#Library Science

[ugly-buny]

visited the oldest monasterial library in Europe. it was really great.

there was also the oldest drawn plan that we have left that was found in this monastery. but you can only see it for 20s to preserve it from light.

[mydirtyvalentine]

pretty normal podcast listening experience i think,

[jstor]

In a very Shelleyan twist of fate, a manuscript has been brought back to life–not in a lab, but in a library. 🕯️

At Drew University, librarians and students used JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services to catalog and share the unfinished Mary Shelley biography and research notes of Dr. Betty T. Bennett.

“To me, it was kind of giving her work a second life, which is very Frankenstein. Very Shelley.” – Candace Reilly, manager of Special Collections

Alongside Bennett’s archive, a selection of the Byron Society's realia was also made digital. These items include portraits, busts, Staffordshire pottery, and more, all connected to Lord Byron’s myth and memory. The material came in many forms, and Drew’s Special Collections team used JSTOR’s structured tools to catalog it all.

Now, students are getting hands-on experience in digital humanities through two new courses at Drew. One curates articles on social change from The Drew Acorn (the campus newspaper), and the other rescues deteriorating 19th-century pamphlets.

It’s preservation, it’s participation, and it’s a bit poetic, too. Full case study below!

[nerd-brarian]

A nice librarian gave me this and I really like it.

[archeracy]

“Kids and teens have no third spaces these days!!!”

Before you go to Starbucks or other corporations who want to co-opt the term “third place” and make you become more consumerist, consider:

Are you making full, effective use of your public library?

This is especially true if you live in a big city. I know going to a store or mall is the most tempting third place. But go to the library. Find out what the library has available to you. I live in a major metropolitan area, and my local library offers books, e-books, and audiobooks to library card-holders, but also: sewing machines, 3D printers, recording studio space, individual study space, group study space, an auditorium hall, and conference rooms! Not to mention a website where you can use your library login to log in to ADDITIONAL websites that teach you valuable skills or crafts, or read research journals for free!

If you don’t live in a densely populated area and your local library has less of those things, you better go there and start asking about it. Because librarians WANT you to use their services. They WANT to stock up the library with loads of books and services, but they need the foot traffic and continued requesting to get the ball rolling.

You can also ask about donating things to the library! My library, despite its numerous riches, does not have a laminator. But I guarantee you if someone donated it, they would be eager to let people know they can use it. If you have a tool or machine you don’t use, find out if a library would make better use of it!

[thefearofcod]

Had a bad idea: books organized by Dewey classification but the numerals are arranged alphabetically

[shitacademicswrite]

[refulgently-transcendental]

Bachelors degree: *purchases an expensive and large standing desk to do homework at*

Masters degree: couch

[your-dewey-decimal-number-is]

Hey man, can you explain what the decimals in the system mean? I get that 001-099 and so on are specifics, but what do the .# mean?

The Dewey Decimal Classification system allows every non-fiction topic to be categorized under one of ten broad subjects, each starting with a different digit (see my pinned post).

Say you were looking for a book about narwhals

5XX: science 59X: zoology 599: mammals 599.5: cetacea and sirenia (aquatic mammals) 599.54: other toothed whales (most whales are under 599.52, and dolphins are under 599.53, while 599.55 is about manatees and dugongs) 599.543: narwhals

Every digit after the decimal point represents a subcategory of the previous. The more digits you add, the more specific the classification. It's turtles all the way down; some subjects are so dense that you need long strings of digits to find exactly what you're looking for. Softball is under 796.3578. Mayan folklore is under 398.2097281. The Beatles are under 782.4216609; that's the exact same number of digits as Mayan folklore, so you'd think they'd have the subcategory all to themselves, but no, they share it with a ton of other bands because it actually represents the broad topic "history, geographic treatment, and biography of specific rock songs."

