I Prefer My Gadget Porn to My Climate Porn

I Prefer My Gadget Porn to My Climate Porn: New Words from 2007 ( Word Spy )

In his book WORD SPY: The Word Lover's Guide to Modern Culture Paul McFedries identifies "...new words and phrases that tell us something about our world." He collects "snapshots" of our quickly changing world with words, then adds context and a definition of their meaning. These words are like the gray literature of dictionaries. They are a step above slang because of their use in professional publications or circles, and their pervasiveness in current culture. Despite this they still lack the sanction of a respected dictionary.

The words and phrases McFedrise selects from our spoken and written interactions, provide an interesting gauge of current culture. They represent changes in society by society's need to create a new word to more accurately or succinctly describe either a new concept, or an old concept that previously did not seem to warrant its own word.

The WORD SPY: The Word Lover's Guide to Modern Culture web site contains a Subject Guide, Archives, and an Quotation Section organized by author and quote, and a list that "...shows the top 100 Word Spy words (as measured by page views) from the past seven days (The list below came from December 25, 2007 to January 1, 2008)."

New additions from 2007 include:

Rank	Previous	Word	Posted On
2	2	vajayjay	January 26, 2007
6	5	Christmas tree allergy	December 13, 2007
7	7	intensivist	December 18, 2007
12	11	Frankenstein veto	December 14, 2007
14	12	stroller envy	October 25, 2007
17	16	push present	December 12, 2007
18	20	lifestreaming	November 6, 2007
20	15	fixie	December 5, 2007
21	18	dropout factory	December 6, 2007
22	19	womenomics	December 11, 2007
61	54	upcycling	October 11, 2007
68	55	pack-year	September 13, 2007
90	82	climate porn	March 2, 2007
96	87	gorno	June 15, 2007

An interesting quote from the site about a current issue.

"Above all, a book is a riverbank for the river of language. Language without the riverbank is only television talk — a free fall, a loose splash, a spill."
—Cynthia Ozick, American novelist, essayist, critic, and playwright, Portrait of the Artist as a Bad Character, 1996.

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography

Who was the Sexiest Librarian to Ever Live

All right, all right, I mean the second sexiest librarian to ever live.

As everyone knows librarianship is one of the hottest and sexiest professions in history. Popular culture is awash in librarian fashion accessories (like the ever popular librarian glasses), images of irresistible librarians and even using the librarian mystique to sell products.

Books and those who care for them have always had a special place in society. They were often priests, scholars or imperial officials. Then in 1966 in a journal article from Psychoanalyst Dr. Norman S. Weiner wrote an article called “The Bibliomaniac.” He described a bibliomaniac as a person “with an inordinate desire” for books “who will “pursue a volume in an active or seductive way; he will use intrigue and stealth; he will hazard his fortune and he will journey around the world, or even marry for the gain of a coveted book.” At first it almost sounds like an addiction, but as the article goes on it sounds more like an obsessive compulsive disorder. “Bibliomania is a problem solving complex of activity that relieves anxiety or directly gratifies certain instinctual drives.” “The book is a talisman for its owner but it is a temporary and fleeting passion.” Then in an interesting twist Dr. Weiner compares the disorder with a “hyper sexual male hysteric who must constantly reassure himself he has not been castrated”

Now there are a lot of people who collect and like books however, it is unlikely that they fit that last description. Interestingly though the author points out that our famously sexy librarian settled down after his legendary amorous adventures and became a librarian. He worked (or hid out) as a librarian in the castle of Count Waldstein at Dux in Bohemia for thirteen years until his death in 1798. Who was he?

Giacomo Casanova (1725 – 1798)

For an excellent read on the subject of peoples’ passion for books get a copy of A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books by Nicholas A. Basbanes.

