libraries are so boring; particularly the children's section. I think it might be quite nice if the librarians dressed up as animals. either real or characters from books. they might actually thank us for this, as public libraries are usually quite cold as well.-- po, May 23 2002 (?) Continuing the nonsense... http://www.halfbake...animal_20litigationI see a trend beginning here... [RayfordSteele, May 24 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] Ob. link. http://www.halfbake...o_20_22Punbakery_22 [pottedstu, May 24 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] Bookshop Proprietor: Ah, no,...it in stock, sir...figured out how to do this I think [docweasel, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] Like this? http://youtu.be/pTiRfBHkZzM [mrthingy, Dec 27 2012] The Librarian at the Unseen University http://en.wikipedia...iscworld)#Librarian [bs0u0155, Dec 28 2012] I was hoping for trained chimps running the place. Would be cheaper, although smelly.-- rbl, May 23 2002 re mrthingy's link, maybe this was the inspiration for the librarian in the Terry Pratchett discworld novels?-- rbl, May 23 2002 Well, the obvious choice is (book)worms.-- phoenix, May 23 2002 funny story....all my books (of which there are 1000s) have bookplates which say "This book belongs to (my cat's name here)"
after all....who's gonna' steal a book from a cat?-- runforrestrun, May 23 2002 bobotf, to read of course...and to do research. He's 16 this year. He's had a lot of time to collect books.
Would you believe all my magazine subscriptions come to my 10 year old cat who sends money orders in her name when it is time to renew them?-- runforrestrun, May 24 2002 Is it a bad thing when your dog has better credit than you do?-- RayfordSteele, May 24 2002 //libraries are so boring// Po! I can't believe you said that! And I voted for your Dress Code for Riding Camels idea! Sniff, sniff. Libraries aren't boring, they just have an image problem. Ok, so they tend to be decorated in forty shades of brown and orange and staffed by tight-lipped, moustachioed women of a certain age who have grown to hate children and, in fact, anyone who dares to enter their domain (I'm a librarian so I can get away with saying these things) but they're not boring! Libraries are fascinating and exciting places, *full* of all sorts of knowledge, just waiting to be explored.
But if I have to wear a costume then I want to be a cat, ok?-- salachair, May 24 2002 Or french maids outfits of course. that should boost library membership.-- IvanIdea, May 24 2002 there is another week to go until half-term here, BTW. I used to be a librarian of sorts - well I fixed the books that were coming apart and you are right sal, libraries are wonderful but I could not really validate my idea by saying - they are really cool places but they could be cooler if.....-- po, May 24 2002 Read pratchett and you`ll encounter a Librarian who is an Orang Utan. Got transformed after some kind of magic accident but likes his forms (he can hang on the shelves an dgrab books with the feet, screw the head off of people who handle books carelessly etc.)-- Saruman, Jun 09 2002 is it really that good an idea? especially CATS. My cat tends to go and sit on the book i want to read. Not very handy for a library's business... or... is it?-- miaca, Jun 09 2002 funny that, I was just thinking how my favourite is a big cat.-- po, Jun 09 2002 Huh, Saruman, I can do all that as well, you know. Well, apart from the grabbing books with my feet bit, but I'm working on that.-- salachair, Jun 10 2002 how about this one? http://docweasel.com/members/05/albums/12contract/15bookshop.html
Proprietor: Ah, no, well we haven't got it in stock, sir...
Customer: Oh, well, not to worry, not to worry. Can you help me with "David Coperfield"?
Proprietor: Ah, yes, Dickens.
Customer: No...
Proprietor: (pause) I beg your pardon?
Customer: No, Edmund Wells.
Proprietor: I...think you'll find Charles Dickens wrote "David Copperfield", sir...
Customer: No, no, Dickens wrote "David Copperfield" with two "P"s. This is "David Coperfield" with one "P" by Edmund Wells.
Proprietor: "David Coperfield" with one "P"?
Customer: Yes, I should have said.
Proprietor: Yes, well in that case we don't have it.
Customer: Funny, you've got a lot of books here...-- docweasel, Feb 10 2004 Librarians fail to stand up for their brethren
January 25, 2004
Advertisement
A bitter, months-long dispute within the American Library Association -- the largest nation-based organization of librarians in the world -- continues as to whether to demand that Fidel Castro release 10 imprisoned independent librarians found guilty of making available to Cubans copies of George Orwell's 1984 and the United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights.
