A returning highlight on Danish LIS journal REVY is the celebration of REVY Article Of The Year Award. This year the editorial board has nominated three articles:
Forskernes informationsadfærd – et kvalitativtstudie (REVY nr. 2 2015, s. 3 – 4)
By Mads Korsgaard, Faculty Library of Social Sciences, Copenhagen University Library
Abstract [article in danish]: With inspiration from the ubiquitous ideas around user-driven innovation and ethnographic methods The Faculty of Social Sciences Library, Copenhagen University Library, has done a a greater qualitative study of researchers and faculty members information behavior . This article reports on the study , some selected results as well as the methodical experiences.
The Craft of Research(REVY nr. 1 2015, s. 17 – 19)
By Joshua Kragh Bruhn, Thomas Basbøll og Mette Bechmann, CBS Library
Abstract [article in danish]: There is growing dissatisfaction with the students’ academic skills in universities. They are only marginally able to express themselves clearly in writing, it is said and they are superficial in their search for information. Society are not satisfied with the quality of the graduates , and students are not content with the lack of demands required for their active participation. This article focus on how CBS library is trying to support the academic skills of students through a instructional concept.
Some questions to ask before you say yes (REVY nr. 3 2015, s. 3 – 4)
By Ned Potter, York University Libraries
Abstract: There are all kinds of exciting opportunities in the information profession, and sometimes we find ourselves in danger of burning out because we can’t help but say yes to all of them. This article gives some pointers on how to balance the yes’ and the no’s in your career.
All three excellent articles, very well-written and with a focus that is highly relevant for people working in academic libraries. Now it’s up to the Board of Danish Research Library Association to point out a winner which will be revealed on the associations winter conference in the beginning of 2016.
Last years winner was global librarian and good friend Jan Holmquist with his article on Twitter as a tool for global network and inspiration (in Danish). Jan couldn’t be there for the winning ceremony but he send excellent ‘Thank you for the award’-video [in danish]:
Jan is sending a big smile and thank you for the award to the crowd of the conference
Growing up in the 90’s, making mixtape’s is one of the activities that has brought most pleasure and joy into my life. I remember sitting with my tape recorder listening to radio and getting ready to press ‘Rec’ and ‘Play’ when tunes of the 90’s grunge, brit pop and alternative rock was played. Pure good time (and frustrations when a speaker interrupted the song because of a goal scoring in a football match).
Making a mixtape in todays digital age is far from the analog feeling in my childhood but it still brings tons of joy – and specially the making of this little library mixtape. The lyrics is really something to dig into: apparently it’s a common belief that the library is a good place for romance.
1. Librarian by My Morning Jacket
Simple little bookworm, buried underneath Is the sexiest librarian Take off those glasses and let down your hair for me
2. Young Adult Friction by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Between the stacks in the library Not like anyone stopped to see We came, they went, our bodies spent Among the dust and the microfiche
3. Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1965 by John Mayer
And his wife told his kids he was crazy And his friends said he’d fail if he tried But with the will to work hard and a library card He took a homemade, fan blade, one-man submarine ride
4. Marian the Librarian from The Music Man
Marian…Madam Librarian What can I say, my dear, to catch your ear I love you madly, madly Madam Librarian…
5. At The Library by Green Day
Staring across the room Are you leaving soon? I just need a little time
6. Wrapped Up In Books by Belle & Sebastian
We’ve got a fantasy affair We didn’t get wet, we didn’t dare Our aspirations, are wrapped up in books Our inclinations are hidden in looks
7. Ravens in the Library by S. J. Tucker
One for fiction, two for truth three for bikes and bathing suits, four for scifi/fantasy five loves art and ancient skulls six eats periodicals, seven lives in poetry
8. Lost in your time (at The Library) by Los Bossa Nuevo Biblioteca
We help you find
All the text on your mind
Lost in your time at the library
9. Love in the Library by Jimmy Buffett
Love in the library, quiet and cool Love in the library, there are no rules Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime I fell in love in the library once upon a time
10. Swining London by Of Magnetic Fields
I read your manifestoes and your strange religious tracts You took me to your library and kissed me in the stacks
11. Sweet Librarian by Railroad Jerk
Swee-eeeet librarian What good books can you recommend? Swee-eeeet librarian Do you think that we could still be friends?
