I love e-books! I’d check them out from my local library more often if I could, but it seems like there’s always a backlog of holds for the popular ones. Why is that? Turns out, it’s complicated. Today on Stacks & Facts, we explore why libraries sometimes struggle to meet their patrons’ demands for e-books.
Continue reading “Yes, libraries have e-Books! But it’s, uh, complicated.”Amazon has No Business Replacing Public Libraries
I never thought I’d have to make a video called “Should Amazon Replace Libraries?” But then a certain poorly-written and not-researched op-ed in Forbes came out, and I was left with no choice.
Contrary to popular beliefs, libraries are not — I repeat, NOT — dying. Nor are they obsolete. And we certainly shouldn’t be replacing them with anything by Amazon, or any other commercial entity.
Continue reading “Amazon has No Business Replacing Public Libraries”Tattoos, Mr. Rogers, and the Case for Responsible Information
Where do tattoos come from, and why do we get them? Folks usually get tattoos to reflect something about themselves — but that’s not always the case. This video looks at some examples of that over the past six millennia, medical tattooing, tattooing in Polynesian cultures, the Holocaust, Mr. Rogers, and the internet’s effect on empathy.
Continue reading “Tattoos, Mr. Rogers, and the Case for Responsible Information”Out On The Shelves: UBC’s LGBT2QIA+ Library
Shout out to Kiko, the volunteer who was willing to talk about their experience with Out on the Shelves! I have a library card for OOTS but I don’t volunteer with it (ah the imaginary free time of a grad student).
Continue reading “Out On The Shelves: UBC’s LGBT2QIA+ Library”A YouTuber’s Concise Guide to Libraries
You don’t have to be a YouTuber for this video to be useful to you, but if you ARE one, set down everything and watch this RIGHT NOW because it is TIME to take your content and channel to the NEXT LEVEL. This video talks about 5 things that you as a YouTuber should be using your libraries for:
Continue reading “A YouTuber’s Concise Guide to Libraries”How Do You Describe a Book?
You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but what about by its metadata? This week we tackle the topic of describing a book in a way that’s useful for others! Part 2 of a mini-series on metadata.
Continue reading “How Do You Describe a Book?”World Book Day – What is iSchool@UBC reading?
Interested in any of the books below? Find a copy at a local library by going to WorldCat.org, and it’ll find you the closest copy at the closest library to you. What a deal! Thanks to all the patient faculty at UBC’s iSchool who put up with my shenanigans daily. Continue reading “World Book Day – What is iSchool@UBC reading?”
Metadata for Good and Evil
What is metadata, why does it matter, and what can we do with it? Time to develop a new superpower! Please, just use it for good.
Let’s Talk Sex (Education), with Lindsey Doe
In this go-round, we talk to Lindsey Doe about how people go looking for information, when that information happens to be sex. We cover barriers (ha, unintended pun) and behaviours that people are confronted with, and how to overcome them so that we can live our bestest, sexiest lives. Continue reading “Let’s Talk Sex (Education), with Lindsey Doe”
Buffy, Giles, and Dewey: Classification Explained
When it comes to slaying demons and protecting mankind from the forces of evil, what kind of STAKE does the library have in it? In this video we explore how classification, the backbone of many information systems, can be used to fight the forces of evil. Continue reading “Buffy, Giles, and Dewey: Classification Explained”