#lcpl

[lakecountylibrary]

🔥 The beacons are lit; the library calls for aid

UPDATES FROM APRIL 1 AND MAY 5: https://www.tumblr.com/lakecountylibrary/782730356592967680/federal-court-halts-dismantling-of-imls-in-ala

UPDATE FROM JUNE 16: Government Accountability Office finds withholding IMLS funds is illegal (Library Journal) It is still important to call Congress and ask them to fund libraries in the 2026 budget.

The Trump administration has issued an executive order aimed at dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services - the ONLY federal agency for America's libraries.

Using just 0.003% of the federal budget, the IMLS funds services at libraries across the country; services like Braille and talking books for the visually impaired, high-speed internet access, and early literacy programs.

Libraries are known for doing more with less, but even we can't work with nothing.

How You Can Help:

🔥 Call your congressperson!

Use the app of your choice or look 'em up here: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

Pro tip: If your phone anxiety is high, call at night and leave a voicemail. You can even write yourself a script in advance and read it off. Heck, read them this post if you want to.

Phones a total no-go? The American Library Association has a form for you: https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=23577

🔥Tell your friends!

Tell strangers, for that matter. People in line at the check out, your elderly neighbor, the mail carrier - no one is safe from your library advocacy. Libraries are for everyone and we need all the help we can get.

...Wait, why do we need this IMLS thing again?

The ALA says it best in their official statement and lists some ways libraries across the country use IMLS funding:

But if you want a really specific answer, here at LCPL we use IMLS funding to provide our amazing interlibrary loan service. If we can't purchase an item you request (out of print books, for example) this service lets us borrow it from another library and check it out to you.

IMLS also funds the statewide Indiana Digital Library and Evergreen Indiana, which gives patrons of smaller Indiana libraries access to collections just as large and varied as the big libraries' collections.

As usual, cutting this funding will hurt rural communities the most - but every library user will feel it one way or another. Let's let Congress know that's unacceptable.

[le-jardin-inculte]

to add to the list of grievances, for the last year or so, whenever I connect my kindle to wifi (which is sometimes now that amazon disabled direct downloads - y'know, can't get some books elsewhere), it DELETES EVERY SINGLE SIDELOADED EBOOK. then when I plug it in and fire up calibre to extract the freshly downloaded ebook file to add to my archives because none of these fuckers can be trusted, I also have to fucking. try to remember which ebooks were sideloaded and need to be re-added. and then unplug the kindle and re-categorise them manually. HELL. pain and suffering. misery even.

gotta say I far preferred it back when it was NONE OF ANYONE'S BUSINESS what I put on my own fucking device or where it came from as long as filetypes were compatible. which they are.

oh and while I'm on my soapbox? there's a new type of DRM for epubs being introduced (.lcpl), still rare atm but probably coming to kobo soon, that the current DRM removal tools can't break. why? because it's too complicated? absolutely not. it's been done. and also erased off the internet. because the people behind it threaten to sue the shit out of anyone who tries. and like. fuck that?? I know TONS of people who extract ebook files simply to. ya know. back them up on their hard drive. as is their god given right. because those fuckers have proven over and over that NONE of them can be trusted. LET ME HAVE MY FILES

I don't know I'm not done talking about it. It's insane that I can't just uninstall Edge or Copilot. That websites require my phone number to sign up. That people share their contacts to find their friends on social media.

I wouldn't use an adblocker if ads were just banners on the side funding a website I enjoy using and want to support. Ads pop up invasively and fill my whole screen, I misclick and get warped away to another page just for trying to read an article or get a recipe.

Every app shouldn't be like every other app. Instagram didn't need reels and a shop. TikTok doesn't need a store. Instagram doesn't need to be connected to Facebook. I don't want my apps to do everything, I want a hub for a specific thing, and I'll go to that place accordingly.

I love discord, but so much information gets lost to it. I don't want to join to view things. I want to lurk on forums. I want to be a user who can log in and join a conversation by replying to a thread, even if that conversation was two days ago. I know discord has threads, it's not the same. I don't want to have to verify my account with a phone number. I understand safety and digital concerns, but I'm concerned about information like that with leaks everywhere, even with password managers.

I shouldn't have to pay subscriptions to use services and get locked out of old versions. My old disk copy of photoshop should work. I should want to upgrade eventually because I like photoshop and supporting the business. Adobe is a whole other can of worms here.

Streaming is so splintered across everything. Shows release so fast. Things don't get physical releases. I can't stream a movie I own digitally to friends because the share-screen blocks it, even though I own two digital copies, even though I own a physical copy.

