Public profiles, web browsing results and advertisements tailored to you based on email content and other browsing histories, check-ins, public wi-fi, location-based services, billions upon billions upon billions of pictures and videos, public records … yeah … thinking about privacy in the digital age can be overwhelming, scary, and really, really interesting.

Since libraries hold stake in privacy issues, it’s no surprise that the American Library Association (ALA) sponsors Choose Privacy Week. Head over to the Choose Privacy Week blog to access daily tips, videos, and forums all about online surveillance and privacy. For example, check out these tips for using public access computers or any of the videos embedded below.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be huddled in a cave with our tin foil hat.

“Choose Privacy”

“Vanishing Liberties: The Rise of State Surveillance in the Digital Age”

“Data Mining, Government Surveillance, and Civil Liberties”

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Haiku Contest! Admittedly, we grew a little concerned as entries became increasingly dark toward the end of the term, but we enjoyed the mix of humor, beauty, agony, and finals-induced nonsense.

Congratulations to Paige Broussard, our judges’ pick for best haiku:
fallen white petals
dance in cyclones underfoot.
ghosts of the winter.

Honorable Mentions:

Sleep, a sweet repose
To forego sleep, a burden
Sleep quiets the anxious mind
by: Anonymous

Round and round its spoke
The circle spins to the end
Round and round again
by: Teddy Jones

Advert for Contest
Oh why Just but one mistake?
twenty-secondeth
by: John F (who pointed out an editorial oversight on our part)

There may come a time when you’re standing in the stacks, book in one hand, DVD in the other. What to do!?! Have no fear. It’s Book vs. Movie.

Book: Winnie-the-Pooh (PR6025. I65 W56, 3rd Floor)
Movie: Winnie the Pooh (PN1997 .W564, 1st Floor)

Seriously late nights? Brain scrambled from studying? News getting you down? These are Winnie-the-Pooh moments (or more likely Eeyore moments, but he’s not the title character).

Few children’s stories are as popular and widely adapted as Winnie-the-Pooh. Inspired in part by a real bear named Winnie at the London Zoo, A. A. Milne wrote the book in 1926 for his son — you guessed it — Christopher Robin Milne.

Despite its popularity as a movie (or movies, since there have been many versions and spin-offs), I don’t get the sense that a lot of people have read the book. This is a total shame because the book is really very clever. It plays with the frame narrative structure (stories set up around a common situation a la The Canterbury Tales or the 1001 Arabian Nights). Trying to figure out what is “real” — perhaps things that are “inside jokes” between father and son — and what is “story” is a really fun exercise. Plus, much of Milne’s play with language is lost on the screen. Pooh.

The Disney movie, Winnie the Pooh, which really began as separate features based on chapters out of the book and other continuations of the Pooh Bear story, is still a good movie. No doubt about it. I mean, really, I don’t remember half the crap I watched on Cartoon Network, but you better believe that Hunny jars and Heffalumps will forever trigger fond childhood memories.

All in all, I think I appreciate the book more now as an adult (wait, am I a grown up? Oh bother) than I did as a kid. But honestly, whatever gives you the warm fuzzies in times of great stress is what you should cling to like Tigger up a tree.

Winner: you, once you’re done with finals

Feel like you need some cartoon time? We’ve got you covered. Join us for Cartoons & Cereal this Monday, April 22, 5-8 p.m. in room 207.

It’s a little known fact that librarians never sleep. If we aren’t otherwise erecting a new building, teaching classes, ordering new materials, serving as liaisons to academic departments, implementing a new online catalog, serving on committees (library, university, local, regional, national), putting out information fires on a daily basis, forging new partnerships, or just having some fun…we’re also engaged in the dialogue with the larger discussion of the library world. Below you’ll find an overview of some of the ways we’ve kept ourselves busy in our free time:

Bo Baker, Studio Librarian
Presentations

• Sweetman, Patrick & Baker, Bo. “InterACT: The Library and the Theatre.” Presentation at Southeast Theatre Conference. Chattanooga, TN, March 2012.

