What: OLA SuperConference iSchool Alumni Reception
Where: “West” Private Dining Room, Joe Badali’s Ristorante Italiano, 156 Front St. W.
When: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Time: 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Cost: $10 at the door, and includes free appetizers and a drink of your choice
RSVP: kathleen.obrien@utoronto.ca, 416.978.7184, by Monday, February 22, 2010

85 Reasons to be Thankful for Librarians
by jonathan on December 29, 2009

1. Librarians take care of libraries, which are still invaluable today.
2. Not all information is on the internet.
3. Older books still hold great cultural significance.
4. Libraries are still repositories for some of the most valuable works of literature in the world.
5. Even with the internet, the library is still the best place to do research.
6. Girls with glasses can still rock the “sexy librarian” look.
7. “Sexy Librarian” is still a popular costume at Halloween.
8. You can’t exactly find periodicals like The New England Journal of Medicine in Barnes and Noble.
9. For that matter, looking at turn-of-the-century National Geographics is still pretty entertaining.
10. Colleges need something to remodel every so often.
11. The library is still the best meeting spot for college students working on group projects.
12. Libraries are where most colleges store some of their history (choir CDs, videos of athletic matches, etc.).
13. A library is one of the few places people can have free internet access.
14. This means some libraries even hold LAN parties during later hours.
15. Somebody has to help lazy people find what they want.
16. Even online collections of books usually connect directly to a library.
17. “Librarian” is still a better career choice for spinsters over “School Lunch Lady.”
18. Studies have shown libraries and librarians improve student test scores.
19. They also have been shown to improve students’ individual learning skills.
20. With their training in instructional design, librarians can help teachers find resources for their curriculum.
21. Librarians also help teachers to use a variety of media in the classroom.
22. Many libraries today offer enough DVDs to serve as a poor man’s Netflix or Blockbuster.
23. Librarians often put together special programs to get children to read early on.
24. While teaching children to use the library, librarians end up teaching them valuable problem solving skills.
25. They also teach children to use multiple resources to form their own original works.
26. If librarians were no longer around, kids wouldn’t understand the opening scene from Ghostbusters.
27. Librarians know a lot about proper citation skills, as well as ethical uses of information, in order to avoid plagiarism issues.
28. Libraries are still a cheaper place to make photocopies than FedEx Kinko’s.
29. Despite the advances in computer technology, a human will still find information better than a search engine.
30. Librarians can also find information better suited to the person who needs it.
31. A library is much MUCH more well cataloged and organized than the internet.
32. Libraries have much better quality control than the vast majority of websites.
33. Who else is going to learn the Dewey Decimal System? You?
34. Seriously though, no one wants to learn the Dewey Decimal System.
35. For that matter, who else is going to show you how to use that microfiche machine?
36. Experienced librarians often know exactly what resources students need for particular courses.
37. Many libraries collaborate and offer book exchange programs, offering users an almost limitless supply of books and media.
38. Librarians can help relieve some of the workload from teachers by helping students to understand information better.
39. Some engineering teams have already explored the idea of a fully digital library…and ended up designing a traditional library with some advanced technology.
40. The copyright costs for digitizing all literature would be astronomical without even factoring in distribution and storage.
41. Even without the costs, digitizing all books in existence would take hundreds of years at the current rate.
42. The internet still mostly only holds information from the past 15 or so years, compared with the hundreds of years of knowledge found in a library.
43. Even though libraries themselves may be losing attendance, their online archives and websites are still receiving plenty of visitors.
44. Despite the rising popularity of e-books, 80% of people surveyed say they still prefer paper books.
45. The experience of reading an actual book is being preserved by libraries.
46. Libraries provide one of the few places for anyone to find quiet area to just read or study.
47. Sometimes, but not always, libraries have free coffee.
48. Sometimes there are even free snacks.
49. Unlike the internet, libraries are careful that the information they contain is checked for usefulness before being included.
50. Also unlike the internet, libraries are much less influenced by corporate interests.
51. They are also less likely to be manipulated by individuals, like search engine optimizers.
52. Information on more specific topics can be much easier to find in libraries.
53. Digital or not, a library still needs a human staff to run it.
54. The resources of a library are well indexed and will always deliver reliable results (I.e. no “broken links”).
55. Many popular news publications still require subscriptions to view their content online, but are still available for free at the library.
56. Libraries provide free and abundant knowledge to everyone (a privilege people didn’t always have).
57. Not everyone can afford books, but everyone has access to the library.
58. Someone has to buy all those books that college professors write.
59. Public bathrooms in libraries are usually cleaner than most places.
60. A library can mold itself for the specific community it’s in, whereas websites usually try to bring in everyone.
61. At libraries, you can take practice qualifying tests for almost any profession.
62. You can always make suggestions to librarians for specific books you’d like to see.
63. Many libraries also display original works of art or even have separate galleries.
64. Some libraries also hold a limited number of free museum passes that anyone can use.
65. If you don’t have a computer, you can always use the ones in the library.
66. The same goes for certain premium software and special databases.
67. If your library offers wi-fi, it’s probably free.
68. Several libraries also offer programs that cater to senior citizens.
69. Believe it or not, studies show that libraries are good for their local economy, since they make their community for attractive to potential businesses and individuals.
70. Libraries are still a cornerstone for free speech and open access to information.
71. When dictators like Hitler and Mao Zedong set out to eliminate a country’s culture or history, they started by shutting down the public libraries.
72. A library still provides a neutral environment for the free exchange of ideas.
73. Public libraries are surprisingly cheap to maintain, but benefit everyone in the community.
74. If you’re a comic book lover, you can probably find plenty at your local library.
75. They might even have some of those expensive indie graphic novels available.
76. We’re still an incredibly long ways away from a paperless world.
77. You might as well use the library, since you’re already paying for it through taxes or tuition.
78. There’s less risk of getting carpal tunnel syndrome from reading books.
79. A library is a great excuse to get out of the house (seriously, why would anyone argue with you about it?).
80. Books are very portable and never need recharging.
81. With the economy these days, going to the library is a great source of free entertainment.
82. You can “try before you buy” any number of books without spending a dime.
83. Some libraries even have bookmobiles or mailing programs that deliver books right to you.
84. Studies have repeatedly shown that reading improves your basic vocabulary and just generally makes you smarter.
85. Regardless of what form a library takes, a librarian will always be ready to guide you to the information you need.

We cordially invite you to attend our annual holiday social in the

Great Hall of the Arts and Letters Club

Joy Shanfield, 2009 President, SLA Toronto Chapter

Claire Lysnes, 2010 President, SLA Toronto Chapter

Lily Mac, 2009-2010 President, CASLIS Toronto

Kim Silk, 2009-2011 President, Faculty of Information Alumni Association (FIAA)

Join your SLA, CASLIS and FIAA friends and colleagues to celebrate the holiday season.

Enjoy a delicious selection of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and raise a glass of good cheer as you toast 2009.

Date:

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Time:

5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Cocktails (cash bar) and hors d’oeuvres will be served

Location:

Arts and Letters Club of Toronto

14  Elm St.

Cost:

SLA Toronto Members/CASLIS Toronto Members/Alumni of the Faculty of Information, U of T:  $25.00

Non-Members: $35.00

Retired/Not Employed/Students: $15.00

Registration Information:

http://units.sla.org/chapter/ctor/events/default.asp?eid=271

Registration closes Saturday November 28^th, 2009

This event is generously sponsored by SLA Toronto Chapter Partners CEDROM-SNi and The Wall Street Journal

Lisa participated in Ingnite Toronto in August. Here is the video of her presentation on Social Innovation.

Ignite T.O. Lisa Torjman – Social Innovation from Ignite Toronto on Vimeo.

The fourth annual Nuit Blanche is here. And though its main focus is to bring a 12-hour phantasmagoria of contemporary art to the forefront of the otherwise plebeian Torontonian’s consciousness, the whole starving artist thing does not have to funnel down into the masses. In other words, unless Nuit Blanche is itself an interactive project, whereby the viewers somehow become artist stereotypes; staying up all night, snacking on cigarettes and convenience store coffee until some cachet yielding-curator comes up and makes them stars, then Toronto has to cater to the evening. And believe me with tons of bars in the downtown core licensed to stay open until 4am and restaurants prepped to keep proffering up the goodness into the wee hours, you might have to bring a pair of sunglasses to venture into the White Night, but you will not have to pack a lunch pail. Here’s where to go…

The Wand Remote Control

Harry Potter might be a dab hand at casting spells but we’ve yet to see him use his wand to switch off Holby City or mute Jeremy Kyle mid-rant. And that’s because the annoying little brat has only got a wand, not the Wand.

Utterly astounding, this beautifully crafted gizmo looks like the kind of thing you might find in Diagon Alley. The difference is you use it to control your telly via various abracadabra-ish gestures. Simply swish, whirl and flick to change channels, adjust volume and much more. Incredible! What Katie and Peter Did Next? *ZAP!* Who cares? Your swish really is its command.

Totally button-free, the Wand can ‘learn’ up to thirteen infrared codes from your existing remote(s) and fling them into the ether when you perform one of thirteen predefined gestures. It’s a kind of magic. Okay it isn’t, but making Vernon Kay vanish has never been such fun. Silencio Imbecilicus!

For immediate release

COLLEGE PARK, MD – November 19, 2008 – The International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL) (http://www.childrenslibrary.org), which is the world’s largest collection of children’s literature available freely on the Internet, today announced the release of the ICDL for iPhone application.

Available free at Apple’s iPhone App Store, the ICDL for iPhone application allows users to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of the iPhone and iPod Touch user interface to read a selection of books from the ICDL’s master collection, which today represents thousands of children’s stories from 60 countries. The children’s books can be read in their native language and in English.

The ICDL for iPhone application features ICDL’s ClearText technology which was designed to make it possible for users to read story text clearly in the context of highly illustrated beautiful children’s picture books — even on the small mobile screen. The ICDL for iPhone application will be updated regularly as new books are made available.

Additional features of the ICDL iPhone application include:

• Offline reading — access the International Children’s Library to read on and offline
• Online reading — linkage to the full ICDL collection which has over 3,000 titles in 48 languages representing 60 countries
• Simple navigation — view books with engaging animations quickly
• One or two page view — takes advantage of iPhone’s “auto-rotation”
  feature
• ClearText — allowing exceptionally clear text in the context of highly illustrated pages

The ICDL iPhone application syncs via Wi-Fi or the user’s cellular network and downloads the latest featured children’s books directly to the device, giving children and parents access to content offline and in airplane mode. Compatible with any iPhone or iPod Touch with operating system version 2.0, the application was designed by International Children’s Digital Library Foundation with support from Zumobi and the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab.