Know any good librarian jokes?

If so, post 'em over at LISNews, where they're having a Librarian Joke Contest all of March.

AA Bondy at Cafe Du Nord

See more of this guy here:

from Somewhere There is a Forest

Scuttled rubbish and lightened
ardent valse of Autumnal
flux. Muscled runners flit by
chests a’heaving sculptural
as a kingdom of blood of
future joy, of future love
dense as close collapsing stars.

Well written article on e-reading...or how Dio foresaw technology's impact on culture in the 21st Century

In Matthew Shaer's essay "The e-bbok, the e-reader, and the future of reading" for the Christian Science Monitor, he quotes Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid, who argues that with electronic readers and the twilight of the codex that, “[...] we will develop within the next generation a shorter, less-enriched [brain] circuitry for reading, and I don’t think I’m ultraconservative. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t read online.... I’m saying that we need to preserve what’s best about the present reading brain – preserve the beautiful function of books in our lives – as we move across mediums that will allow us ever greater access to information.”

Others say that both the e-book and the codex will co-exist for a very long time...to be honest, I am uncertain. Who can really say? Yet Christopher Harris, a librarian and the creator of the blog digitalreshift.org says that as a librarian he has to "go where the information goes." I can agree with that. Plus, he gets all heavy metal: "But as with any disruptive technology, you’re either guided forward or you’re steamrolled. The only way to do it is to jump on the tiger and take control of it.” Didn't Ronnie James Dio say so much the same in 1987? Ahem, "Holy diver you've been down too long in the midnight sea oh what's becoming of me / Ride the tiger you can see his stripes but you know he's clean oh don't you see what I mean." Indeed we do, Ronnie.

Awful library books...

Can be seen here: http://awfullibrarybooks.wordpress.com/.

This site is awesome--from crazy old Satanist scare books from the 80s and 90s to how to jump start excitement with Tape Recording. Really, it's worth checking out!



See why weeding really can be fun!

Jacket #38

Excellent article on Jack Spicer and print culture by Graham Foust in Jacket #38. Here's a taste:

"As in a detective story, the reader is incorporated into Spicer’s poems, and it seems that Spicer’s ideal reader is one who is able to rewrite, recreate, and continue the textbook rather than follow it to the letter. Spicer’s electric poetics aren’t a power trip, as he maintains that even the poet herself remains only a co-author. This process is impersonal, as is Poe’s, but Spicer’s impersonality goes one step further into the Outside by insisting that metaphors are not for readers or writers, that they are not, in fact, “for humans” (Vocabulary 300). Spicer does not seek to predetermine his effects, but rather is affected and afflicted by ghostly figures; in turn, he sounds the stories of these invasions."

And if this gets you going, then be sure to check out Mr. Foust's reading on Thursday December 3 at Studio One Arts Center. To read more information about the upcoming reading and an interview with G. Foust, there's more here.

Punk Passage at San Francisco Public Library

For those interested in punk rock, San Francisco, and photography, the SF public library will be hosting Punk Passage, an exhibit on the SF punk scene from 1977-1981. Included are photos from shows, posters and fliers, video footage, and other ephemera. Also of interest: tomorrow, Tuesday 9/17, there will be a panel discussion with band Queer Punk, and how being Queer influenced their music and their memories of the original SF punk scene. The exhibit runs through December 6. Read more at: http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/news/exhibitions.htm.

"The photographs represent some of San Francisco’s contribution to the international punk movement. The message is unabashed individualism, creativity, do-it-yourself activism and black humor. Bands such as The Avengers, the Dead Kennedys, the Dils, Crime, Sleepers, the Mutants and others are represented, placing them within the historic context as an important part of San Francisco’s counter-cultural history, as innovative for its time as the beat and hippie movements were."