nirak.net - Musings of an LIS Student

I don’t talk about my job very often here. I’m not sure exactly why that is. Part of it, I’m sure, is that I worry that I don’t possess the political acumen to know what is and what is not ok to post. There have been plenty of times in the past when I have talked about a topic that, unknown to me, was taboo or secret. I feel that I understand more about what I can and can’t post now, though.

The other reason I don’t post about work related stuff much is because, strictly speaking, it’s not usually library related. For the most part, my job has little to do with library operations- no circulation, reference, or technical services stuff for me. I hope that, lacking that, my libraryland readers will still find it tolerable.

karin :: Jan.17.2008 :: Asides, Work :: No Comments »

It seems every few months another wave of posts about whether  people are reading enough starts (the latest, I think, was prompted by the Kindle’s release). I came across this quote by Albert Einstein (attr., can’t figure out where the quote came from yet) the other day- it throws an interesting counter perspective on the issue: “Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”  I think Einstein might love the web 2.0 craze, with the emphasis on creating and remixing, not passive reading.

karin :: Dec.03.2007 :: Asides :: 2 Comments »

Just a note to those of you in Nebraska who like Anime and have $35 to spend on a conference:

My husband and I will be attending some of the festivities of Anime NebrasKon 2007 this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 16, 17 & 18) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It should be a good time- there are two dances, so with any luck Geoff and I will be able to practice the mad lindy hop skills we picked up at our first class this Tuesday. (3 whole moves!)

karin :: Nov.14.2007 :: Asides, Sites and Stories :: No Comments »

I have not dipped below 400 items in Google Reader in weeks. I find this makes me read a little faster, in search of the ever elusive zero (usually, when I reach zero, I finally getting around to un-subscribing to feeds.) One of the things I’ve noticed when scrolling though large amounts of text is -I like subheadings. A lot. They’re useful in print, but in blogs, they’re just gold. Images are also very nice. Basically anything that breaks up the huge mass of undifferentiated text is welcome.

karin :: Oct.16.2007 :: Asides, Sites and Stories :: No Comments »

A while ago, the Institute for the Future of the Book told readers of their blog that they would be working on a theme for WordPress that will allow comments on individual paragraphs. Well, it’s out, and it looks amazing! I can’t wait to play with it. - CommentPress

karin :: Jul.25.2007 :: Asides :: 1 Comment »