"It's a wonderful [Cataloger's] life."

Hello everyone,

It is I, Carl, your intrepid cataloger with my final blog post of the school year.  It has been a good school year, filled with the usual challenges and triumphs you would expect of any college librarian. 

Today, I wanted to take a few minutes to write about what at cataloger is and does.  There are still some people out there who believe that librarians sit around and read books all day.  Frankly, that notion couldn't be further from the truth.  The only books I've read from cover to cover on the job are when I'm trying to catalog 36 page children's books, with all of the pretty pictures and such.  [I'm a sucker for children's books, especially now that I have a baby daughter of my own.]  As a cataloger, I must admit that I've had to, at times, skim books to find out what they are about so I can properly describe them in the library catalog. 

In fact, that is my primary job at Lane Library these days.  In essence, I create bibliographies for a living, using special rules [RDA] that are used by libraries around the world.  I, and my student assistants, describe books and create access points so library users can find books on the shelves.  We describe approximately 2,000 books, videos, and other physical items every year.  This can be intensive work when I am assigning authoritative subject and author headings.  I often ask the student assistants when I'm training them; what is the difference between common or similar names, for example:  John A. Behnke vs. John A. Behnke, 1953-.  It turns out that the first John A. Behnke was a professor out East and wrote a book about euthanasia, while the second John A. Behnke was a music professor in Wisconsin and still is a composer.  It is my job to make sure that the proper name is listed in the proper record.  This sometimes requires a lot of research. 

There is much more that I could tell you about what I do, but that would make a very long post.  If you are really curious about my work or are interested in going into the library profession, feel free to come by the library and talk with me.  Of course, if you are interested in the library profession, talk with all of your Lane Librarians.  We love to talk about what we do.

Have a great Summer.

This is Carl Ziebell signing off.

Seeking the right image

Help is at your fingertips when you are looking for the right illustration to use in your research or presentation. Want to have a closer look at a painting or other image from your studies? Need an illustration that you can easily cite and have permission to use in your paper? Spend some time on ARTstor, and you will not be disappointed.

Images from ARTstor. Left: Joseph Byron, Self Portrait. 1909. Right: Desperate Man (Self Portrait). Gustave Courbet. 1843. 

The ARTstor Digital Library database  available through Lane Library contains over 1.8 million high resolution digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences with a variety of tools for study, research, and instruction. These images hail directly from some of the world's leading museums, photo archives, exhibitions, and scholars.

You can search by keyword or use the advanced search for additional filters and limits or you can also browse by collection, classification, or geography. While you need to create a log-in to use the advanced features of ARTstor, it is definitely worthwhile in order to save and organize images into groups and folders, or even to export entire image groups in batches through the "export to PowerPoint" feature.

Want to know more? Simply stop by a librarian's office to find out how to use it effectively for your research.  Or if you are looking for online help, ARTstor has a variety of documentation and videos on everything from searching to downloading images into a PowerPoint presentation.

547 days to home...

Hello everyone,

It is Carl, your intrepid Lane Library cataloger, with another book and collection to talk about.  This time I read a brand new book from the Wisconsin's Own Library (WOL) collection.  This wonderful collection is located in the South Reading Room of Lane Library and focuses on authors from, and topics about Wisconsin.  There is no other library collection anything like WOL on the planet.  It will probably come as a shock to some that Lane Library doesn't own the WOL collection.  It is here on semi-permanent loan through the General Federation of Women's Clubs of Wisconsin.

The book I read is titled 547 days to home : the resurrection of a pastor and a small town church / by Daniel L. Bohlman.  I highly recommend this book.  It is the heartwarming story of a despondent pastor named Ed who has been successively fired from his previous churches.  He is given one last chance by his district bishop to fill out his last 547 days and then retire with a full church pension.  Grudgingly, Pastor Ed agrees to give it one last try.  The congregation he is sent to serve is on its last legs.  They have only a few members left and are not bringing in enough offerings to sustain their congregation much longer.  The congregants are set in their ways and don't like change.  On top of this, there is a local mega-church that is looking to force all of the other churches in the area to close.  Pastor Ed has a huge task ahead of him, should he choose to accept it.  He is faced with a choice to fill out his days at Guernsey Community Church and retire, or make a real difference in the lives of those around him.  How he accepts this challenge covers a range of emotions and lends life and humor to this heartwarming story.  Can this once star pastor save a dying small-town congregation?  Can the people of this congregation save him?  Read 547 day to home to find out.  I'm very happy I read it, and I suspect you will be too.  If you do read it, let me know what you think of it.

This is Carl Ziebell signing off.

New workshops underway at Lane Library

Our Digital Makerspace schedule is up and running for the spring semester, and we have a whole new set of offerings to learn new techniques.  Look them over, and mark your calendars to attend.  The workshops are 30 minute sessions, being offered twice each week on Tuesdays at 4pm and Wednesdays at 12:30pm in the Waitkus Lab of Lane Library.  

Below are some brief descriptions:

Visualize Data

Feb 3 @4 pm/Feb 4 @ 12:30 pm

Got data?  Learn how to make data visually accessible by integrating it with Google Maps.  By taking either your own data or free data sets from government information, find out how to create a map that can tell the data's story.  Using Google Fusion tables, you will find out the techniques to plot a table of locations or create an intensity map.  

Record and Edit Audio

Feb 10 @4 pm/Feb 11 @ 12:30 pm

Have you ever needed to record audio or music, be it for a report, music practice, or even an alternate soundtrack for a movie?  Come and learn about FREE, powerful audio software that will meet your basic recording needs.  Do you have the "Audacity" to attend?

Build and Share Collections Online

Feb 17 @4 pm/Feb 18 @ 12:30 pm

Do you have collection that you want to make more accessible?  Find out what will work best for you and how to transform your collection into a digital exhibition.

Edit Images

Feb 24 @4 pm/Feb 25 @ 12:30 pm

Wondering how to take your photos from good to amazing?  Want to add a little text to your photos?  Come explore our pick of free image editing software, and let your photos have their time to shine.

Create a Screencast

Mar 3 @4 pm/Mar 4 @ 12:30 pm 

Want to create tutorials which can be recorded and viewed later? Find out more about a free tool that can be used to make video tutorials from screenshots in order to illustrate how to do something on the computer.

Analyze Texts with Software

Mar 10 @4 pm/Mar 11 @ 12:30 pm

Learn how to use free text analyzing software to do everything from tracking publication trends over time to doing key word analysis.  Find out what you can do when digital technology and communication meet to create new possibilities in scholarly research.  

Create and Edit Videos

Mar 24 @4 pm/Mar 25 @ 12:30 pm\

Looking for a new twist on an assignment? Stop by to learn the best techniques to create a video using the cameras and iPads available to you through the library.  The iMovie app is also available on our iPads, which means you can make the videos the length you need for assignments or promotional materials for your class, club or sport.

Create a Dynamic Map

Mar 31 @4 pm/Apr 1 @ 12:30 pm

Working on a project that is tied to a place? Learn how to create an interactive map where you can provide your historical, statistical or any other research information tied to a location of your choosing.  

Publish and Share Information

Apr 7 @4 pm/Apr 8 @ 12:30 pm

Learn to create a wiki or webpage for yourself, your student organization or class project.  Find the tips and tricks necessary to navigate and create your own web presence using free tools available to you.

If you have any questions, comments, or any suggestions for future Digital Makerspace workshops, please let us know!