Workshops

• Panelist at Chattanooga State University Library Social Media Forum. Chattanooga, TN, January 2013.
• Cairns, Virginia & Baker, Bo. “Beyond Google: What Every Student (and Teacher) Needs to Know.” Workshop for Chattanooga Council of Teachers of English. Chattanooga, TN, April 2012.

Chapel Cowden, Health/Sciences Instruction Librarian
Presentations:

• Cowden, Chapel D. & Rogers, Brian. “Cultivating digital access to the archives: A case study of the Hood-Williamson Serpent Handling Collection.” Presentation at Tennessee Library Association Annual Conference. Chattanooga, TN, April 2013.
• Cowden, Chapel D. & Carter, Amanda J.  ”Reimagining the attic: Creating user-centered services for your special collections.” Presentation at Tennessee Library Association Annual Conference.  Knoxville, TN, March 2012.
• Cowden, Chapel D. (creator & moderator). “On the record: Students speak out on genealogy and other hot topics of the archive world.” Panel session at Society of Tennessee Archivists Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN, October 2011.

Melanie Dunn, Resource Sharing Coordinator
Publications:

• Dunn, Melanie. “Wikis: The Perfect Platform for Library Policies and Procedures.” The Southeastern Librarian, 60, no. 3 (2012): 3-7.
• —. ”When Time Away Isn’t Time Lost: Managing In Absentia.” LIScareer, (2012).

Presentations:

• Dunn, Melanie. “Buy, not Borrow: A Bonus for All.” Presentation at the Southeastern Library Conference, Macon, GA, Oct. 4, 2012

Katie Gohn, Digital Integration Librarian
Presentations:

• Gohn, Katie E., Remy, Charlie R., & Schurr, Andrea.  ”Implementing OCLC’s WMS at UTC.”  Presentation at Tennessee Library Association Annual Conference. Chattanooga, TN, April 2013.
• Gohn, Katie E.. “The Age of Discovery.” Panel Discussion at ER&L Annual Conference.  Austin, TX, March 2013.
• Hosburgh, Nathan & Gohn, Katie E.. “Troubleshooting and Tracking E-Resource Access Problems: a User-Centered Approach.”  Presentation at ER&L Annual Conference. Austin, TX, March 2013.

Jason Griffey, Head of Library Information Technology
Publications:

• Griffey, Jason. “Gadgets & Gizmos II: Libraries in the Post-PC World.” Library Technology Reports, 48 no. 3, ALA TechSource (2012).

Presentations:

• Griffey, Jason. “Personal Electronics & the Library.” Half Day Workshop at  Computers in Libraries 2012, Washington, DC, March 20, 2012.
• —. “Libraries & The Post-PC Era.” Opening Keynote at VALA 2012: Empowering eFutures, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, February 7, 2012.
• —. “Libraries & The Post-PC Era.” Presentation at New South Wales Tech Day, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, February 13, 2012.
• —. “Libraries & The Post-PC Era.” Presentation at VALA Encore, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, February 15, 2012.
• —. “The Future Soon.” Presentation at Library Administrators Conference of Northern Illinois, Skokie, IL, October 6, 2011.
• —. “Not Evenly Distributed: What Technology Means to the Future of Libraries.” Presentation at Maine Regional Fall Council, Portland, ME, September 21-23, 2011.
• —. “The Future is Already Here.” Presentation at Western Kentucky University Library Kickoff 2011, August 24, 2011.
• —. “The Digital is Not the Physical: libraries, ebooks, and the next 5 years.” Presentation at Connecticut Library Association Annual Conference, May 2-3, 2011.
• —. “The Everywhere Patron.” Presentation at Minnesota Library Association Academic & Research Libraries Division Day, Minneapolis, MN. April 29, 2011.
• —. “Personal Electronics & Cool Tech.” Presentation at LibraryCamp Australia 2012, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. February 10, 2012.
• —. “Advanced Topics in Mobile Technology for Libraries.” Presentation at LibraryLinkNJ, July 7, 2011.
• —. “Ubiquitous Services: Technology at the Point of Need.” Presentation at  AMIGOS Member Conference, May 18-19, 2011.
• —. “Gadgets in the Library: A Practical Guide to Personal Electronics for Librarians.” Presentation at  ALA Techsource webinar, Apr 13 & 20, 2011.

