CMS and Random Library Fact

March 9, 2011 JennyLeave a comment

This morning I attended the CMS program at Simmons sponsored by NEASIS&T. First we heard about WordPress from Theresa Maturevich, who used WordPress to build the Beverly Public Library site, which won the Massachusetts Library Association’s Public Relations Award in 2009. Next we heard from Michael Witwicki, who spoke about ExpressionEngine; then Steve Sanzo, who spoke about Drupal, and finally Anna Burke (a Simmons GSLIS grad!) and Talia Resendes from Springshare, who presented LibGuides. All of the talks were interesting, especially considering that of the four CMS we heard about, only two – ExpressionEngine and Drupal – were designed to be CMS; WordPress was designed as a blogging tool, and LibGuides was a web platform for subject and research guides. These last two retain their original functions in addition to expanded ones, but it’s a case of the people behind the software adapting the product in response to the (unintended/unforeseen) way(s) people were using it.

Now for the random library fact: it’s not hugely surprising, but I read in G. Edward Evans’ Developing Library and Information Center Collections that library books shelved on the top and bottom shelves have lower circulation rates than those shelved on the middle shelves. This makes sense, because the books on the middle shelves are closer to most people’s eye level; no one has to crouch or stand on tip-toe to see them. It’s a compelling argument against using the lowest and highest shelves at all – if you have the space. (Bookstores, in comparison, tend to use their highest shelves for overstock.)

Content Management Systems

March 3, 2011 JennyLeave a comment

Content Management Systems (CMS) don’t belong solely to the library field, but they’re welcomed, because they come with an acronym, and librarianship is the most acronym-happy profession I know. (Then again, I have never worked for the government.)

Obviously I have been using WordPress (which is a CMS) for some time now, having switched over from Blogger back in November 2009. However, I thought I would take the opportunity to learn about other content management systems – Drupal, Joomla, etc. – some of their pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses, and what they might be good for. The workshop today in the GSLIS Tech Lab was a good start, and it convinced me to register for next week’s mini-conference, sponsored by the New England chapter of ASIS&T and co-sponsored by the Simmons student chapter (of which I am a member).

Bibliomaniac or Bibliophile?

February 23, 2011 JennyLeave a comment

I just came across this little aside in Developing Library and Information Center Collections by G. Edward Evans and Margaret Zarnosky Saponaro, which I am reading for my collection development class: “If there is a bibliographic equivalent of alcoholism, many librarians have it.” The following sentence cites the Random House Dictionary’s definition of bibliomania: an “excessive fondness for acquiring and possessing books.” Note it doesn’t mention an excessive (or obsessive) fondness for reading books. It must be a fine line, because Dictionary.com (also based on the Random House Dictionary) defines the more tranquil bibliophile as “a person who loves or collects books, especially as examples of fine or unusual printing, binding, or the like.” For more on the topic, I highly recommend Allison Hoover Bartlett’s excellent The Man Who Loved Books Too Much.

ALA Annual Conference

February 2, 2011 Jenny2 Comments

Though sunshine and warmth are difficult to conceive of in New England in February, I am looking forward to the American Library Association 2011 Annual Conference in New Orleans, where presumably it will be very warm indeed. I will be attending this ALA Annual Conference (my first!) thanks to ALA’s Student to Staff program; I was selected by a committee at Simmons after an essay contest. All of the participants are listed on the American Libraries Student Membership Blog. (Look in the right-hand sidebar for a Neil Gaiman quote from his book-signing at the ALA Midwinter Conference: “I’m surrounded by librarians. It doesn’t get any better than that.”)