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April 15, 2008 by Betsy Bird

Fusenews: Robots, Wars, and Brooklyn (Not to be Confused with Robot Wars in Brooklyn, Which Would be Hopelessly Awesome)

April 15, 2008 by Betsy Bird   6 comments

  • And let’s see here.  At final count the winners of last night’s Kidlit Drink Night appeared to be the Brooklyn Public Library.


New York Public Library: 2

Brooklyn Public Library: 8+

Queens Public library: 0


This is a real upset for the Queens team, who until now had been winning the Kidlit Drink Nights in full force.  Sorry, ladies.  Looks like BPL had the leg up this particular evening.   There were illustrators, editors, and school librarians in attendance as well, but no one could compete with the librarians of distant boroughs.  Well played.

 

  • There we go.  Had to happen.  "Harry Potter" has finally become a style.  With any luck designers will be using the term to describe home libraries of the rich and famous ala that scene in The Great Gatsby.  You know the one I mean.  And if you don’t, tell me since I haven’t reread that book is such an awfully long time.  Thanks to Read Roger for the link.

 

  • People with opinions can be fun.  The piece about the 5 People Who Make Me Hate the Public Library is positively rife with them too. It’s a sequel to the piece The 9 Most Annoying People I Always See in a Bookstore.  Agreeing is not obligatory, which is probably a good thing. Thanks to bookshelves of doom for the link.


  • Fine Lines continues to look at children’s literature of yore.  This week: The Chocolate War.  I just found out from the child_lit listserv that his name was not pronounced cor-mee-aay as I had always assumed but cor-mur.  That’s why I like my name.  Bird.  Very hard to mispronounce.  Bird.


  • Imagine a world in which library books and cards are as easy to attain as Metro cards and those little plastic balls with cheapo toys and tattoos inside.  Behold the wonder and glory of Beijing’s Integrated Library Automation System.  Does it sound boring?  Yes it does.  But does it do cool stuff?  Sure as shooting.  Basically it’s an ATM with books inside.


"The report says the machine can hold more than 400 books, which are encased inside a glass window and circulate on a three-layer conveyor belt to facilitate readers’ selection. The machine is equipped with a box to hold returned books and a computer to help readers search for book information. The round-the-clock service system can even issue library cards."

Ooo, lar lar.  It also happens to cost a handsome $57,131 to build so . . . yeah.  I think we’ll be waiting a couple years before we start importing this particular pup.

 

Filed under: Fusenews

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. LAURA LUTZ says

    April 15, 2008 at 6:59 am

    I can’t help it! The posse won’t go without me! Hopefully your wake-up call will prevent such a travesty in the future. And I was rather horrified by the 5 People that Make Me Hate the Public Library list…but then I realized, offensive un-PCness aside, that it was all kind of true.

  2. Fuse #8 says

    April 15, 2008 at 7:59 am

    Heck, I even had someone there who was looking inquisitively at Queens for a possible job relocation. Ah well. You’ll just have to show your hometown pride at the next one. Watch, we’ll swamped with librarians from Hoboken then.

  3. Adam Rex says

    April 15, 2008 at 8:38 am

    I’m afraid after skimming both the bookgasm pieces my only real response was, “Geez, calm down. You okay? Do you want a glass of water or something?….Oh. You were being funny? I’m sorry, I totally didn’t get that.”

  4. Fuse #8 says

    April 15, 2008 at 8:43 am

    Yeah, I think it was Leila Roy who pointed out that there’s some debate in the pieces’ comments section as to whether or not these bits are serious or constitute “comedy”.

  5. melanie hope greenberg says

    April 15, 2008 at 10:28 am

    Thanks Betsy and Cheryl for the cool kidlit drink nite. I was representing Brooklyn. I just came in from giving a presentation this morning at the Dweck Auditorium at BPL Central. Got a million hugs from 2nd graders. They grabbed my books and pointed out who they were inside of the book. It made me stop to think that what I do is beyond the “stardom” craze that has taken over the book industry. These kids are the WHY of what I do. They are the stars. Showing inner city kids the world through books is a humbling experience. Also, it’s the librarians who truly champion books for these children to be exposed to is how they see the world they may never experience otherwise. And the real reason for my career. Thanks librarians. You Rock, Rule and Reign in my eyes.

  6. melanie hope greenberg says

    April 15, 2008 at 10:32 am

    If I can figure out my new digital camera I will get you the photos from the kidlit drink nite. Be patient,
    digital age means my five fingers on my left hand.

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