Why boys like girls books

Great article on Slate about, well the title says what it's about. The other title is "The Little Men Who Love Little House". Boys, the writer contends, like Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books more for the detailed information they provide (how to tap a maple tree for sugar, or how to load a musket) than for the actual story. I'm not sure that was precisely the case for me, although I do recall that the Little House books were among my favorites for that 15 minutes of after lunch reading by the teacher when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade.

The article does slam librarians for liking "books that teach moral lessons" and points to winners of the Newberry Medal as examples! A bit cheeky of the author I thought, but then I haven't been very good about reading the Newberry's myself, so I'm in no position to judge.

I didn't find this article by myself. It was cited in the most recent (March 15) American Libraries Direct electronic newsletter. Their "seen online" section almost always has good stuff worth reading.

Wikipedia and Britannica Considered

Wikipedia has just announced its millionth article. But probably of more interest is an indepth review, comparison and writeup of the differences between Wikipedia and Britannica in the latest issue of Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals. The article is definitely worth a read.

Here's how the article, written by Paula Berinstein, frames the issue:

The primary question for info pros is, of course, reliability. Can "the public" concoct and maintain a free, authoritative encyclopedia that’s unbiased, complete, and reliable? If not, then Britannica may rest on its laurels and its good name, although with the Web so free and accessible, it’s been taking licks for some years. But if the answer is "Yes," what happens to that shining beacon of scholarship, its publishers, and its academic contributors? Is encyclopedia publishing a "zero sum" game?

Keep Up With Available Mashups

Says Tara: "Want to know what mashed-up applications are coming down the pipe? Check out a very nice service: Mashup Feed (http://www.mashupfeed.com/.) "

A brief description of this service is available from Tara Calishain's ResearchBuzz!

What's a "mashup"? See the Wikipedia definition. They're a big part of Web 2.0.

Extreme Makeover: Rebranding an Industry

Did you miss the OCLC Symposium at ALA Midwinter, “Extreme Makeover: Rebranding an Industry”?

Now you can watch the webcast or listen to the podcast.
At this symposium, a panel of experts shares their insights on rebranding the library. Hosted by Cathy De Rosa, OCLC Vice President of Marketing and Library Services, the distinguished panelists include: Antony Brewerton, Subject Team Leader at Oxford Brookes University; Patricia Martin, President and Founder of LitLamp Communications Group, Inc.; Jennifer Rice, President of Mantra Brand Communications; and Omar Wasow, Executive Director of BlackPlanet.com and Internet Analyst for NBC.

View Webcast (password = pass)
Listen to Podcast

From OCLC Abstracts, Vol. 9, No. 9

DaVinci Code Fodor's Travel Guide

Can you believe it? Fodor's is releasing a travel guide to The DaVinci Code! ISBN: 1-4000-1672-X. Release is scheduled for March.

Plus, their website lists DaVinci Code tours of Paris, London, Rome, New York, Scotland and more. All of which are apparently going to be in the printed guide.

This is even better than the patron who walked into Border's (shortly after the release of the movie) and asked for Cliff's Notes for Jurassic Park!

Flickr hacks and tools

As if Flickr weren't enough by itself, BCR's Michael Sauers has compiled a list of Flickr hacks to theoretically enhance your daily life, or at least your daily dose of Flickr. From giving us clocks and ransom notes made out of Flickr photos, to slide shows and color wheels, all designed to work on top of Flickr, some of these developers obviously have too much time on their hands. On the other hand, these tools exemplify the Web 2.0 concepts of openness and decentralization.

The Blogga Song

Now for something silly, listen to The Blogga Song. Lloyd, the Llibrary Llama sings about many of the library blogs and more. Luckily our test blog hasn't been around long enough to show up there!