2011 Books Read

1. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
2. What They Didn't Teach You in Graduate School by Paul Gray and David E. Drew
3. Diamond Age. By Neal Stephenson
4. 1636: The Saxon Uprising by Eric Flint
5. Psychology of Superheroes: An Unauthorized Exploration edited by Robin S. Rosenberg
6. Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
7. Magic University: The Siren and the Sword by Cecilia Tan
8. 1635: The Eastern Front by Eric Flint
9. The Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the Uses of History by Gordon S. Wood
10. Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal
11. Cryoburn by Lois M. Bujold
12. Federations edited by Lois M. Bujold
13. The Googlization of Everything: (and Why We Should Worry) by Siva Vaidhyanathan
14. Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
15. Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files edited by Jim Butcher
16. Stupid History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions Throughout the Ages by Leland Gregory
17. Convivial Conflicts: The Form, Culture and Play of Modern European Strategy Games by Stewart Woods (PhD diss.)
18. New Avengers Vol. I (GN)
19. New Avengers: Illuminati (GN)
20. New Avengers: Secret Invasion Book I (GN)
21. New Avengers: Secret Invasion Book II (GN)
22. New Avengers: The Reunion (GN)
23. New Avengers Vol. 10 (GN)
24. New Avengers Vol. 11 (GN)
25. New Avengers Vol. 12 (GN)
26. Mighty Avengers Vol. 4: Secret Invasion Book 2 (GN)
27. Avengers Vol. 1 (GN)
28. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight, Vol. 1 (GN)
29. Iron Man: Secret Invasion (GN)
30. Marvel Civil War (GN)
31. X-Men: Civil War (GN)
32. Ms. Marvel: Civil War (GN)
33. Ms. Marvel: Best of the Best (GN)
34. Decimation: Generation M (GN)
35. I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 by Douglas Edwards
36. Bio of a Space Tyrant Volume 1: Refugee by Piers Anthony
37. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
38. Bio of a Space Tyrant Volume 2: Mercenary by Piers Anthony
39. Bio of a Space Tyrant Volume 3: Politician by Piers Anthony
40. The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
41. Bio of a Space Tyrant Volume 4: Executive by Piers Anthony
42. Bio of a Space Tyrant Volume 5: Statesman by Piers Anthony
43. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 
44. Digital Culture, Play and Identity: A World of Warcraft Reader edited by Hilde G. Corneliussen
45. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
46. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
47. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

2010 Books Read

1) Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
2) Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3) 1635 - The Tangled Web by Virginia DeMarce
4) Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber
5) One Good Soldier by Travis S. Taylor
6) Free by Chris Anderson
7) 1635: The Tangled Web by Virginia DeMarce
8) Makers by Cory Doctorow
9) This Book is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson
10) The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
11) The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
12) The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan
13) The Death of Captain America GN
14) Pornocopia by Piers Anthony
15) Changes by Jim Butcher
16) The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
17) Mistakes in Library Management: Grievous Errors and How to Avoid Them edited by Jack E. Fritts, Jr.
18) Marvel Zombies Graphic Novel
19) Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
20) Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan
21) Batman, R.I.P. Graphic Novel
22) A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan
23) The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan
24) Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan
25)  Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik
26) Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina
27) Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan
28) Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
29) Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
30) For the Win by Cory Doctorow
31) Crimes Against Logic: Exposing the Bogus Arguments of Politicians, Priests, Journalists, and Other Serial Offenders by Jamie Whyte
32) Of Berserkers, Swords and Vampires: A Saberhagen Retrospective by Fred Saberhagen
33) Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America by Barbara Ehrenreich
34) The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
35) Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000-1300 by John France
36) First and Only by Dan Abnett
37) Why not Socialism? by G.A. Cohen
38) Federations (Anthology)
39) The Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the Uses of History by Gordon Wood

2009 Books Read

1) Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle)
2) The Vorkosigan Companion by Lillian Stewart Carl and John Heifers (Kindle)
3) Future Weapons of War by Joe Haldeman & Martin Greenberg (Kindle)
4)  Obnoxious Librarian from Hades by Dennie Heye
5) The Teaching of History by Ernest Hartwell
6) Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
7) Overclocked by Cory Doctorow
8) NWN World Bulider's Guide
9) 1635 The Dreeson Incident
10) History of Julius Caesar by Jacob Abbott
11) Grantville Gazette, Vol. VI by Eric Fint
12) Caesar: Life of a Colossuss by Adrian Goldsworthy
13) Neromancer by William Gibson
14) Grantville Gazette, Vol VII by Eric Flint
15) Foundry Miniatures Compendium
16) Knuckeduster Cowtown Creater by Forrest Harris
17) Gutshot by Mike Mitchell and Mike Murphy
18) Field of Glory
19) Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell
20) The Academic Library and the Net Gen Student by Susan Gibbons
21) Insurrection by Davd Weber
22) Mean Streets by Jim Butcher, et al.
23) Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
24) Historians in Trouble: Plagiarism, Fraud, and Politics in the Ivory Tower by Jon Weiner
25) The Evil that Men Do (Graphic Novel) by Kevin Smith
26) Who is the Black Panther? (Graphic Novel) by Reginald Hudlin
27) God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens
28) Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
29) The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
30) The Ten-Cent Plague:The great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America by David Hajdu
31) The Huntress by Shiloh Walker
32) The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
33) Call Me by Lena Matthews
34) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
35) Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton
36) The Praxis by Walter J. Williams
37) The Sundering by Walter J. Williams
38) Conventions of War by Walter J. Williams
39) Witch Way to the Mall by Edith Freisner
40) World War Z by Max Brooks
41) Into the Storm by Taylor Anderson
42) A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
43) A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
44) A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
45) Worldwar: In the Balance by Harry Turtledove
46) Worldwar: Tilting the Balance by Harry Turtledove
47) Synthetic Men of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
48) Llana of Gathol by Edgar Rice Burroughs
49) John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
50) Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris
51) Knight in History by Frances Gies
52 Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance by Harry Turtledove
53) Worldwar: Striking the Balance by Harry Turtledove

2008 Books Read List

Previously, I had kept these lists on an Extended Info page on Facebook.  However, Facebook has dropped the Extended Info page function so I will port them here.  Hopefully they will be of interest to some folks.

