Did You Know 4.0

NCLC Board Chair Cindy Miller shared this video with the rest of the NCLC governing board at our meeting today. The discussion that ensued was interesting. Comments indicated that the technology development highlighted indicate that the digital divide is growing wider for those in rural areas and with low incomes. The technology development is not "bridging" the gap for rural communities in the current poor economy.

How To Do Scherenschnitte

One of my favorite Christmas projects was a scherenschnitte scene from a Better Homes and Gardens Christmas book. My grandson was fascinated by the detail. It's really worth buying good scissors if you want to do this. I found that the artist here has a page on Facebook that has her blog posts on it, so I became a fan.

Life With A Cat

This brings back fond memories of cats I have known. My brother must have some of the same memories. He won't close his eyes when there's a cat around.

more about "Life With A Cat", posted with vodpod

Heritage Lost?

There is sad news for those interested in genealogy and history of the Iron Range in northeast Minnesota today. We have learned from staff at the Iron Range Research Library that they are closing for lack of operating funds. In fact, a news story from WDIO TV indicates that the entire facility (recently renamed the Minnesota Discovery Center) will be shuttered.

It remains to be seen what will become of the collections and archives of the Research Library. They have been collecting and preserving records of the area for many years. Folk from the region had trust that the records would be safely preserved for the education and use of this and future generations. It would seem that in the current economic and political climate that those charged with management and responsibility for that trust feel safe in breaking the contract implicit in their agreement to preserve these historical and genealogical records.

The bottom line is that nobody will be discovering anything at the Minnesota Discovery Center anymore. Northeast Minnesota's historical and genealogical records are locked up tight. Money is the key that can unlock them for public use again, but I don't see much hope of that happening anytime soon. It seems quite ironic that the facility should be allowed to languish when hundreds of thousands of dollars in legacy funds have been made available recently for funding of arts and history programs by a tax authorized by voters in 2008 for exactly the purpose that the Research Center Library served. Because the Iron Range Research Center was established and serving this purpose prior to the passage of the tax, they are ineligible for this funding.

This morning (Friday the 13th) I received an e-mail from Lemony Snicket with this announcement:

Dear Reader,

Something terrible has happened.

The entire text of THE BAD BEGINNING, the first book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, has been made available online. For FREE. Open to anyone. Including horrible villains, innocent readers, and you.

PLEASE DO NOT FORWARD THIS LINK TO FRIENDS, FAMILY, OR PEOPLE WITH COMPUTERS.
SHARING THE UNABRIDGED FREE VERSION OF THE BAD BEGINNING WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER READ IT IS COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE. "Completely irresponsible" is a phrase which here means no one will be able to prove you did it.

Click here to view Lemony Snicket's video response to this latest unfortunate event.

The sudden appearance of the uncoded text online may be a horrible mistake. Hopefully, it will be corrected as soon as possible.

With all due respect,




so here's the link and the widget supplied by publisher HarperCollins:



I LOVE their marketing approach.

State of the Internet 2009: Pew Internet Project Findings and Implications for Libraries

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

State of the Internet 2009: Pew Internet Project Findings and Implications for Libraries

View more presentations from Pew Internet & American Life Project, Pew Research Center.