![\"IMG_0833.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/-IiZmkzPqciw\/TVH5hb4jVtI\/AAAAAAAAC5A\/G6mPn7Sv7yo\/h480\/IMG_0833.jpg\")
<\/a>Water, water everywhere in summer; big sky fills winter's window.<\/p><\/div>\n
Soon-to-be IBM ex-President Sam Palmisano tells an interviewer that he kept IBM ahead of the curve by changing direction and helping people get through the mountains of data available to them.\u00a0 To do this, he bought software companies that offered \u201cdata mining and analytic services.\u201d <\/a>He steps down a hero which is fine, but where is the notice that reference librarians have been doing this for a hundred-plus years? Please recall with fondness the librarian who shepherded you, other researchers and the generally curious through the mountains of information available to any and all in libraries.<\/p>\n An aside: James Webb\u2019s Unobtrusive Measures<\/strong> is a fun read and good way to recall these earlier mountains of data in libraries, some of which\u00a0 he called \u201crunning records.\u201d\u00a0 Remember the study, using water and electricity records, that concluded the Brits used the bathroom during the commercials on television?\u00a0 Maybe that’s why their commercials are so often so good.\u00a0 But I digress.<\/p>\n Oh librarians appreciate the occasional understated mention in an obscure appendix or acknowledgement, sure, but in the bigger picture, they have long made available organized, accessible information to anyone who wanted it.\u00a0 And they know well the often unspoken rules underlying which sources to use when.\u00a0 Face it; in today’s world the problem isn’t finding ten sources; it’s knowing which of 250 options to choose.\u00a0 Clearly librarians needed to understand algorithms or befriend someone who did because for all of today\u2019s access, way too few users know what makes a source good rather than just easy to find.<\/p>\n One sees jumble, another sees first sort. Both have usefulness in mind.<\/p><\/div>\n So it is good news when librarians and users make a move to improve the quality of cited sources. In this spirit, cheers to Wikipedia attenders and library providers when NYPL\u2019s Performing Arts Library hosted an \u201ceditathon\u201d<\/a> for amateur digital archivists and musical theater devotees. Everybody wins. Wikipedia\u2019s musical-theater-related entries use better evidence to make their points and the treasures in these Special Collections get visibility and a more explicit purpose.<\/a> What fun! I wish I could have been there or that more libraries offered similar search events.<\/p>\n I loved Umberto Eco’s An Infinity of Lists<\/strong> for many reasons, but one big reason was that it included the contents of and rationales for many really strange collections.\u00a0 Suddenly NYPL’s Special Collections had forebears.<\/p>\n Time to return to the Friday NYT<\/strong> crossword puzzle and decide if the constructor is a seasoned liberal arts graduate with a modest interest in sports whose references, especially slang references, I stand a chance of knowing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Easy days at the winter digs. Spectacular sunrises with reds and blues that incorrectly promised later moisture.\u00a0 Sailors did not have to take warning. Today’s blurry sky may change the tenor of our very warm — well, mild — snowless … Continue reading ![\"IMG_9524.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/-kMtnHvvaPm8\/TVH6qN5RC1I\/AAAAAAAAC-c\/CyhwGr84EqY\/h480\/IMG_9524.jpg\")
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