Steampunk Gypsy

Okay, I'm still not feeling great, so here's a really long list of links to look through, and I'll write that promised post later. (Sorry!) Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Sep 29, 2005: Reporter Judith Miller released from prison   Happy birthday,  Miguel de Cervantes , author of  Don Quixote , an absolutely fabulous story! State ed chief rules city must put more librarians in middle and high schools Rural Maine libraries on borrowed time as towns seek ways to save tax dollars    Nearly three quarters of young people prefer print   Ellora’s Cave Sues Dear Author Book Blog for Defamation Diversity in Publishing Matters (Whether You Like It Or Not)   De Gruyter Open converts eight subscription journals to Open Access megajournals   How Long Do CDs Last? It Depends, But Definitely Not Forever  Not as long as, say, stone tablets or carefully preserved print, apparently. Uh-oh... Net & Tech FBI blasts Apple, Google for...

The first thing you have to realize is that there's a difference between book banning and collection development. There is no library that owns every single book. The Library of Congress , with its 838 miles  of bookshelves , does not own every single book. So, each library has to develop a process for choosing the books it will offer. The way libraries typically do this is by looking to the needs and interests of their unique communities. Every type of library - public, school, law, college, etc. - has a different kind of community; likewise, every individual library will have its own special flavor of community. My public library's community, for instance, is not the same as your public library's community, although the two will be more similar, generally speaking, than Tulane's libraries' communities, or the local elementary school's library's community. So, the goal of every library is to cater to its own community's needs and interests. Every libr...

Today is  Banned Websites Awareness Day !   To raise awareness of the overly restrictive blocking of legitimate, educational websites and academically useful social networking tools in schools and school libraries, AASL has designated one day during Banned Books Week as Banned Websites Awareness Day. On Wednesday, September 24, AASL is asking school librarians and other educators to promote an awareness of how overly restrictive filtering affects student learning.   -  Source The  American Association of School Librarians (AASL)  has a few excellent resources for those interested in learning more about banned websites - particularly those of you who work with (or have) kids in school! How to be a Ninja Warrior Filter Fighter! Banned Websites Awareness Day Resources & Activities   In addition, here are some more great Banned Books Week links! Affirm the freedom to read during Banned Books Week   Celebrate Banned Books Week w...

More Banned Books Week links! [Infographic] Banned Books Week   33 Must-Read Books To Celebrate Banned Books Week  Of course, there are many, many more that are just as wonderful... 6 Books You Never Knew Were Banned   Which Banned Book Are You?  I got The Hunger Games, which is amusing because...well, I wasn't a huge fan of the series, although I liked the first book well enough.  How Censorship Shapes Literature   Teaching Banned Books During Banned Books Week   6 Historical High Points For Book Banning   14 Things That Should Be Banned Instead Of Books   Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Speaking of book banning... Highland Park ISD suspends seven books after parents protest their content   And to add to the "let's limit intellectual freedom" camp:  School Claims Teen's Writing About Marijuana Use Is 'Drug Possession'   Fun With Copyright Traps: 10 Hoax Definitions, Paper Towns, and Other Thing...

I love Banned Books Week ! You probably already knew that, since I started celebrating early . Given how much I love  BBW, you might be surprised to find out I (mostly) agree with Kelly Jensen's article today:  Please Stop “Celebrating” Banned Books Week . Here's a snippet of why:  "Celebrating" banned books fuels the idea that it’s books we need to be protecting. It also fuels the idea that becoming part of an elite club of banned books is a badge of honor — a merit earned because of something done on author's part or a means of marketing that book.  Banned books week is about none of these ideas.  The ability to read any book you wish to off any shelf anywhere is about the freedom to thought. It's about the freedom not to have to jump through hoops to pick up the book everyone is talking about. It's about being able to decide for yourself whether or not you agree with the central premise of the book or the ideas expressed by the author of that bo...

Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Happy birthday, H.G. Wells! Bone author Jeff Smith speaks out ahead of US Banned Books Week   Free Posters and Resources for Banned Books Week!   Paper Vs. Plasma: How the Digital Reading Shift is Impacting Your Brain   Read Slowly to Benefit Your Brain and Cut Stress   Amazing Roald Dahl cakes that Wonka himself would be proud of  Mmmmm....cake.... Other The Prosthetic Medic has a new website!    Texas Court Makes Upskirts Mandatory, Outlaws Kittens, Hates Your Mother  "Or, you could, you know, read the actual court decision to see what the court said. " 

Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Today’s Woman of Library History is Dr. Alma Dawson, one of my favorite professors from LSU's School of Library and Information Science ! She is amazing, and deserves all the recognition she could possible get. Related:  Project Recovery: LSU Prof. Alma Dawson Tells the Story   Why do people who love libraries love libraries?   Ebooks or Paper Books: Your Best Arguments   How an East Harlem Bookstore is Getting 1,500 Books to Migrant Kids   The New Teachers' Aides: Superman and Iron Man   Book Challenges Suppress Diversity  "Diversity is slim throughout all genres of books and across all age groups — except when it comes to book challenges.  The message this sends is loud and clear: diversity is actually under attack. Minority perspectives are being silenced every year....Though some might protest a book’s explicit language, the real result is closing off dialogue and preventing readers from experie...

Banned Books Week is coming! Of course, the big question of the year is: Which banned book will you be reading? I'll be reading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere  (for the billiondieth time - I adore this book). I'll also be reading some of the Captain Underpants and Super Diaper Baby books, and passing them on to Swicky and Coconut to read. Since the focus this year is on graphic novels and comic books , I intended to read Persepolis and Watchmen , but I got ahead of myself and read them last week. Of course, I've put up the Banned Books display , and I'll be filming a segment for JPLNow on banned books (I'll let you know when that's out, and you can all hear how terrible my Southern accent has gotten). I'm also looking forward to my library 's banned books read-out on September 24 - I think I'll read from  Where the Sidewalk Ends . (I would read  The Giving Tree , but that book makes me cry every single time . I don't want to cry in public -...

Are you all familiar with Hullabaloo ? I'm excited - I can't wait to see it! "In addition to helping save 2D animation, Hullabaloo aims to encourage girls to explore science and adventure. The film's two protagonists are both young women and both scientists who use their intellect, wits, and courage to fight greed and corruption. We hope that Veronica Daring and her friend Jules will serve as positive role models for girls of all ages and encourage them to get excited about science, engineering, and sci-fi." Hooray! Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors A Grumble: United States Courts Website Misinforms About Free Speech   Patrick Rothfuss: Thirty years of D&D   Here are the longlists for the  2014 National Book Awards !  CBLDF’s Banned Books Week Tour!   Net & Tech Net Neutrality ‘Fast lane’ comments more than doubled FCC record   Momentum is building for a net neutrality compromise  I still don't like it. Public Knowle...

I was going to post this last night, but we lost our Internet connection for a while - who knows why. (Comcast. Comcast knows.) Anyway! Enjoy: Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Affirm the Freedom to Read During Banned Books Week, Sept. 21-27, 2014   Comics Take Center Stage For This Year’s Banned Books Week Celebration   Publishers Events During Banned Books Week   Random House Children’s Books's First Amendment First Aid Kit   Check out these Krug Fund-sponsored Banned Books Week 2014 events!   This is especially for Sho:  What Writers Are Saying About Scottish Independence   Op-Ed : LAUSD's students need better libraries, not iPads   Net & Tech The Deepwater Search for the Antikythera Mechanism, the World’s First Computer   Science Vaccination Rates In Elite Los Angeles Schools Now Worse Than In Southern Sudan   Authority Issues Utah authorities alter account of Darrien Hunt shooting by police Video ...

