Stephin Merritt Writing a Book of Poetry

Stephin Merritt must share my love of Scrabble. The musician, who is best known for being the principal singer and songwriter in the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, is writing a book of poetry that was inspired by the classic word game.
 

Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt, a multi-instrumentalist who can masterfully turn a phrase.
Image via ew.com

The forthcoming book, titled 101 Two-Letter Words, will be filled with original four-line poems written by Merritt. Each of the poems will be based on the 101 two-letter words that are accepted in a game of Scrabble. One of the poems in the book goes:

The country folk say "howdy-do"
but here in town, it's "yo";
they'll say it in the country too
in twenty years or so.
 

Image via brooklynvegan.com

101 Two-Letter Words features illustrations by Roz Chast. It will be published as a hardcover book and will be released by W. W. Norton and Company in October of this year. The suggested retail price is $19.95. Called "a witty and unique book in celebration of two-letter words" by the marketing team at Norton, the book is already getting endorsements:

"When I have no Scrabble move,
I really cannot bear it.
From Aa to Za, help has arrived —
Why, thank you, Stephin Merritt!" — Lemony Snicket

Now let me put on "You, You, You, You, You" from The 6ths' album Hyacinths and Thistles (another one of Merritt's creative endeavors) before I pull my Scrabble game down from the top of the closet.

A Familiar Scenario

Image via From My Shelf Books & Gifts on Facebook

Best Advice for Library Careers

"The best career advice I received was the importance of gaining hands-on experience in a library, even if that means doing volunteer work."

~ Stephanie, adult services librarian

I started volunteering at a branch of my local public library. For a few hours every weekend, I shelve books (lately in the always lively children's section), shelf-read in all sections of the library, shelve DVDs and music CDs after locking their cases, and pull expired items from the holds area so that they can be checked back into the system. The longer I volunteer, the more responsibilities I hope to take on.
 

Following some career advice, I've begun volunteering at the public library, shelving books and other tasks.
Photo credit: cybrgrl/Flickr

Volunteering at a public library is something that I definitely want to do, primarily so that I can get current hands-on experience in a library. Fortunately, the hours that I'm asked to come in for work well with my already full schedule, which includes working full-time in publishing in the daytime and attending library school part-time in the evenings. Once I'm at the library, however, the hours seem to fly by. Still it's a lot to juggle. Stephanie, the adult services librarian, concurs:

"I know that working full-time and finishing grad school is not easy, and trying to squeeze in a few hours a week of unpaid work in a library seemed overwhelming when I first thought of doing it. However, I found that once I was at the library, I really enjoyed my time there and it wasn't overwhelming at all. I knew for sure it would be well worth it in the long run."

Stephanie and other recent library school graduates shared the best career advice they ever got with the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO). In the article "Getting Started in the Profession: New Info Pros Share Their Best Career Advice," Stephanie and her peers had this to say:

"My Pratt [Institute] instructor said, 'Your education in this profession does not end with a graduate diploma at library school. Technology and the field of information are continuously evolving. Stay in step of what is happening and aware of what is to come in the future."

~ Clara, research and reference specialist

"If you study library science and you play your cards right, you can become an expert and aficionado on almost any topic you want and work in almost any field. That advice came to me from the Barnard zine librarian, Jenna Freedman. Interested in law? Become a law librarian. Interested in music? Become a music librarian. Huge Woody Guthrie fan? Maybe you can get a job at the Woody Guthrie Archive! There are libraries and archives for nearly everything, and that is counting all of the private and personal archives that are out there."

~ Caitlin, visiting curator

"'Sometimes we have to let go to run our course.' I followed this advice, and while it was scary, it led me to a new job that I love. I was in a toxic situation at a job when I decided to follow my dream and go back to school for library science. I'm now a librarian at a wonderful school with awesome kids and great coworkers." 

~ Laura, librarian

"Dr. Bea Badden, during a panel discussion, advised attendees, 'Use what you're passionate about as the basis for your career.' There are so many possibilities in the world of librarianship, especially when you consider that the positions or projects which might be the most fitting for you personally might not have the word 'librarian' in the description at all. Focus on what you know you love to do, what talents you have, and be creative: find evidence of those things in job and project descriptions. In my experience, following these small cues will ultimately lead you to a rewarding and fulfilling experience you never could have predicted."

~ Jaime, National Digital Stewardship resident

For additional best career advice from these and other recent library school grads, check out the METRO article "Getting Started in the Profession: New Info Pros Share Their Best Career Advice" at THIS LINK.

Look Out, Honey, 'Cos Librarians Are Using Technology

Yesterday, the head of a county library system came to speak to my class. Looking out at her audience, future librarians in various states of alertness, she said: "If you are entering the library field, know something about technology. Know about computers." Chuckling, she said, "I probably wouldn't get hired today."

