"The importance of numbers is best seen in a street mob, which becomes more tumultuous, more passionate, more a creature of instinct and less a creature of reason, the larger it is. So, too, the reading mob, as it grows bigger, becomes more emotional, more excited, it reads and talks with greater avidity, is increasingly vehement in its likes, dislikes, and opinions, forces the book on its neighbors with greater rigor, buys, borrows, gives, and lends more and more with the swift and sure emotions of instinct. The reading mob is, perhaps, the largest species. The numbers who read the lower bourgeois novel are fabulous. Those who read the higher bourgeois novel are very numerous. In the meridian of its glory the mob novel soars up to several hundred thousands."

-Henry Dwight Sedgewick, "The Mob Spirit in Literature". The New American Type: And Other Essays. 1908.

Welcome to the Internet

In my classes and in assigned articles, it has occurred to me that many of my classmates are unaware of what Reddit actually is. It is often mentioned in the same sentence as StumbleUpon, Digg.com, and Delicious. However Reddit is a beast of a completely different nature.

Remember BBS Boards? Remember IRC Chat? Remember the crazy range of topics, subjects, and interests those communications offered? Reddit is that - a massive online forum. Anything you want to talk about, learn about, or be trolled about, all in one place.

Reddit is the overlord forum, and within it are the aptly named "subreddits" - mini forums you can subscribe and contribute to. Each subreddit is formatted on Reddit thus: reddit.com/r/funny. It is therefore pronounced "Arr-Funny". The '/' is silent. There are many subreddits - numerous subreddits, to be precise. Just like your old BBS forums, there may be a large amount of crossover between contributors, but by and large each one has a unique clientele and givers & takers. For example, r/TwoXChromosomes (TwoX, for short) is a subreddit almost primarily made of users who want to talk about women's issues. This subreddit is a place to talk about women's health issues, sexism, accomplishments, or questions about feminine life. It is not exclusively for women, but it is about women. There is the male counterpart, r/OneY, which is essentially the same, but about men. Lately it's been about No-Shave November. In contrast, r/askwomen or r/askmen are a place for women to ask men questions or vice versa. The four forums do have an overlap of themes and topics, but they are all indeed very separate and individual from each other.

Now that we've defined "subreddit" and taken a look at the community-centered subreddits, let's take a look at some of the popular subject-centered subreddits of Reddit. r/atheism may be the one that you encounter first, and it is precisely what you would assume: a subreddit about atheism. More precisely it seems to be subreddit about anti-theism, as most of the subject matter is not about philosophical atheism, science, or skepticism (r/skeptic is for that) but rather about how ridiculous religion 'X' is. On the other hand, r/Christianity is a sub made up of the many different denominations of Christianity are welcome. Mormon, Catholic, Protestant, Mennonite, and other denominations all have their own other subreddit, but this one is the umbrella community. For religious debate, r/debatereligion is one of the few places the r/atheism and r/Christianity overlap. It's also the place where other religions (r/Islam, r/Pagan, r/Hinduism, r/Judaism, and so on) meet to debate.

r/atheism and r/Christianity seem to have a sort of online quasi-war between the them, as they are both large communities and the two most prominent religio-centric subreddits. Both subreddits appears to think the other somewhat ridiculous and borderline offensive. This kind of rivalry is a good example how how fractured Reddit is in all its idealism. For all that it is a place of international free speech and shared waters it is also a place where small squabbles can become Montague and Capulet-scale feuds due to the anonymity of the Internet. Seeing a user's identity as a comment rather than their comment history or another human being can be harmful, and unfortunately it happens a lot on any online platform. Due to the magnitude and scale of Reddit, it's rampant. While hate-speech is cause for banning, being disrespectful and intolerant more or less gets you a slap on the wrist or a heap of 'downvotes' (which means that you didn't follow reddiquette or contribute something meaningful to the conversation).

