How can cultural heritage institutions legally use the Internet to improve public access to the rich collections they hold?

A new digitization manual from Peter Hirtle, Cornell University Library’s senior policy advisor, can help professionals at these institutions answer that question."Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums," published by Cornell University Library, is based on a well-received Australian manual written by Emily Hudson and Andrew T. Kenyon of the University of Melbourne, and it conforms to American law and practice. See more information about this publication here: http://communications.library.cornell.edu/com/news/PressReleases/manual.cfm

Poets House has moved to a spacious new home at Ten River Terrace in Battery Park City. This facility is a permanent home for Poets House (a Nylink member for the past few years), and is expected to get gold LEED certification. The new facility includes a state-of-the-art Programming Hall dedicated to poetry-related performance; an expansive Reading Room with sweeping views of the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty; a spacious, whimsical Children’s Room with the capacity to vigorously expand Poets House’s poetry programs for children, schools and families; an open-access multimedia archive; a multidisciplinary Exhibition Space; and a poetry-enriched lobby that will spark the curiosity of visitors of all ages. The children’s room features old library card catalogs with poetry in the drawers, possibly the best use of old card cabinets ever. The Battery Park City Authority has guaranteed them free rent through 2069, so they can focus on programming and exhibits. Walt Whitman said that “to have great poets, there must be great audiences.” Be part of a great audience by visiting the Poet’s House. Click here for news, photos, and directions to visit their new space.

Caryl Ward, Binghamton University Libraries, and Boaz Nadav-Manes, Cornell University Library (both universities’ libraries are Nylink members) agreed to repeat their presentations from the WorldCat Selection User Group Meeting Presentations so that OCLC could record them to post to the OCLC Web site. The recordings are now available at http://www.oclc.org/selection/overview/websessions.htm.
For more information about WorldCat Selection, please contact OCLC’s Support department by phone at 1-800-848-5800 and follow the prompts (menu selections 1-4-2-1 for FirstSearch and WorldCat.org), or by e-mail at support@oclc.org.

Cornell University’s Albert R. Mann Library will increase access to The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL) database for researchers and students in sub-Saharan Africa, supported by a $1.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal of the project is to strengthen the scientific foundation for agriculture research and education in sub-Saharan Africa by providing 115 institutions in 14 countries access to more than 140 key agricultural journals. More information is available online

This month, four collections from the CONTENTdm Collection of Collections are featured on the OCLC Web site. The featured collections for August are JCPenney Dynamo Digital Collection, Campi Phlegraei, Observations on the Volcanoes of the Two Sicilies, Digital METRO New York and Carlton R. Stewart Slide Collection.
Digital METRO New York

[Metropolitan New York Library Resources Council]
These Digital Collections created by members of the Metropolitan New York Library Council include scrapbooks, handbills, sheet music, trade cards, religious materials, photographs, letters, and postcards. Contributing institutions include Brooklyn College, Brooklyn Public Library, CUNY Graduate Center, Greenburgh Public Library, Lehman College, Maritime College, Queens College, and Yeshiva University.
These are just a few of the many outstanding digital collections created by CONTENTdm users. To access the entire Collection of Collections go to www.oclc.org/contentdm/collections/.

Questions about CONTENTdm? Please contact OCLC’s Support department by phone at 1-800-848-5800 and follow the prompts, or by e-mail at support@oclc.org, for more information about this update.

Like many other children of the 70s, I still have a few hundred vinyl LPs, and a few dozen cassette tapes. I have in some cases replaced them with CDs, but there hasn’t been a compelling reason to dispose of the albums to which I have a sentimental attachment. Holding on to media that has outlasted its equipment is a more serious challenge for libraries, which have so many demands on their floor space, and may need to devote more time to current and upcoming media formats.

University at Buffalo libraries currently feature a thoughtful exhibit entitled Retro Media: Memory (and Memories) Lost: The physical exhibit at the UB libraries is complemented by a video tour and a concise, well-constructed website.

The theme of the exhibit: “The past 120 years saw some of the most rapid changes in how we record, collect, and use audio, visual, and now digital information. The pace creates in its wake, a long list of obsolete technologies, some of which, still exist, but for which equipment and storage technologies are not always available. This exhibit reflects this light-speed, developing technology world with a selection of media formats”. Retro Media also highlights the role of libraries in preserving, storing, and using outdated media. To see the exhibit online, visit http://library.buffalo.edu/asl/exhibits/technology/retro-media.html

Or enjoy a video tour of the exhibit: http://theory.isthereason.com/?p=2612

This just came over Nyline and might be of interest to folks who are interested in developing poetry programming at the library.  Plus you get the chance to check out Poets House new digs…

The Poetry in The Branches National Institute returns!  Join us this year in the spectacular new quarters of Poets House, opening this fall at 10 River Terrace in lower Manhattan.

