Under the heading of Quickly's Neighbors/Porter County, the question is asked "What ever happened to being quiet at the library?"

Continuing the published rant, the article continues with "I visited the Valparaiso branch of the Porter County Public Library System three days this week and, if it wasn't the obnoxious children running up and down the stairs, it was the librarians at the reference desk speaking so loudly I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing. Sound like something a grumpy old man would say? Guess again. I'm only in my early 30s and am still irritated by the lack of decency and respect that I experienced. Zip it, PCPLS Valpo! I'm trying to read!"

Dear Sir, why not borrow the book and take it home to read? If it was so awful the first two times, did you not learn anything? And just by the way, Librarians are now allowed to talk ...

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Brace yourselves for June 29, when Apple will be releasing their iPhone. Even the advertising is irritating.

As Sydney Australia prepares for the APEC summit, news repeatedly broadcast is that phone jamming will be in operation when the world's 20 "most influential leaders" are in town.

Normally prohibited under Australian Telecommunication Laws (yeah, right, like forwarding emails posted to professional listservs is supposed to be, but who has ever taken THAT to court), special provisions are being made for 'Security Reasons'.

What will happen to the phone jamming equipment after the summit? Maybe libraries could tender for their purchase, under other special provisions like Preservation of Sanity ...

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Targeting specifically girls, "Japanese-style graphic novels that U.S. religion and inspirational publishers such as Thomas Nelson Inc. of Nashville are beginning to use to reach teens", according to Getahn Ward of Tn, writing for the Jackson Sun.

And she probably got paid for writing the article, and didn't have to spend the day rushing around a library dishing out change for the photocopier and finding books on shelves that were put back in the wrong place by some individual who thought they were being helpful, and answering the phone when trying to write grant submissions and spilling coffee in the rush to help someone set up their email account whilst simultaneously doing twenty other things.

But we may have digressed slightly here ...

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Volunteer Build have called for masons, electricians, plumbers, and librarians. The word is obviously spreading that librarians can achieve anything on a budget of zilch, and to a very high standard.

Although the website does not specify any criteria, it is assumed that cataloguers will probably be if not actually welcomed, then at least tolerated, as long as they adhere to AACR2 and don't go Bergman in the heat of the tropical jungles of Ghana.

But that's just our guess. It's probably best to check the details for yourself ...

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The Borneo Bulletin online reports that "thirty-six individuals were yesterday presented certificates after completing a Library Management Workshop, which took place during a closing ceremony at the Kampong Pandan Public Library".

As shown in the Bulletin's photograph above, workshop participants were clearly on the edge of their seats for the formal part of the proceedings.

Interestingly, the Guest of Honor was Schools Department Administrator Pengiran Yusof bin Pengiran Hj Ismail, which WLW observes would have been a challenge to write on his name tag ...

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Matthew McConaughey, whose screen credits include "We Are Marshall," "Failure to Launch" and "Sahara," is People magazine's Bachelor of the Year.

When asked how he maintains his muscular build, McConaughey says: "I don't really have a workout regimen I follow. I just live my life. My goal is to break a sweat each day."

Like to sweat, Matthew? Try coming to Australia and doing a stocktake in the middle of summer in a library without air conditioning. It's not nearly as much fun as it sounds ...

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For those that may have been concerned over the content of WLW #245 (now in the archives), please be assured that The Librarian (and you know who we are talking about - and it isn't Noah Wyle) has now been reinstated, at least for the moment.

However, the matter is to go as far as the relevant Minister, and will shortly be recorded in Hansard, the official documentation of the Australian parliament. Who would have thought that there'd be this factor to consider in librarianship. It really needs to be covered more thoroughly in Library School ...

How many times to you hear "Do you have any good books?". Or more likely "Do you have, like, any good books?"

Many thanks to Alexa Hunt, the Librarian at Bayview College for reporting her now-retired Library Assistant's usual response to that question was "All the library's books are well-behaved".

A student at Bayview College was once heard to ask "Do you have any water skiing books?" to which the LA replied "No, they just sit on the shelves quietly". Whilst we're sure that the new assistant is just brilliant, it's no wonder that Alexa misses her former assistant.

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Well done to Fodey.com for finding yet another way to avoid anything that might be related to real work.

The resultant graphic produced by the online Newspaper Clipping generator sure looks genuine, and can lead to hours of fun and a lot of trouble if you 'publish' anything inappropriate or even remotely controversial - particular if you're working under the Big Brother instrument generally called a Code of Conduct ...

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For every action there is certainly an opposite reaction, but in the library world, unlike in physics, it is not necessarily equal. This is surely proof that libraries exist in their own universe with different laws, practices and most importantly management procedures - that often bear little correlation to the principles of logic, as they are generally understood here on Planet Earth.

Amanda Credaro, June 2007.

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Thank you for submitting a request to speak at Internet Librarian International 2007. Our call for speakers had an overwhelming response: We had almost 200 submissions, all of which showed great professionalism and would add much to the conference. Unfortunately, we could not accept all the speaker proposals we received, since this is only a two day conference. I'm very sorry to say that your proposal was among those we were unable to accept.

I hope that you will consider attending Internet Librarian International 2007 as a delegate despite the fact that your speaking proposal was not accepted and that you will submit a proposal next year, for Internet Librarian International 2008.

Best regards,
Marydee Ojala
Editor, ONLINE: The Leading Magazine for Information Professionals
>Co-Chair, Internet Librarian International
Marydee@xmission.com

[Note: The Warrior Librarian does not do 'delegate'. And Amanda Credaro's librarian salary does not stretch to funding attendence at international conferences. Sigh.]

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