I attended a program presented by Cindy Etkin of the U.S. Government Printing Office on Friday. The most interesting points that I came away with from her talk were first, that marketing does not equal promotion, and second she cited an interesting OCLC research report, From Awareness to Funding: a Study of Library Support in America, that concluded that libraries that consistently get support in their communities are ones where the community members view the library as "transformational" and not simply "informational".

There are many similarities between catalogers and programmers. These are just the few that come most easily to mind.

1) Catalogers are used to precisely following complicated and arcane rules for creating catalog records, much like the syntax rules for programming languages.

2) Catalogers and programmers both appreciate the value of applying consistent style conventions and standards.

It is time for something a little more light hearted! There are dozens of really funny YouTube clips that poke fun at libraries and librarians. One series that I especially like was produced by the Allen County Public Library in a series of four clips.
iACPL
iACPL 2.0
iACPL 3.0
iACPL 4.0

I have doing more reading than writing lately. One of the many books that I am reading right now is Clare Beck's recent biography of Adelaide Hasse. Ever since I heard about this incredibly driven, hardworking and outspoken government documents librarian I have wanted to know more about her life and work. Adelaide Hasse became the first Superintendent of Documents at the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1895.

There is an old joke among librarians that goes "What is the difference between a librarian and an ordinary person?" Answer: Normal people like to FIND answers, librarians like to SEARCH. That really does sum it up. Librarians like the challenge of not simply finding an answer. We want to find the most accurate, up to date, thorough and objective answer, even if it takes looking at a dozen sources to get there. What is more, librarians want sources to be discovered and selected based on their inherent value and merit as reputable sources of information.