12. The Librarians Are Hiding Something by Swinin’ Utter
Oh the librarians contrarians can’t fly on a wing Oh the librarians barbarians are liking nothing Which leads me to believe one thing The librarians are hiding something
13. Books about UFOs by Hüsker Dü
Walking down a sunny street to the library Checking out the latest books about outer space
14. Karen by The Go-Betweens
I know this girl This very special girl And she works in a library, yeah Standing there behind the counter Willing to help With all the problems that I encounter
15. French Navy by Camera Obscura
Spent a week in a dusty library Waiting for some words to jump at me We met by a trick of fate French navy my sailor mate
16. Librarian by Haunted Love
I want to be a librarian I want to check out your books Please give them to me With the bar code facing up
17. A Girl Like You by Holiday With Maggie
I saw you in the library Reading modern art I glanced at you the whole day through
18. Fun Fun Fun by The Beach Boys
Well she got her daddy’s car And she cruised to the hamburger stand now Seems she forgot all about the library Like she told her old man now
19. Faster Pussycat to The Library by Sam Phillips
We’ll go where the action is Go where the action is If you don’t know what to do I’ll look it up for you
20. The Book Lovers by Broadcast
Lines and lines of the spines, colored everyone Down the aisles, along the titles Where you run your eyes Read a few lines, ah
I couldn’t think of that book that I read The one where the characters all wind up dead Or maybe it was only just one guy Who bit the dust in the ending
but when I looked in reference I couldn’t find the section I thought that I could find it on my own Addy will know
24. The Librarian by Hefner
He started to woo her in a most peculiar way The librarian’s dress was a fawnish shade of gray The books he was to borrow he would surely never read They were of an intellectual caliber he hoped that she would see…
25. Ain’t Got Rhythm by Phineas and Ferb
Look, I got a sweet deal going on here I got all the books that I can read All these sweet old ladies and this carpet from the 80’s What more could a librarian need? Ssssssh Besides, I ain’t got rhythm No, I ain’t got rhythm Said I ain’t got rhythm I ain’t got rhythm
26. Library Magic by The Head and The Heart
27. Books of Califonia by Comet Gain
28. Library by Julia Brown
29. A Trip to The Library from the Broadway musical She Loves Me
30. The Library Song by Tonks and The Aurors
Have I missed any awesome library songs on the mixtape?
Cheers
If your library was a musical genre which one would it be? Pop like Bieber, rock like Rolling Stones or more Jazzy like Miles Davis? Or maybe a crossover of different genres? I have no doubt: My library, The Faculty Library of Social Sciences (Copenhagen University Library), is a bossa nova library: it’s warm and welcoming just like the soothing sound of bossa nova and in our development of services we like to reach for the literally meaning of the phrase bossa nova which means ‘new trend’ in Portuguese.
For some time we have talked about making some sort of dedication to the hardworking students and faculty members that uses the library. Music is king, period, so what more obvious than to pay them a tribute by making a song for them – and in our very case it had to be a bossa nova song for sure.
The making of a bossa nova library song
This resulted in what I believe is the first bossa nova library song in the world: Lost in your time (at The Library) by Los Bossa Nuevo Biblioteca released on Go To The Library Records – give it a listen here:
Or check out the music video that are soon to become MTV darling:
The work with the song started a while back when we got Python ninja Jens Stein Jørgensen enrolled at the faculty library. Besides being keen on Python and other programming languages Jens is a skilled bossa nova guitarist. We already got the library swinning with some very musical librarians: Rasmus Rindom Riise playing drums in danish hard rock band Dear Delusion, Anders Bonatto Fisker writing songs and singing for Danish contemporary protest band Anders Fisker Band and Mads Korsgaard being guitarist and sound wizard in Danish 90’s tribute band So 90’s.
Anders did the first draft on the lyrics (we decided that it should not be a song on how great the library is but a song about the students that uses the library so it contains 5 small stories about the 5 subjects we serve at social sciences) and Jens came up with a take on the melody. Then we did a jam session at my office with Rasmus and the lead singer from Dear Delusion, Simon Roland (I was a bit worried he was gonna hard rock sing the crap out the song but it turns out he had the fines voice for this project).
Simon, Rasmus, Anders and Jens at the office bossa nova jam session
After a few hours of bossa jamming we decided that we were ready for recording.
The recording took place at Mads’ apartment. We sat up some recording gear, opened a bottle of wine and approximately three hours later we were done. It was not an all easy birth for our little bossa baby. There were some differences of opinion on wherever there should be added a bass line to the track but that is what happens when you put passionate people in the same room. In the end it all came together and Mads gave the track some sugar in the sound engineering room, we added the bass line and we got our bossa nova library track.
Simon doing the vocals
Record release, live gig and Los Bossa Nuevo Biblioteca world tour
I love vinyl. I like streaming too but vinyl is music you can touch! So we decided to get ‘Lost in your time (at The Library)’ out on 7 inch vinyl singles. Side A is with bass and Side B is the pure version. We ordered 500 copies and they will be used for library competitions, gifts and so on.
Shortly after the release I got a call from The Universty Post who wanted to know what the library bossa nova fuzz was all about. They brought a great little piece on it here
First live gig for Los Bossa Nuevo Biblioteca took place at a bossa nova loving librarians 50th years birthday at The Royal Library. You can get a little treat of it here:
Next in line is world tour and world domination for the band – help us make it fly by sharing the story of the worlds first library bossa nova song 🙂
7 inches of library bossa nova vinyl
Simon, Rasmus, Anders and Jens at the office bossa nova jam session