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography

5 Types of Books that Increase Intelligence

Fortunately, after John Wesley posted 10 Ways to Improve Your Mind by Reading the Classics, he soon followed up with a list of genres to read to increase intelligence. In his post 5 Types of Books that Increase Intelligence, he describes in detail how reading Science, Philosophy, Serious Fiction, and Poetry increases our brain power. Most of the classics in these fields can either be acquired very inexpensively or downloaded free. Of course, as always there is your local library.

Below is a list of some of my favorite classics.

• Beowulf (Library) Beowulf (Librivox free audio books)
• The Island of Doctor Moreau (Library) (LibriVox)
• War of the Worlds (Library) (LibriVox)
• Pride and Prejudice (Library) (LibriVox)
• Northanger Abbey (Library) (LibriVox)
• Heart of Darkness (Library) (LibriVox)
• Demoracy in America (Library)
  
• Bible, King James Version (Libary)
  
• Siddhartha (Library)
  
• The Art of War (Library) (LibriVox)

What are some of your favorite classics? Send us a comment with a list of titles and share your classic finds with others.

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography

"weirdest library design EVAR"

Jessamyn West in her excellent blog featured a new library to be built in Prague. This is definitely a one of a kind. It looks like something that belongs on the set of Star Trek. This 48 million extension shows both vision and bravery of the government. To understand the daring of the undertaking view pictures of the project at bd the Architects Website. You can read more about it at: http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3082843


This is an image of the interior of the current National library in
Prague.
Photograph by Francesco Villa
Today's challenge find the location of the old library, and the future site of the new library.

Good Luck!

Send comments and pictures of the weirdest or coolest library architecture you have seen. We will take the best entries and post them on the blog.

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography

The Color of Money: Fair Use and Copyright or: Free the Bound Periodicals!

In a recent blog Andrew Albanese -- Library Journal, 9/17/2007 wrote that a new "Study Suggests "Fair Use" Means Big Business." Many believe the record, movie, and publishing industries' attempts to curb or eliminate fair use clauses from copyright law are about corporate profits more than protecting artists. Several artists are now following a path to success pioneered many authors. Essentially they provide free and easily available content of their work. In most cases this leads to more sales and greater profits. This eliminates many of the middlemen, and barriers between the creators and their fans. It also lowers the cost to consumers and creates new markets for artists. When some or all of the content is free of charge this paradoxically leads to more sales.

The greatest threat and fear to almost every industry since the rise of the web is the role the Internet plays in dis-intermediation, or the elimination of the middleman. That was true of brokerages, bookstores, book publishers and now it is striking fear in the hearts of members of the Motion Picture Association. At one time the publishing industry tried to hold back the clock by lobbying for legislation making it illegal to even loan a book to a friend. Yet seeing a movie you enjoy is not the end of profit but the beginning. After watching good movie many will then buy posters, books, t-shirts, DVD's, and soundtracks to the movies they liked. Star Wars started this trend where a majority of profits came from merchandise, sale of home use formats of the movie, and sales in overseas markets. The initial production cost of a movie or a song is rarely covered by its initial release. The real profit comes from the development and cultivation of a fan base after it leaves the hands of the studios and theaters.

This lesson about the transformational nature of the Internet is a difficult and painful one. However, those who have faced it head on in the newspaper industry, brokerage firms, travel agencies, bookstores and other sectors have survived and many learned to thrive in the new environment.

Now there are some numbers to help put these issues in perspective. The Motion Picture Association of America told congress that the total loss to U.S.$20.5 millionU.S. industries and our economy.

Recently another study came out looking at the other side. In August 2007 the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) published a study which revealed that "fair use dependent industries" contributed over $4.5 trillion in annual revenue for the United States. This was approximately one sixth of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).

