James LaRue - myliblog

I am thrilled to announce my candidacy for the 2016-17 Presidency of the American Library Association. Those of you who know me, know of my deep and abiding passion for libraries. You also know that I've worked -- with many others! -- to make them better. As I've often said, this is the most exciting time in the history of our profession, and we need every live mind and spirit we can find. But the more I have thought about the state of libraries in the US today, the more concerned I have become. Support for public and academic libraries - measured in terms of public willingness to fund them - has been falling for decades. In too many states, our school libraries are in a state of crisis. Many are on the brink of extinction. I know most librarians to be conscientious and thoughtful stewards of public funds. Too, I know them to be, in many, many ways, staggeringly effective. Why then, are we losing support? And more importantly, what can we do about it? Here's what do...

I get sick very seldom. But after a recent drive over to the Western Slope of Colorado, I found myself dropping off to sleep one night (in a straw bale casita made by my friend Paul) - then was suddenly very awake and unwell. Unwell here just means knife-stabbings inside the throat when I swallowed, a fever, and headache. A cold, I guess, or rhinovirus - maybe this respiratory thing that has been flying around Denver. So I drove back home the next day so as not to infect the various people I'd been hoping to consult with. The trip wasn't bad, what with the glorious Colorado landscape, and even the rain was nice, like  driving through Scottish hills, migrating clouds, and mist. And I managed to wrap up the "Order of the Phoenix" CDs. Ms Rowling is a compelling storyteller, even when you know it comes out. When I got home, Suzanne had made chicken soup (she's been brutalized by all this for a week or more), and I was in bed by 6 or so. And slept through till aft...

A very cool new program: Mindscope . There are a couple of ways to describe it: a pinboard, a way to enter text, drag it around a screen, nest other text under it (so that clicking an underlined entry opens up a new board with new text), draw arrows connecting things. It runs on iOS. Here's a picture from my iPad: As you can see, I just set up a very simple grid that allows me to track some of this week's projects. It's really easy and simple to set up, drag things around, file when you're done. For those of us who sometimes need a couple of systems to stay on top of our world, this one is a keeper.