Wednesday, January 24, 2018

OverDrive, record year in digital lending

This past year set a record for library digital lending. OverDrive reported that among libraries around the world, more than a quarter-of-a-billion titles were circulated. Not only that, but “Libraries hit individual milestones as well.” In the United States, Canada, Singapore and New Zealand, 58 library systems surpassed 1 million eBook and audio-book checkouts in 2017.

‘Shelf-reading,’ essential for library operations

Library books on shelf, organized according to Dewey Decimal classifications that are displayed via tags on the books' spines. A green-plastic browser or 'shelf-marker' juts out from between two books, and a label on the shelf-edge identifies the span of Dewey Decimal numbers to be found among books on that shelf: '305.42-342.73.'

Shelf-reading is one of those “behind-the-scenes” jobs that are done by a library professional. When library books are shelved in order, correctly, patrons will never have to be frustrated by looking for a book in the location on a shelf where the book’s “address” says it will be, but not being able to find it. Time budgeted for shelf-reading is part of my commitment to library customer service.

Monday, January 22, 2018

‘Wizard for Hire’ by Obert Skye

Cover, 'Wizard for Hire' by Obert Skye. Image depicts a man with a long gray beard, wearing a short yellow bathrobe over whitish-gray shirt and pants, sitting on the trunk of a car. He has a pointed gray wizard's hat balanced on his left knee, and holds a wand in his right hand. A bird flutters next to his right shoulder.
Ozzy, a boy surviving on his own in rural Oregon, enlists the help of an eccentric man named Rin, who calls himself a wizard. Ozzy is trying to locate his parents, who were kidnapped years earlier, and piece together their involvement and discoveries in a mysterious experiment.

Wizard for Hire is very entertaining, definitely a fun read. Written by Obert Skye, it will be published this March by Shadow Mountain.

At first, I was concerned that Ozzy didn’t display much agency; several years went by before he tried to find his parents. This inaction was explained by Ozzy thinking it was “normal” for children’s parents to be taken away, and I did note that as Ozzy acquired more information and stimulus, he began to engage more with the outside world.

‘Yarn Bombing at Your Library,’ in sixth year

Cynthia M. Parkhill attaches a length of crocheted fabric to a railing outside the Central Library in downtown Santa Rosa, Calif. The piece of crochet has letters worked into it that spell out, 'SUPPORT LIBRARIES'

Has it really been six years since I embarked on my fiber-art and social-media curation project, Yarn Bombing at Your Library? The yarn-bombing “tags” I feature were either installed at a library, or a library was instrumental in creating the piece. Through showcasing these installations, I raise attention for the value of libraries and their vital place in society. And while most of the projects I feature were created by other artists, I’ve “yarn-bombed” a few libraries myself. From January 2012, here’s a nighttime installation of a “Support Libraries” tag at the Central Santa Rosa Library in the Sonoma County Library system.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Publishers need input from people with disabilities

A while ago, I wrote that library staffing diversity needs to include autistic perspectives to help identify trouble-areas when evaluating materials for the library. Well, mainstream publishing houses are a frequent channel for disssemination of these resources — but a Diversity Baseline Survey conducted by Lee & Low stated that 92 percent of publishing-industry staff do not have a disability.

Saturday, January 20, 2018

SRCS: ‘Aqui usted esta seguro’

En español / In Spanish:  Damos La Bienvenida a Todas Las Edades. Todas Las Razas. Todas Las Religiones. Todos Los Partidos Políticos. Todos Los Géneros. Todos Los Idiomas. Todos Los Países de Origen. Todas Las Orientaciones Sexuales. Todos Los Tamaños. Todas Las Habilidades. Todas Las Personas. Estamos aqui con ustedes. Aqui usted esta seguro. En inglés / In English:  We Welcome All Ages. All Races. All Religions. All Political Affiliations. All Genders. All Languages. All Countries of Origin. All Sexual Orientations. All Sizes. All Abilities. All People. We stand here with you. You are safe here.

(En español / In Spanish)
Las escuelas de Santa Rosa City Schools son espacios seguros (boletín del distrito para enero 2018). Dos carteles están en una ventana de la escuela. Ellos dicen, “Estamos aqui con ustedes. Aqui usted esta seguro.”

(En inglés / In English)
The schools of Santa Rosa City Schools are safe spaces (district newsletter for January 2018). Two posters are in a school window. They say, “We stand here with you. You are safe here.”

Monday, January 15, 2018

Green-herringbone jacket and hat

Dark-to-olive-green lightweight jacket and newsboy-style hat with brim and eight-paneled crown. The right-front of the jacket has a layered applique that consists of a rectangle of yellow fabric, decorated with yellow embroidery, inside a border of dark- and light-brown floral.

Here are a couple of my recent sewing projects, out of a beautiful green herringbone flannel. The jacket is from an old McCalls pattern, #7799, enhanced with a layered applique that I made from repurposed garments.

The newsboy hat is a rare monochromatic creation. I usually combine various colors, textures and patterns when I sew these hats, but I needed a hat in a plain neutral color — and for me, “neutral” is dark green. It’ll easily go with the many other shades of green that dominate my wardrobe.