Along with 65 other Cuban dissenters, the ''subversive'' librarians were sentenced to 20 or more years in Castro's gulag. Some urgently need medical attention, which they're not receiving.
At the ALA's annual midwinter meeting this month in San Diego, Karen Schneider, a member of the ALA's governing council, wanted to amend a final report on the meeting to call for their immediate release. In proposing her amendment, Schneider told her colleagues that Castro's police had confiscated and burned books and other materials at the independent libraries.
The amendment was overwhelmingly defeated by the 182-member council. The report was swept through by a raising of hands.
From Sept. 25 to Oct. 2, libraries across this country will invite their communities to the annual Banned Books Week, decrying censorship. I've spoken, by invitation, during those weeks at libraries around the country. Will any library invite me this year to talk about the burning of library books in Cuba?
In the final report, also passed overwhelmingly by raised hands, there was some pious language expressing the ALA's ''deep concern over the arrest and long prison terms of political dissidents in Cuba'' -- but this deep concern does not extend to asking the Cuban dictator to liberate all of the 75 imprisoned in his crackdown last spring, including the 10 librarians.
Steve Marquardt, an ALA member who believes in everyone's right to read everywhere, wrote to Eliades Acosta Matos, the director of Cuba's National Library (Biblioteca Nacional Jose Marti), and they discussed Schneider's amendment, which Marquardt supports.
In his answer, Castro's appointee said: ''I send to you the text of the report on Cuba, approved in San Diego. Ask yourself why the resolution proposed by Ms. Schneider was defeated.'' The response also -- like some members of the American Library Council -- blamed the ''aggressions'' of the American government against Cuba, ''including 'lies and subversion, such as the independent libraries.' '' But the books were sent to the independent libraries by people from many countries, including individual Americans.
After that final report was approved by the ALA's governing council, the association's president, Carla Hayden, said that the vote ''shows that people are able to work out differences of opinion and come together on a joint statement.''
As an indication of the ALA leadership's hypocrisy, the final report of its governing council in January urges ''the Cuban government to eliminate obstacles to access to information imposed by its policies.'' But there's not a word about eliminating the obstacles to the release of the 10 independent librarians.
Then the governing council's report supports ''an investigative visit [to Cuba] by a special rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights with special attention given to freedom of access to information and freedom of information, especially in the cases of those recently imprisoned.'' What freedom of information are the Cuban gulag guards ''conveying'' to those prisoners?
And remember, this report is going to the same U.N. Human Rights Commission that includes Cuba, as well as such champions of freedom of expression as China, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.
What is the ALA leadership thinking?
Moreover, after Castro sent the 10 librarians and 65 other dissidents into his prison, the notorious U.N. Human Rights Commission refused to pass a condemnation of Castro and also turned down a resolution by Costa Rica calling for the immediate release of the prisoners.
Meanwhile, on Jan. 16, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions in The Hague joined Amnesty International in condemning Castro's new bill that places even more severe restrictions on Cuban citizens' use of the Internet. Amnesty International ''fears that the new measures are intended to prevent human rights monitoring by restricting the flow of information out of Cuba.''
It's a shame librarians around this country have a leadership that mocks the ALA's Library Bill of Rights, which requires its members to ''challenge censorship'' -- but refuses to call for the release of 10 librarians in Castro's prisons who, indeed, challenged censorship.-- docweasel, Feb 15 2004 Do I dare say baked by Terry Pratchett in his Discworld series, with "The Librarian"?
Do I dare?
No.
+
:)
Double croissant for you, po!-- DesertFox, Apr 08 2005 From my experience, most librarians wouldn't know the books very well, and would probably dress according to the latest Disney incarnation of the character, or the closest thing, if the movie hadn't been made yet. How about we distribute free books to kids instead? And maybe pay a few "normal" (i.e. non Disneyfied) folks who can read well, to rock up to schools and do starter readings. That's how I learnt to read (my parents reading to me, well before going to school), and to love books. And my daughter, whom I gave up on reading to after she'd skipped a few chapters ahead a few nights running.-- goldilox, Apr 08 2005 How is this not marked for deletion? Its not even an idea its just uuuggh im going to stop typi-- Brian the Painter, Dec 28 2012 Poor form, [Brian].-- ytk, Dec 28 2012 Ooh come on. I bet at one time ppl had ideas that they shared on this site. IDEAS-- Brian the Painter, Dec 28 2012 Ook! <link>-- bs0u0155, Dec 28 2012 of course, its an idea [Brian] not as wonderful as yours will be no doubt. funny, you're not called [brain].-- po, Dec 28 2012 Ha [brian the painter] - how many "ideas" have you posted? - oh I see 2 in total. Well that makes you a fully qualified expert then. I'd stick with the colouring in books for now. (try to stay inside the lines).
