Taste of Trinidad

In a travel feature for the New York Times, writer Sam Sifton and photographer Chris Ramirez created a "tasteful" video of some of the eating choices for visitors to Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. As Sam describes it in his opening narrative, Port of Spain is one of the "great eating towns of the Caribbean" and Chris and I sought to "devour it all." The video presents vivid images of unique Trinidad and Tobago delicacies like roti, doubles, bake and shark, jerk pork, and sweet plantains. And for those of us who associate the Caribbean with exotic drinks there is Carib beer, and local rum (dark and light). To end it all there is a beautiful image of the white sandy beaches of Maracas Bay on the north coast.

Kudos to Sam for this unsolicited publicity of my native isle.

Link to video: Taste of Trinidad

New Book - The Successful University Library in a Developing Country.

My colleague and fellow blogger The Caribbean Librarian recently wrote a book titled The Successful University Library in a Developing Country. Congratulations are in order for Jennifer Papin-Ramcharan who works at the Main Library, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. This book is a must read if you want to know about problems associated with managing university libraries in developing countries and practical solutions for solving these problems.

Here is a summary from amazon.com:
This book studies university libraries in developing countries against the backdrop of an increasingly inter-connected and interdependent world. The book suggests that finding solutions to problems of university libraries in developing countries is a matter of ensuring that 'global knowledge' is of the highest quality and is not just for altruistic reasons. It describes the many problems associated with the running of university libraries in developing countries and considers what it takes for these libraries to be successful. The book includes case studies of university libraries in several developing countries in regions including Africa, India and The Caribbean. Presenting the perspectives of practitioners and library users, solutions presented are practical and relevant.It is authored by a librarian and a member of the faculty of a university in a developing country. It gives the perspectives of both librarians and users of university libraries. It includes contributions from librarians in several developing country regions including Africa, India and The Caribbean. It addresses not only the problems of developing country university libraries but also offers practical solutions.

Download Caribbean music at trinidadtunes.com

Kudos to my colleague The Caribbean Librarian for pointing out that there is now a legal source for downloading Caribbean music (specifically Trinidad and Tobago music). The site trinidadtunes.com provides access to all types of genres: calypso, christmas, chutney, gospel, hip-hop, rapso, reggae, soca, spoken word, steelband and world. You can search for your favorite song/s, by artist, song or album, add your selection to your shopping basket, pay by credit card (99 cents per song) and download, all in a matter of seconds.

There are additional features which I like: the ability to listen to snippets of the song you select, a listing of the week top albums and week top songs, biographical information about each singer. Try it!!!

ALA 2008 State of America's Libraries report available online

The full text of the 2008 State of America's Libraries is available for free on the ALA website
One of the major findings of the report is that "Libraries of all kinds continue to be engines of learning, literacy, and economic development in communities nationwide".

Other findings include:

· Ebooks continued to emerge as a regular feature of libraries of all types.
· Library supporters won an important victory in 2007 when the Environmental Protection Agency was ordered to re-open many of the libraries it had closed in the past year.
· College and research libraries continue to find innovative new ways to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the academy.
· Libraries and librarians of all stripes continue to stand up for the First Amendment rights of all Americans, responding in public discourse and in court to unconstitutional snooping and aspiring book-banners. The right to read — freely and in private — remains a core value of the profession

National Library Week April 13-19

At the ALA website you can find all the information you need for promoting National Library week:

-Purchase National Library Week posters, bookmarks, digital art
-Download sample media materials
-Information about National Library Week
-National Library Workers Day
-Share your National Library Week story - win a $25 gift certificate
-National Library Week Events
-What is National Library Week?
-Future National Library Week Dates

Free teleprompter to help with those important speeches

CuePrompter.com - The Online Teleprompter

Try the free teleprompter service CuePrompter. East to use as your browser works like a teleprompter -no extra software needed. Free for any use (both commercial and non-commercial).

Top 25 technologies according to Stephen Abram

Stephen Abram (VP of Innovation, SirsiDynix) has been described as "an inveterate library watcher and strategic technology reviewer". Here is a link to his session on the top 25 technologies that we should think about 'playing' with and finding a way to make our libraries more open to our learning communities and neighborhoods.

Grant to attend IFLA 2008

IFLA 2008 wil be held in Quebec City, Canada, August 10-14. The theme is "Libraries without borders: Navigating towards global understanding". Bursaries to support conference registration fees,travel and accommodation are available for librarians from developing countries. Librarians from South America, Central America and the Caribbean are encouraged to apply. Visit the IFLA website on information on how to apply. Good luck!