Not every single subject gets that granular. In fact, most require less than six digits total because there aren't going to be that many books on any given subject to warrant that level of specificity. 551.312 represents everything to do with glaciers; whether they're from Norway or Antarctica (complete opposite sides of the globe), they share the same six digits. There's really no need for more.

But just because a topic exists doesn't necessarily mean your library will carry books about it; mine, for example, has several non-fiction books about platypuses (599.29) but none about possums (599.23). Damn shame.

Feel free to submit any posts you want me to classify, or shoot me an ask if you have a specific topic in mind.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

have a meme from grad school that i don't remember making

[paintedpigeon1]

Are you an adult with ADHD and/or autism?

I’m currently doing a Master's dissertation about how to improve access to public library services for adults with ADHD and/or autism, and I need your input!

If you are over 18, have ADHD and/or autism (edit for clarity: no matter where you live), and would like to help with this, please fill in the survey below by midnight on 8 August 2024.

For more information please contact me on ruth.collard-stayte@city.ac.uk

Even if you're not eligible, please share this post so I can receive as many responses as possible!

(Also you don't want to disappoint the cute brain on the flyer do you?)

[arabellasdoingthework]

7/100 days of productivity (interrupted)

this semester we have a project module every Tuesday morning where the whole class is supposed to autonomously work on a bachelor thesis-like topic and present the results at the end of the semester. third session in I just noticed absolutely nobody has any clue of what's going on (including me)

[gossipwithrachel]

I agree that Kaia is trying to do everything and its too much, its ok to focus on 1 thing at a time. I get why she dsnt model any much anymore bt she was a great runway model (her editorials, imo, fall flat). I enjoy her book club. She asks good questions, seems passionate and engaged with her guests and i like the idea of getting ppl to read more. I wish she had a concrete schedule with it bcuz Library Science is smthn shes done very well at, i wuld say its her best job compared to her editorials and acting. Shes gone to a acting conservatory (the same one as Austins), I just dnt think acting is really her calling even though she seems passionate about it. She will always get roles but her range rn is extremely limited and it shows in her roles.

oh! i had no idea she received acting lessons.

i get your point, but i think her problem with acting is she lacks passion and sees it just as a hobby instead of a serious job, that’s why she always plays herself.

i really like library science too! i’ve read some books she recommended and i really enjoyed them.

but what do you think? i’d like to read more opinions! :)

[impossibleobservationkryptonite]

What can libraries do for you? I have so many resources I’m gonna share with you rn. Get wrecked. I’m back on my soap box y’all. Just ignore me if you want, or if you want can just get the tldr with the bolder stuff again!

1. If you still want to read books or listen to them, but you don’t want to come in and talk to anyone (I mean valid.) Libby!!! It works the same way as checking out physical copies of the books; just now as audiobooks and ebooks.

2. Are you currently screaming at your paper that you’re supposed to be writing? But it doesn’t have enough sources. Pls. All library websites have LISTS of different websites (they are reputable) that you can use to do research. (Or you can come chill and look at physical materials for your research too.)

3. Materials: we have so much stuff we will just give you for free. I handed out so much glitter, markers, paper to some patrons who were working on a final project that they could just have and work on. I have so much paint. Please use it so we can buy newer paint.

4. Free WiFi: sometimes you don’t even have to leave your car (or go inside) for that. (Message me and I’ll tell you my story of sitting in my car for an hour just outside of a library so I could check my grades and email professors because I was in a town that kept bouncing my phone to Canada.)

5. Email bb: again if you don'twant to come in but want book recs because for whatever reason: you can usually email the library with something called your next read. And a librarian will send you back book suggestions. (I also recc’ed a mbmbam podcast to someone)

6. Warming/cooling centers: if it’s hot/cold and you have nowhere else to go? Come chill with us. I have multiple patrons at my library who will be there for the full 12 hours that we’re open. It means that you’re using a space that your taxes paid for. And you can get out of the disgusting heat and frigid weather.

[conservethis]

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[septemberfruits]

Dirty Pop and Foundations of Library Science this Wednesday.