Archive for January, 2012
Football Postal Librariana, 1892
January 31st, 2012twitter assignment
January 26th, 2012
twitter assignment for students enrolled in green media
1. if you have not yet joined twitter, join twitter.
2. create a profile. in either your user name or bio (or both), use your real name.
3. make your profile public. if you already have a twitter account that is private and wish to keep it that way, create a new account for this class.
4. find and follow all members (students and professor) of our class. also follow GleesonLibrary. although you are not required to follow ITweetUSF, you'd be a fool not to.
5. get into the habit of checking twitter at least once a day.
1. if you have not yet joined twitter, join twitter.
2. create a profile. in either your user name or bio (or both), use your real name.
3. make your profile public. if you already have a twitter account that is private and wish to keep it that way, create a new account for this class.
4. find and follow all members (students and professor) of our class. also follow GleesonLibrary. although you are not required to follow ITweetUSF, you'd be a fool not to.
5. get into the habit of checking twitter at least once a day.
Charles Williamson and His Report on Training for Library Service
January 26th, 2012
Today is the 135th anniversary of the birth of Charles Clarence Williamson (1877-1965) who conducted a study of the training for library service in the United States for the Carnegie Corporation in in 1919-1921. The "Williamson Report" was completed in 1921 and later published as Training for Library Service in 1923. According to Robert Leigh the Williamson study "became the major program for discussion and action regarding library education for the next quarter century". Williamson conducted his study after working at the New York Public Library as Head of the Economics and Sociology Division and as Head of the Municipal Reference Library. In 1926 Williamson was given the opportunity to put his ideas about library training into practice (or as he said "Put up or shut up.") when he received a joint appointment as Director of Columbia University Libraries and as the University's School of Library Service. He served in that capacity until his retirement in 1943. Ironically, Williamson himself had no formal training as a librarian. Williamson's life and library career is documented in the book The Greatest of Greatness: The Life and Work of Charles C. Williamson (1877-1965) by Paul A. Winckler (Scarecrow Press, 1992). Winckler also wrote the entry for Williamson in the Dictionary of American Library Biography (Libraries Unlimited, 1978) which is the source of the information in this post.
The Indelible Rubber Stamps of Libraries
January 24th, 2012
In 1982 the Design and Exhibits staff at the Dallas Public Library put on an exhibit titled "Their Indelible Mark: Rubber Stamps and Libraries". Jonathan Held who served as curator of the exhibit wrote about it in the December 1982 issue of American Libraries. After the idea for the exhibit of library rubber stamps was conceived, the staff of the Dallas Public Library issued a call to the library community to send them rubber stamps no longer in use. As a result they received a phenomenal collection of 5,000 rubber stamps from 37 states, Canada, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. The staff selected 821 for their 6 week exhibit. Held indicated that for the most part the stamps revealed the different tasks library workers perform, patterns of library service, and ways information is categorized and disseminated. Some were more unusual, however. One included the following message:
THIS MATERIAL WAS PRINTED BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN; THEREFORE, THE PHILOSOPHY EXPRESSED MAY NOT BE CONSISTENT WITH THAT OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION
Another one had this message:
THE PASSAGE OF THE JARVIS/GANN AMENDMENT RESULTS IN NO FUNDING FOR THE LIBRARY, AT LEAST TEMPORARILY. YOUR REQUEST CANNOT BE FILLED. SORRY.
Held ends his article which includes numerous illustrations of stamp messages with this comment: "It appears that rubber stamps may be among the first casualties of the Information Revolution, and that another facet of Americana may vanish. But they have served to remind us of how often clues to the essential nature of things are found in the most commonplace artifacts of daily life." This is why we as a library community should seek to preserve such artifacts. I was the fortunate recipient of a collection of these rubber stamps which were being deaccessioned by a library. A photo of my collection is shown below.
community garden outreach (spring 2012)
January 24th, 2012
Community Garden Outreach
Environmental Studies 145
Thursdays, 12:45 – 4:25 pm, in the USF Garden
Professor David Silver
Office: Kalmanovitz 141
Office Hours: Tues 1 – 2 pm & by appointment
Contact: dmsilver [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu
Community Garden Outreach introduces students to ideas, skills, and practices in ultra-local, urban-based food production and distribution. Through course readings and discussions, harvesting in the USF garden, running the campus farmstand, and working on group projects, students will gain first-hand knowledge of and experience in ultra-local, urban-based food systems.
