The librarian is: BLOGGING | Journalism Library, Columbia University

Like everyone else at Columbia, I’ve been having major email issues for the past couple of days. So, if you need to reach me, the best way is by phone: 212-854-3916. Once my email is back up, I will post again here.

My email’s back. Resume emailing me.

The Library of Congress has posted an online exhibit, Bound for Glory, which includes rarely seen color photos taken by government photographers in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Village Voice has mounted a special 50th Anniversary website. Visit it to view a timeline of the paper, 50 years of covers, features that span each decade, as well as commentary on the Voice’s history and development.

In a prior post I mentioned the Census Bureau’s Facts for Features website, which is designed just for journalists. Here are some of their fun facts on the Thanksgiving holiday:

256 million: The preliminary estimate of the number of turkeys raised in the United States in 2005.

44.5 million: The preliminary estimate of the number of turkeys Minnesota expects to raise in 2005.

998 million pounds: Total pumpkin production of major pumpkin-producing states in 2004.

Hungry? Read on. And Happy Thanksgiving.

[Updates resume next week.]

Just when you thought the Internet couldn’t possibly bring you another cool and free thing, it’s Symbols.com - the Online Encyclopedia of Western Signs and Ideograms! You can search the site, browse by graphical element or word, or just look at a random symbol if you prefer…

Can’t keep away from the library? Then you’re in luck. The Journalism Library will be open on Saturday and Sunday of this week (we will be closed Thursday and Friday for the holiday, however). Need hours for a different library? Check here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Are you new to or interested in religion reporting? A great resource for keeping up with religion issues as they intersect with the news media is the magazine, Religion in the News, published by the Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College (CT) You can link to full magazine archives from the main Center website.

Just a quick reminder here that the subject categories on this blog are designed with you in mind. If you’re interested in other posts on, say, religion reporting, just follow the link at the start of this post (or in the left-hand margin) and you’ll see them all…

An indispensable part of getting to know your beat neighborhood is exploring its public library branch. Public libraries across the US draw local residents for events and group meetings, and in New York, branch libraries of the New York Public Library system (serving Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island), as well as branches of the Queens Borough Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library, often have collections which highlight the unique characteristics of the neighborhoods they serve. If you’re having trouble finding neighborhood newspapers, the local branch library is a good place to start your search.

Before setting out, use the links above to locate your beat’s branch library and most importantly, check its hours of operation! To explore the branch library catalogs, here are some useful links:

LEOPAC is the catalog of the New York Public Library’s branch library system, which is not to be confused with the separate CATNYP catalog, which shows the holdings of NYPL’s Research Libraries. Keep in mind that to check out materials from the branch libraries, you will need a NYPL library card. Apply for one today! It’s a great benefit to take advantage of while you are living in New York City, and it even offers you access to online research databases which you’ll be able to use after graduating, when you no longer have access to Columbia’s resources.

Queens Library’s catalog can be searched from its main website, and Brooklyn Public Library’s catalog can be found here.

Thanks to Dean Sree Sreenivasan for this heads-up (sorry, no ticket giveaways here, see info below for press tickets):

Google, Authors, Publishers, and Library Officials in Discussion at The New York Public Library

Panel with Library President Paul LeClerc, Google VP David Drummond, legal scholar Lawrence Lessig, Wired editor Chris Anderson and others on Thursday, November 17th at 7:00 p.m.
_________________________________________________

What:
“The Battle Over Books: Authors & Publishers Take on the Google Print Library Project” will feature a provocative discussion about the competing interests and issues raised by Google’s Print Library Project, hosted by LIVE from the NYPL and Wired Magazine. In addition to legal scholar Lawrence Lessig, the panel will feature representatives from Google, The New York Public Library, Wired Magazine, the Author’s Guild, and the Association of American Publishers.

Google’s Print Library Project - an initiative to scan books from the collections of several major libraries - has raised questions about intellectual property rights, fair use, piracy, ownership, distribution, compensation, and control. This fall the Author’s Guild and the Association of American Publishers filed lawsuits against Google, citing massive copyright infringement.

When:
Thursday, November 17, 7:00 p.m.

Where:
The New York Public Library, Humanities and Social Sciences Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street

Who:
Paul LeClerc, President and CEO, The New York Public Library
David Ferriero, Chief Executive, Research Libraries, The New York Public Library
Allan Adler, Vice President of Legal Affairs, Association of American Publishers
Chris Anderson, editor in chief, Wired magazine
David Drummond, Vice President, Corporate development, Google
Lawrence Lessig, professor, Stanford Law School
Nick Taylor, bestselling author and President, Author’s Guild

Tickets:
$15 general admission ($10 donors, seniors, students w/ ID)
(212) 868-4444 or www.smarttix.com

RSVP:
Limited Press Seats Available
Tim Farrell, 212-704-8600, tfarrell@nypl.org

While you are enrolled in the J-school, and hard at work on assignments, it can be difficult to look at the bigger picture. When you do have a moment, or once you have graduated, here are some sites to explore to continue learning, both about the field and about the consumers of journalism’s products.

The Poynter Institute is “a school for journalists, future journalists, and teachers of journalists.” Poynter runs training sessions for practitioners, and also maintains a very rich website, with features ranging from analyses of news graphics and design, to journalism ethics discussions, to photojournalism galleries.

Poynter is also home to columnists, including the blog of Jim Romenesko, which keeps its finger on the pulse of the media industry, and which is the first blog read of the day for many in the field. And, our very own Sree Sreenivasan’s column can be found on the Poynter site as well.

Poynter’s librarian maintains the Resource Center, which includes bibliographies on various topics in journalism (encompassing web links and suggested readings), tip sheets, and much more.

The Project for Excellence in Journalism, a project of the J-school based in Washington, DC, conducts an annual survey, The State of the News Media, which analyzes audience characteristics and the economics of the media industry. The survey encompasses radio, television, print and online news sources, and solicits public opinion via the Pew Research Center for People & the Press.