Americas Collections Blog As a historian I get very excited about old letters, diaries, account books and inventories – but once in a while there are other ‘records’ that trump almost everything else. I had one of those moments this week when I returned to George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Over the past six years I have been many times to Washington’s estate in Virginia (just south of Washington DC) – first to research my book Founding Gardeners and then to give talks about the book. By now I go there to see the changes in the gardens (of which there are many, such as the fabulous restoration of the Upper Garden) and to meet my friend Dean Norton who is the Director of Horticulture there. Dean always makes a huge effort to entertain me – for example, by taking me out on the Potomac in a boat or letting me drive around the estate with a gator [A John Deere utility vehicle, not a reptile - ed.]. Last Wednesday’s visit, however, was one of the most memorable. It took four days to take the giant down – with a crane.
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Untold Lives Continuing with the series on William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877), we look here at his lifelong interest in botany and some of the items now available to researchers through the British Library catalogue. Botany was one of Talbot’s favourite fields of study although he pursued it only as an occasional interest. Nevertheless he was extremely knowledgeable and held in high regard. In 1829 he was elected to the prestigious Linnean Society, today one of the oldest active botanical societies in the world. From the age of 14, Talbot maintained a lively correspondence with eminent botanists such as Lewis Weston Dillwyn (1778-1855) and Sir William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865), and later with Reverend James Dalton (1764-1843). In 1823 and 1826 Talbot chartered expeditions to Corfu and the Ionian Islands collecting plants which he then spent the following years studying and classifying. One of the least known facts about Fox Talbot is his role in the preservation of the Royal Gardens at Kew.
The Embedded Librarian | Exploring New, Embedded Roles for Librarians in Organizations of All Types Surviving Cataloging Class Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Tracy Wasserman Many LIS students dread cataloging/classification class, a required course in some library schools. I found the class piqued my interest enough to take advanced cataloging/classification, a road travelled by few judging by the small class size. This was against the advice of my academic advisor, who cautioned not to take advanced cataloging unless I wanted to be a cataloger. Well, I thought, how would I know whether or not I wanted to be a cataloger if I didn’t take advanced cataloging? Turns out, I enjoyed the experience immensely. First, I believe cataloging/classification is an integral part of the value of librarians to society, as there is more information to organize than ever before. Use online cataloging tools: Understanding MARC fields and the RDA cataloging code can be a lot easier with the online help tools published and maintained by the Library of Congress. Like this: Like Loading...
The Ubiquitous Librarian June 10, 2015, 1:56 pm By Brian Mathews June 8, 2015, 1:55 pm Carrie Donovan A few weeks ago I heard Carrie Donovan (Head of Teaching and Learning, Indiana University Libraries ) give a keynote address at The Innovative Library Classroom Conference. Here are the slides from her talk: Shaking up the Sediment: Re-energizing Pedagogical Practice while Avoiding Bottle Shock. My main takeaway was the transition that Carrie is experiencing from teaching to consulting. [caption id=”attachment_4953″ align=”aligncenter… Read More June 5, 2015, 2:53 am Should librarians challenge the status quo? I decided to ask a professor. You’ve mentioned online that libraries should challenge the status quo. Read More June 3, 2015, 10:21 am Here is a quick interview with Andrew Whitworth, Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Manchester and Programme Director of the MA: Digital Technologies, Communication and Education. What is radical information literacy? Mainstream IL – competency-based,…
About « The Open Library At Centre for Learning, a school in Bangalore, we have an open library both in concept and reality. This means that there is free and open access to all material and resources, at all times of day and night, and throughout the year. Mutual trust and shared responsibility provide the ground from which this library functions. The rules and conventions of library interaction evolve out of a sense of co-operation, consideration and care for the community as a whole. The challenge for the librarian is not one of policing and monitoring, but to perceive and hold the library and its users as a vibrant functioning whole. This can only be done when the community of users feels a sense of ownership and accountability. The collection in this library reflects the commitment to quality and excellence. An innovative in-house computer programme ensures that all users can borrow, return, search for, reserve, and conduct other library operations with ease. The Open Library: Open Sesame:
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