Libraries With a Future Responses

It's a busy time for periodicals here at The Dean Files. The new issues of The New Yorker, Dwell, GOOD, ACRL News and College & Research Libraries all arrived within a few days of each other. I am working my way through these, and in an effort to get ahead of the reading, I stayed up a bit late reading the two ACRL publications. I read (and was super proud and happy to read) an article by my good friend, Erin Dorney about a "Job of a Lifetime," which was great. One other article in particular really piqued my interest, Libraries with a Future: How Are Academic Library Usage and Green Demands Changing Building Designs? by Michael Wescott Loder. Of course, I thought to myself "Oooo, Library Design post!" but it really turned into something more than that.

Fort Worth Streetcar

I think if you read The Dean Files regularly, you know both Jen and I love the city where we live, Fort Worth. We also love the walkability and public transport of forward-thinking cities, such as Portland. Streetcars, really, are one of the "things" that help make a city friendlier to both pedestrians, and the environment.

Earlier this month, the federal government announced that Fort Worth was to be the recipient of a large grant for streetcar construction. Almost immediately, pundits and politicians started holding forth about how we should decline the funds. Why is this so bad for Fort Worth that we have to turn down free money for its construction? Even if you are opposed to public transit, wouldn't it create jobs locally and improve tourism?



Well, it looks like the streetcar still has some supporters and proponents. Head on over to one of our favorite blogs, FortWorthology, to read more:

Smart Pro-Streetcar Op-Ed Shows Up in Star-Telegram By: Kevin Buchanan

Digital Memory and Identity

Jen recently shared this article from the New York Times with me:

The Web Means the End of Forgetting, by Jeffrey Rosen

I'll be up front with you: this article really raised my ire. So if you will indulge me, good reader, let me share with you some of my thoughts (previously and briefly expressed here) about this article, and online social interaction in general. I have a question for you, reader, which I hope you answer in the comments: are people totally oblivious to what they and others post about them online? Or, do they not care? This question came up frequently while I was reading the article.

1959: Electronic Home Library

While using the new Flipboard app for the iPad earlier this week, I came across this really cool look back into 1959 for the perception of the home library of the future:

Electronic Home Library, on Paleofuture

So, first, I admit to you that I would love to have a home library that looks something like the one in that image. How cool mid-century is that? I think I would skip the shield and spears, though. Oh, and the book projected on the ceiling as well. Now reader, I know that you expect me to discuss what this has to do with library science and how it piqued my librarian brains. I won't disappoint you!

Assessment Metrics and the Catalog

By way of introduction to this post, I want to tell you, I am terrible at math. This posed something of a challenge for me in one of my classes last semester - Library Planning, Marketing, and Assessment. The assessment part was a challenge, but I think I have a good grasp of the practices and broad theories of assessment in libraries. I filed away my assessment tools and have been thinking about them vis a vis the Manifesto project.

Mad Men Season 4 Premiere

Well, last night was the premiere of season four of the one drama TV show Jen and I watch regularly - Mad Men. Our friends the Tainters turned us on to the show, and after the first three episodes of the show, we were hooked.

Mad Men Season 4

It's Sunday the 25th, and that means that tonight is the premiere of Mad Men Season 4! This is one of the few TV events Jen and I were looking forward to, and I think we have been pretty dang excited about all summer. So, settle in in front of your TV, tune it to AMC, and join us for a trip inside Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce! And, in honor of the event, here is my "Mad Men Me!"



(And, if you have comments about the show, let us know - I feel sure one of us will blog about it!)

Make My Media Less Social!

While browsing through my Evernote client earlier, I came upon an article featured in the New York Times:

Managing Reputations on Social Sites, by Teddy Wayne

I have many Facebook friends between the ages of 18 to 29 - as a matter of fact, I would say that that age group is the vast majority of my Facebook friends. Quite to the contrary of what Wayne says, I see people in this demographic sharing more on Facebook, not less. Of course, this is not true of all my Facebook friends, but there are some about which, frankly I know way too much.

Why I Hope Libraries are Not the Next Big Pop-Culture Wave

One of our friends on Facebook recently shared this NPR piece with Jen and I:

Why The Next Big Pop-Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might Be Libraries, by Linda Holmes.

I am happy to see that libraries are getting some much-needed attention in the public eye during this most difficult of times for libraries. People are talking about this article, which then gets people thinking about libraries (also good). I would like to add my voice to the growing chorus of discussion surrounding this article here on The Dean Files.

Private Libraries: Alberto Manguel

It has been a while since I have shared a library design post with you all, so I think it's about time. A private library has a variety of meanings, I think. Broadly applied, I can see that almost everyone has a private library, whether it's a collection of 10 or 10,000 books. If you have a collection of books, and it's in your office or your home, I would call it a private library. However, for the purposes of this post, I am going to narrow it down to the very grand idea of a private library - a special room for one's books, or even a separate building. Remember this?

