Civil War 150 : District of Columbia and Freedom Rising
~ Elisa Babel, MLS
Fort Sumter
This month marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War–the opening salvo was at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor in the early morning hours on April 12, 1861.
The war not only changed the nation–it also changed Washington, DC as a capitol and hometown.
Last month I read Ernest Furgurson’s Freedom Rising, a nonfiction book about DC during the Civil War years. Since I work in DC, the 150th anniversary seemed like a great time to discover the city at that time.
Furgurson writes a fascinating and informative story of how the Civil War impacted the city and shaped it to what is today. When President-elect Lincoln arrived for his inauguration in February 1861, there wasn’t much about DC to attract people for a visit. As the book progresses through the war years, Furgurson introduces the reader to the people, events, and places in the city as well as what happened officially.
I enjoyed the descriptions of city life and neighborhoods at the time. The landmarks mentioned are either still standing today or long gone. I recognized some of the people who came to DC for one reason or another while others I didn’t know.
By April 1865, DC is no longer the sleepy town it once been. Black and white maps of the city are included. I enjoyed this book and learned more about DC along the way.
Around the city and in Maryland and Virginia, you can find Civil War heritage sites to discover and enjoy. The Washington Post is featuring a special section online of the 150th anniversary.
On April 15, Emancipation Day will be observed in the District of Columbia. This city holiday commemorates the signing of the DC Emancipation Act signed by President Lincoln in 1862, freeing all slaves in DC.
This Emancipation was enacted nine months before the more famous Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
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This edition of Best of Publib covers the week of February 22nd through February 28th 2010. This week included questions about advertising and accountability, use and implementation of ebook readers, and our new poll on charging library fees to support other government departments. Some of the topics we will be reviewing include:
Topic» Paid Advertisements ♦ Andrea Taylor in Fullerton, CA addresses the broader topic of advertising in public libraries – Does you library permit advertising on date due slips and webpages?
Topic » Cost of Items when Cataloging ♦ Andrea Taylor would also like to see examples of how libraries value collections – What is your formula for recognizing the cost of processing books?
Topic» Library locker kiosks ♦ Corinne Dickman in Sparks , NV is looking at after hours pickup of library materials – Do you have a secure method of delivering the goods?
Topic » book leasing plans ♦ Melissa DeWildin Comstock Park , MI is comparing book leasing plans such as Brodart and McNaughton – What has been your experience with book leasing vendors?
Topic » US Code ♦ Lynne S. Ingersollin Blue Island , IL is revewing options to the $2,000 the print version of the US Code – Online alternatives include GPOAccess along with Cornell Law
Topic » ergonomics? ♦ Nicole Pasini in San Mateo , CA is addressing a new repetitive motion injury from opening and closing CD and DVD cases – Have other libraries been affected by this malady?
The Publib archives from the Webjunction listserve are available here: ArchivesEditor’s note: HTML is stripped out of achives. Please compose in plaintext or richtext.
Posted on January 19, 2010 by Robert Balliot ,MLIS
Best of PubLib at the ALA Midwinter Meeting Exhibit Hall Review
This week, Best of Publib covered the ALA Exhibit Hall at the Boston Convention Center. The HD video below includes hundreds of vendor displays. We hope it will help you imagine the experience if you were not able to attend, or help refresh and reinforce what you learned.
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
The Boston Convention Center was an excellent venue for ALA. The train brought us to South Station - just a few minutes away from the hotels and convention amenities. There are many local publishers and library suppliers within a short distance, so start-ups and unique product suppliers could present affordably. And, Boston rocks! The Freedom Trail, Duck Tours , along with world-class museums and libraries are within short distances of the convention center.
The organizational effort by ALA and attention to detail by the library vendors was outstanding. It was easy to lose track of time on the exhibit hall floor amidst the panorama and noise. It took on a casino / carnival atmosphere with prizes to win and vendors pitching their games. High above, you could use the Food Court sign as a directional beacon.
Of all the hundreds of vendors represented, we chose to review five.
The first is :I-Concepts which defines itself as Innovative Concepts for Nonprofit Organizations. We could imagine many libraries outside of Boston benefiting from this service, along with fostering a general appreciation of local history archives. If you are looking for a way to both encourage collection use and raise funds - i-concepts may be the answer. The Amelia Earhart print was fascinating.
LibraryThing.com/forLibraries
The second is :LibraryThing. Tim Spalding along with his gregarious black-shirted horde truly represented the best of Open Source, Library 2.0 and viral marketing. They were eager to engage and highly entertaining.
The third vendor is :LE@D-Lifelong Education @ Desktop from the University of North Texas This group was absolutely charming and demonstrated infectious enthusiasm for their services. They dressed in some of the most colorful attire at the exhibit. Le@D provides highly affording library training. According to Director - Kevin Haney (in the middle with the green shirt) – costs are as low as $15 for a course! Enthusiastic library training - Deep in the heart of Texas!
New York Times
The fourth vendor is:The New York Times offering 50% off Home Delivery Service Marketing was conducted by On the Avenue Marketing Group with this excellent salesperson hawking half-price subscriptions. She may have been the hardest working individual in the exhibit hall. Yet, it was somehow troubling that this was the limit of representation of the New York Times publishing empire.
III
The fifth vendor is: III – Innovative Interfaces Incorporated. III is one of the heavy hitters in the Library industry. Many libraries are dependent on their products and they have a loyal base. I worked on two transitions to III – the first at Brown University from CLSI and the second at CLAN libraries from Horizon. I have used III for over twenty years and find it offers outstanding service. However, what I observed in the exhibit hall was troubling.
The III booth was very well-appointed and designed with several interactive product displays. It supported a large group of associates to answer questions. Yet, few were actually engaged in discussions with anyone but their co-workers. A librarian approached two of the representatives to thank III for providing a pass to the exhibit hall. One of the representatives took a look at the librarian’s badge and said something to the effect of :
”Well ______ must have been giving away those passes all along the east coast, we had another librarian from ____ stop by earlier “.
Then the rep rattled off a few names of people they considered important from that same institution and basically dismissed the librarian. There was no sales pitch. No offer to demo. Merely, a dismissal.
Library Service, especially in the public library sector, ideally levels the playing field. Service is equal. In contrast, some vendor representatives have obviously been instructed to find out the station of the exhibit hall attendee, determine if they were of the buyer / influencer class and dismiss the others. Yet, the nature of libraries and librarians as technology consumers requires generating interest throughout an organization and getting everyone to buy in. If you have six vendor representatives at an exhibit and you don’t have a crowd around your people, then you should generate interest by engaging everyone. All of the library vendors were start-ups at one point.
The exhibit hall may be the most effective way to get hands on experience with some of the newest and most exciting products in the library world. The meager twenty-five dollar entrance fee – or having an inside vendor representative hook you up for free makes the experience well worth the visit.
Posted on December 14, 2009 by Robert Balliot ,MLIS
Best of Publib Current Topics and Archives
Video coming soon
This week in Best of Publib covers the week of December 7th through December 13th. This week includes questions about building collections in Western, Urban Fiction and Romance genres along with thought-provoking discussions about library organization, library reorganization and control of libraries. Some of the topics we will be reviewing include:
Topic» olympics? – Sharon Dalton in Parlin, NJ would like to know about Olympic themes for marketing library programs and materials.
Topic» RESUME- Karen Hertel in Idaho asks – what to include on librarian resumes - Are academic librarian resumes the same as public librarian resumes?
Topic» Moving from a municipal department to an association library? - Laurel Goodgion in Wethersfield CT seeks examples of municipal libraries that became independent libraries.
Topic » Reorganizing customer service | Library organization structure - Janice Painter in Princeton, NJ is investigating cross training and various innovative methods of reorganization.
Topic » Flooring material – Connie Meyer in Fort Atkinson, WI is finishing a building project and seeks flooring suggestions.
Topic» Rental Ready Videos vs retail editions, Library edition audiobooks vs. retail editions – Jeanette Piquet in Richmond Heights, MO is looking for guidance on vendor definitions – What are the legal and ethical ramifications?
Topic » Building upon an existing Romance Collection - Sherise Pagan is looking for web site sources to help develop a Romance collection
Topic» Western Paperbacks – Ann Moore in New York is looking for sources for up-to-date paperback westerns
Topic» Bags for Patrons, plastic or otherwise - Rebecca Hermen in Michigan is looking for economical, green library bag guidance
Topic» Kirkus is shutting down – Mamie Ney in Maine gives the sad news about the cessation of Kirkus
I enjoyed the descriptions of city life and neighborhoods at the time. The landmarks mentioned are either still standing today or long gone. I recognized some of the people who came to DC for one reason or another while others I didn’t know. 
Around the city and in Maryland and Virginia, you can find Civil War heritage sites to discover and enjoy. The Washington Post is featuring a special section online of the 150th anniversary.
This edition of Best of Publib covers the week of February 22nd through February 28th 2010. This week included questions about advertising and accountability, use and implementation of ebook readers, and our new poll on charging library fees to support other government departments. Some of the topics we will be reviewing include: 