1) Everything is Miscellaneous by David Weinberger
2) Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
3) Annihilation: Book 2 (Marvel Graphic Novel)
4) The Search by John Battelle
5) 1812: Rivers of War by Eric Flint
6) The Measure of Library Excellence by Wilson, Tufo & Norman
7) Ring of Fire II by Eric Flint
8) The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions by H.P. Lovecraft
9) Echoes of an Alien Sun by James Hogan
10) Blood Bowl: Rumble in the Jungle by Matt Forbeck
11) The Last Legion by Chris Bunch
12) Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day by Joan Bolker
13) Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel by Eoin Colfer
14) The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
15) The Great Conversation: The Substance Of A Liberal Education by Robert Maynard Hutchins
16) A History of Knowledge: Past, Present, and Future  by Charles Van Doren
17) Legion (Horus Heresy) by Dan Abnett
18) Small Favor by Jim Butcher
19) Article 23 by William R. Forstchen
20) Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague De Camp
21) Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold
22) Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
23) Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Susan Jacoby
24) Labyrinth by Lois McMaster Bujold
25) Time Spike by Eric Flint
26) God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens
27) Grantville Gazette IV edited by Eric Flint
28) Magic: The Final Fantasy Collection by Isaac Asimov
29) Bilbo's Last Song by J.R.R. Tolkien
30) Another Fine Myth by Robert Aspirin
31) NASIG 2004: Growth, Creativity, and Collaboration
32) Myth Conceptions by Robert Aspirin
33) Myth Directions by Robert Aspirin
34) Another Fine Myth by Robert Aspirin
35) NASIG 04 Proceedings
36) NASIG 05 Proceedings
37) NASIG 06 Proceedings
38) Planet Hulk Graphic Novel by Greg Pak
39) World War Hulk Graphic Novel by Greg Pak
40) University Inc. by Jennifer Washburn
41) Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
42) Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold
43) The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
44) Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik
45) Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant Islamic Movement by Zaki Chehab
46) Other Times Than Peace by David Drake
47) Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
48) A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
49) Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold
50) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (Kindle)
51) On Basilisk Station by David Weber (Kindle)
52) An Oblique Approach by David Drake (Kindle)
53) A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Kindle)
54) Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Kindle)
55) Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Kindle)
56) The Best of Jim Baen's Universe (Kindle)
57) Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Kindle)
58) Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Kindle)
59) Mastermind of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Kindle)
60) A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Kindle)
61) Swords of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Kindle)
62) Thanks But No Thanks: The Voter's Guide to Sarah Palin by Sue Katz (Kindle)
63) A Hymn Before Battle by John Ringo (Kindle)
64) Content by Cory Doctorow (Kindle)
65) Grantville Gazette, Vol V Ed, by Eric Flint (Kindle)
66) Maidenflight by Bianca D'Arc (Kindle)
67) Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey(Kindle)
68) History and Historians: A Historiographical Introduction by Mark Gilderhus
69) A Short Guide to Writing About History by Richard Marius and Melvin Page
70) A Manual for Writers by Kate Turabian
71) History in Crisis? Recent Directions in Historiography by Norman Wilson
72) Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle)
73) Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle)
74) Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle)
75) Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle)
76) Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey(Kindle)
77) Free-Range Chickens by Simon Rich (Kindle)
78) Diplomatic Immunity by by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle)
79) White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey (Kindle)
80) Apology of Socrates by Plato
81) Crito by Plato
82) The Clouds by Aristophanes
83) Lysistrata by Aristophanes
84) Republic by Plato (Books I & II - audio)

LibGuides

To take a break from my intended review of the CiL 2008 conference, I would like to discuss my summer project at work. I am reworking all of our library web pages using Springshare's LibGuides. At present our website is part of the main university site and is locked into a very restrictive content management system. In fact, not only are there bands of non-usable space on both sides of the screen but a large image is replicated across every page of the site giving very little space "above the fold" for content.

Several people had mentioned LibGuides to me early in the year and while at CiL 2008 I spoke extensively with anyone who had any experience using the software. Everyone I spoke with was generous with their praise of the system and it's ease of use. When I arrived home from the conference I began my push. I e-mailed a proposal to our library director with links to not only information from Springshare but also a number of library blog reviews and numerous example pages. Once she approved I sent the same package to the university's folks in charge of web development and marketing. I emphasized my intentions to retain the university's branding and all of the new features it would make readily available for students and faculty. They were very helpful and as soon as they approved I called Springshare to set up a trial.

By the next morning Springshare had set up a trial site and had even taken brand elements from our university web page and incorporated them into the trial site. So far I have found the program to be very easy to work with.

I developed a template to use for our subject guides (I intend to build a subject page for each major that we offer) and cut and pasted all of our archives information into a single guide. I explored a number of subject pages at other sites and arrived at the following format of Tabs: Home, Getting Started, Books, Articles, Other Sources, Citing Sources, and Course Guides. The program allows you to save this as a template (along with the boxes that I selected for each page) and load the template for each of the subject pages.

Another nice feature is the "Post to Libguides" toolbar button. I installed this at work and on my home computer so that whenever I see a page that I would like to add to one of my guides I can quickly add the link by clicking the button and selecting the Guide, Page, and Box that I would like to add the site in. Very nice.

If anyone is interested in seeing how things are shaping up please feel free to leave a comment and I would be glad to e-mail you a link. Are you using LibGuides? Do you have anything to add? Cheers!

Dine Arounds - Making a Big Conference Less Impersonal

Today I would like to blog about my favorite part of the CIL2008, the Dine Around! I am not certain if I mentioned before but the conference had, I believe, over 2200 attendees. Most of the sessions I attended were in packed meeting rooms with upwards of 400 people. Great presentations but not exactly a medium ideal for discussion.