Learning Outcomes
1. Develop practical skills in harvesting, preparing, preserving, and distributing food;
2. Gain hands-on experience in designing, implementing, publicizing, and administering the campus farmstand;
3. Learn how to collaborate creatively and effectively.
Course Schedule
This course meets once-a-week for fifteen weeks. Approximately one-third of our class periods will be spent discussing assigned readings and films, sharing ideas and progress on group projects, and brainstorming our next farmstand. Another one-third of our class periods will be spent in cooking and homesteading workshops in the community kitchen at St. Cyprian's Church (2097 Turk Street). A final one-third of our class periods will be spent setting up, administering, documenting, and breaking down our campus farmstands.
Grading
33% - Quizzes, homework, in-class assignments, weekly reflections, and class participation.
33% - Participation in and contribution to campus farmstands, including designing, setting up, publicizing, preparing food, administering, documenting, and cleaning up.
33% - Individual contribution to group project. This includes: selecting a topic that sustains your attention for a semester; working with other team-members in a collective and generous manner; and devoting at least four hours a week to your project.
Attendance Policy
Missing class, or attending class unprepared, will significantly affect your final grade. If you do miss class, contact a classmate to find out what we discussed in class and ask to borrow his or her notes. Then, do the same with a second classmate. After doing this, if you have questions about missed material, visit me during office hours or send me an email.
Rules
1. No late work accepted.
2. No drinking out of non-reusable containers during class.
Environmental Studies 145
Thursdays, 12:45 – 4:25 pm, in the USF Garden
Professor David Silver
Office: Kalmanovitz 141
Office Hours: Tues 1 – 2 pm & by appointment
Contact: dmsilver [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu
Community Garden Outreach introduces students to ideas, skills, and practices in ultra-local, urban-based food production and distribution. Through course readings and discussions, harvesting in the USF garden, running the campus farmstand, and working on group projects, students will gain first-hand knowledge of and experience in ultra-local, urban-based food systems.
Learning Outcomes
1. Develop practical skills in harvesting, preparing, preserving, and distributing food;
2. Gain hands-on experience in designing, implementing, publicizing, and administering the campus farmstand;
3. Learn how to collaborate creatively and effectively.
Course Schedule
This course meets once-a-week for fifteen weeks. Approximately one-third of our class periods will be spent discussing assigned readings and films, sharing ideas and progress on group projects, and brainstorming our next farmstand. Another one-third of our class periods will be spent in cooking and homesteading workshops in the community kitchen at St. Cyprian's Church (2097 Turk Street). A final one-third of our class periods will be spent setting up, administering, documenting, and breaking down our campus farmstands.
Grading
33% - Quizzes, homework, in-class assignments, weekly reflections, and class participation.
33% - Participation in and contribution to campus farmstands, including designing, setting up, publicizing, preparing food, administering, documenting, and cleaning up.
33% - Individual contribution to group project. This includes: selecting a topic that sustains your attention for a semester; working with other team-members in a collective and generous manner; and devoting at least four hours a week to your project.
Attendance Policy
Missing class, or attending class unprepared, will significantly affect your final grade. If you do miss class, contact a classmate to find out what we discussed in class and ask to borrow his or her notes. Then, do the same with a second classmate. After doing this, if you have questions about missed material, visit me during office hours or send me an email.
Rules
1. No late work accepted.
2. No drinking out of non-reusable containers during class.
