Monday, September 22, 2008

There'll Be Some Changes Made

As Tony Bennett sings, I'm gonna change my way of livin', and if that ain't enough, I'm gonna change the way I strut my stuff.

Things have been slowing down here, but they're about to speed back up. Last spring my personal life sort of took control of a lot of my time, but let's just say I'm settling down now. Also, I've had some added responsibility at work. These libraries can be so demanding.

Also, the AL will have something of a milestone next month. The AL will finally be in print. I'm saving the details until the release, but I've seen the proofs for everything but the introductory essay (and I've seen a draft of that from the author) and everything looks to be on target. There'll be a special issue of a journal and possibly a monograph. This project has been almost two years in the making, and in that time the monograph has been on, then off, then on again, and is now in limbo. I'd been considering just retiring the AL.

However, I've now got some motivation not only to keep writing, but start up again in earnest. Some people are motivated by love, some by anger, some by a tear on the cheek of a glistening child. I at least am also motivated by money. That's right, someone is finally offering to pay me to write the AL and host the blog, and I've more or less agreed. It looks like sometime in the next couple of weeks the AL will be moving on up to the east side, where I'll finally get a piece of the pie. I'll save the details for the formal announcement, just in case something happens, but it's pretty definite.

My only worry with these changes is that it might mean the AL's going too mainstream, but the goal is to bring the perspective of the Annoyed Librarian, and of course all her faithful readers, to a potentially broader audience, not to knuckle under to the Man. We'll see.

77 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is there a deluxe appartment in the sky? Tell me there is!!!

Never fret about doing right by yourself. You deserve it.

Anonymous said...

Or apartment. Geez. Spelling.

Anonymous said...

is the Journal of Annoyed Librarianship rearing its gorgeous head again? Tell us more!

Anonymous said...

There is no joy in libraryville.

The Mighty AL has sold out.

Anonymous said...

Don't listen to them!!! You go girl!!!!

Two questions - how did 'they' know 'you' were the AL?

And, when whatever-it-is that's coming out arrives, we'll the rest of us know, too?

Anonymous said...

So, um, will this "in print" manifestation reveal your authorized Name Authority File name in main entry position?

Anonymous said...

Sweeeet.

Anonymous said...

I have missed your snarky voice of reason this summer. Where I understand the thought of giving up the blog to go live your life, for purely selfish reasons, I'm glad you're not!

Anonymous said...

Don't tell me you're writing a SEQUEL to "If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans". Wasn't the first one good enough?

AL said...

Unfortunately this isn't the Journal of Annoyed Librarianship. I wanted to go with that, but just never had the time. This is a legitimate library journal that wanted a special AL issue, and the monograph, if it happens, will be published by a serious press. As to how they knew "I" was the AL, they didn't and don't for the most part. People contacted me. I found someone to act as editor and general intermediary, and he helped enormously by actually editing the manuscript. And yes, when it comes out, I'll make all the announcement, and everyone will know. I'll be sometime in October, I'm told.

As for the authority file question, I have no idea. I'm assuming if the monograph comes out it will have both my name and the editors name, but I have no details. The articles in the journal issue are by "Annoyed Librarian," so I'm assuming Library Lit is going to have to enter them that way. What fun!

Anonymous said...

"The articles in the journal issue are by "Annoyed Librarian," so I'm assuming Library Lit is going to have to enter them that way. What fun!"

Librarian, Annoyed ;)

Anonymous said...

The authorized Name Authority File should read:

100 0# Annoyed Librarian


I see no problem.
;-)

Anonymous said...

Aww, finally getting a piece of the pie. Can't think of anyone more deserving. Let us know so we can follow along when it happens. Keep on blogging. You are now more necessary than ever (if for no other reason that to piss off your detractors or certain "famous" bloggers who just can't abide "Anonymous" bloggers, as if).

Anonymous said...

Good job, AL! Looking forward to reading it.

And there's nothing "sell-out" about making money, unless they're forcing you to be the non-annoyed twopointopian cheerleader librarian, which I kind of doubt...

Minks said...

Eeenteresting!

Congrats...

How much money?

Are we talking a $500 year bonus or are we talking lots more?

Very interesting indeed.

And why would anyone in the mainstream library world want you higher profile?

AL said...

As for the money, I won't be quitting my day job, but it's some incentive, esp. since I've been doing this for free. As for selling out, I've been promised complete editorial control, which is the only reason I've agreed.

SafeLibraries® said...

AL said someone will pay her, then she said, "This project has been almost two years in the making, and in that time the monograph has been on, then off, then on again, and is now in limbo." Limbo? Rush Limbaugh? AL, are you writing for Rush Limbaugh?

Anonymous said...

Make sure your name remains the Annoyed Librarian.

Only reveal who you are when you properly "Retire!"

That includes book authorship!!

soren faust said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I'm confused, but why should today be any different.

Anonymous said...

The AL has been promised total editorial control.

Good.