Someone thought of a way to alleviate this - the Dine Around. Basically, each night someone had set up a list of places to eat in the area along with a suggested topic for discussion. The eateries were outstanding and included a sampling of the fantastic ethnic cuisine available in the vicinity. The only downside that I could see to the system was that it appears that no one clued the locations that we were coming and it seemed they were a bit surprised to see 10-20 librarians arrive wanting to move tables together.

Lissa and I also were able to have an informal dine around one day at lunch with Terri O'Rourke from the Harvard Law Library. I found it refreshing that librarians at large university libraries face some of the same challenges that those of us who teach at small academic do.

Monday night we had dinner at the Kabob Palace where the announced discussion was to be wikis. Unfortunately the address for the Kabob Palace was incorrect on the sign up sheet, it sits around the corner on a side street from the other restaurants. This led to a small crowd but a great meal and a wonderful, wide ranging conversation that began with wikis and went far afield from there. Attending were Lissa and myself, ____ Smith from the Lewiston, Idaho Public Library, ________ and _______ from Temple University Library, and ______ from the Ohio University Library. (I apologize that I am so bad with names - hopefully someone will e-mail me and straighten me out or I will find more of my notes).

______ Smith is working on a wonderful wiki project to put up information on the historic structures in Lewiston. Having worked for several years in the cultural resource management field as an historian doing historic structures surveys this was, as they say, right up my alley. I think his idea to make this an open wiki and to engage the energy and research skills of the local genealogical community will make this project a great success. I hope to hear more on this in the future.

I was especially happy to speak to the folks from Temple. I am hoping to persuade the administration here to begin using the LibGuides software. Temple has been using the software and I was able to ask these nice ladies a million eager questions about it. They were uniformly positive and their web pages look great!

Our final dinner companion, ______ from Ohio University, worked with the person who I replaced when I was hired in my present job.

Tuesday night we went to Urban Thai to discuss Second Life and libraries. I have never been on Second Life and was quite curious. The food was fantastic and we had a large group. The folks in our local area included Tara Spies? and ______ from the Texas State University Library and Dan Sich (see his CIL 2008 blog) from the University of Western Ontario Library. I learned quite a bit about Second Life from everyone and I hope to log on this summer.

I hope to be able to attend CiL again in the future and the first hing I intend to look up is the Dine Arounds!

The Best Western Pentagon Experience

Due to my own procrastination and the usual delays inherent in any bureaucracy I signed up for CiL too late to book a room at the Hyatt Regency where the conference was held. Instead I ended up at the Best Western Pentagon a couple of miles away. In the hotel's favor it was clean and the folks who worked there were very friendly. It was also only a short shuttle or cab ride to the convention site. Unfortunately, that was about where the good parts about the hotel ended.

1. Wireless. The hotel promised free high speed internet via data ports and wireless access. As far as I was able to tell the wireless only worked in the lobby and my room did not have a data port. Normally this would only be a mild inconvenience but given the content of the conference it was a major hassle not to be able to try out all of the new sites the presenters mentioned.
2. No refrigerator. Since when do hotel rooms not include a mini-fridge? Coupled with the anemic ice maker that produced only a small bucket of ice a day this made it difficult to keep soda cold and impossible to save any leftovers.
3. The cable connection to the TV did not have the end connector. Basically, the coaxial cable was cut off with a knife and the metal wire simply stuck into the TV connection. This required replacement at least once a night as the cable worked itself out of the TV.
4. My final problem was one that is true of many hotels - the Continental breakfast. My question is on what continent is this breakfast? Donuts and bagels and a piece of fruit or cereal might be ok for kids or really skinny people but on MY continent breakfast should include bacon, sausage, gravy, fried potatoes, eggs, and the like. They do say it is the most important meal of the day.

Would I stay at the BWP again? Yes, if it were the only hotel open for the conference but you can be certain that I will book a room earlier in the future.