I have an iPod, and I had to install a third party OS to easily put my music on it without having to tangle with iTunes. Spotify bricked hardware I purchased because they were unwillingly to upkeep it. They don't pay their artists. iTunes isn't even iTunes anymore and Apple struggles to upkeep it.

My TV shows me ads on the home screen. My dad lost access to eBook he purchased because they were digital and got revoked by the company distributing them. Hitman 1-3 only runs online most of the time. Flash died and is staying alive because people love it and made efforts to keep it up.

I have to click "not now" and can't click "no". I don't just get emails, they want to text me to purchase things online too. My windows start search bar searches online, not just my computer. Everything is blindly called an app now. Everything wants me to upload to the cloud. These are good tools! But why am I forced to use them! Why am I not allowed to own or control them?

No more!!!!! I love my iPod with so much storage and FLAC files. I love having all my fics on my harddrive. I love having USBs and backups. I love running scripts to gut suck stuff out of my Windows computer I don't want that spies on me. I love having forums. I love sending letters. I love neocities and webpages and webrings. I will not be scanning QR codes. Please hand me a physical menu. If I didn't need a smartphone for work I'd get a "dumb" phone so fast. I want things to have buttons. I want to use a mouse. I want replaceable batteries. I want the right to repair. I grew up online and I won't forget how it was!

[sgtgrunt0331-3]

In one of the most famous photographs from the war in Iraq and still holding his 9mm Beretta, a seriously injured 1st Sgt. Brad Kasal is carried from the “Hell House” by Lcpl Chris Marquez and Lcpl Dane Shaffer on November 13, 2004.

1st Sgt. Kasal lost much of his blood and nearly lost his right leg after being shot seven times by insurgents. His body was peppered with shrapnel as he used his body to shield an injured younger Marine, PFC Alex Nicoll, from a grenade blast.

For his heroic actions that day while serving as first sergeant of Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, Brad Kasal received the Navy Cross.

(Photo courtesy of Lucian Read)

[atomicradiogirl]

OMG i finished my book’s first draft!!! my working title rn is ‘burnt olives’ but it’s subject to change if i come up with something better

if you’ve ever read a memoir from a veteran or watched a war movie/show and wondered to yourself “what happens when they come home?” this book will answer your question.

you will follow 23 year old lance corporal evan rhodes, scout sniper who was injured in iraq in 2005. he comes home to his small town in illinois to an empty home, his mother dead of a stroke while he was overseas, father dead since childhood, and an only child. his only family left is his spotter lcpl benjamin “benji” day. he goes to therapy and gets prescribed sleep medication for his nightmares but complications arise. can evan heal the wounds or will they forever be opened? can he adjust to being home? how did he get injured? can he get his rightful disability benefits? who is warren collier? all these questions will be answered.

if you’ve read/enjoyed media such as: generation kill, my video essay and its research, the messenger (2009), the yellow birds by kevin powers & the movie, billy lynn’s long halftime walk by ben fountain & the movie and want to understand the impact of PTSD on a personal and healthcare level, you would like my novella!

dm me if you’re interested in beta reading! i would also be happy to swap anything you’re working on :) i can share a google doc, word, or pdf (but i hate microsoft word with a passion)

[lakecountylibrary]

#question for librarians#i have taken to holding and taking out books even if i don't actually plan on reading them#just to keep numbers up and titles i like in circulation#is this useful? neutral? or harmful?#can libby or hoopla tell if I haven't cracked open the book i borrowed and does that affect their metrics?#(also I don't do this to books that genuinely have people waiting on them behind me)

What an interesting question! I'm sure you're not the only one wondering, so I took it down to our collection development librarian for a thorough answer. Here's what we've got for you:

Simplest answer:

Whether or not you actually read the books does not matter in the least to our circulation stats! We have no way of knowing.

Longer answer:

Checking out the book multiple times may not have the effect you think it will, at least on Libby, because many books are purchased for a set number of checkouts. The book remains in our collections until the checkouts are used up.

Once we run out of licenses we have to decide whether to purchase the book again, and that answer may be no, depending on various factors (ie, presence of other books on the topic in the collection, how many licenses for the price, is it even still available, etc) even if it circulated a bunch.

If the book doesn't run out of checkouts, it stays in our collection anyway even if circ on it is low.

Other books are purchased for a set time period. When that time period is up, we decide whether to buy it again. Circulation on the title matters - but so do those other factors I mentioned earlier.

How can you as a patron tell which books are which? You can't.

