mesa county libraries

[crossposted from the september project blog]

two days ago, on saturday, i received an email from emilie satterwhite of mesa county libraries in grand junction, colorado. she emailed to say that all eight mesa county libraries - central library, clifton branch, collbran branch, de beque branch, fruita branch, gateway branch, orchard mesa branch, and palisade branch - would be participating in the september project.


their events - some planned, some being planned - offer something for everyone. as emilie wrote:

Our library will be incorporating the ideas of the September Project throughout the month of September in a variety of ways. In addition to marking the anniversary of September 11, we are encouraging continued dialogue on the subjects of freedom and democracy through the rest of the week to mark Constitution Day and Banned Books Week.

Our planned activities include book displays on September 11, the Constitution and Banned Books; a teen essay contest with teens writing about why freedom and democracy are important to them; and banned book discussions to celebrate everyone's right to intellectual freedom.

Other activities are still in the works.

i think it's great how they fuse the september project, constitution day, and banned books week together. and, like the september project events at the birmingham public library system, mesa county libraries' events will take place all across the county.


what i find particularly interesting about mesa county libraries is the way in which the library district covers both city and rural areas. and judging from the extremely filled calendar of events and programs at mesa county libraries - including events for youth, teens, and adults - it appears that the librarians are quite busy serving their multiple communities. it's also great to see much of their web site in spanish. just as mesa county is diverse in terms of physical landscape, so is mesa county libraries diverse in terms of cultural and intellectual programs and events.

all eyes (still) on mexico

sometimes, in countries outside the US, when democracy is thwarted, people take to the streets. today's protest in mexico city was, according to most reports, attended by two million people.


there is now talk about occupying - literally; in tents; in shifts; day and night - downtown mexico city until a recount is given.

hopefully gone

(free to read but requires registration)

bay windows

i stole this picture from sarah's blog. although we've still got lots of boxes to unpack, our place is really coming together. the bay windows in the living room and bedroom, especially on a sunny day like this morning, are really beautiful. there's a lot more to do, but it's gonna have to wait for a rainy day. until then, sunny sundays like today are meant to be spent offline and outside.

birmingham public library system

[crossposted from the september project blog]

yesterday, i received an email from barbara sirmans, director of the birmingham public library. she emailed to say that eleven birmingham public libraries would be participating in the september project. from a distance, high above the state of alabama, this is what they look like on our map of participating libraries:


barbara also emailed to say that two libraries - central and pratt city branch - would be participating with window displays and that nine libraries - avondale regional branch, east lake branch, eastwood branch, inglenook branch, north avondale branch, north birmingham regional branch, southside branch, springville road regional branch, and titusville branch - would be participating with book displays.


library systems allow programs, resources, and services to be geographically distributed across a town, city, or county. instead of asking residents to leave their neighborhoods and assemble in a single, centralized location (town hall, a civic center, a central library), library systems offer resources, programs, and displays for people in the neighborhoods in which they live. the result is a more decentralized (and often more relevant) series of programs.

digital migration

i am in the final stages of migrating my projects from UW to USF. with help from gilbert lee and roland wong from ITS, the following mailing lists have been successfully transferred from seattle to san francisco:

theseptemberproject - a discussion list for participants (and interested non-participants) of the september project;

cyberculture-announce - an announcement list about digital media, culture, and society run out of the resource center for cyberculture studies.

i began cyberculture-announce as a grad student in 1996, and it's rolled with me ever since - from the university of maryland to the university of washington to the university of san francisco.

next and last step: migrating the resource center for cyberculture studies. with a dash of luck, RCCS should be churning out monthly book reviews by september 1, 2006.

silvers converge

my mom was in town, up from santa cruz, on some WILPF business and sarah and i managed to kidnap her for a great breakfast of eggs, crepes, and strong coffee at the nearby squat and gobble. and then, mmm, homemade banana bread for a housewarming gift. then i took mom to USF and gave her a quick tour of the main campus and lone mountain. dad was a professor so both mom and i have a longstanding love for college campuses.

it was the first time in months that i saw mom, but more importantly it was the first time we talked since the big, big news of a few days ago. my sister cara, her husband steve, and their sons will and dolan are moving to palo alto (from los angeles). yesterday, they bought a house about a mile from my sister nancy, her husband jeff, and their sons aleks and ben, who also live in palo alto. palo alto is about 45 minutes from santa cruz (where my mom lives) and about 45 minutes from SF (where sarah and i live). thus: an all-but-complete (my sister lisa and her husband jean live in NY and no one predicts a move westward anytime soon) critical mass of silvers in the bay area! as my friend kq would say, "can you stand it?"

it means a lot to be living so near family. and it means a lot to be living so near my growing nephews.

campus

i spent the better part of yesterday and today on campus. the walk to campus - from the lower haight i go west, through haight ashbury, then north through the panhandle to campus - takes about thirty minutes. it will take less time when i stop gawking at all the beautiful architecture. i've been taking care of logistics - getting my ID card, exploring campus, staking out the local cafes. i must look ridiculous because i'm doing all this with a huge smile on my face.

like all college campuses, and especially urban campuses, space is an issue. my office won't be ready until mid-august. luckily, there's wireless to be had at gleeson library - geschke learning resource center, so i've made it my current office. gleeson library means a lot to me. the night before my job interview, i walked around campus and found myself in the library. i explained my situation to the librarian and he let me walk around. i entered the library with shards of my job talk shooting this way and that way and left, about an hour later, calm and focused. it's a beautiful library.

most of yesterday and today's work has been with the september project. today, seven libraries from six different states signed up to participate:

from arkansas, the d.w.reynolds library and technology center at philander smith college in little rock is participating;

from california, the irwindale public library joined;

from florida, the american intercontinental university south florida campus library, in weston, signed up to participate;

from new york, the voorheesville public library is planning a september project event;

from rhode island, the james p. adams library, at rhode island college, is participating for a second time;

and from texas, little elm public library and weatherford public library joined.

hopefully, by the time september arrives, events will take place in libraries in all 50 states - plus washington dc.

now it's time to log off, make my way back home, and explore another part of the city with sarah.

emory university, robert w. woodruff library, and good night and good luck

[crossposted from the september project blog]

for the second straight year, emory university's robert w. woodruff library will be participating in the september project. their event is perfect:

We will screen Good Night and Good Luck, a film that, in its look at domestic events of the Cold War / McCarthy era, addresses a variety of issues which continue to resonate today and raises important questions regarding civil liberties, democracy, the creation and dissemination of news, and the requirements of active citizenship. Professor Harvey Klehr will provide opening remarks, and there will be an audience discussion at the conclusion of the film. One DVD copy of Good Night and Good Luck will be given away as a door prize.

many american academics, myself included, are quite nervous about our students' lack of historical knowledge. a few years ago, in a 450-student class, i asked my students if they knew what the cold war was. 4-5 students raised their hands. i'm not joking. personally, i think it's a great idea to engage college students via film - especially a film that includes george clooney! - and i am particularly excited to learn that the audience discussion will be led by harvey klehr, an andrew w. mellon professor of politics and history. plus, some lucky attendee will receive a free DVD of the film!

mission = accomplished

yesterday, sarah and i arrived in san francisco. this morning, all our stuff arrived. tomorrow morning: dim sum!

it feels like magic to be here.