Blog Archives

Bring Back the Couch is a mostly-photoblog devoted to the interview couch that recently got redecorated out of "The Daily Show." But the absence of the divine divan isn't the only problem with the new TDS set:

The new desk looks like the kind of table you could find at most public libraries around the country (ten bucks there's already gum underneath it and a sticky spot right where your elbow rests).

An LIS student Flickr-ized what looks like a storyboard for a how-to video on getting help from a reference librarian.

CiL is on at the same time as PLA. Who's the marketing genius who came up with that one?

Thanks to the Lipstick Librarian, we learned of the existence of MTV's new series, "The 70s House." If you haven't heard, the idea behind the show is that a bunch of 20-somethings have to ditch their cell phones, iPods, etc., and live with a rotary-dial phone, 8-track tapes, and bad polyester clothes for the duration of the series. We ignored our personal boycott of reality shows to watch the first episode last week, and we started thinking that MTV ought to follow up with "The 70s Library" ...

• Card catalog with real cards!
• Library cards with those stamped-metal ID numbers. Ka-chunk!
  
• Not only does the computer have a small, green screen, but only staff members may use it. And they don't very much.
  
• The O'Jays, Kiki Dee, and the Bay City Rollers on 12" vinyl. Sit down and listen to an LP on a turntable record player with enormous headphones! (Damn, there's a skip in the middle of the best song ...)
• Borrow a little statue of a golden bee for two weeks. Or perhaps you'd prefer the Rosetta Stone?
• Parent actually keep their children quiet!
  
• Witness the dawn of the age of librarians with huge eyeglasses!
• A real live person answers the phone! And the buttons for the lines stay down when you press them.
  
• Need to find a magazine article on a subject? Meet the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature.
• Typing rooms! With typewriters! You may buy a sheet of carbon paper at the circulation desk.
• If you want a color copy, you'd better have a box of Crayolas with you.
• If you want to check out a movie, you'd better have an 8mm projector at home. The library will be showing "Football Follies" in the community room on Saturday morning, though.
• Is this upholstery, or is it orange burlap?
• ... and so much more!
  

Children's Books of the Early Soviet Era -- An interesting exhibit from McGill U.

The Library History Buff -- We think "Postal Librariana" would be a good name for a band.

Things You Can Learn About the Plot of the Next Harry Potter Book Just by Looking at the Cover Art -- From McSweeney's. We still think the cover looks like Dumbledore is showing Harry his favorite WILFs website.

Wickerpedia and Uncyclopedia -- Surprisingly, the only two parodies of Wikipedia we've seen so far.

We were going to download the free Left Behind Trivia Game (or "Lesbian/Bi/Trans-Gendered" for short), but we backed out when the site asked us to enter our mark of the Beast. And what's with their forthcoming Eternal Forces PC game? List price $0.00, but they'll sell it to you for $27.97? Comes with a t-shirt, though!

From Saturday's funny pages: "Bloggers! Have they lost their minds or just their manners?" That didn't seem to get the attention that Brenda's strip did a few weeks ago when Gabby told her that "all the cool people" have blogs. Either of those panels would make a great t-shirt.

After noticing that the RSSIfy app at LISFeeds had stopped RSSifying us again, we decided to join the 1990s and start using Blogger to update the bloggish part of our home page. This is where you can get our feed now. But now we'll have to think up titles for all our posts.