Librarian's Book Club blog gets international attention

From the Kitchener-Waterloo Record (June 6, 2006):

Librarian's book-club blog gets international attention
Computer-savvy fans can find trivia tidbits or literary discussions on library site
PHILIP JALSEVAC

Waterloo librarian Christine Brown draws inspiration from a variety of sources for her online book club blog. The blog has been picked up by the American Library Association as part of a course on Internet technologies.

Do you know what a washing machine, hot air furnace, privy seat and moustache adjuster all have in common? Probably not. But then you're likely missing out on Christine Brown's blog, an online publishing tool that offers a huge array of information, including hyperlinks related to "cool websites."

A librarian at the Waterloo Public Library, Brown notes that the above devices were invented in Waterloo and registered in the first 25 years of Canada's Patent Office from 1869 to 1894.As for the moustache adjuster, that's a comblike thingamajig "that raises the moustache from over the lips so that a person can eat/drink without having the lower part of the moustache get wet," Brown writes in her blog. "My guess is that this particular invention didn't do so well."

Another blog entry is a quiz that asks: "What was the title of Thomas Keneally's novel on which Steven Spielberg based his film Schindler's List?" The answer is Schindler's Ark.

Brown's blog, which has been picked up by the American Library Association as part of a course it offers on Internet technologies, is dedicated partly to "the ongoing quest for finding information in a newer, better, faster way."

The blog can be found on the library's website at http://mail.wpl.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.wpl.ca under the heading WPL Book Club Blog. That link takes visitors to a page where they can click on About Me to access the blog, called WPL Infostuff, or another one by Brown about the club. That has entries about books discussed at monthly meetings of the club, which she co-ordinates, and allows those who can't attend to post comments and participate via cyberspace.

As an example, regarding the book A Passage to India by E.M. Forster, a visitor by the name of Vanessa wrote: "Don't often like the movie better than the book but I think in this case it is true. I didn't find the book to be a particularly easy read . . ."A small number of people have been submitting comments since the blog started last January, but Brown notes the blog had 364 "hits" last month." Sometimes it takes a little longer for people to get used to new technology," she said. "But the statistics show people are looking at it. Whether they start commenting or not, I would say it's a success and it can only get better."

As for visitors to her Infostuff blog, which began late last year, there were more than 700 in May. "I have people from all over the world looking at these blogs. I have people from the Philippines and Taiwan. "I get links from the U.K., from across Canada and all over the States."For the book club blog, Brown occasionally writes a description of the book but usually picks up something from one of many "reading guides" on the Internet. "The one I like the best, that's the one I post. And if I find something else interesting, I'll post that as well," Brown said.That can include things like links to the author's website and book excerpts.

As for the Infostuff blog, she writes virtually all the text for its broader variety of topics.Brown, who has a master's degree in library and information science but is self-taught in computer literacy, draws her inspiration from a wide variety of sources."I read other blogs. I'm always checking out new websites and read newspapers online to find out what's going on. I read the professional literature like Computers in Libraries and Library Journal. I always check major database providers. "Every day, there's something new." And she says her greatest satisfaction is sharing the bounty of her information harvest with others. "That's why I started the blog, because I had so much stuff I was excited about."pjalsevac@therecord.com