Colleen Harris, Head of Access Services
Publications:

• Harris, C. S., & Rausch, D. W.. “Leveraging learning theory and learning management systems in higher education: The critical role of instructor facilitation.” In Learning Management Systems and Instructional Design: Best Practices in Online Education, edited by Y. Kats. Hershey, PA, IGI Global: 2013.
• Smallwood, C., Harris, C. S., & Brackett-Vincent, C. (Eds.). Women on poetry: Writing, revising, publishing and teaching. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, Inc.: 2012
• Harris, C. S.. “Library (r)evolution: Organizational change and library effectiveness.” In Brick & Click Libraries: Proceedings of an Academic Library Symposium, edited by F. Baudino, C. J. Ury, and S. G. Park. Maryville, MO, Northwest Missouri State University: 2012.

Presentations:

• Harris, C.S.. “MLS without a map? A call for A mixed-methods approach to studying academic library leadership.” Presentation at the 4th annual Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries International Conference, Limerick, Ireland, May 2012.
• —. “Impact of unfinished business: The Zeigarnik effect, organizational effectiveness, and academic library management practices.” Presentation at the 4th annual Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries International Conference, Limerick, Ireland, May 2012.

Theresa Liedtka, Dean of the Library
Reviews:

• Liedtka, Theresa. “The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia.” Reference Reviews, 27, no. 1 (2013): 44.
• —. “Cambridge Companion to Baseball.” Reference Reviews, 26, no. 5 (2012): 53-54.

Presentations:

• Liedtka Theresa, Mike Bell & Andrea Schurr. “3 Years, 400,000 Books, and 1 Front Page Story.” Presentation at 2012 Annual Charleston Conference, Charleston, SC,  November 7-10, 2012.

Committee Work:

• Association of College and Research Libraries , Intellectual Freedom Committee, Chair: 2012-2013
• Association of College and Research Libraries, CUPA-HR Positions of Academic Librarians Task Force, Member 2012-2013
• Association of College and Research Libraries, Core Organizational Values Task Force, Member, 2011-2013

Board:

• Chattanooga Public Library, member, Board of Trustees, 2011 to present

Charlie Remy, Electronic Resources & Serials Librarian
Presentations:

• Gohn, Katie E., Remy, Charlie R., & Schurr, Andrea.  ”Implementing OCLC’s WMS at UTC.”  Presentation at Tennessee Library Association Annual Conference. Chattanooga, TN, April 2013.

Publications:

• Remy, C.. “Asperger syndrome and employment: research and Reflections.” AANE Journal, 10, Spring (2012): 4-8.
• —. “ebrary Academic Complete.” The Charleston Advisor, 14, no. 2 (October 2012): 21-25.
  
• —. “Usage Consolidation Attempts to Streamline Gathering, Storage, and Reporting of Usage Statistics.” Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 24, no. 3, (2012): 238-240.
• —. “Wiley-Blackwell Compass Journals.” The Charleston Advisor, 14, no. 1, (July 2012): 48-50.
  

Brian Rogers, Web Design & Instruction Librarian
Presentations:

• Cowden, Chapel D. & Rogers, Brian. “Cultivating digital access to the archives: A case study of the Hood-Williamson Serpent Handling Collection.” Presentation at Tennessee Library Association Annual Conference. Chattanooga, TN, April 2013.
• Rogers, Brian. “Midlife Puberty: Transitions in Library Identity.” Presentation at the monthly meeting of Chattanooga Area Library Association, Chattanooga, TN, March 2013.
• —. “Content, Context, Containers: Problems Preserving a Decade Old Blog.” Poster presented at Personal Digital Archiving Conference, College Park, MD, February 2013.

Lane Wilkinson, UC Foundation Assistant Professor Reference & Instruction Librarian
Publications:

• Wilkinson, L. A.. “Transliteracy and what they know.” In Information literacy beyond Library 2.0, by P. Godwin & J. Parker, 163-70. London: Facet Publishing, 2012.