So who are the Motion Picture Association, other media and publishing groups really concerned about? New artists, or bankable stars, talented writers or the latest best seller tripe spewed out by Sylvia Brown? What constituencies are best served by expansive fair use laws, artists, educators, students, industry, researchers, or Time Warner? How far along would medicine and biological research be right now if the data from the human genome project was the property of one pharmaceutical company instead of a public resource for researchers, all pharmaceutical companies, university labs and government research projects? Most people want to see others get what they deserve for their work. However, it is pretty clear that the movie industry is more than willing to give a back seat to artists the education system, industry, and the country as a whole, to move their own interests forward, no matter what the costs are for anyone else.

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography

RIS Recommends: "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Licensing, Fair Use, and Copyright.

10 Ways to Improve Your Mind by Reading the Classics

From the blog "PicktheBrain" John Wesley mentions a study summarized for the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, indicating that "42% of college graduates will never read another book" after graduation. As disturbing as this is, it indicates that if a book is not a bestseller then number of people likely to read it drops even further. Wesley lists ten ways that reading the "classics" will improve our intelligence. He lists things like gaining perspective, developing fresh ideas, and increasing your level of sophistication. This does not mean one has to become a bookworm but it could help us move a little farther from being a couch potato. The list is at: 10 Ways to Improve Your Mind by Reading the Classics.

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography

Reality Check: How Information Flows in a Real Office

The Flow of Information at the Googleplex

1/08/2008 07:37:00 AM

Posted by Bo Cowgill, Economics Group

Alright the last one was easy, let's see if you can find the following building. The building was the site of a study by Bo Cowgill, Economics Group of how information flows within an office environment. It measured this flow by tracking employee participation in Prediction Markets "at the Googleplex."

The article suggests that micro-geography (or who is sitting next to you) has more to do with the flow of information in an office than any other factor. This of course sparked a heated debate but the diagram from the paper (below) certainly seems to support the paper's findings. (Suggested Reading: Ambient Findability chpt 3.4 online "Safari Books" at Steen Library web site)

Here is the "When and Where" part. Where is the building located that the graph is displayed on, and when was the photo taken? Please send links and an explanation of your proof.

Good Luck :)

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography

The Cornerstone of a Successful Search

When you come to the reference desk and ask a question, the first thing a librarian will do is ask some questions. This is called a "reference interview." It is t important because researchers will not always ask for what they are looking for but for what they think the library has. Sometimes they are embarrassed about the question so they ask something else. Others worry that the librarian is too busy or that they would not be able to answer the real question. So,the librarian's first goal is to help them articulate an effective question or "task definition."

Ru Story-Huffman in his article Critical Thinking, Task Definition and the Reference Interview (Higher ed) states that the reference interview is “an information contact that involves the use, recommendation, interpretation, or instruction in the use of one or more information sources; or knowledge of such sources, by a member of the reference or information staff.” (2004, pg 1). So, successfully assisting a student in task definition allows the student to work to identify their information needs. As most research fails due to poor task definition, effective research creates a usable and accurate task definition. There are three simple ways to do this.

1. Use a "Research Helper Task Definition Chart" as a way to write down the information
you need. This should be done as soon as you receive the assignment.

2. Another way to define your task is to write down the question you will answer in your paper in a one-sentence question. It needs to be clear, and have well-defined boundaries. The question "What do you have on drugs?" is not a question with well-defined boundaries, and is an example of poor task definition. "What are the physiological effects of steroid use among high school athletes?" is an example of good task definition.

3. The last technique is to imagine you have found the perfect article about your topic. This article talks about all the things you want to cover and has the answers to all your questions. Imagine the article in your mind; then write down the title of the article.

Task definition is the first step in all research. Determining what needs to “be known to reach an objective” and identifying the location of the information is what librarian’s do. We study it, we practice it, and we do it every day. Just ask, and we will help you.

In his book Real World Intelligence Herbert Meyer writes,

"One difference between failure and success is not how much you know, but rather how much you know about the right things. And figuring out the right things to know about-which is to say the things that will directly help you to reach a particular objective-is one of the trickiest, least understood, most underrated jobs in the world.... Anyone who knows how to determine what needs to be known to reach one objective can also determine what needs to be known to reach any other objective"

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography

Future Reading: Digitization and its discontents.