There is also the possibility that continually checking out materials means other patrons who just browse the collection looking for what's available will never discover books that are always checked out. You'd be surprised how many people only look at what's in and refuse to put a hold on something that's checked out!

Should you feel guilty checking out a book you want to read if it means it uses a checkout or someone else has to wait? No!! (Scroll up and read the original post again - you're good!)

So, what to do? Our best advice is to use the digital resources genuinely. If you start to see that books you find valuable are leaving the collection, use the purchase request function or Notify Me tags to tell us you want them back.

But most importantly, don't stress over it. You're not going to break your library one way or the other; we have systems in place to ensure a healthy collection and to maintain our budget.

Bonus info about finishing books:

Libby and Hoopla might record how much of a book you read, but that's just for your convenience. The number may not be accurate either; if you download the book, turn on airplane mode, and read the whole thing and then return it before you have an internet connection, the app would have no idea how much you read (I do this frequently to save battery on my elderly kindle Paperwhite lol)

So even if we wanted to see that stat, it's not something we could rely on!

If you don't use your library's Libby and Hoopla collections, you run the risk of losing that access. Your library will see the low numbers and think "no one is using this service and we need to save money so let's get rid of it". I am saying this because at the library I work at, the collections team reduced the number of books you can check out each month for Hoopla. They reduced the amount by more than half - 25 to 10 - all because people weren't using it at the same capacity they were during lockdown.

Digital collections are expensive yes but when libraries are able to show the library board or city that their services are highly sought after and used in large numbers, that aids in arguing for increasing the budget - or at least keeping the budget where it's at.

Whatever your opinion on pirating is, you are doing not a single person favors by not using library resources just because you have a misunderstanding in how it actually works.

[captain-price-unofficially]

LCpl Dalton Gunderson checking an area with this Winchester Model 70 (fitted with 8X Unertl scope) for Viet Cong snipers. Operation Virginia 1966

[herprivateswe]

Informal portrait of 1603 Lance Corporal Frederick Raymond Kerr, 12th Australian Light Horse Regiment, seated in a dug out with the contents of a parcel that arrived from home spread out in front of him. LCpl Kerr smokes a pipe as he examines the goods. Included in the array of treats are two tins of Biddell's caramel toffees, a tin of Arnotts biscuits and a tin of milk arrowroot biscuits.

[lakecountylibrary]

Just the essentials!

Music credit: "Cinema Blockbuster Trailer 7" by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/en/song/329-cinema-blockbuster-trailer-7 License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license (CC BY 4.0)

[Video Description: A 26 second video. Orchestral, cinematic music plays. Text reads The library is on fire! Grab the most important things!

A librarian at her computer spins around in her chair in slow motion, a look of horror on her face. Video cuts between various librarians frantically rescuing items. Each scene is labeled with the item:

The South Shore Posters: A librarian completely obscured by a framed South Shore Line poster she is carrying backs out of a room.

The hand chair: A librarian hauls away a large red plastic chair shaped like a hand.

Patron holds: A librarian shovels patron holds off the holds shelf onto a cart.

Benny the library skeleton: A librarian princess-carrying a large skeleton dressed in an oversized t-shirt frantically looks around for an exit before dashing away

The cardigan pile: A librarian almost completely obscured by the pile of cardigans in her arms runs toward the camera.

3D printer: A librarian dashes up to a large 3D printer and attempts to lift it off the table

Cecily the giraffe: A librarian pats a life size baby giraffe statue and then grabs it by the leg and begins slowwwly scooting backward to slide it across the carpet

The library tree: A librarian grips an enormous planter out of which springs an entire tree and pulls with all her might. It doesn't move.

James Patterson books? : The librarian carrying Benny sprints into frame between shelves loaded with endless Patterson books. Record scratch. The sound of a clock ticking as he considers the books for maybe two seconds.

Text changes to "Not enough hands". The dramatic music resumes as he sprints off frame with Benny.

End card with the library logo. The words 'Not actually on fire. Everything is fine.' are typed across the screen. End description]

[lakecountylibrary]

This is excellent advice - JSTOR's free monthly articles are an amazing resource and of course we second asking your librarian for books that are accessible for general audiences.

Also ask your librarian for online databases! Some libraries have paid access to JSTOR, and some may have access to similar databases about specific topics that are free for cardholders.

For example, we at LCPL have Gale World History In Context, a database all about world history with full-text articles - you'll never be stopped by a paywall and you can be sure all the information is reputable.

You do need to be a resident of our library district to use our databases, but this is just an example - check with your local library to see what they've got for you! Libraries pay a lot for our databases and it's always a struggle to get the word out about them. You'll make a librarian very happy if you ask!

