit to serve on an ALA, Division, Chapter, or Round Table committee, taskforce or workgroup, or your state or local library organization upon completion of program, and

4. Be an ALA member, and if sponsored by an organization, a member of that organization.

Applying to the Program

Applications for the 2012 class of Emerging Leaders are now being accepted.   Applications must be submitted online.  Deadline for submission of the application and all references is August 1, 2011.  Once an application has been submitted , people listed as references in the application will receive automated notices with appropriate links to complete statements of reference.  All reference letters, letters of support, etc. should be submitted online by the same deadline, August 1, 2012.  Note: The program is limited to no more than 75 participants.

The application can be accessed at: http://www.ala.org/cfapps/emergingleaders/index.cfm.

23 Things for Professional Development is a free online programme open
to information professionals at all stages of their career, in all types
of role, and anywhere across the world.

Inspired by the 23 Things programmes for social media, this new
programme will consist of a mixture of social media “Things” and
“Things” to do with professional development. The programme starts on 20
June and will run until early October 2011.

Each week the CPD23 blog  will be updated with details of the next
thing to be explored.  Catch up weeks and reflection weeks are built
into the programme, so it’s not a problem if you’re going to be away for
a week or two!