It's been a loooong day. I'm going to sleep. Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Affirm the Freedom to Read During Banned Books Week, Sept. 21-27, 2014   Net & Tech Net Neutrality Advocates Make Last FCC Push as Comment Window Closes   Apple shows iTunes users how to delete U2 album  "The album, titled 'Songs of Innocence,' was automatically downloaded to 500 million iCloud accounts in 119 countries across the world six days ago....[T]he giveaway...backfired in the face of user complaints about having the 11 songs synced to their devices without their permission." Protest mounts on social media for Roger Goodell’s resignation   Science Burlington, Vermont Just Did What No Other City Has Done  "On Monday, the largest city in Vermont announced that it now has 100% renewable energy — from biomass, wind, hydro — to meet the needs of its 42,000 residents."  Bobby Jindal Calls Obama Admin 'Science Deniers'  Sounds like somet...

No one who knows me will be surprised that I like to play Dungeons and Dragons . DH and I recently started playing with a group once a week, and this past weekend we set up a game for Swicky and Coconut, as well. (Ranga doesn't get to play; he keeps trying to eat the dice.) Last week, most of our group died. It was pretty terrible. One character - the Minotaur - lived. The rest of us have been rebuilding characters. I'm excited! I get to make a new story... Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Radical Librarianship: how ninja librarians are ensuring patrons' electronic privacy   Historic Darby Free Library struggling to keep it together   Banned novel can return to district classrooms  Hurrah!  Publishers Gave Away 122,951,031 Books During World War II   Digital Literacy Is the Key to the Future, But We Still Don’t Know What It Means   Net & Tech Civil Liberties Advocates, Organizations and Whistleblowers Tell Congress to Oppos...

Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Library/USA Exhibit at the 1964-5 New York World’s Fair   For those who haven't seen it yet, the Ikea catalog commercial is fabulous!  Experience the power of a bookbook™  Bookbook technology is, of course, much broader than the Ikea catalog; see your local librarian for similar devices.  Artist Turns Vintage Library Of Congress Photos Into Awesomely Creepy GIFs   EU court rules libraries can digitize books without permission   The Upcoming Adaptations of Neil Gaiman's Work   IMLS Awards $3.9 Million for Library Service to Native Americans and Native Hawaiians   Absolutely True Diary Restricted in Brunswick County Schools Bluest Eye Banned from Classrooms in North Carolina High School   New York Times to Launch 12 New Monthly Best Sellers Lists   Publishers Gave Away 122,951,031 Books During World War II   Science Male Birth Control, Without Condoms, Will Be Here by 2017 ...

If you could read it.

Ranga has taken up a new habit. Right around 6:30 every morning, he wakes me up for twenty minutes or so of petting. He's quite insistent about this "us" time.  Of course, my alarm clock is set for 7:00, so I am not thrilled about it. Still, it's hard to be upset with a fluffy ball of purr. I suppose I'll get used to 6:30 in the morning.  Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Happy birthday,  Leo Tolstoy ! Everyone remembers his great novels, of course, but you ought not overlook his short stories! I'm particularly fond of  Where Love Is, God Is . His non-fiction works are well worth looking at, too! Related:  Leo Tolstoy: an epic Google doodle for novelist of 'astonishing scope and vigour'  and  Leo Tolstoy's 186th birthday: Google doodles the great Russian author's epic novels   Go Forth and Re-Read Your Favorite Books From Childhood: A Dare   Can textbook costs be controlled?  "Drawn by their promise, universitie...

That's right, it's finally here! It's  International Literacy Day ! The theme this year is "Literacy and Sustainable Development." Awesome! Yesterday, my church dedicated its own Little Free Library: Nice! Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors ‘Queen Of The Tearling' Is Your Feminist Alternative To ‘Game Of Thrones'  I don't think "Game of Thrones" is particularly "anti-feminist," and I'm not a particular fan of mixing post-apocalyptic "this world" fiction with magic, but the series looks interesting.  Should Libraries Stock Anti-Gay Books?  "Let’s begin by addressing the question of whether such books are being excluded from libraries: According to a quick search of the New York Public Library’s collections, they aren't, at least not in a supposedly liberal city like New York. The majority of the specific titles Higgins lists are currently available, so read them all, if you like." W...