Great idea, by the way. [po]-- xenzag, Dec 28 2012 //libraries are so boring; particularly the children's section.//
No, they're not. They're full of books, which are the least boring things that safely can be made available to children. If the child finds books boring, then it should be allowed to leave the library and be bored elsewhere.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 28 2012 There are animals in our library: booklice.-- nineteenthly, Dec 29 2012 This is not an idea because libraries do this all the time! So does Disney land and everybody else. As for my two ideas, I had 2 others that were dumb so I did everyone a favor and deleted them my self. Now the airbag pillow, that's an idea. Seriously look for my next post called "bankers should wear bluejeans because i would like that"-- Brian the Painter, Dec 31 2012 B the p, tread lightly here in the bakery. This idea works here because it is flawed from inception. Ideas posted here fall into many categories, none of which I will elaborate on because that is no fun. I will say that this falls into a category of, this would never happen, but wouldn't it be funny if...
It's kind of a visualization gag. Its an idea because that's what posts are considered here.
There are advanced ideas that require advanced thinking to even read and understand. Read maxwells piston.
Po, bun
B the p, welcome to the bakery-- evilpenguin, Dec 31 2012 if libraries do this now then they read this idea in 2002 - not in our local library though.
*flawed*? what are you talking about [ep]?
a very happy new year to one and all btw. :*-- po, Dec 31 2012 [po] trying to help a greenhorn. I think it's a flawless idea, here-- evilpenguin, Dec 31 2012 Library of Congress, or similar, crawling (literally) with librarians in white cartoon-bookworm costumes.-- FlyingToaster, Dec 31 2012 Happy New Year to you, good friend po.-- blissmiss, Dec 31 2012 blissy, (y)-- po, Dec 31 2012 Interesting...
[docweasel] created an account, posted this same anno on this and one other library-related idea between February 10 - 15 2004, and was never heard from again.-- normzone, Jan 01 2013 eerie. Twilightzonish.-- blissmiss, Jan 01 2013 Stephen Hawkings agreed to wear a "cork" costume so he can bob around in a pool of quasars and kids loved it. The University educated Librarians however felt this was beneath them. Sorry I tried. On another note, me and all my friends come here everyday to laugh at the absolute unequivocated absurdity that this idea has existed on this site for 11 years!!!!-- Brian the Painter, Jan 01 2013 //me and all my friends//
Quit making things up.-- ytk, Jan 01 2013 we laughed, thanks-- Brian the Painter, Jan 01 2013 ytk, too funny.-- blissmiss, Jan 01 2013 [Brian], i think you should reinstate the ideas you deleted because your version of "bad" might not be the same as ours.-- nineteenthly, Jan 01 2013 Seconded.-- blissmiss, Jan 01 2013 I share this notion. Even if they are bad ideas that get boned. I think the only bad ideas here are ones that don't get votes at all, or comments. They are just boring and uninteresting. Ideas like this you learn from.-- evilpenguin, Jan 01 2013 OK my comments came across as a bit harsh but my question was "how is this idea still here" as if to say, "why do moderators not delete them?" I think this is a fine discussion, I just imagined that the half bakery was... well... different. My bad. As for my deleted ideas, one was for an SD card with Bluetooth built in. Apparently eyefi built one with WiFi built in. So I never found it on the Google due to my poor search term. Anyways it was a great idea, just baked that's all. So someone else suggested that I delete it and I did.-- Brian the Painter, Jan 03 2013 I think, unless you were building, or planning to build, a physically distributed PC, you're not going to notice the difference between SD/WiFi vs. SD/Bluetooth, as an original Idea. Sounds very niche, not that there's anything wrong with that.
As per this idea, it makes me smile, so an uncomplicated [+]-- FlyingToaster, Jan 03 2013 Thanks toast man. So many times I have invented something, just to see it on the shelf sometime later. Oh well, I'll be buying a WiFi SD card next payday.
Po, we're cool right?-- Brian the Painter, Jan 04 2013 random, halfbakery