Full Article in:
New Yorker
Nov. 5, 2007
by Anthony Grafton

"Digitizing every book and putting them on the Web. That’s the vision of at least three major corporations including Microsoft, Amazon and Google." While many technophiles are forecasting the end of the book, one wonders what happened to the "paperless office.” The last paperless office I am aware of (if you don't count papyrus or vellum) was in Mesopotamia and used clay. One thing about baked clay is that it is not subject to "bit rot.” Not everyone thinks that digitizing all of the books will mean the death of the book or the library. Mr. Grafton in his article on Future reading concludes:

Sit in your local coffee shop, and your laptop can tell you a lot. If you want deeper, more local knowledge, you will have to take the narrower path that leads between the lions and up the stairs. There—as in great libraries around the world—you’ll use all the new sources, the library’s and those it buys from others, all the time. You’ll check musicians’ names and dates at Grove Music Online, read Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” on Early English Books Online, or decipher Civil War documents on Valley of the Shadow. But these streams of data, rich as they are, will illuminate, rather than eliminate, books and prints and manuscripts that only the library can put in front of you. The narrow path still leads, as it must, to crowded public rooms where the sunlight gleams on varnished tables, and knowledge is embodied in millions of dusty, crumbling, smelly, irreplaceable documents and books.

So does information in book form contain any added value or is it more valuable when retrievable from a large database? Is the ability to retrieve any quote, sentence, or paragraph from a sea of zeros and ones a boon or a loss to society? I am sure it will cut both ways unfortunately many including college students will use this new method of access to find a quote to substantiate their preexisting opinion as opposed to doing research to develop an informed opinion of their own. These disembodied pieces of text can loose meaning when taken from a carefully crafted discussion of hundreds of pages then turned into a text-bite. While this has been done in the past with the advent of full text databases, it has become the norm. Furthermore, the "researcher" no longer needs to read the text to find a quote they use or misuse.

A truly noble sentiment that makes an excellent text-bite:

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate... we cannot consecrate... we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

While this phrase expresses an inherently moving ideal its meaning is greatly diminished because of its separation from the next paragraph:

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us... that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion... that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain... that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom... and that government of the people... by the people... for the people... shall not perish from this earth.

This idea of taking the sacrifice of hundreds and thousands of soldiers and turning it from a vain and disheartening tragedy into a reaffirmation of values and a re-dedication of purpose is truly a masterpiece of oratory. However, how much meaning is lost if the reader is not aware of the battle of Gettysburg, or even the American Civil War. Assumption of this knowledge is no longer valid in the US let alone in cultures linked by the Internet across the globe. Is there any value left when this or any significant piece of text is removed from the context that framed its meaning?

If you doubt the value of context, or format, read the Gettysburg address online. Then one night read it alone carved on the wall of the Lincoln Memorial. Perhaps then the realization of the importance of context, format, and how vital it is to meaning may become apparent.

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography

They are Finally Adding Ginormous to the Dictionary

Merriam Webster released a tantalizing list of new additions to their Merriam-Webster's Collegiate^® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. While the list is not Ginormous it does have some interesting new words, some words that have been around awhile, and a few words you probably wish you never heard of. So for all of you who are dying to update your spell checkers with the 100 or so new words here is a list of twenty to start with.

• 1. agnolotti
• 2. Bollywood
• 3. chaebol
• 4. crunk
• 5. DVR
• 6. flex-cuff
• 7. ginormous
• 8. gray literature
• 9. hardscape
• 10. IED
• 11. microgreen
• 12. nocebo
• 13. perfect storm
• 14. RPG
• 15. smackdown
• 16. snowboardcross
• 17. speed dating
• 18. sudoku
• 19. telenovela
• 20. viewshed

Why not throw a couple of these in one of your papers and see if you get it marked wrong?

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography