Blog Archives

AUTOMATION...PART 2

4/20/2011

Click, scan, click, click, scan....click.

Click, scan, click, click, scan....etc.

We're getting there....slowly but surely. We won't be up and running on Monday, but we will have all of the picture books that are in the library done. We will have the Mystery section mostly done...but we won't start scanning until we are mostly finished with the bulk of the collection.

We are very lucky to have some skilled and thoughtful catalogers, so that our collection will be entered as accurately as possible.

I do have to wonder about myself, however, when the exciting moment of the day is when 2 of us scan at the exact same time...."Jinx...owe me a soda."

I know, it's dorky, but if you've ever had a data entry job, or a job where you're in front of a computer all day....you know what I mean. (Plus, if you know me very well...dorky might be an adjective someone clos

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AUTOMATION

4/18/2011

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Some of you may have noticed that we are closed today. In fact, we are closed all week (April 18-24th) to "automate". We're entering as many of our library materials as possible into an open source automated system called Koha.

Koha will enable you, as library users, to access our catalog from the internet...at home, your iPhone, etc. Patrons will also be able to set up an account so that you can access your library records from home....You will be able to answer the question: "What books do I still have out?" by logging into your account.

Today, we've made a good dent in our collection. We're celebrating our achievements...like: "I've used 3 sheets of bar codes!" of "I made it through the Bs!"

We probably won't get this done in a week, but we are hoping to get a good chunk done.

Tedious, detail oriented work it is, but exciting and a big step into the 21st Century for our little library.

Chocolate appreciated ;)

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Notable Events in Library History

4/14/2011

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Since it is National Library Week, here are some notable events in Library history.

2000 B.C. The earliest libraries in the Western world were archives kept in ancient Alexandria, Egypt and Pergamun, Turkey. Marc Antony gave the Pergamun library to Cleopatra. Ancient librarians had high status in society, and were often scholars or priests.

550 B.C.- Lao Tse appointed royal librarian in China

612 B.C.- The library in Nineveh, Assyria (near present day Mosul, Iraq), was destroyed by war.

1066-1485 A.D.-During the Middle Ages libraries were centered around monasteries. Monastic control of written knowledge declined with the advent of universities in cities such as Paris and Bologna.

1452- The invention of movable type by Gutenberg allowed information to be widely disseminated and spurred the growth of libraries during the 15th Century. Further developments in printing technology led to higher literacy along with the introduction of affordable books.

1638- The first permanent library in America was founded at Harvard University

1753- British Museum Library founded. Later, both Lenin and Marx pondered the end of capitalism in its spectacular domed reading room.

1800- U.S. Library of Congress founded. Today it preserves a collection of over 119 million items.

1814- The British burned America's first Library of Congress. Thomas Jefferson, who had amassed the largest personal collection of books in the fledgling U.S., offered for sale at whatever price Congress decided, as the basis of a new Library of Congress. $23,950 was appropriated for 6487 volumes and paid to Jefferson in 1815.

1840- Public libraries in New England were the first to be funded through taxes.

1876- Melvil Dewey published his Dewey Decimal Classification System, and the American Library Association was founded.

1881- Industrialist and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie funded his first library in the town of his birth, Dunfermeline Scotland. He proceeded to fund the creation of over 2,800 libraries worldwide. (Including Morristown Centennial Library in Morrisville, VT!)

1905- Robert Lewis Stevenson called a librarian a "virgin priest of knowledge" in "Prince Otto: A Romance".

1960s- "Information Science", influenced by George Boole, developed. Untrue cultural stereotypes were enforced by TV and movies that portrayed librarians as spinsters and eggheads. (?)

1989- The film "UHF" featured a scene where Conan the Librarian slices a borrower in half because he returned a book late.

1990s- Library science changed to adapt to the information explosion that developed with the growth of the internet.

1994-2003- Gates Foundation gives $154,000,000 in grants and 40,000 computers to libraries across the U.S. and the rest of the world.

2001- During this year library visits in the U.S. exceed 1.8 billion.

2003- Over 400,000 Librarians operate 124,000 libraries in the U.S. and are on the forefront of government censorship and privacy issues.

2011- Lanpher Memorial Library closes for the week of April 18-24th to automate their collection!

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Happy National Library Week!

4/11/2011

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April 10-16 is National Library Week: A week to celebrate our nation's libraries.

The Lanpher Library is here to offer a wide array of free services to the community, including:
1) Technology: we subscribe to free downloadable e-book and audio book services. Check them out at listenupvermont.org.

We have 5 computers and 2 laptops that are free for the public to use. We have free wireless access, so that patrons can bring in their own laptops and access the internet from anywhere in the library.

2) Children and Teens: The Lanpher Library has 2 weekly story time programs, on Monday evenings at 6:00 and Wednesday mornings at 10:00. We add a 3rd program in the summer for our Summer Reading Program at 2:00 on Wednesdays for school-age children.

We have occasional programs for Teens: check out our Teen Talk page on this site. We have started our Young Adult section in the library with books geared toward that age group and we have Summer Reading Incentive programs....last year we gave away an iPod.

3) Persons with disabilities: We have a rolling walker with a seat and a basket for those who have difficulties walking, browsing and holding books. We have a collection of Large Print titles and many titles on CD. We can also connect patrons to the "Talking Books" program from the Vermont Department of Libraries' Special Services Unit, where you can borrow a free machine and they will mail the audio books out for free, with a free return postage label for patrons to send them back when finished.

4) Research: We subscribe to the Vermont Online Library, a collection of databases with a variety of research articles, books and studies. Each article contains a complete bibliography so that students and researchers can document exactly where the information came from. vtonline.org is the site, and we have a pin to get into the site. Contact us for the pin. You will be amazed at what is there!

Library staff can help you find information on a topic even if we do not have the materials on our library shelves. We can use Interlibrary Loan, the Vermont Online Library or other

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AUTOMATION...PART 2

AUTOMATION

Notable Events in Library History

Happy National Library Week!

Hours:
Monday 12:00-7:00 (8:00 in the summer)
Tuesday 10:00-5:00
Wednesday 10:00-5:00
Thursday Closed
Friday 10:00-5:00
Saturday 10:00-1:00

Amy Olsen

Archives

Categories

AUTOMATION...PART 2

AUTOMATION

Notable Events in Library History

Happy National Library Week!

Hours: Monday 12:00-7:00 (8:00 in the summer)Tuesday 10:00-5:00Wednesday 10:00-5:00Thursday ClosedFriday 10:00-5:00Saturday 10:00-1:00﻿Amy Olsen

Archives

Categories

Hours:
Monday 12:00-7:00 (8:00 in the summer)
Tuesday 10:00-5:00
Wednesday 10:00-5:00
Thursday Closed
Friday 10:00-5:00
Saturday 10:00-1:00

Amy Olsen