Spend enough time on Reddit and you'll find memes and ragecomics. Memes are insubstantial concepts and stereotypes portrayed through pictures, typically the same pictured recycled with user-made captions to relay the same theme. The subreddit for most memes is r/AdviceAnimals. One of the more popular memes is Ridiculously Photogenic Guy:

Made by Redditor beardedbrad

It's a great way to show how people react to Ridiculously Photogenic People - all they have to do is walk into a room (or run a marathon) and have an immediate and hyperbolic event! Search on Reddit for "Ridiculously Photogenic Guy" and you'll find many meme photos with him as the subject. There are similarly memes like First World Problems, Overly Manly Man, Overly Attached Girlfriend, Good Guy Greg, and Scumbag Steve.

I would be greatly remiss if I did not mention the primary function of Reddit: Cat Propaganda. Everywhere on Reddit are pictures of cats. Kittens, sphinxes, tabbies, happy cats, grumpy cats, white cats, black cats, and every kind of cat in between. They are the secret overlords of Reddit, and they rule supreme. Cats have their own mythos in the world of LOLCats, having the benevolent Ceiling Cat (usually a white cat that sites in high places and gazes benevolently or in an accusatory manner at the photographer) and the evil Basement Cat (which steals socks and hides in cereal boxes). Cats may be affectionately referred to as 'Karma Machines' as posting a picture of your cat may earn you upvotes and increase your total karma score. Some cats have lived long enough to become memes, more recently as with Grumpy Cat:

As linked to by Redditor boyinice

This cat's real name is Tard (short for 'Tardar Sauce') and he has his own Tumblr.

There are many more memes, and more than I can put here on my blog without feeling like I'm sullying my webspace. Take some time to familiarize yourself with them, as they can be great to illustrate a point in PowerPoints and Keynotes while adding a bit of spice and humor.

I hope you learned something about Reddit. May your forays be cautious and tiptoey. If you are unsure where to begin, I recommend you begin in r/funny, r/bestof, or r/trueReddit. Stay out of r/circlejerks, r/spacedicks, and r/wtf. You notice I didn't provide links, so I'm serious... beware of those subreddits. r/trees is not about the environment (hint: it's about marijuana). Don't click on anything that says NSFL (Not Safe For Life). Good luck.

Inclusivity

"Libraries are more than lenders of books. They are part of society and community. They should stand for inclusivity. They should do this not only by adding ramps and magnifiers but also through welcoming attitudes, support of adaptive technologies of all types, and lobbying for open formats that reward authors without restricting access and forcing disclosure on those who are invisibly disabled. By looking at inclusion through variations in normalcy, we can address methods that provide access for all library users."

Desjardins, M. (2010). Invisible Disabilities. Feliciter, 56(3), 106-108.

DRM and Disability

"In a day and age where there is almost always a digital version, systemic, bureaucratic or technological barriers are erected to prevent theft, which translates to preventing access for people with print impairments. For example, e-book readers have print functionality disabled -- a requirement for format shifting -- if digital rights management is used. . . . We are coming into an era that will either be revolutionary for people with print disabilities or entrench intellectual property restrictions to the point of forcing disclosure on people with invisible disabilities or, worse, systematically preventing access altogether."

Desjardins, M. (2010). Invisible Disabilities, Feliciter, 56(3), 106-108.

On the cutting of cataloging resources

"Nonlibrarians, no matter how skilled, educated, and experienced, cannot take total responsibility for the library's database no more than competent paralegals could take responsibility for a law practice."

Gorman, M. (1995). The Corruption of Cataloging. Library Journal, 120, 183-199.

Paper won't go away for decades, but it is not the future. Preserve your physical archives, but look toward the rising star of all-digital-mobile, ubiquitous, touch-enriched-publishing.

The future is here, but we are not there yet.

Guseva, I. (201). Touch-Centric, but Paper-Free. Econtent, 34(10), 36.

And so,

I'd like to thank CUA for allowing me into their beautiful library and Shanyun Zhang for spending so much time telling and showing me their library. I gained a new perspective and approach in considering  precisely what an academic library can be.

