Protecting library patron confidentiality: Best practices (PDF file)
Trina J. Magi writes: “Now that libraries have greater-than-ever potential for collecting and storing many types of personal data,
often in digital form, librarians must be increasingly vigilant in guarding the public trust. Fortunately, the library literature offers many concrete actions librarians can take to protect the confidentiality of library patrons.”…
AALL Spectrum 12, no. 1 (Sept./Oct.)
Why librarians blog
Michael Stephens presents an excerpt from his recent Ph.D. dissertation, “Modeling the Role of Blogging in Librarianship,” in which he examines the answers to his question: “Why do you blog?” The most frequent response (40%) was “to share information or insight,” with only 16% of respondents saying they did it for fun….
Tame the Web blog, Sept. 23
The Strand Bookstore in New York is selling books “by the foot” in various genres, bindings, and conditions that will be a “perfect match for any home or office space, one that will please the eye and satisfy the mind.” Prices range from $10 (bargain books) to $400 per foot (antique leather). The store has been doing this for film and theater-set designers for years. The Strand’s book chooser Nancy Bass Wyden says that she can “custom make any kind of library.” Not a bad fundraiser….
The Strand Bookstore
Blue-ribbon task force to address digital preservation
An international Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access, funded by the National Science Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will address the preservation of our digital data and its economic sustainability. The Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Council on Library and Information Resources, and the Joint Information Systems Committee of the United Kingdom are all participating….
San Diego Supercomputer Center, Sept. 19
The Quipu Group in Denver has released Library2Library, a scalable courier management and materials transportation system designed specifically for libraries. The knowledge-base application includes a trouble-ticket system, routing-slip creation, lost and damaged item management, multilevel logins, and courier route and schedule management….
Quipu Group, Sept. 24