Do you want a bridge I own in Brooklyn?

How about some nice wetlands in Florida?

There is one AL born every minute.

Anonymous said...

An October surprise! Oh my god, I can't wait.

Anonymous said...

I am hoping for a centerfold.

Anonymous said...

Oh good! I'm glad to hear the news! I've been reading this blog for a while, and it's prepared me for being unemployed and having to volunteer after I graduate!

I'm proud of you, but don't tell anyone!

Anonymous said...

Sell Out!

Unknown said...

And there was much rejoicing... yaaaaay.

Anonymous said...

complete editorial control? does this mean there will be little mini-ALs doing all the blogging. or has this been the case all along....hrmm...

Anonymous said...

AL and the Bloggers would be a good name for a rock band.

Anonymous said...

congrats on the deal, but I already beat you to getting published: my blog has been converted to binary and published on solid gold disks that can only be played on Elronhubbard's magical Victrola. but I'm published and that's all that matters, boyeee!

Tim Reynolds said...

Well congrats on the good news. I am agreement with everyone here about your good fortune. Just do library world a big favor dont just criticize point out some solutions solutions. Even if it go home get drunk.

Brent said...

AL, so it isn't a trap to expose your name? I trust you will be more careful than that librarian writing about patrons at her public library.

Anonymous said...

Did you know that the AL is going to be paid by the comment?

C'mon folks, let's fill the coffers.

Anonymous said...

Who owns the copyright to the comments on AL's blog? The poster of the comment, AL, or Google? I looked on the blogger.com terms of service but did not see the answer to that. I'm relatively ignorant of blogs so I don't really know.

(I realize it may not matter because AL only said she's starting a print version of her work, not that she will necessarily adapt or republish anything she or others already said on the blog. Besides, regardless of who owns the copyright to comments, if AL or someone else wanted to comment on the comments it would probably be a fair use kind of thing. Fair use generally covers commentary/criticism afterall. (And there sure is a helluva lot of criticism on this blog, marvel of a twentyfirst-century snarkfest that it is.)

Sorry to sound like one of those copyright weenies. I'm not all bent out of shape or anything. Seriously, I was just wondering.

Thanks!

SafeLibraries® said...

I hereby release and absolve AL from any copyright claims I may have now or in the future based on any comments I have left at any time on the AL blog. I give AL permission to use any or all of my comments with or without attribution, compensation, or anything else. Further, I allow AL to transfer these rights to her publishers, heirs, or anyone else from here into perpetuity.

Okay, that was the legalese. In plain English, AL, have fun, don't worry about copyright respecting anything I wrote on your blog. Good luck to you, AL.

Anonymous said...

Greetings.

My name is anonymous, and my lawyer, Shawdowy Figure, Esq, lay copyright claim to all posts by myself on this and every other blog.

Please send me the appropriate royalty check.

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

And I mean send it *quick*, because I'm sure it's going to be huge.

Anonymous said...

re: Who owns the copyright to the comments on AL's blog? The poster of the comment, AL, or Google?<<

First, Anonymous, you'll have to prove you're really Anonymous and not just some poser claiming to be Anomyous. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

Whoever can prove themselves to be "Anonymous" sure owns a lot of literature throughout history!!!

Anonymous said...

"Whoever can prove themselves to be "Anonymous" sure owns a lot of literature throughout history!!!"

Not if that dynamic duo of bibliographic superheros Halkett and Laing have anything to say about it (which they indeed did).

Anonymous said...

If you look up anonymous up in the dictionary, there is my face.

Really.

Anonymous said...

"...by a tear on the cheek of a glistening child..."

Is it the tear, the cheek, or the child that is glistening?

Anonymous said...

Ka-ching!!

Anonymous said...

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year old Texas rancher whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin and her bid to be a heartbeat away from being President.

The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Palin is a post turtle.'

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post
turtle was.

The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle.'

The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain. 'You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put her up there to begin with.

Anonymous said...

Library snark is better than Palin jokes.

I vote for more of the former please.

Oh, wait this ain't a democracy.

'scuse me.

Anonymous said...

Man, aren't bloggers amazing? Going to be paid for being snarky, whereas when I am snarky at work, I get slapped down for "bad attitude." No sensa humor....

Now, if I could only write!

soren faust said...
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Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

jmomls said...

*While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year old Texas rancher whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin and her bid to be a heartbeat away from being President.*

Epic fail in your version. All 75 year-old ranchers in Texas are Republicans. They wouldn't go to the doctor unless they had accidentally severed a finger or a limb. Further, they would probably make the joke about Armadillos anyway.

Anonymous said...

So sad the money is more important than integrity.

SafeLibraries® said...

Anonymous said, "So sad the money is more important than integrity." What are you trying to do, Anonymous, get the AL more annoyed?

MAL - More Annoyed Librarian
RAL - Really Annoyed Librarian
VAL - Very Annoyed Librarian
VIRAL - Very Irritated Royally Annoyed Librarian

Anonymous said...

