TV

Piercing the fog of production

StephenK — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:13:18 -0500

Rarely is it good to talk about the inner-workings of editorial decision-making. Such ranks up there with the making of sausage and the creation of laws as things best not known. Sometimes it is necessary to do so, though.

This week's episode of LISTen features five separate Public Service Announcements. We received absolutely no compensation for running such. The five discrete ads are all available as free downloads from a federal agency, namely the Federal Communications Commission. While it may sound fairly odd to some and perhaps quite condescending, there is a purpose to such.

The role of the librarian in today's Amazoogle world is to meet information needs. When you start from that philosophical standpoint you have to consider some things. When there is a lack of a clutch in a coming paradigm shift, what responsibility do you have to those you serve? How does such impact serving their information needs?

For the audience that LISTen serves, the whole discussion of the digital television transition in the United States probably seemed meaningless. Such misses the forest for the trees. While we acknowledge that librarians are striving today to be technological elites, the people who are served by librarians more often than not are not such elites at all. The whole Tech for Techies discussion was an attempt to discuss the transition in terms of how to approach patron questions. Rather than tell a patron you don't know, why not take a look at some of the common questions patrons might pose let alone some uncommon ones?

I made a conscious choice to use all five of the ads I used. Those are the US government's best effort to reach out to the public. Have you ever heard such outside LISTen, though? With reports of somewhere around eighty percent of the population not even knowing this is coming, can we take steps to at least prevent catastrophic information seeking sessions that barely help anyone involved?

I will not order anyone to "be creative". That's not the way such works! Considering that ALA is entering into a public education partnership with an electronics retailer to try to get word out to folks, it is not like this is an issue that the profession's organization in the United States is ignoring. I would much rather you heard the government's best effort at outreach and be stirred to action on your own to try to do better. As information professionals who deal with the information-seeking needs of rather diverse populations, this should be an easy one to plan a program on! The ALA is already trying to make it easier for you to get speakers in as it is. If a listener can come up with something creative on their own, the result is probably going to be far better than my sounding like a drill sergeant barking orders.

Part of the infrastructure to our Amazoogle world is changing fundamentally. What is the role of libraries in trying to be relevant to their served populations? I do not argree that being hip and trendy is the way to go. Establishing a firm foundation and reputation as being the source for good information is what you build relevance on top of. In an unorthodox way I tried to show something that would be an easy thing to start with.

This wouldn't require an investment in new servers or software. This would not require necessarily an infrastructure investment. If anything this is something that libraries do well but have gotten away from over time. Being the "People's University" doesn't always require a new social network and sometimes requires merely a meeting room as well as speakers and potentially refreshments.

Implications of ‘Daily Show’ Webcasting

Bibliofuture — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:18:13 -0500

Some cable systems are starting to complain that too many of the programs they pay for are being given away on the Web for free.

Story in the NYT:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/the-real-fight-over-fake-news/index.html?ref=techno...

Google bashing from a cranky Medical Librarian

Pete — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:38:18 -0500

Over on Sivacracy.net is this post where a medical librarian takes issue with the NBC show "Scrubs" and it's portrayal of doctors using Google.

PBS ships out with the Navy

Bibliofuture — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:45:46 -0500

PBS documentary some patrons may request:

At first, the 10-hour documentary "Carrier" feels something like a crazy-long Navy commercial.

The camaraderie of the sailors, the giant metal flying toys, aimless teens finding direction at sea, the nicknames and cool tattoos - it all looks like one giant come-on. I wanted to write an eye-rolling review about how PBS has gone into the recruitment business with this miniseries, which premieres tomorrow at 9 p.m. on Channel 2. Vibrant with panoramic shots of the shining sea, "Carrier" starts out like a high-def paean to American military adventure.

But the longer you watch "Carrier," the deeper it goes. What begins as a gung-ho portrait of six months aboard the USS Nimitz develops into a more faceted take on sexism, racism, the strains of hierarchy, homophobia, and the psychic costs of living in an isolated subculture - what one sailor likens to a prison. The miniseries isn't an expose or a political statement, but it is a bottom-to-top warts-and-all profile of a crowded, high-stakes world comprised mostly of 18- and 19-year-olds. The filmmakers deliver a fine balance of both elated big-gun worship and humiliated bathroom cleaning, melting-pot team-making and the cliquishness of ethnic groups.

Full article here.

Here is the link to the PBS website about the series. There are ten episodes and you can watch them on the website as they come out on PBS.

PBS Educators Page on Facebook

birdie — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:10:54 -0500

Want to be a member (of the Facebook PBS fan page)? Get with the program!

If you are a teacher, or know one, PBS wants to alert you to the launch of the PBS Teachers page on Facebook . There they’ll include updated information and resources specially designed with educators in mind, including links to lesson plans, teachers’ guides, video resources, professional development information, schedules and much more.

Seton Hill University Librarian featured on Jeopardy

Blake — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:09:39 -0500

Recently ranked by TV Guide as number two among the 50 greatest game shows of all time, Jeopardy! has been a staple of prime-time television for more than 40 years. On Thursday, May 22, 2008, Seton Hill University’s (SHU) own Judith Koveleskie, periodicals librarian for Reeves Memorial Library, will appear on the show.

Koveleskie first entered the contestant pool in January 2007 with an online test at www.jeopardy.com. By the time the show’s producers contacted her in December to tell her that she’d done well enough to move on to the next qualifying round, “I’d kind of forgotten that I’d even took the test,” she said.

TitlePage.TV

StephenK — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:55:51 -0500

Odile Isralson, founder and executive producer of Titlepage, stopped by to tell the LISNews community about their online book review program. The website for Titlepage describes the program as being:

Great stories have the ability of bringing a level of excitement and pleasure matched by little else. Who hasn't gotten so engrossed in a book, they couldn't put it down? The thrill of living someone else's life; of embarking on an adventure one will never experience; of discovering ideas or concepts one could never dream up - all those are feelings that transcend cultures and borders.

At Titlepage we feel we don't hear enough from the people who write the greatest stories of our time. So, we've created this virtual soapbox; a 21st century version of the Algonquin Round Table.

The video production is run with Viddler on the back-end. Titlepage is available as a video podcast just as LISTen is available as a podcast. Details about the production team are also available at their site.

TNT Checks Out 'Librarian' Again: The Curse of the Judas Chalice

Blake — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:21:47 -0600

The most mild-mannered action hero in TV history will be back on TNT late this year. The cable network has begun production on the third installment of its "Librarian" franchise, with former "ER" star Noah Wyle reprising his title role. The movie, titled "The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice," is scheduled to premiere in late 2008.

Calling all Star Trek nerds

effinglibrarian — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:32:41 -0600

I'm "writing" (if you want to be generous) a strip called Black Shirts about two guys who work on a starship that looks like the USS Enterprise, but isn't. (To avoid possible legal problems; who know, IANAL.)
I'll post a few strips once a week on my blogger page, but all the strips will also be on the toondoo page:
http://www.toondoo.com/user/effinglibrarian

you might notice that I use the same image for every panel: yes, I am lazy.

The Librarians: compelling without being either brilliant or actually hilarious

Blake — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:25:18 -0600

The Sydney Morning Herald Has A Review of the ABC TV Show The Librarians.

This intriguing series manages to be compelling without being either brilliant or actually hilarious. It's funny at times but the jokes often land too hard and stray uncomfortably into the darkness, preventing it from working in the same comedic fashion as more accessible shows such as Kath & Kim and Summer Heights High.

I think I'll start describing myself as being "compelling without being either brilliant or actually hilarious."