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Facebook news, we have options for control

My cartoon avatar sits at a laptop computer from which smoke emerges. Her eyes are gazing intently in the direction of the screen, her mouth is downturned into a frown, and her right hand is raised, poised over the keyboard. The overall impression is that my cartoon avatar is struggling against an impulse to quickly press a key.

What do you think of Facebook’s decision to prioritize posts by friends and family in a user’s feed? Are you concerned, as Audrey Cooper is, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, that this emphasis will make it more difficult for users to be exposed to legitimate news, while biased, “fake news” posts that are shared by friends and family, will be given an advantage in the news feed?

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Classroom book display with overstock

Books in hanging pocket-sleeves that face outward, titles visible. To their left, similar blue books are grouped in a cardboard organizer that has been placed on a yellow chair. Titles are separated by blue paper strips that have white labels on them. Red books, similarly organized with red dividers bearing white labeling, are in another cardboard organizer on the ground and to the right.

The daily course of a library worker’s day draws upon many “hats.” Here’s a representation for the bookstore stocking clerk. In a teacher’s classroom, these booklets were bundled in sets, but the teacher needed them accessible for students to freely browse. She’d begun putting books, in order by title, into clear plastic sleeves in a hanging-pocket display — so I continued her efforts and put the overstock into an organizer. I used crafting paper and a label maker to separate each title with dividers — making it easy to locate titles when it’s time to restock.

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Un libro está listo en la biblioteca

Mi tarjeta de la Biblioteca del Condado de Sonoma

(En español / In Spanish)
Los sábados, me gusta caminar a la Biblioteca del Condado de Sonoma. Hoy un libro que había solicitado estaba listo para recoger. Con mi tarjeta de biblioteca, puedo sacar libros y otros materiales. (Nota del autor: Entiendo y hablo solo un poco de español; estoy escribiendo mensajes español para practicar. En medios sociales: #EnEspanol.)

(In English / En inglés)
On Saturdays, I like to walk to Sonoma County Library. Today, a book I had requested was ready to pick up. With my library card, I can take out books and other materials. (Author’s note: I understand and speak only a little Spanish; I am writing messages in Spanish for practice. On social media: #EnEspanol.)

Scapegoated while working at JOANN’s

In September 2017, I walked away from a part-time job with JOANN Fabric and Craft Store in Santa Rosa, California. I chose to leave after being singled out and scapegoated, for being held responsible and threatened with write-up for long lines at checkout during a heavily-advertised sale.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

‘Gabe & Izzy’ by Gabrielle Ford

Book cover, 'Gabe & Izzy, Standing Up for America's Bullied' by Gabrielle Ford with Sarah Thomson. Cover image depicts a profile-view of a blond-ponytailed young woman in long-sleeved blue shirt and pants, sitting in a wheelchair and hugging a dog who has reared up so that its front paws are supported by the woman's arms. The woman and dog are rendered through photography and  a blue and white check floor and bookshelves are added to the scene, possibly through watercolor.
As a survivor of bullying, I enjoy reading the accounts of fellow targets like myself, who devote their efforts to speaking out against bullying and raising awareness of how serious it is.

In Gabe & Izzy, Gabrielle Ford shares her experiences during middle- to high-school when she was bullied by classmates but bullying was not spoken of openly at her school. She didn’t know how to ask for help, or even which adult to talk to.

Having been diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia — which as it progressed affected how Ford was able to move and to walk — Ford exhausted herself with trying to appear “normal.”

When a dog named Izzy entered Ford's life, Ford was completely isolated, but Izzy’s own unique challenges helped Ford to become more involved with life again.

Written for young readers, this book is Ford’s generous gift to students who face bullying. Interspersed with her story are facts and suggestions about what is bullying and how to address it.

Disclosure of material connection: My taxes support local libraries’ acquisition of this and other resources. I consider the access I enjoy to be a “priceless” return on my investment.

Monday, January 1, 2018

‘Ms. Marvel, Vol. 6: Civil War II’

Cover image, 'Ms. Marvel, Vol. 6: Civil War II' by G. Willow Wilson. Image depicts Ms. Marvel in foreground in her characteristic costume of blue short-sleeved tunic with yellow lightning bolt over a long-sleeved red garment with red scarf draped around her neck. She has a scowl on her face and holds a spray-paint can. Behind her is the word 'Phony' in red spray paint across a black-and-white mural of Captain Marvel, a woman with short-cropped light-colored hair and a jumpsuit with star insignia on the chest
Ms. Marvel is faced with the moral implications of so-called “predictive justice.” Is it OK to arrest and detain a person before they’ve committed a crime?

A meta-human named Ulysses uses mathematical probabilities to identify people who are about to commit a crime, and Ms. Marvel’s idol “Captain Marvel” assembles a team to intercept the people whom Ulysses identifies.

Ms. Marvel is given the task of being Captain Marvel’s liaison and supervisor for the team.

At first Ms. Marvel is relieved at at the idea of no longer having to worry if people she cares about are in danger, by stopping dangerous criminals before they can hurt anybody. And so excited is Ms. Marvel to be in a position of responsibility that was given to her by her idol, that she doesn’t listen when friends and family raise ethical concerns.