The war on terror has been the catalyst for some strange stuff in the library world. A librarian at the State University of New York, Oswego has been writing to urge government document librarians to restrict access to a portion of government depository collections; that portion is the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) publications on microfiche.

The Superintendent of Documents of the Government Printing office is the only person with the authority to make such a request, and has not asked depository libraries to limit access to these materials.

More Than Just Books, A Chicago Trib article on the community functions branch libraries serve. Trite but true. Even the smallest branch libraries are centers of community. Citizenship classes, quilting groups, Sierra Club club meetings are just a few of the things that happen in a library. Thanks Jeremy.

In this week’s pixelview: JD Lasica and online journalism.

Lynda Weinman moderated an inspiring panel about web interface design at Seybold yesterday. The panelists were Matt Owens, Hillman Curtis and Jeffrey Zeldman. Good chemistry. After the talk, I was introduced to Joe Maller. Took a peek at his site this morning, and my cheeks still sting from grinning.

Thanks to Daliel Leite for noticing an important typo on the Style Guide; ‘Postrophe’s do indeed rule. Thanks also to Todd Fahrner for continuing to help refine the Guide.

Installment Number Two of Tips for Boys:
Never say, "But, you already have a pair of black shoes."
See Number One.

Jeffrey Zeldman’s Better Living Through XHTML is an unauthorized companion to the Online Style Guide of the Branch Libraries of The New York Public Library. It is a good read for those transitioning from HTML to XHTML. We have been updating the Style Guide regularly. Most updates are based on tips from readers, and we hope that this publication encourages more people to share.

One post last week was a bit vague; turning 32 proved to be quite a heady experience. The Head Lemur’s most recent Pixelview subject was the Rogue Librarian herself. I will try to be more explicit about self-promotion in the future.

Just saw bell hooks. NYPL was a stop on her Communion; The Female Search for Love book tour. Her talk sent chills up my spine.

My mother’s childhood had two phases. The first, idyllic and full of cheer, was before her little sister died. These photos are from that phase. She has spoken of writing children’s books based on memories of these years. I think that she should.

Today it is all about me.

The use of thumbnails in search engine results is fair use, but the use of full-size images is not, thus pronounces the
9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. This is another step in clarifying copyright law as it applies to the Internet.

Tomorrow I’ll be 32. Today I feel 18.

Sexy bookmobile. Catherine would love this one. Too bad she is in Venice and will miss this entry. Thanks MS.

NYPL Goodies. Congratulations to my colleagues in The Research Libraries of The NYPL. The first bit of buzz: the online exhibition Heading West is the recipient of ALA’s Rare Book and Manuscript Exhibition Awards Committee for an electronic exhibition. That’s a mouthfull.

Second bit of buzz: The cover of the current issue of Newsweek magazine features a Qur’an from the collection of the Asian and Middle Eastern Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. Todd Thompson and Gamil Youssef helped the magazine select pages from the Qur’an and Bible featured on the cover. The images are of the doctrine of the Annunciation as shown from the Surat Al ‘Imran, and the book of Isaiah. These are passages where the Qur’an and Bible agree.

Migraine medication is making my head feel as though it were sheathed in a layer of felt. Pain free, but sluggish seems a fair trade to me. Puts me in just the right frame of mind for Roald Dahl.

Happy birthday to Leigh and Sanders.

Look at the little kitty.

I just updated The NYPL Online Style Guide to include more tips on authoring valid XHTML pages with Dreamweaver. See how to use a doc type switcher, and, even better, how to set an XHTML DTD in your default template. Thanks William.

Speaking of standards in institutional Web sites, Tennessee’s Volunteer State Community College has begun an accessible, standards-compliant site redesign. Several primary pages are live. Expect other parts of the site to follow. Thanks Sanders.

Indiana University is hosting a collaborative project called Wright American Fiction, 1851-1875. The collection includes 1752 texts by 845 authors. Literature buffs will note that the collection is based on Lyle Wright’s bibliography of 19th century American fiction. Note that this is a work in progress; some texts contain errors.

The Journal of Digital Information has just published a special issue on Metadata. Delightfully high geek factor.

Web Developers in the San Francisco area take note; Carbon IQ has announced another Low-Budget Usability Testing Workshop. Quite reasonable too.

In personal news: there are two people from highschool that I would like to find. Today one of them found me. Jenny Brasch, where are you?