Library Links of the Day for 22 January 2008

• Data: Students + Facebook + Library Outreach (Friends: Social Networking Sites for Engaged Library Services, 12/15/07) – conclusion: some users think using Facebook to interact with librarians is weird but it’s worth trying anyway.
• AACR2: The Movie (The Other Librarian, 1/14/08) – librarian humor can be so obtuse.
• Ten Questions to Ask Every New Employee (Library Garden, 1/16/08) – I especially like question #12.
• My Friend Flickr: A Match Made in Photo Heaven (Library of Congress Blog, 1/16/08) – much to everyone’s excitement LC is putting tons of no known restrictions photos into Flickr and allowing users to tag away.
• My Librarians are Awesome (Easily Distracted, 1/17/08) – some love from a faculty member to the proactive librarians at Swarthmore (there’s web 2.0 stuff here too).

links of the day for 22 January 2008

• Ramak Fazel: 49 State Capitols An exhibition at the Storefront for Art and Architecture, NYC – one man travels to all but one of the US state capitol buildings and documented the experience in photographs and postcards. Sounds like an exhibit worth seeing if I had a chance to be in New York prior to March 8th.
• A cool poster of Boston neighborhoods – a definite delight for fans of maps and Boston (via Universal Hub).
• Their House to Yours, via the Trash by Susan Dominus (New York Times, 1/18/08) – the fascinating story of people who scavenge discarded books and resell them on the streets and at the Strand bookstore. “Is there any other industry in which such high-quality goods regularly make their way to consumers via a trash bin? Stand in the bookselling line at the Strand and the store starts to feel less like a dusty bastion of erudition and more like a messy, mulchy place where old ideas struggle to find new life.” I believe I read a book by Iain Sinclair where he talked about the life of book vendors on the streets in London that sounds like a similar lifestyle to these New Yorkers.
• As gentrification spreads, rich, poor seek a balance by David Abel (Boston Globe, 1/20/08) – rich newcomers to Boston neighborhoods decide they can’t have longstanding homeless shelters near their homes and businesses. Yuppies make me sick.
• WBUR’s Here and Now (1/21/08) has an interview with the mayor of a town in Louisiana who had the telephone exchange off 666 changed because of requests from Christian citizens (opens in Real Player). I’m amused by this since my telephone exchange in Somerville (alluded to by Robin Young as a “town near Boston”) was 666 for 9 years. Interestingly enough I’ve been told it originated as the first letters of MONument referring to the Bunker Hill Monument in nearby Charlestown.
• Today Might Have Been Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 79th Birthday by Anna Clark (Isak, 1/21/08) – in a great article Anna wonders what it would be like if MLK were still alive and offers some profound reflections on his real legacy regarding economic justice and US militarism.
• What the Birds in the Park Think of Us (Francesco Explains it All, 1/21/08) – this just made me laugh.

Ireland/Britain 1998 day 3: Dublin/Kilkenny

22 January 1998, three days into my vacation I was still feeling inexplicably blue and somewhat guilty over the extravagance. According to by journal, “to cheer myself up today I: 1. visited a jail, 2. imbibed a pint of a known depressant, and 3. saw art works on subjects such as violence against woman & disasters.” I never have a good a time as when I’m feeling gloomy.

This day I hiked along the Liffey River to the western part of Dublin, dumped my bags at Heuston Station and took in three tourist attractions. First Kilmainham Gaol, which is kind of a who’s who of Irish history since political prisoners from 1798-1924 were all held there. Next the Guinness Brewery visitor center at the Hop Store where I was thoroughly indoctrinated by the pro-Guinness propaganda and enjoyed a frothy pint straight from the source. Finally, a spur of the moment visit to the Irish Museum of Modern Art. As often happens, the spontaneous ideas turn out to be the highlight of the day. Highlights included an exhibit of Andy Warhol works, many focusing on gruesome disasters, but lighter works included a room covered in ultraviolet cow wallpaper and clouds. Another exhibit called “Once is More than Enough” focused on domestic violence toward women in Ireland.

That evening I rode the train to Kilkenny where I was overwhelmed crossing the bridge into town by the moonlit view of the castle. I checked into the Kilkenny Tourist Hostel, dined at the Italian Connection, and had a pint at the Pumphouse where a lone guitarist played rock and roll. All in all it was a quiet, solitary night.

The famed St. Jame’s Gate Brewery, source of the mother’s milk.

Pro-bike mural in western Dublin.