(Also, if you ARE one of ours, here are our history databases: https://www.lcplin.org/student-research#history Have fun!)

Is wikipedia a good source, and are there other free online sites where I can learn about Mesoamerican history

Take wikipedia with a grain of salt. Always check the citations to see if they are citing good sources or wonky websites.

I recommend searching Google Scholar as they are often easily accessible journal articles, book chapters, and sometimes even entire books. But again, make sure these are reputable publications from known journals, publishers, or academic institutions.

[eeliyos]

LCpl. Blake & Schofield

[usafphantom2]

MOONDOGS at El Centro (LCPL Bryan J. Nealy, USMC)

@kadonkey via X

[alonygamingnerd]

"Fireteam Falcon"

CPL Tyler Gossett

ODST Fireteam part of the 83rd Shock Trooper Division, Alpha Company, 10th Platoon.

Members

Name: Tyler Gossett

Gender: male

Nationality: Australian descent

Service number: 96001-38260

Date of birth: September 8th, 2511

Place of Birth: Draco lll

An occasional by the books leader that has a tendency to usually ring it when things get messy, cares deeply about his team, making sure that everybody makes it back.

LCPL Jacob Ellison

Name: Jacob Ellison

Gender: male

Nationality: French decent

Service number: 97021-80006

Date of birth: February 11th, 2514

Place of Birth: Harvest

A disturbed sense of humor that even his teammates sometimes feel unsafe around him. He enjoys being mounted up in areas on high ground overlooking the entire battle.

LCPL Foster Ornelas

Name: Foster Ornelas

Gender: male

Nationality: Poland descent

Service number: 96290-70069

Date of birth: December 6th 2519

Place of Birth: Earth

very nerdy and technically gifted but incredibly socially awkward struggling to talk to hold a conversation

LCPL Brian Judge

Name: Brian Judge

Gender: male

Nationality: Cuban Descent

Service number:95035-82258

Date of birth:July 24th, 2517

Place of Birth: Eirene

loud and bombastic personality, enjoys the adrenaline and chaos of front line combat, he feels most at home when in it. Always rushing into combat.

PFC Aidan Cardoza

Name: Aidan Cardoza

Gender: male

Nationality: Colombian Descent

Service number: 99862-60551

Date of birth: January 10th, 2518

Place of Birth: Kroedis II

loud, smart witted, and an aggressive attitude. Loves explosions, blowing stuff up, and destroying stuff.

[sgtgrunt0331-3]

On March 20, 2003, the ground campaign of Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

Pictured above: Sgt. Jeff Seabaugh, gives commands to his fellow Marines from Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team 2/1, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), during the first days of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

(Photo by LCpl. Brian L. Wickliffe)

[ns-imagines]

Marine Corps Birthday Ball

RAAHHH THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR JUST PASSED. NOVEMEBER 10TH THE MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY!!

All U.S. Marines in COD x USMC Birthday Ball

| Word Count: Not sure its a lot w/ videos| SFW

A/N: *Rips someone into two pieces with my bare hands* Shit makes me so happy that im a U.S. Marine. RAH. Keegan please be my date to the ball &lt;3 Sgt Russ and Sgt ****** <3

Context: Every year throughout the month of November we have our Marine Corps Birthday Ball. There's a ceremony and fancy dinner and of course a lot of alcohol and tabaco. Enlisted wear our Marine Corps Blues uniform and get to show off all our fancy awards and medals. The officers wear their sick uniform as well. Guests wear a formal suit or dress!! We get drunk, have cake, and dance. Its fun and one of the many traditions we have in this service. This year it was the 248th Birthday!! Let me give you the run down for todays event <3

Military Lingo Key at the end

1845 - Venue doors open

1900 - Cocktail Hour

2000 - Cocktail Hour ends all bars are closed

2005 - 5 Minute warning for the ceremony

2010 - Ceremony begins

2100 - Ceremony ends

2110 - Dinner service starts and Bars reopen

2200 - Dance floor opens / DJ starts

0130 - Venue doors close

Okay now that we have the schedule down. Lets list all the Marines in COD. Were gonna pretend everyone's alive and in the same unit for tonight. Whos going to be your date for tonight? Skip past the photo when you're ready.