Want to enrich the poetry resources and programming in your library? Join the staff of Poets House and guests, Keynote Speaker Mark Doty, winner of the 2008 National Book Award for Poetry, and brilliant, engaging faculty poets Dave Johnson and Tina Chang, for a weekend that has been described as “… very human, very open, very expanding and inspiring.”

Beginning at 1 pm on Friday, November 6, and continuing through Saturday afternoon, you will be immersed in the rich world of poetry. Here at Poets House you will learn how to reach out to and empower your patrons through poetry. Explore our 50,000 volume poetry library and find resources for developing your library’s poetry collection. Connect personally with our guest poets. Leave the weekend with a practical poetry plan for your library and lots of nuts-and-bolts information to help make that plan a reality. Take in our new view: the Hudson River all the way down to the Statue of Liberty. At night, eat and drink with your colleagues and experience the wealth of cultural events that New York City has to offer.

You will go home refreshed and inspired!

In the words of a former participant, “I really enjoyed the clear information (nuts & bolts) combined with the vision of the larger purpose of why we are here. You fed and nourished us with poetry–what better way to inspire us to share this type of experience with those we serve?”

Questions? Contact Marsha Howard, Poetry in the Branches Coordinator, at 212-431-7920 x 2213 or marsha@poetshouse.org

Full information including fees will be posted soon on our web site, www.poetshouse.org, where you can also learn much more about amazing resource that is Poets House!

Today’s Nylink Council meeting at the Nylink Offices marked the last gathering of the current roster of Nylink Council representatives. Their term ends in August of this year, but the next Council meeting won’t be held until this fall.

Nylink would like to offer each of the outgoing representatives a heartfelt thanks for their years of service and thoughtful guidance through so many changes on the library landscape.

Nylink Council Outgoing Representatives With Dave Penniman, Nylink Executive Director

Pictured (l-r):

Diane Dolbashian (Vice-Chair), Corning Museum of Glass

Barbara Liesenbei, Dutchess County Community College

Lisabeth Chabot (Chair), Ithaca College

Stewart Bodner, New York Public Library

Julie Cunningham, Graduate School & University Center, CUNY

Jean Poland, Cornell University, Mina Rees Library

Maryruth Glogowski (Secretary), Buffalo State College

We look forward to seeing everyone at future library events.

Munchkins, World of Warcraft, Wii bowling or good old Dungeons & Dragons and monopoly? Yesterday 11 interested, curious and knowledgeable people met at the East Greenbush Community Library to discuss the popularity and importance of gaming in our libraries.

Interested in libraries and games in the Capital District.

We had library school students, public librarians, and academic librarians discussing topics ranging from encouraging youths to visit the library via the medium of games, to enticing people not normally comfortable with games to try them out and on to building the library’s profile through gaming.

Below is a bibliography that was begun by us here at Nylink, but that has been updated based on yesterday’s discussion. Hopefully it can keep growing. Jen and I had a great time meeting everyone and due to interest we have begun a Google Group Capital District Game Theory and Practice (the below bibliography can also be viewed at the Google Group page). We look forward to future discussion.

Gaming in the Library

A bibliography

American Association of Museums, “Gaming the Future of Museums | Serious Play.” Center for the Future of Museums http://www.futureofmuseums.org/events/lecture/ (accessed May 20, 2009).
- Site features a recorded webcast of Dr. Jane McGonigal discussing gaming and museums, including results from the online forecasting game Superstruct. There is also a discussion guide and other resources.

American Library Association (ALA), “The Librarian’s Guide to Gaming :: An Online Toolkit :: A Brief History of Gaming in Libraries.” http://www.librarygamingtoolkit.org/ (accessed  May 20, 2009).
- Beth Galloway, Dr. Scott Nicholson and others come together on this site to offer a History, Tools and Resources, Best Practices and a Calendar of game related events.

Danforth, Liz, “A Closer Look at the Winning Libraries – Games, Gamers, & Gaming – Blog on Library Journal.” http://www.libraryjournal.com/blog/1130000713/post/1940043994.html (accessed May 7, 2009).
- 10 libraries that won ALA/Verizon grants to incorporate gaming – and their plans.

Gallaway, Beth, “Gaming Learning and Libraries – Get Your Game On at the library.” http://gaminglearningandlibraries.ning.com/ (accessed May 20, 2009).
- From the main page:
A social network “for library workers with resources or questions about traditional, board, puzzle, tabletop, roleplaying, card and/or video games in academic, public, private, and special libraries.”

—, “Information Goddess Consulting: Presentations, News & Press.” http://infogdss.wordpress.com/ (accessed May 19, 2009).
- Blog of Beth Gallaway, a.k.a. Information Goddess Consulting.  It includes many of her presentations on gaming in the library.