Our guest speaker's advice echoes the findings of the Ithaka S+R US Library Survey 2013, released on March 11, 2014, and sponsored by ExLibris, Gale CENGAGE Learning, JSTOR, and SAGE. According to the survey: "New hires are expected to concentrate in emerging and growing areas such as web services; digital preservation; and instruction, instructional design, and information literacy services, with declines expected in areas such as reference, technical services, and print collection management."

Responding to the survey question, "To the best of your knowledge, will your library add or reduce staff resources in any of the following areas over the next 5 years?," those surveyed said they will add resources (hire) in the following areas, in descending order:

• Instruction, instructional design, and information literacy services
• Digital preservation and archiving
• Web services and information technology
• Archives, rare books, and special collections
• Assessment and data analytics
• Specialized faculty research support (digital humanities, GIS, data management, etc.)
• Electronic resources management
• Subject specialists and departmental liaisons
• Development and fundraising

The areas that will receive less staff resources in the next 5 years, according to the survey's respondents, include reference; technical services, metadata, and cataloging; access services (circulation, ILL, etc.); collections development; print preservation and collections management; finance, business operations, and human resources; and attorneys and paralegals. My guess as to why these areas will be getting less support in the future is that a lot of these job responsibilities are either increasingly being outsourced or are slowly being made obsolete due to the growing automation of library services, to more people having personal access to electronic sources of information retrieval, and to more people reading e-books and other electronic literature.

An infographic that I came across confirms that librarians today must take on new roles in this digital age. To see the infographic, go to THIS LINK.

Above image via www.ifla.org

Just So You Know

Image via Literati Bookstore on Facebook

Benedict Cumberbatch Reads Keats

I've become hooked on Sherlock, the BBC television series starring English actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. I was idly standing around the local laundromat one night, waiting for my clothes to dry, when I turned to one of the TVs mounted on the wall. On it was a season 2 episode of Sherlock that featured a freakishly large hound scaring the life out of some poor soul. I immediately got sucked in. I've since started watching the series from the very beginning.
 

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes.
Thank you, interwebs!

Watching Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, one of the many things that strike me about him is his wonderful voice. Deep and measured, and delightfully articulating the witticisms and observations of this modern version of the storied sleuth, Cumberbatch's voice is both undeniably alluring and quite soothing. Its mellifluous tones have been put to marvelous use in a recitation of the John Keats' poem "Ode to a Nightingale." 

First published in 1820 in the Annals of the Fine Arts, John Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" has gone on to become one of the most treasured works of lyrical poetry to have come out of the Romantic period. Supposedly inspired by the song of a nightingale that had built its nest in a tree near his home, Keats took pen to paper in the spring of 1819. What poured forth was a deeply personal reflection on mortality, nature, and the human condition.

Hear Cumberbatch recite "Ode to a Nightingale" by clicking on the video below.
 

'A Raisin in the Sun' Exhibit Opens at NYPL

Fifty-five years ago this month, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway. Premiering on March 11, 1959, at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, it was the first play by a black woman playwright produced on the "Great White Way." 

A Raisin in the Sun playwright Lorraine Hansberry in 1959.
Image via ralphmag.org

A Raisin in the Sun was also the first play in the history of Broadway to have a black director, Lloyd Richards. Its nearly all-black cast featured Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Louis Gossett Jr., Diana Sands, Ivan Dixon, Glynn Turman, and John Fielder, among others. The show was a huge success. A Raisin in the Sun ran for 530 performances, and the production earned numerous accolades, including the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play.

The original Broadway playbill from 1959.
Image via Amazon.com

On the eve of the play's 55th anniversary, the New York Public Library has opened an exhibit that showcases original items from the 1959 Broadway production. The exhibit, titled "A Raisin in the Sun: Lorraine Hansberry's Dream on Broadway," can be seen in the McGraw Rotunda on the third floor of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. Items in the New York Public Library's commemorative exhibit include:

• The original Broadway playbill with Sidney Poitier on the cover
• The original manuscript of A Raisin in the Sun, with production notes
• Letters of congratulations from Langston Hughes, Tennessee Williams, Ossie Davis, and others
• A 35-minute documentary from 1970 on Hansberry running on a loop
• Photographs from the original cast rehearsal of the groundbreaking play

"A Raisin in the Sun: Lorraine Hansberry's Dream on Broadway" is on display at the New York Public Library now through March 16. Viewing hours are 10 AM to 8 PM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 AM to 6 PM on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and 1 PM to 5 PM on Sundays. If you're in New York between now and March 16, be sure to check it out.

For more information on NYPL's "A Raisin in the Sun" exhibit, go HERE and HERE.