Diderot at the Carter

I know we have had many posts today, but I wanted to share a link with you all. Last week, Sam Duncan (Library Director at the Carter) asked me to catalog one of the hidden treasures of the library - Diderot's Encyclopédie. He also asked me to write for the Carter's blog about my experience in researching and cataloging the work. Please click through to this post at the Carter to read more, and please leave a comment (and let me know if you want to see the Diderot!)

Diderot's Encyclopédie, at the Amon Carter Museum blog!

History Detectives

Last week, Jen and I settled in to our bedroom to watch one of the shows we recently started recording on our DVR, History Detectives on PBS. During each episode, a team of historians and appraisers examine about three artifacts that individuals have in their possession. The owners of these objects often have an interesting theory about the items in their posession - the one last week thought he had a letter signed by Clara Barton.

iPhone 4 Thoughts

It has been a few days since Jen and I received our new iPhones, and I want to share with you all my thoughts about the new iPhone, now that the dust has settled out there about this new product. To be honest, this is my third iPhone - I had the "original" 8GB model, and then a 16GB white model 3G. So then the iPhone 4 represents a big leap ahead as far as camera and speed for me.

Empire of Liberty

I just wrapped up the second of three Oxford History of the United States titles I am trying to finish by the end of the summer: Empire of Liberty. This book was great, and gave me a good base of knowledge about a period in American history about which I was less than familiar. It truly was a time of sweeping change in the United States, something Gordon Wood illuminates beautifully with his text. It was highly readable and accessible, but his scholarship was excellent - typical of the series. If you love American history, then you should give this book a shot! I'll conclude this brief review with a quote from p.2 of the book:

By 1815 Americans had experienced a transformation in the way they related to one another and in the way they perceived themselves and the world around them. And this transformation took place before industrialization, before urbanization, before railroads, and before any of the technological breakthroughs usually associated with modern social change. In the decades following the Revolution America changed so much and so rapidly that Americans not only became used to change but came to expect it and prize it.

Your Dean Files Experience Is Now Complete

Readers,

I just finished uploading and categorizing the entirety of the posts from the old Dean Files. In celebration, here is an image I made last night on the way home:

Internship Update

As you might remember from a previous post, I am completing my formal internship at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. The Cowgirl has an archival photographic image collection of about 4500 images, each with an associated surrogate record (think: catalog record) in their collection management software. These are, generally, images of cowgirls - be they inductees into the Hall of Fame, or other cowgirls. Of course, the images also include many cowboys. It doesn't sound too challenging on the surface, but allow me to get into more detail.

New Music Purchases

Last night, after having some delicious Mexican food at one of our favorite places here (Esperanza's), we headed over to Barnes and Noble on Hulen to browse through their music section and see if there was anything out that we wanted to purchase, or listen to.

The New Yorker, July 12 & 19, 2010

Well, readers, in an effort to give this blog a broader array of topics, I am debuting a new recurring post series about each issue of The New Yorker. I feel sure by now that you know Jen is kind enough to buy me a gift subscription every year, and so for the majority of the 52 weeks of the year, we receive a fresh issue each week. As an homage to Heather Champ's great blog post about how to read The New Yorker, I want to begin this inaugural post with a small overview of how I read each issue.

Why We Went Wordpress

Well, it's day two here at the newly redesigned Dean Files, and following on the heels of this new iteration, you might be asking, "Why would Jen and Jason change their site again, and make me update my reader and stuff?" As a matter of fact, fellow librarian and blogger Erin Dorney asked the same thing. Allow me to answer that question with a bit of background.

Manifesto of a 21st Century Librarian

Soviet printed stationery 1962

Originally uploaded by sludgegulper

Readers,

Other than the new design and format of The Dean Files, I have been working on a document titled "Manifesto of a 21st Century Librarian," a document which contains a set of talking points about the key topics and trends in librarianship in the 21st century. Here's an excerpt to whet your appetite:

New Design

Arches, Kimbell Art Museum

Originally uploaded by eloquentlight

Hello all!

As you might have noticed, there is a new design around here. Make sure you update your links and such, and let us know what you think!

New Phones

Well, Jen and I’s new iPhones come today. We’ll let you know what we think about them soon - and hopefully we will have lots of videos and photos to share. Have a great weekend!

ALA 2010 Reflections

Well, I think I have had enough time to digest my experiences at my first Annual conference of the American Library Association. This is a pretty good video representation of how I felt, blown away by everything there:

Periodicals

Well, readers, I want to talk to you today about something Jen and I have been talking about for a while: periodicals. You thought I was going to say our frequent, and highly impressive dance-offs, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint you, but Jen and I have been talking about adding some subscriptions to our periodical lineup.

Bow Ties

Ok, readers, I have a confession for you: I wear bow ties. You probably saw me in one for the Kimbell holiday party. A catalog of my bow ties is not what this post is about, though. I want to talk about why I want to wear a bow tie - as it is an unusual sartorial choice, and I always have liked them, but I never knew why.