Time for a Break..

From my spot near the Reference Desk, this Virtual Library feline is witnessing the true meaning of intensity this weekend, as recent law school graduates spend their last few days preparing for the New York State bar exam.  When it's time to take a break and take your mind somewhere far, far away for a few minutes, I always recommend outer space.  Here, from the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Picture of the Day page, you can browse through the Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive.  Then check out the exquisite photos of the universe, like this one, in NASA's HubbleSite Gallery Picture Album.  Be inspired.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Unusual U.S. Government Publications, Part Eight: Anthropometry

The U.S Department of Agriculture once housed a bureau known as the Bureau of Home Economics. Founded in 1923, the principal aim of this bureau was to aid the American housewife in managing her household.

One helpful publication was designed to improve the fit of one’s clothing. See for yourself, here, and note the quite interesting thumbnail history of human body measurement, or anthropometry.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Are You Social Reading?

"The term “social reading” can mean different things depending on its context. Social reading can be the kind of work that happens in a literature class where a group of participants all read the same novel (or short story or poem or play) at roughly the same pace and work together .... It could also mean the kind of reading that happens for book groups ....“social reading” has recently also taken on a technological turn as more and more people embrace e-reading technologies: Kindles, Nooks, iPads and iPhones, ...

"Social Kindling,” [is] Amazon’s practice of sharing your highlighted passages and/or annotations with other users. ... even if you do not decide to share ... reading on a Kindle is inevitably a social experience because the default setting on most of the devices is to have “Popular Highlights” enabled. This feature is not unlike buying a used book that has been highlighted by a previous reader–the difference is that instead of a single reader, your e-book will have highlights from hundreds maybe thousands of other readers." Read more here.

Social Reading.  Try it this summer!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat