Thursday September 2, 2010
Library of the past
We received this card today from a Read, Review & Win winner – what a great story!
Thank you for awarding me the lovely library bag of ‘goodies’ for a review of “S” by John Updike.
I have always been a book worm. There was no large Municipal Library in those days but a small library was accessible in the main street. For one penny I could borrow a book for a week.
Between age 5 and 6 I chose “The Secret Garden” to read. The library lady said it was too advanced for me. I insisted I could read it so she sat me down on the floor and told me to read it to her. After a few pages she quizzed me on the context and then said I could borrow it.
This was in 1935 and I haven’t stopped reading since.
Pam R.
Mosman 1 September 2010.
Thanks Pam!
Thursday September 2, 2010
The end of the stamp!
Have you noticed that when you borrow items we laboriously stamp each and every one of them with a date due? This is a slow and time consuming practice that has finally had its day.
From now on when you borrow books, DVDs etc you will receive a print-out with all of the titles that you have borrowed along with the dates they are due back. This will save us time and speed along the queues. If you would still like the comfort of having a stamp on the date due slip they will still be available for you to use.
Monday August 23, 2010
One word to describe what you love about Mosman?
Mosman Library is making a movie, a film of faces and places of Mosman.
Do you have one word to describe what you love about Mosman?
If you would like to be a ‘talking face’ on film and tell us what Mosman means to you in just one word, call the Library on 9978 4090 or email Mary Lou Byrne at m.byrne@mosman.nsw.gov.au to book in for filming.
Filming will take place in the Library on Thursday 9 September from 4 – 6pm.
Tuesday August 3, 2010
The eyes of the world
Last week Morgan Williams, Head of Applications at Yahoo!7, spoke at the Library about Flickr, its features and how it can be used to crowdsource and curate local and family history. About 30 people came along and enjoyed not only the talk, but also the Flickr swag and Morgan’s engaging Welsh accent.
If you couldn’t make it (or want to refer back to them), here are his slides:
Friday July 30, 2010
Students only!
Lots of students studying for the upcoming HSC trials over the July school holidays and after school with many groaning at having to pack up at 5.30pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings made us think that we could do something to help them alleviate at least a bit of their pre-exam stress by trialling an HSC Student Lock In on Monday 9 August from 5.30-9pm.
The Lock In aims to give students exclusive use of the Library, our resources and of course some all important treats so that they can keep studying without interruption. If students like the first HSC Lock In we have more dates planned right up until the HSC starts… so watch this space.
Thursday July 29, 2010
Mosman Faces is happening!
‘Mosman Face’ Lola Dowie, a dancer with the Tivoli Follies met her future husband Francis Toohey at The Monterey at Mosman Bay in 1917. After marriage in 1919 they settled in Prince Albert Street and Francis Toohey with his father ran a successful real estate business in Mosman.
Well it’s happening for me anyway and hopefully you too will share the excitement in the not too distant future.
The first draft of the narrator’s script is written. This script will link the stories of the interviewees to the history of Mosman.
Next step is to find a narrator who can give this story the respect it deserves!
Seven ‘Faces’ chosen, with possibly two more, are ready and willing to be interviewed. These ‘faces’ link in with ‘The Barn’, still standing and originally built by Archibald Mosman for stores for his whaling industry, Richard Harnett, the first Mayor of Mosman, the artists camp at Balmoral, the Mosman Musical Society, the Mosman Cricket Club, retail business in Mosman and of course everyone’s favourite Taronga Zoo.
Donna Braye, the Local Studies Librarian, and I met the film maker this week and discussed the format of Mosman Faces. Discussions and questions on the on line film project, production of a DVD, what style did we want – documentary style with narrator or just interviews, how to incorporate objects, images and perhaps oral histories from the Local Studies Collection and of course location location location …will the interviewee be in the Library or perhaps a little more exciting in the ‘place’ that goes with the ‘face‘!
A rough timeline was created with interviews, location shots and images finalized by mid September and the editing of the interviews done by mid October.
Lots to think about in so little time but we will get there…
Wednesday June 2, 2010
Take away a Playaway today
What is a Playaway? It is an all-in-one audio book about the size of an iPod. Its small size and ultra-portability makes it the most convenient audio book format in our collection. There are no CDs to load and unload, no hassles of downloading and no other equipment needed. Easy-to-use technology for all ages!
- Each Playaway holds an entire audiobook, regardless of length
- Easily navigate back and forth through chapters
- Automatic bookmarking remembers where you stopped listening
- Universal headphone jack
Each Playaway comes with the digital content already pre-loaded. You simply need to supply one “AAA” battery, earphones and enjoy. Directions for use are on the case and on the device itself. They fit easily into pockets and are great when going on a walk or for those long bus or train rides. If you do not have any earphones we have a small number available on request at our Lending Desk for you to keep.
When you are searching on the Webcat, the Playaways are displayed as DIGI – short for digital player.
Thursday May 27, 2010
Mosman stories, coming soon to a tube near you
Last year the Local Studies section of the Library applied for a State Library Development Grant for a web based project we titled Mosman Faces and last month we were told we were successful!
The project will provide a visual history of Mosman through filmed interviews. These interviews will be complemented by scanned images from the Local Studies Collection and enhanced by voice over and music.
Like our already existing interactive website, Mosman Memories, a place for past and present residents of Mosman to share memories of their street, Mosman Faces will also give the audience an opportunity to generate content. This content generation sustains community engagement in Mosman’s story and in turn provides greater access and awareness of the Local Studies collection for a past, present and future generation.
So now the fun begins – background information needs to be gathered on the interviewees e.g. if we planned to interview a past member of the Mosman Cricket Club, research would need to be done on the member, the Club itself, the images and other archival materials we have in the collection and that’s before we even begin to interview and film! Once filmed, the interviews and images will be combined, a little music added and a logo designed that will create an identity ensuring the sustainability of this unique project and the ongoing story of Mosman!
Mosman Faces may become Mosman Places or Mosman Faces and Places or Mosman Places Faces or Mosman Faces Places – whatever we call it – the project promises to be another exciting instalment from the ever vibrant Mosman Library. Maybe you have a comment or suggestion?
Monday May 17, 2010
The next web with @wragge
Tim Sherratt (@wragge) spoke at the RISG seminar about the Semantic Web and Linked Data.
It’s a slippery topic – just as you think you’ve grasped the idea, you get into the detail and it slips from your fingers. Tim said something about “brains turn to mush” at one point, but credit to him for such an engaging introduction to the topic.
The semantic web is about context. Tim said that links as we know them are dumb. They are simply pointers to locations, ‘web addresses.’ The semantic web adds meaning to the links. As an example, he showed a piece of text on The Dismissal. Smart links (semantic links) would allow a machine to know that the Whitlam referred to in the article was a person, Gough Whitlam, born 1916, an Australian Prime Minister. It could distinguish this Whitlam from other Whitlams, this Prime Minister from other Prime Ministers.
With systems that provide context, machines can traverse the web, answering complex questions by autonomously discovering linkages between things in an ecosystem of billions and billions of ‘things.’
Tuesday May 11, 2010
Highlights from ‘Reference at the Metcalf 2010’
Dali Atomicus (detail) by Philippe Halsman (Library of Congress)
‘Reference at the Metcalf’ is an annual seminar organised by Public Libraries Australia aimed at showcasing some of the most recent developments in information and reference services. This year speakers explored the role library’s have in creating, collecting and sharing digital data. With the rapid move away from physical resources a key feature of reference work lies in providing access to, organising and preserving this ever increasing array of digital data held on the web.
Tim Sherratt ‘digital historian and web tinkerer’ opened the day with an interesting presentation on ‘linked data’ otherwise known as ‘the semantic web’. This is the next generation of the web as we know it and the idea is that by providing certain linked data to pieces of information it will enable the web to ‘understand’ the meaning behind our searches and thus return more relevant information. Making our searches more meaningful however is an ongoing process and relies on everyone working together to add linked data to the web.
Rose Holley, Manager of Trove at the National Library emphasised the changing role of librarians in the digital age and our increasing role as teachers and facilitators rather than just gatekeepers of information. The digital age is calling for new ways of managing information and therefore new challenges for information professionals. According to Rose Holley the key lies with crowd sourcing, a concept where the public work together to reach a common goal. The success of Wikipedia certainly illustrates the effectiveness of collaboration in order to achieve enormous tasks. Who would have thought that the world’s most popular encyclopaedia could be developed solely by volunteers? Trove’s newspaper digitisation project is another great example of what volunteers can do to enhance access to information.
Mal Booth Director of Education and Research Services at UTS gave a fascinating talk about digital preservation highlighting the need for library professionals to be actively involved in this endeavour even if it means going beyond our comfort zone. Mal travelled to Iraq when he worked for the Australian War Memorial to take photos and oral histories of the soldiers for the museum’s collection. In years to come Mal’s extraordinary collection of materials will ensure that this important time in Australian history will not be forgotten.
Overall the key point to come out of this insightful seminar was collaboration. All the presenters emphasised the need to work together to not only improve access to information but to preserve our cultural heritage for the good of future generations.