Harris, Christopher, “Meet the New School Board: Board Games Are Back—and They’re Exactly What Your Curriculum Needs – 5/1/2009 – School Library Journal.” http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6654565.html (accessed May 6, 2009).

Levine, Jenny, “The Shifted Librarian.” http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/ (accessed May 20, 2009).
- The blog of Jenny Levine, a librarian active in, among many other things, gaming in libraries.

“LibGaming | Google Groups,” http://groups.google.com/group/LibGaming?hl=en&pli=1 (accessed May 19, 2009).
- Includes a Gaming Etiquette section and a Video Games in Libraries-Resources section as well as a discussion forum. If you join the group you can sign up for email notification of discussion threads.

“Liz Danforth LibraryJournal.com page.,” http://www.libraryjournal.com/blogger/3814.html (accessed May 19, 2009).
- Page includes latest blog posts from Liz. From the description: “Liz Danforth, MLS, is a freelance game illustrator, scenario designer, and game developer who was inducted into the Academy of Gaming Arts and Design’s Hall of Fame in 1996.”

“Micropayment – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia,” Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micropayment (accessed May 22, 2009).
- Micropayments in order to game were suggested as an emerging alternative to subscription based games.  Some questions as to how this would be implemented in a public place such as a library were raised.

Nicholson, Scott, “Gaming in Libraries – The Course » Join Scott Nicholson to learn about Gaming in Libraries.” http://www.gamesinlibraries.org/course/ (accessed May 20, 2009).
- Online course on gaming in libraries over YouTube in the month of June 09.

—, “Library Game Lab of Syracuse.” http://gamelab.syr.edu/ (accessed May 20, 2009).
- Site with blog discussing gaming in libraries.  There are also a lot of links to Prof. Nicholson’s (who is extremely active in the library gaming world) articles and presentations.

School Library System of Genesee Valley BOCES, “Swift6 | School Library System Game Library.” http://sls.gvboces.org/gaming/ (accessed May 20, 2009).
- From home page:
“The School Library System of Genesee Valley BOCES has developed a collection of games appropriate for use in school libraries. While these are not ‘educational games’ all of the games are linked to New York State curriculum standards including math, ELA, and social studies standards.”

“Scratch | Home | imagine, program, share,” http://scratch.mit.edu/ (accessed May 19, 2009).
- From the About page: “Scratch is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art — and share your creations on the web.”

Squire, Kurt, and Constance Steinkuehler, “Meet the Gamers – 4/15/2005 – Library Journal.” Library Journal http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA516033.html (accessed May 20, 2009).
- From the article:
“In the past, librarians have often been perceived as gatekeepers, arbiters of access to information. The digital cultures now emerging (with the help of technologies such as games) suggest that the days for such an institutional role are numbered.”

Sutton, Lynn, and H. David “Giz” Womack, “ACRL | Got game?” ACRL: Association of Colleges & Research Libraries http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/crlnews/2006/mar/gotgame.cfm (accessed May 20, 2009).
- Overview of a game night tried at Wake Forest University library to introduce the library early in the semester to possible non-users through a gaming event.

Van Eck, Richard, “Digital Game-Based Learning: It’s Not Just the Digital Natives Who Are Restless (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE.” EDUCAUSE Review http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume41/DigitalGameBasedLearningItsNot/158041 (accessed May 20, 2009).
- Now that digital game-based learning (DGBL) is more accepted, how do proponents move forward? Article reviews theories and practices around DGBL.

Games:
“Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page,” Dungeons & Dragons http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/welcome (accessed May 22, 2009).

“German-style board game – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia,” Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German-style_board_game (accessed May 22, 2009).
- Suggested at the 5/21/09 brown bag as an alternative for some of the more complex and involved board and online games. Potentially entry level games for people not as comfortable with gaming.

“Munchkin,” Munchkin http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/game/ (accessed May 22, 2009).

“RuneScape – the massive online adventure game by Jagex Ltd.,” RuneScape http://www.runescape.com/ (accessed May 22, 2009).

“World of Warcraft Community Site,” World of Warcraft Community Site http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/index.xml (accessed May 22, 2009).

Funding:

“Stewarts Shops – How Do We Help?,” Stewart’s Shops http://www.stewartsshops.com/ContentManager/index.cfm?Step=Display&ContentID=190 (accessed May 22, 2009).

Capital District shops:

“Flights of Fantasy New/Used Books, Games, & Accessories,” Flights of Fantasy: the only place for all of your reading & gaming needs! http://www.fof.net/ (accessed May 22, 2009).

“Zombie Planet,” Zombie Planet: Roleplaying, card games, comics, miniatures http://www.zombie-planet.com/ (accessed May 22, 2009).

Richard DelBango of Nassau Community College is setting sail as the Ship’s Librarian for SUNY Maritime’s 2009 sea cruise this spring!  Follow his blog at http://bibliosailor.blogspot.com/  Avast!