Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically

I just learned that there is a small division at the Library of Congress named National Library Service for the Blind and Physically (NLS). This special department is NOT locate in the three buildings of Library of Congress. This department has its own collection development guidelines and is run like a public library - materials are purchased via Baker & Taylor, and Ingram.

Through a national network of cooperating libraries, NLS administers a free library program of braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail. Yet in order to receive services from NLS, readers have to be resdietns of the United States.

Here is NLS information:
1291 Taylor Street, NW
Washington, DC20542
Local Telephone: (202) 707-5100
Toll Free Telephone: (800) 424-8567
www.loc.gov/nls
E-mail: nls@loc.gov

Library Instruction Class

I chatted with one of my colleagues this morning about preparing PowerPoint slides for the upcoming library instruction class. We agree that there shouldn't be more than 10 slides for the 20-30 minutes class. Actually, in my experience, there shouldn't be more than "5 dots" on each slide. - Students cannot absorb a slide which is full of graphs and "dots" (points).

Motivate library staff

I have been reading and searching articles about how to motivate library staff in a time of change.  - It seems that many motivation theories mainly focus on the issues from the viewpoint of managers and administrators, especially on the topics how to handle self-motivated and self-demotivated staff. The concentration is NOT on the managers themselves rather on their subordinates.  If the mangers themselves are not motivated, how can they motivate staff who are working under their instructions?

Some readings suggest that money and threat are tools to motivate staff. Yet people who work at the librray setting, generally speaking are not working for money - most libraries pay poorly to their staff. Some researchers even suggest that instrinsic motivation is the key for motivating staff - so a Master's Degree in Library Science is NOT enough to be a library manager - a degree in human psychology seems more convincing. Oh boy! ...

Earthquake in Washing DC?

Two days ago, I heard that there was an earthquake in DC. I sent my friend an email, asking whether she felt the shaking. It turns out that she really felt the shaking. When she arrived home from work, all her books scattered on the floor, so are her drawers! Luckily her valuable Egyptian collections are "untouched" - amazing! It seems that it was not just a little bit shaking! My classmates in Delaware, New York, Virgina all indicated that they felt the shaking. It is said that it's very rare to have earthquake in DC area.Same day, there was a 5.5 earthquake in Colorado Springs.

What's going on? The world is shaking for sure...

Hello! It has been a while ....

Summer is gone - where was I? It has been a while since I wrote my last entry. Well summer PhD courses were very tough and occupied all my "spare time". Glad it's over. But the fall semester will immediately start next Monday - only a few days break - well I am not complaining.

It has been a good but busy summer semester. I really enjoy my classes and learned more than I expected. In the past two days, I have been busy with reading materials related to research design. Don't be intimated by titles. Once I start reading the content, it's much easier than I thought to absorb the information. One of the book titled Research Design by John W. Creswell, in my opinion, is a great book for any one who are interested in conducted social and behavioral research. Great reference book. Recommended.