Thank you.
-Kirsten

The Computer Cycle

Something I was curious about while visiting CUA was the lifetime of their computers and how that factored into upgrade costs, etc. I learned that rather than purchase a new generation of computers every 4-6yrs, they do something that is a little more innovative.

Faculty and staff computers are purchased at the same time, and they're all new, upgraded, and up-to-date. Once they hit about the four year mark they become lab computers, and then similar models are purchased to replace remaining lab computers. Faculty & staff then get new computers, and so it becomes a "hand-me-down" cycle.

The result being that those who use them the most always have new(ish) computers to work on, and the lab ones serve their purpose of training, learning, research, and web browsing. It's wonderfully efficient as costs are reduced but the needs of the community are still met.

The only exception to this that I saw were the public computers which are open to patrons other than CUA students, staff, and faculty. I only took a good look at the Apple computers, which seemed to be about 5-6 years old, 1.66GHz and running OSX 10.4.11. They can technically be upgraded to at least Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6) as they fit the specifications and are Intel Core Duos. They should also be upgraded as they are now considered "Vintage" and unrepairable by Apple-certified technicians, however if they are still functioning and solely used for web browsing, e-mail, and so on... "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Mullen Library

The Basilica

The Catholic University of America has a beautiful building (renovated c2005) nestled in the hills between DC and its surrounding suburbs. It is a heavily wooded area and gives the campus a pastoral feel - it's easy to forget how close you are to the bustling Capitol.  The three-story Mullen library has a central location on campus with ample parking spots and accessibility from the metro as well as a campus shuttle stop nearby. I spoke with Shanyun Zhang, their electronic services librarian for well over an hour and she gave me a tour of the facilities. She was very open and kind and I learned a lot from her. I was very glad to hear her perspective as not only was she very high-tech in her approach to the library world but she had been working in the library for a long time and knew the community well.

Mullen library requires a student ID for entrance, but they do have computers (both Macs and PCs) open to the public in the main entryway. Students at the library may check out a laptop to use within the library, get on the wireless, and make themselves comfortable. Over time they have moved from being a primarily physical library to offering many electronic services such as ebooks from seven different publishers and electronic databases as well as substantial library guides for each of the University's schools, developed by each school's dedicated librarian. The school's librarian (Mrs. Zhang is the psychology librarian) creates the guides for their school and introduces the freshman students to the library resources, giving each student a friendly face for the library.

 

CUA has many librarians who work in the library and each of them are always busy. Their computer lab is mainly used for instruction, and they just got an upgraded CPU for the presenter/teacher today! It is connected to the Internet via the ethernet and connected to the overhead projector via the network (not sure if it was wired or not). In addition to an adjustable monitor, it has inputs for VGA, auxiliary, HDMI, Ethernet, and two additional 110v outlets in case someone wants to use their own computer. It is truly a shiny and beautiful machine. The computers in the lab have the built-in assistive technology from Widows 7 Enterprise Edition, but the only CPU with assistive technology off to the side in the MERIC lab.

The computer monitors in the lab itself have very limited mobility, so the visual line of sight is not ideal. At first they thought about putting the CPU on the ground and the monitor on the desk, but they were worried about students kicking the unit and general accessibility. In the interest of preservation and also putting the monitors higher up on the desk they placed the unit on the desktop. All the chairs are fully adjustable, so that helps. However, they sorely need to re-do their computer monitors in a way that allows for greater adjustments.

The computers are all installed with MacAfee for security, and while they strive for open source software they have recently installed Microsoft Office to increase compatibility. There are scheduled maintenances for all computers, copiers, and printers, and they have services for trained people to come on-site and fix the copiers and printers. The computers in the lab have the built-in assistive technology from Widows 7 Enterprise Edition, but the only CPU with assistive technology is off to the side in the Meric lab. You can see that it has a dedicated scanner to the MyReader2 print magnifier, a large print keyboard, and Eye-See (text to speech & braille) machine, and additional software installed on the computer. All student library workers are trained in the assistive technology to help any who may need it, but most of those who do are already knowledgeable about how they work.