All unnamed Marines <3 (damn npcs)

-MARSOC Marines, 2nd MarDiv

1st FRP (MW1) Source for info below click here and here (<- Has character pictures as well for some)

-Lt Vasquez, Cpt Pelayo, Sgt Paul Jackson, SSgt Griggs, Pvt Massey, Pvt West, Pvt Royzewicz, LCpl Lopez, and LCpl Gaines

DRT Stalker Units With Air Squadrons (All games) Information Source click here

Cpl Baker, Sgt Baker, Capt Weston, Cpt Keating, and Lt Volker

GHOSTS Platoon prior Force Recon Platoon (COD GHOSTS) Information Source click here

Sgt Keegan Russ, Sgt Alex Johnson, and Cpt Gabe Rorke

Lemme know if I forgot anyone!!

Okay, you have your date or friend group that you're going with. You as the guest are in your formal attire. Lets get this party started! (Every year and in every venue its the same setup, same ceremony, and same food)

1845-1900

You show up to the venue with your date. The ball room is set. There are about a dozen round tables draped with a beautiful white table cloth. There is a round red and gold table cloth in the center of the table. On it sits two pitchers one with water and the other with iced sweet tea. In front of each seat is a set of silverware for each course, a wine glass, a water/tea glass, a pamphlet with tonight's events, and a neatly folded napkin. Each section is sat with each other. A chair left empty next to your Marine for you of course.

Usually the Commanding Officer or Executive Officer will put money down for everyone to get one free drink. The venue offers two bars. Both the lines are a bit long but you can just chat while you wait. There plenty of people to be introduced too and everyone is saying "Happy Birthday" to each other. If you're stationed in an allied country like Japan there are guests from their military as well.

The bar has a wide variety. Wine, shots, mixed drinks, and juice if you arent drinking. They even sell cigars. You and your date get your drinks and socialize. You get to meet their peers and squad members. This is also the time to take pictures! You walk towards the entrance of the venue with your date. There is always a professional Photographer waiting. The American flag and Marine Corps flag are proudly displayed in front of a royal red backdrop. The backdrop has accents of gold.

The photographer asks if you want their pictures or just on your phone. You both pose and smile. The pictures came out amazing. Your Marine will take some photos with their shop and then you'll head back into the venue. Another drink?

2005

Man that hour went by fast! The five minute warning has just been called. You and your Marine go to your seats and wait for the ceremony to begin.

2010

The ceremony starts. Everyone is seated and quiet. There's always one rushing back to their seat from the bathroom. (You can watch a full ceremony from last year here but im going to summarize it. Im speaking from my experience overseas but the video is stateside Marine Corps)

The band does their introduction segment commencing the start of the ceremony. The march forward turn and march back. Next comes the sword detail. There are 4 pairs that walk through. There are both Enlisted Marines and Officers in the sword detail. They march in pairs to their position and once are all in place the Commanding Officer, Sergeant Major, and XO march past the sword detail to the front of the stage. Everyone stands when they walk by to show respect. Next comes the color guard with the American Flag and Marine Corps flag and two rifles march onto stage. Everyone stays standing to honor the colors are they pass. The National Anthem is played followed by Anchors Away and then the Marine Corps Hymn. Which every Marine sings!!

The cake is then marched onto stage while the band plays. A traditional speech is made. Then the CO cuts the cake with the NCO sword giving a slice to the guest speaker. The another slice to the oldest Marine. The oldest Marine takes a fork full and passes it to the youngest Marine for a fork full. This symbolizes the passing of traditions!

After that the color guard marches off stage followed by the cake detail and oldest and youngest Marine. The CO, XO, and SgtMaj exit the stage. Then the sword detail. The guest speaker will then give their speech and then the birthday message will play. I have it linked below. It was fire this year!!

2110

The ceremony ends and the bars open. Half the Marines there rush to the bathroom and the other half to the bar. The venue staff start to bring out a shrimp cocktail appetizer. After 15 minutes they bring out a salad. Then after about another 15 minutes they bring out the main course. There are four options chicken, steak, fish, and vegetarian.

2200 - 0130

The dance floor opens. You are free to leave at this time if you want. The venue service starts clearing off the tables and the DJ starts playing music. Marines go outside to smoke cigars others hit the bar for the 4-5th time. The dance floor gets crazy. The CO will even bust some moves on the dance floor. Medals come off so no one looses them (Plus they are so freaking expensive) and everyone has fun till the venue closes.

I hope you enjoyed your ball <3

Happy Birthday Marines!! Semper Fi

Military Lingo Key:

Section - who you work with basically

Sword detail - you can read about that tradition here

cake detail - you can read all about it here

[heavydaddysblog]

[captain-price-unofficially]

LCpl Nathan Chandler with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, hunkers down behind a compound wall during a firefight near the Bari Gul Bazaar, Nad Ali District, Helmand province, Afghanistan. 4 Dec 2013