Less than two years after WLW Issue #221 featured the release of the library comic Rex Libris, Hollywood mag Variety is reporting that Warner Brothers has hired the screenwriter who did Chickenrun for the screenplay adaptation of the Rex comic book.

Rex creator James Turner, who kindly provided a review copy to WLW soon after its original release, certainly received a good return on his postage (to WLW) investment. Admittedly, the originality and brilliance of the publication may also have been a factor in the comic's sucess.

As the introduction says in Volume 1, Issue 1, the Rex Libris Theme Park is probably next, followed by untold riches and ultimately world domination. As soon as the shelving has been done, the cataloguing backlog has been cleared, and the last patron ushered out at closing time - usually in semi-darkness and probably by Security ...

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Principal researcher for Microsoft Susan Dumais suggested, in a recent New York Times article, that she should have her contract terminated.

The statement was made in reference to her prediction that the standard rectangular box used for inputting data into any search tool should have disappeared within the next ten years "or they should fire me".

Although there was no suggestion as to what would replace the now-familiar quadrilateral, Dumais' home page (last updated in 2005) did note vacancies for internships in "novel interfaces for search". The genre was not specified ...

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The amendments late last year to Australian copyright laws seem to have had minimal impact on libraries, as most of the changes relate to products and services that are beyond the budget of many institutions.

However, it seems that a brilliant opportunity has been missed to clarify a number of issues. For example, in regard to preservation copying, Section 51 states that a "replacement copy cannot be made until [the disc] is lost, stolen or damaged".

Unfortunately there is no guidence as to how to create such a copy from a resource that no longer exists or functions ...

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Chim Ridgalds posts in his Pleasant Millionaires blog that the requirements to be a librarian are "being literate, enjoying sitting on your ass, being able to shush people, [and] repeat".

He goes on to state that he "wonders why librarians are so crabby, they have the simplest job ever. Their only purpose is to make sure people don't jack books, and when was the last time you heard of an armed Library robbery? Intense research isn't necessary to understand the Dewey-Decimal System. I know they're necessary. I also know that being pissed all the time when you've got nothing to do but read magazines all day isn't. Cheer the hell up. Name an easier job, you can't."

Whilst being hesitant provide any satisfaction for Chim in knowing that someone has read his tirade, it would indeed be negligant from the information dissemination perspective not to draw this to the attention of the information professionals community. We took a break from our magazine-reading duties to respond ourselves ...

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Inspired by something on another website, the identity of which was not documented (don't worry, the person responsible has had yet another blot added to their copybook), WLW readers may be interested in some of the requests that were revealed by the last WLW site search report:

Mon Apr 02 10:37:13 2007 librarians nightmare
Thu Mar 29 18:02:56 2007 shampoo
Tue Mar 27 19:01:36 2007 strange search requests
Tue Mar 27 09:55:02 2007 chinese nightingale
Tue Mar 27 01:10:48 2007 casting crowns

Occasionally these search reports do eventually spawn future WLW articles, but The Muse failed to be inspired this time. Although there could be something worth following up with shampoo ...

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April is such an important month on the library calendar: in Australia, libraries are probably in the process of putting up their ANZAC Day displays; around the world (or at least in a lot of countries) the Easter Display has probably just been dismantled; stuff is likely to be on order for upcoming May events.

In addition, the Warrior Librarian's birthday is rapidly approaching. Although the UN has not yet proclaimed this as an official day of celebration, due to the magnificent convenience of the Internet, it is now easier than ever for WLW readers to show their appreciation for the time and effort occasionally expended. Gee, with the Wish List items starting at less than a buck, and even a postal address provided for second hand stuff ...

The Warrior Librarian, herself featured in this mock-up of the cover of Australian Dirt Bike magazine, hopes this will be an inspiration to librarians everywhere.

If you'd like to promote a less stereotypical image to your colleagues and patrons, for a mere five dollars you too can appear to be featured on the cover of a magazine covering a sport in which you have no interest, knowledge or experience ...

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Over the years I’ve had co-workers who I’ve found very comedic (some by intention, some not). Some seemed like they would be wonderful comedians if they had not heard the calling of librarianship.

Kathleen Low of Casanova was a librarian fame.

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Hi there software support people,