They also have a substantial microfilm collection, and while they also have the newspapers available online, students have persisted in using the microfilm collection more than the online equivalent. So there are still two microfilm stations available for usage! You can't see it from this angle, but there's someone using the station on the other side. I really enjoyed the thought that students would rather come into the physical library and use the microfilm machine than access the collection from the comfort of their room.

As far as ergonomics go, their lab is limited but their library layout is luscious. There is space to walk, natural light in every room, and all outlets are near tables or walls to reduce tripping and strain. In the upper room the armchairs have wheels on them for ease of movement. and are by default moved to the sides of the room near the newspapers and windows. The entire second story is devoted to reading space. In the main hallway there are more computer stations and tables for studying. Every table 2-5 outlets for electronics, and many of them were added during the renovation. The top floor is silent and solely for study space.

The library did install a large screen TV with Blu-ray and a DVD player in the microfilm room, but it was recently stolen over a weekend (not by students), so they have a rather heavy TV/VHS combo and they encourage students to watch DVDs via the available laptops, and they offer headphones at the front desk. In general, I was told, the students preferred this over the large screen TV. The library also has a large collection of streaming music as CUA offers an excellent music program. They also have the ability to stream video from their ALADIN catalog which they share with other local universities.  CUA is a part of the Washington Research Library Consortium that has a large amount of electronic resources for all their students.

The sad TV/VHS Combo

Over time the library has moved much of its physical collections to an off-site facility and increased the online services. One thing that struck me was the story of a poor student who borrowed a book from the library and his car was stolen. It was an old and rather valuable book, so he had to pay a lot to replace the lost book. However, with ebooks the loss (both personal and educational) is much less. Another advantage to having more of an electronic collection is that students have access to them 24/7 through the library portal as opposed to the usual libraries (it usually closes by 9pm)

Overall, their library is like a hub for the students to enjoy the resources provided by the university and less of a place to pore over the stacks. The main focus of the library is to create a space for students to come, mingle, and learn. Years ago the university had separate classes for boys and girls, but the library was always co-ed, so it has always been a bit of a social place as well as a place of study. Even in middle of the day in the summer (it was a gorgeous 90º Thursday in DC), the library is busy with students and faculty studying, talking, researching, and relaxing. Many of the students sit together and talk, and the entry area is a central meeting place for new students.

They offer the service to "IM With A Librarian", and it is used both by students as well as for internal communication. Most of the time it is answered by the student workers at the front desk, but occasionally other librarians will answer when needed, and Mrs. Zhang is always logged in. I learned that the student workers came up with the idea to use it when a printer ran out of paper, and since then it has been a regular use. They used to use Meebo, but just prior to its announcement of closure they switched to LibraryH3lp and had been using it regularly. Sometimes it may not be the best answer as they always prefer to teach the student how to find the answers themselves rather than hand them answers from The Almighty Librarian, but it often serves its purpose.

In reflection, I believe that CUA's library is on track to serve their patrons for a long time. Their balance of physical and electronic resources is efficient and it meets the needs of their highly mobile (and nocturnal) community. Knowing how much they have developed, adapted, and changed in the last five years to meet technological needs is heartening and impressive. The idea that they aren't afraid of open source software and innovating current usage of services is something that I think many libraries should do. I loved the sheer amount of space and light. There was no feeling of mustiness or dust anywhere in the library but rather an open and cheerful feeling of adventure in a new age of knowledge.

Today is the day! I'm going to Catholic University of America to talk with Shanyun Zhang, their Electronic Resources Librarian. At first I wasn't sure if asking a private university to use their tech resources as a source for this assignment was a good idea, but upon talking with some of their alums and asking what they thought, I was encouraged to give it a try.

CUA has always been very inviting and informative to me when I would call blindly "Who do I talk to about X?", and this was no exception. The woman I spoke to at the front desk when I called ("I'maprospectivestudentandIhaveanassignmentabouttechresourcesformycurrentlibraryclass. *Breath* MayIpleasespeaktothelibrarianinchargeofyourelectronicresources?") gave me the name and number of the librarian but advised me that e-mail might be better. As I personally prefer e-mail as a method of communication over the phone, I was rather relieved. I sent her an e-mail with a request to interview her about their library's technological resources and a brief description of my assignment. Attached were some question guidelines so she wouldn't be taken off guard by me asking about things like budgeting and the inner processes of the library. She was brief and quick to respond, and within the next few hours an appointment for Thursday (today!) was made.

I've given some thought as to how to actually do the interview, and I've decided that I want to record us talking, leaving my mind free to ask more questions rather than be worried about taking everything down in my notebook. I've also decided against using my iPhone at all. Using a communications device seems somehow rude to me - what if it buzzes while I'm recording? The camera isn't as nice as my point-n-shoot Lumix, and... well it just seems unprofessional to use an iPhone. My dear mother has been kind enough to lend me her Olympus voice recorder (LS-10, for any lovely Olympus nerds out there). Not going to lie, the first thought that went through my head was, "Whoooa. I think mom just bought this for its Steampunk appeal." After I played around with it, I can see why my mother bought it, though. She has good taste (and high standards) for her techie gadgets, and this recorder is nice. It records in WMA, MP3, and WAV, and has a nice little lapel mic included. I loaded it up with two new AA batteries and it is safely tucked into my bag.

My thoughts going into this today are more or less my usual shakiness. What if I forget an important question? What if I lose focus and start tangenting? What if the library itself decides that I am not worthy of learning its beauty and opens up a Hellmouth to suck me into its depth and I am never seen again? Okay maybe a bit overdone there, but my extreme introversion likes to remind me that it exists sometimes. To remind myself of how unfounded my fears are, I just think how friendly everyone at CUA has been so far. I spoke with Kavita Freeman a month or two ago about their grad program and she was beyond kind and informative to me in answering my questions and being helpful. The few alumni I've spoken to (some have been those awkward e-mail introductions via mutual friends) have been fun and passionate about the work they do, and they talk about their time CUA with such warmth!  I must also remind myself that while this library has been effected by earthquakes in the last year, it is not in Sunnydale.

"Well, um... I enjoy cross-referencing."

Somehow this metaphor translates to Apple's exclusivity and security measures as well as making the point about iPads and their mobility.

"The iPad2 is an awkward size for use in reference. A smartphone fits in the palm of the hand. A few pokes on its surface may bring up a satisfactory reference for a known item. The iPad2 is about the size of a trade paperback. It won't fit in your pocket or purse. To type on it, you really have to set it down somewhere, on a bookshelf, maybe?

In California, we have a drive-through restaurant called In-N-Out Burger [http://www.in-n-out.com]. [Until and unless they extend operations across the country, you'll have to come to California.You should. Their burgers are worth the trip. --bq] It is so popular that workers come out to the line of cars to take orders. They transmit these to the cooks via wireless computer tablets suspended from harnesses slung around their necks.

The iPad2 seems too delicate for this kind of handling. Still, wouldn't it be great to have a holder that would let us type on and swipe our iPads without needing a flat surface? Be that as it may, the device is light, thin, and has more than 65,000 apps, or programs, available for it, plus possible overlap with the half-million apps for the iPhone."

McDermott, I. E. (2011). iPad2 for Librarians. Searcher, 19(6), 8-11.

take note, online corporations.

"In spite of what Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook may say, privacy is not dead, and certainly not when it comes to the relationship between a library and its patrons. Life would certainly be easier if we all had the same boundaries when it comes to sharing information online, but in the complex social media environment we all navigate, we must strive to be cognizant and respectful of the boundaries of others."
- Meredith Farkas


Farkas, M. (2011). Too Much Information?. American Libraries, 42(5/6), 36.

First Post

The American Art Museum. Saturday, 5/26/2012