Tag: California

guest post on ACRLog

I see a strong need for the creation, support, and implementation of data standards and tools to provide libraries with the means to effectively evaluate their resources.

A few months ago, Maura Smale contacted me about writing a guest post for ACRLog. I happily obliged, and it has now been published.

When it came time to finally sit down and write about something (anything) that interested me in academic librarianship, I found myself at a loss for words. Last month, I spent some time visiting friends here and there on my way out to California for the Internet Librarian conference, and many of those friends also happened to be academic librarians. It was through those conversations that I found a common thread for the issues that are pushing some of my professional buttons.

Specifically, I see a strong need for the creation, support, and implementation of data standards and tools to provide libraries with the means to effectively evaluate their resources. If that interests you as well, please take a moment to go read the full essay, and leave a comment if you’d like.

Internet Librarian 2009 begins

Yesterday was my first time touching California soil (I had previously spent some time in LAX, but I don’t think that counts), and I have to say, Monterey is as beautiful as everyone says it is. Also, the Crown & Anchor is a fantastic place to gather with friends who arrived and left through the evening last night. Good times.

I arrived too late this morning to get a seat at the opening keynote session with Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, so I stood in the back and listened for most of it. Look around and you’ll probably find some good write-ups, and it was streamed live and the recording is available on Ustream. Pay attention to the Ustream channel to catch more of IL 2009!

This afternoon, I will be co-presenting on some of (IMHO) the best tools for collaboration using cloud computing resources. We have our presentation posted on Slide Share already, if you’re interested (and that way, you don’t have to be there and see how nervous I can be when speaking in front of a group of people who are probably smarter than me).

Collaborating In The Clouds

View more documents from Rachel Vacek.

milk

I went out with some friends tonight to see the new movie Milk at a nifty old (yet well preserved) theater near work. The film depicts the elements of Harvey Milk‘s personal and public life that lead him to become a political leader in San Francisco and activist in the gay rights movement of the 1970s. I had heard of Milk and knew that he was important, but I am sadly lacking in my queer history knowledge, so prior to watching the film, I did not know very much about anything that happened in it.

I was surprised at both how much things have improved for non-heterosexual Americans over the past three decades, and also by how many more barriers to true equality have been erected by those who fear it. The movement to defeat California’s Proposition 6 in 1978 was dealing with much more overt hatred and fear than those fighting Proposition 8 this year, and yet they managed to win against all odds. Those of us who do not remember or were not a part of the anti-Prop 6 movement need to sit down and figure out how they did what they did and where the anti-Prop 8 movement went wrong if we are going to find a way to gain back the hard-fought equal rights that were taken away from families in California this fall.

When I first began coming out to friends and colleagues, I was more afraid of their disapproval or being shunned than of any fear of my life. However, after having the violence that was perpetrated against gays and lesbians in the 1970s so vividly depicted before my eyes, I realized that I am lucky that I don’t have to live in fear of my life because of who I am. And yet, the fear and hatred and violence that is still perpetuated against my queer brothers and sisters in this country makes me hesitate. Am I really as safe as I think I am? What are the odds that I will cross paths with someone who will hate me and wish to harm me because of who I love?

I don’t have the strength to devote my life to fighting for equal rights like Milk did, but I can stand up and speak my mind. I am a citizen of this country. I have every right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness as you do. You are free to do as you wish, believe what you will, as long as it does not hinder my rights, and I the same. Love it or leave it — that is what it means to be a Citizen of the United States of America.

this land is your land

A geographic meme, courtesy of Sorcha. Also, places where US paper currency I have spent in the past four and a half years have gone. bold the states you’ve been to, underline the states you’ve lived in and italicize the state you’re in now… Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado … Continue reading “this land is your land”

A geographic meme, courtesy of Sorcha. Also, places where US paper currency I have spent in the past four and a half years have gone.

bold the states you’ve been to, underline the states you’ve lived in and italicize the state you’re in now…

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

kcrw to podcast

I don’t have an iPod or iShuffle, and I don’t know if/when I’ll ever get one. The library blogosphere and tech geek forums have been bubbling over the podcastings being done by various librarian blogger personalities, so I figured this would be one more bit of info that would send them all into a tizzy. … Continue reading “kcrw to podcast”

I don’t have an iPod or iShuffle, and I don’t know if/when I’ll ever get one. The library blogosphere and tech geek forums have been bubbling over the podcastings being done by various librarian blogger personalities, so I figured this would be one more bit of info that would send them all into a tizzy. KCRW, the intrepid eclectic public radio station out of Santa Monica, will begin offering a podcast that “features the station’s locally produced talk, news, cultural programs and commentaries…free of charge” on March 1st. The announcement page includes a list of the programs that will be podcasted.

The Librarians and the Wishing Chair World Tour

On Monday afternoon, while scrounging through the playbox at WRFL for something to play that is relevant to my show, I ran across a band from California that call themselves The Librarians. I had to play a track off of their CD, even though it really doesn’t fit the format of the Estrogen Nation. I … Continue reading “The Librarians and the Wishing Chair World Tour”

On Monday afternoon, while scrounging through the playbox at WRFL for something to play that is relevant to my show, I ran across a band from California that call themselves The Librarians. I had to play a track off of their CD, even though it really doesn’t fit the format of the Estrogen Nation. I must say, they rock! Too bad they’re boys…I’d give them many more spins on my show if they had at least one girl in the band. As it is, they are my top choice for days when I can’t find enough women to fill the required slots. Anyway, I went ahead and ordered their t-shirt – I’m sure it’ll be a hit at professional librarian meetings. Oh, and I’m emailing with one of the band members about setting up an interview for RiFLe.

My friends, the band Wishing Chair, are looking for places to play on their World Tour. So, if you live in a town with a worldly name like London, Moscow, Sydney, or most especially Versailles, drop them a line and let them know about local venues. In my opinion, house concerts are the most fun, so you should also consider this. Kiya has put some links to informative websites about hosting house concerts on the World Tour page. Oh, and they now have really cool t-shirts for the tour. According to the monthly mailing, there are “[m]any sizes and colors to choose from, all 100% cotten in 4 lovely colors, ready to flatter any complexion and guaranteed to last until you wear ’em out. We won’t have anything really big or really small till we do our run on hand dyed tees this winter, so you all just keep your shirts on til then!”

Can you tell I like t-shirts?

Continue reading “The Librarians and the Wishing Chair World Tour”

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