Huntington (WV) Public Library Postcard

January 13th, 2012 by Larry T. Nix No comments »

This vintage library postcard showing the Huntington (WV) Public Library has lots of appeal. The "bird's eye view" shows that the Carnegie library building is located in a desirable, high traffic area. Along with pedestrians, automobiles and a street car are visible. Now part of the Cabell County Public Library, the library in Huntington is no longer located in the Carnegie building which it moved out of in 1980. Fortunately, the Carnegie building which opened in 1902 has been repurposed as the home of the Huntington Junior College. The Carnegie grant to Huntington was a sizeable $25,000. The Carnegie building is on the National Register of Historic Places. There is a brief history of the Cabell County Public Library on its website.

green media (spring 2012)

January 10th, 2012 by david silver No comments »
MS 301: Green Media
Tues & Thurs 9:55 – 11:40 am
Lone Mountain 350

Professor David Silver
Office: Kalmanovitz 141
Office Hours: Tues 1 – 2 pm & by appointment
Contact: dmsilver [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu

Green Media is an advanced production media studies course devoted to making media about making food. In this class, we will learn how to combine words, photographs, video, and social media to tell and share compelling stories about food and food production. Along the way, we will explore different meanings of food, food politics, and connections between food and culture.


Learning Outcomes
1. Learn how to use social media to make and share engaging stories about food and food production;
2. Develop a unique, creative, and compelling voice within your media work; and
3. Learn how to collaborate creatively and effectively.

Course Texts/Costs
o All readings are free and online, available for free via Gleeson Library, or available for free outside my office.
o Students are required to purchase a flickr pro account ($25/year).
o Throughout the semester, students will accrue a number of food-related costs, including homework assignments involving shopping at local farmer’s markets and purchasing ingredients to cook or bake class-related assignments.

Course Schedule
On Tuesdays, we will discuss readings, films, and videos about food, food production, food politics, and food and culture. All readings/viewings will be assigned at least a week prior to being discussed. On Thursdays, we will have social media workshops in class, cooking workshops in the kitchen at St. Cyprian's Church (2097 Turk Street), and Demo Days – class periods when students demonstrate their green media. There is no final exam.

Grading
Quizzes, homework, and in class assignments - 20%
Class and online participation - 30%
Projects - 50%

Attendance Policies
o Missing class, or attending class unprepared, will significantly affect your final grade.
o 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.
o On Demo Days, a completed assignment is your ticket to ride. If you have not completed the assignment, do not come to class.

Rules
1. No late work accepted.
2. No drinking out of non-reusable containers during class.

ALA’s Montreal Conference of 1900

January 9th, 2012 by Larry T. Nix No comments »

Librarians in Canada were welcome as members of the American Library Association (ALA) from its inception, and in June, 1900 ALA met for the first of six times in Canada (the last in Toronto in 2003). I have a couple of artifacts in my collection from the Montreal conference - the program and a pamphlet from the Local Committee. Most of the 452 attendees were housed at the Windsor Hotel which billed itself as "the best in all the Dominion". Room and board at the hotel cost only $3-$3.50 per day. The general sessions of the conference were held at the convocation hall of Presbyterian College "amid the pleasant surroundings of the College campus with its freedom from dust and noise". Many of the stars of our early profession were there - Melvil Dewey, Herbert Putnam, Katharine Sharp, Mary Plummer, R. R. Bowker, C. A. Cutter, John Billings, and Electra Doren to name a few. At the turn of the century it was appropriate for ALA President Reuben G. Thwaites of Wisconsin to review "Ten Years of American Library Progress". The conference proceedings can be found HERE. A highlight of all early ALA conferences was the post conference excursion. For the Montreal Conference the Local Committee had arranged a trip by special steamer to the river Saguenay. For the trip "the largest and best boat on the Saguenay route has been secured". The cost of the entire trip was under $20. A quote from Goethe on the cover of the Local Committee pamphlet seems to convey the spirit of the conference: "One should not neglect from time to time to renew friendly relations by personal intercourse." A sentiment to be followed at all ALA conferences including the upcoming one in Dallas.

Latest Article on Bibliophilately

January 8th, 2012 by Larry T. Nix No comments »

I discussed the first article about the topic of bibliophilately by John Boynton Kaiser in a recent post. I can now report that I am the author of the latest article about bibliophilately. It was published in the Winter 2012 issue of the magazine Fine Books & Collections. It is a very brief introduction to the topic of bibliophilately for the readers of that very attractive magazine for booklovers and collectors. I developed a webpage to supplement the article.

Scopus and ScienceDirect Downtime on Jan 7

January 4th, 2012 by Randy Souther No comments »

On January 7, the databases Scopus and ScienceDirect, both from Elsevier, will be down for maintenance. This will affect direct access to the databases, and associated full-text article retrievals.  The outage is scheduled to begin on January 7 at 11:30 AM and continue until January 8 at 12:30 AM.