Education and the Arts

Just some quick links on the importance of art and music in education.
 http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/tools/initiative/updates/040826.html
http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/11235.aspx
http://www.edutopia.org/cross-training
http://www.edutopia.org/arts-music-curriculum-child-development
Our children are not getting the socialization they need to develop
into well rounded individuals with good critical thinking skills!

Second Life

Second Life is not a "game", it is a virtual world. I am really thankful to San Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science for introducing Second Life in their LIBRARY 203 Online Social Networking: Technology and Tools (1 unit) class.

Second Life was developed by Linden Lab and launched on June 23, 2003. It is accessible via the Internet. A free client program called the Second Life Viewer enables its users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars. Residents can explore, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another, or travel throughout the world, which residents refer to as the grid. Second Life is for people aged 18 and over.
Built into the software is a three dimensional modeling tool based around simple geometric shapes that allows a resident to build virtual objects. This can be used in combination with the Linden Scripting Language which can be used to add functionality to objects. More complex three dimensional Sculpted prims (colloquially known as sculpties), textures for clothing or other objects, and animations and gestures can be created using external software. The Second Life Terms of Service ensure that users retain copyright for any content they create, and the server and client provide simple digital rights management functions.

Did you know??:
SJSU is the oldest public institution of higher education on the West Coast and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2007.

The Involved Library Administratior

I really liked the insights of StevenB on his blog.


http://acrlog.org/2009/09/24/the-involved-academic-library-administrator/

Allen County Public Library Shelving Hints

How does the Dewey Decimal system work?

The basic thing to remember about the Dewey Decimal filing system is this: file digit by digit - not by whole number. For example:

. 451
. 451.01
. 451.012
. 451.023
. 451.04
. 451.04217
. 451.1
. 451.136
. 451.3

451.04217 comes before 451.1 because 0 is smaller than 1. Take it number by number and stop when two numbers are different. So in the example of 451.04217 and 451.1, you would stop at the 0. That is the first number in the sequence that is different, and 0 is smaller than 1 so it will be placed first. Look at our example list again. Does it make more sense now?

. 451
. 451.01
. 451.012
. 451.023
. 451.04
. 451.04217
. 451.1
. 451.136
. 451.3


To learn more about the way the Dewey Decimal system works, read on!

What is a call number? Every book in the library is given a unique call number to serve as an address for locating the book on the shelf. The call number itself is composed of two parts - Dewey Decimal Classification and the Cutter number or book number.


Dewey Decimal Classification The Dewey Decimal system coordinates materials on the same subject and on related subjects to make items easier to find on the shelves. The system uses a combination of letters and numbers.

The Dewey system has ten main classes, as shown:

. 000 Generalities
. 100 Philosophy and Psychology
. 200 Religion
. 300 Social Science
. 400 Language
. 500 Natural Science and Mathematics
. 600 Technology (Applied Sciences)
. 700 Arts
. 800 Literature
. 900 Geography and History


Each of the above classes has ten divisions. For example, consider the 800's, Literature.

800 Literature & rhetoric
810 American literature in English
820 English & Old English literatures
830 Literatures of Germanic languages
840 Literatures of Romance languages
850 Italian, Romanian, Rhaeto-Romanic
860 Spanish & Portuguese literatures
870 Italic literatures Latin
880 Hellenic literatures Classical Greek
890 Literatures of other languages


REMEMBER: The more numbers, the more specific! Each class division is divided again. For example, English & Old English literatures, the 820's, are divided as follows:

820 English & Old English literatures
821 English poetry
822 English drama
823 English fiction
824 English essays
825 English speeches
826 English letters
827 English satire & humor
828 English miscellaneous writings
829 Old English (Anglo-Saxon)


These divisions continue on, narrowing the subject matter with each number added. This is how books are organized in the library. Each book has a number assigned to it depending on the subject matter of the book!


Cutter Numbers
The cutter number for a book usually consists of the first letter of the author's last name and a series of numbers. This series of numbers comes from a table that is designed to help maintain an alphabetical arrangement of author's names within a subject area. For example:

636.73 B38R	Beauchamp, Richard G. Rottweilers for dummies
636.73 B69C	Boyd, Lee. Canaan dog: a complete and reliable handbook
636.73 B72B	Brace, Andrew H. Dog owner's guide to the boxer

What if the library has several works by the same author? How do we keep the call number unique? To do that a work mark or work letter is used to distinguish the various works of a single author. The work mark is a letter that is usually the first letter of the title of the book. For example:

746.4320432 W43K	Weiss, Rita Knitting for the pampered baby
746.434041 W43T	Weiss, Rita 24-hour crochet projects
746.46 W43L	Weiss, Rita Little folks' quilts from big folks' patterns

REMEMBER: the cutter number is a decimal, not a whole number, and is also read digit by digit.

50 Years in 2006

John E. Fogarty, Lister Hill, Julia Bennett Amistead, Elizabeth Myer
and the Library Services Act. No.1.1.2006.1.

In 2006 the Library Services Act turned 50. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill on June 19, 1956. The history of the act provides insight into the political process.


John E. Fogarty, worked with Senator Lister Hill to establish the Library Services Act.


Julia Bennett Armistead, ALA Washington Office, another key player,
Washington Office Subject File, 1939-1996.

Elizabeth Gallup Myer died at 81 July 8, 1993. It was noted in American Libraries that she became the first woman to serve in Rhode Island’s governor’s cabinet during her 1964-1975 tenure as director of the Rhode Island Department of State Library Services.

Additional background on the Library Services Act.

Fry, James W. “LSCA and LSCA, 1956-1973: A Legislative History,” Library Trends 24 (July 1975): 7-26.

Healey, James S. John E. Fogarty: Political Leadership for Library Development< Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1974.

Lipscomb, C. E. Lister Hill and his influence. Journal of the Medical Library Association v. 90 no. 1 (January 2002),p. 109-10.

McCook, Kathleen de la Pena, Introduction to Public Librarianship. New York, Neal-Schuman, pp. 65-70.

McCook, Kathleen de la Pena, Rocks in the Whirlpool.

Molz, Redmond Kathleen. Federal Policy and Library Support.
MIT Press, Cambridge, 1976.

Raber, Douglas. “Ideological Opposition to Federal Library Legislation: The Case of the Library Services Act of 1956.” Public Libraries (May/June 1995): 162-169.

Source: http://librarian.lishost.org/?cat=22