Helping the reference librarian help you
Do you need help answering a question? Ask a librarian. Specifically, ask a reference librarian. You’ll usually find at least …Read the Rest
Search engines, online library catalogs: how they work
Most people begin to search for information using Google or other search engines. They turn to library catalogs later, if …Read the Rest
Libraries uphold the public interest in copyright issues
Copyright is a part of intellectual property law and is explicitly mentioned in the US Constitution (Art. I, Sec. 8, …Read the Rest
Libraries preserve the past
In previous posts, I have stressed that the library is more than a warehouse for books and other physical materials. …Read the Rest
The librarian’s job
According to an old stereotype, a librarian is a socially awkward woman with bad hair who checks out books to …Read the Rest
FYI: initialisms in OED
What have texting and its conventions, abbreviations, and shortcuts done to our language? And what does it mean that some …Read the Rest
How can libraries survive? Apparently better than bookstores
Not long ago, I noticed two articles on the same page of the local Sunday news paper (News & Record, …Read the Rest
Libraries open children’s minds
According to the Children’s Reading Foundation, “It takes hundreds of hours of ‘lap time’ for a child to acquire the …Read the Rest
Libraries build communities
Regular library patrons certainly know that libraries are more than a warehouse for books and other nearly obsolete media. In …Read the Rest
Libraries break down social barriers
The professional literature that librarians read frequently refers to “the library patron,” as if one size fits all. Actually, there …Read the Rest