Presentations:

• Wilkinson, L.A..”It’s not Just Privacy, Porn, and Pipe-Bombs: Libraries and the Ethics of Service.” Invited lecture at the National Center for Professional and Research Ethics (University of Illinois), Urbana, IL, October 12, 2012.
• —. “Instruction beyond the Library.” Keynote for Minnesota Library Association ARLD Day Conference, Chaska, MN, May 4, 2012.
• —. “Libraries and the Future of Transliteracy.” Invited speaker at Texas Library Association Annual Conference, Houston, TX, April 20, 2012.
• —. “Skills that transfer.” Invited speaker at ACRL/NY Symposium at Baruch College, New York, NY, December 2, 2011.

Other:

• A half-dozen reviews in Choice (philosophy books).
• ACRL PRIMO award for “How to use a Database” (PRIMO featured tutorial December 2012).
• Attended ACRL Immersion in November 2012.
• Invited to serve on the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards Task Force.

There may come a time when you’re standing in the stacks, book in one hand, DVD in the other. What to do!?! Have no fear. It’s Book vs. Movie TV HBO.

Season Three is Coming: Game of Thrones vs. A Song of Ice and Fire

Books:
A Game of Thrones: PS3563.A7239 G36 1996
A Clash of Kings: PS3563.A7239 C58 1999
A Storm of Swords: PS3563.A7239 S7 2000
A Feast for Crows: PS3563.A7239 F39 2005
A Dance with Dragons: PS3563.A7239 D36 2011

TV Series:
Season One: PN1992.5 .G361 2002
Season Two: PN1992.5 .G362 2013

Okay, technically I’m cheating. Game of Thrones isn’t a movie, it’s a TV show. In my defense, HBO makes some pretty epic shows — this one included. That and A Song of Ice and Fire is a book series not a book, but hey, this is my blog column (blogumn?) and I’ll do as I like. Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or in graduate school, which is basically the same thing), you have probably heard of this series before. Being of the medieval fantasy genre, it has often been compared to The Lord of the Rings, which would be true if Tolkien had written more about naughty bits and zombies (both of which are more prevalent in medieval literature than Tolkien would have you believe). On that point, props to George R. R. Martin and the Game of Thrones creators. But I digress; let’s get down to this review business.

The setting of both the TV and book series is reminiscent of medieval England in its early days. Divided kingdoms are at war with each other over who will sit on the iron throne and unite the country. The practical impossibility of this task makes the series feel rather recursive at times. Meanwhile, along its northern border, wild natives and frozen zombies (called Others) threaten the stability of the civilization the southerners created. In short, it’s got everything you really want of a medieval fantasy series—dragons, battles, intrigue, murder, incest, and wenches. Word of advice: don’t get too attached to a character as he or she will probably get knocked off.

Jaime Lannister. Get it? GET IT !?

A Song of Ice and Fire is a book series, yet to be finished, by Martin. I’m not going to mince words: this sucker is long. Really long. Each book is between 800 and 1200-ish pages. There are five books in total with plans in the works for two more. That’s a lot of trees, people. What doesn’t help is that Martin’s writing style tends to match the length of his books — long and tedious. Each chapter is from a different character’s perspective, which is a lot to keep up with, but that format also has the benefit of playing with what is known/unknown or seen/unseen to create moments of tantalizing suspense and literary brilliance.

I imagine the most difficult part of making the books into a TV series was cutting down the sheer bulk of the books. Some detail is lost, and what’s left may seem insignificant to someone who hasn’t read the books. By and large, though, I have to say, HBO did a good job — probably because so many naughty bits were already written into the story. They do try to match the point of view shifts that happen so frequently in the books. It feels somewhat more natural for a TV series to switch perspectives, but it can still be jarring at times.

Overall, if you have the time (summer is coming!), I do think the books are worth a read. If you don’t have the time, I totally understand on this one. Check out the DVDs.

Winner: both, depending on how much time you have.