DEFCON1AL will do just fine.

Anonymous said...

Money is more important than integrity, dumbass.

Isn't that what it says on the plaque on W's desk?

Unknown said...

Don't diss 75-year-old Texas ranchers! You can still find old decrepit Democrats among them.

Having said that ... Post Turtle is an old joke here in Texas. The first post turtle was the idiot-in-chief George W. Bush.

Thankfully there are lots of Dems and open-minded folk in Texas academic circles ...

Congrats AL! Stay annoyed - so I don't feel so alone.

Anonymous said...

blogging on paper? This does not compute! [yes, the pun was on purpose]

Congrats, AL!

Now, when was the date added to the blog posts? Didn't they formerly only show the time? And sometimes people were referred to as "anonymous 2:53 PM" by other posters? Having the date show up is great!

Anonymous said...

anonymous at September 26, 2008 3:56 PM is a ninny

Anonymous said...

Re: the nasty entry above: "sticks and stones," etc.

"Ninny — that soft, smiling, self-effacing, apologetic fellow, the type who is terribly sorry when you happen to step on his foot, the kind you can borrow money from in the certainty he will never demand you repay it." — John D. MacDonald (1962)

jmomls said...

*The first post turtle was the idiot-in-chief George W. Bush.

Thankfully there are lots of Dems and open-minded folk in Texas academic circles ...*

Unfortunately, Charles Whitman couldn't hit them all from where he was standing.

Funny you should mention "open-minds" and "idiots". When you see the open-minded Democratic nitwits who have created and are too moronic to fix this latest financial nightmare [Clinton's moronic "lend to 'em or will sue" admin, Dodd, Frank], it's not hard to see how George Bush could become Chief of the likes of them, is it?

jmomls said...

*Anonymous Anonymous said...

Money is more important than integrity, dumbass.

Isn't that what it says on the plaque on W's desk?*

Ahh, the internet, where anonymous dolts living in their parent's basements while pursuing their MLS can take shots at men who have attained the highest of heights.

If George Bush only wanted money, he would have cut the same deal in the Oil-For-Food scandal as Barack Hussein O'bomber did with Tony Rezko [via Nadhmi Auchi]. That would have been a lot easier than blowing up all their shit and having Congress let China waltz in there and buy all that oil.

soren faust said...
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soren faust said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Bullseye, Soren!

Anonymous said...

History will vindicate W.

He took unpopular stands to do the right thing.

How dare he do something like that in today's poll driven republic. It is so unfashionable. We want our leaders to do our bidding as told to Gallup.

soren faust said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

You can't judge Presidencies until at least twenty years after the fact.

I am willing to bet that W will be looked at more like Truman and less like Harding when history is being written in 2028.

Another thing going on in 2028 will be librarians arguing about web 2.0 and whether it should be utilized.

Of course the debate will be held by the ALA at their convention. After their convention wraps,the buggy whip manufacturers of America is going to have their annual convention at the same site.

Anonymous said...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/160080

soren faust said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jmomls said...

*They only became unpopular after it was realized that he lied through his teeth to get the populace behind his "unpopular" stands and that, when all is said and done, they have been world historical failures.*

"World historical failures"? Come on, the more you use hyperbole, the less serious thinking people will take you.

Just a few actual "world historical failures":
1. Appeasement at Munich.
2. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
3. Napoleon's invasion of Russia.
4. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
5. The sale of Manhattan to the Dutch.
6. The idea that barbarians would defend Rome.
7. The Maginot Line.

Etc.

jmomls said...

*Now, I know I'm going to get railed for this post because it is political. But, with some of the previous posts above…well…I just could not help myself. In regards to being able to understand Bush's legacy for what it is, I quote Bob Dylan, "you don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."*

I don't think anyone has expressed any admiration for the man, but such knee-jerk hatred and DISrespect for the man is ludicrous. I don't see dozens and dozens of exhortations over how bad a job the legislative body has done, even though they have an even more miniscule approval rating.

It gets very, very tiring hearing the same ignorant arguments made over and over, i/r/t Bush "lied". You yourself made the same argument. The official policy of the United States government under the previous administration was regime change in Iraq. There were outstanding UN resolutions in force regarding Iraq. Saddam Hussein violated the very cease-fire his government agreed to uphold, therefore his removal by force was legal, full stop. There was no need to re-debate the entire issue again, which is where the Government went wrong. Even more foolish was to hitch the unneeded argument onto the WMD issue, where, again, every single intelligence agency in the world agreed with the premise that such weapons were still there.

So please point out these "lies". I'll give you cynicism, after 9/11 we had an excuse to use the military pretty much anywhere we pleased--the Baathists were on the wrong end of that turn of events, to be sure. Then again, Saddam's card could've been pulled in 1998 if Clinton would've had the guts and the political capital to do it.

Anonymous said...

This is the first time I'm going to vote Republican because this is the first chance we've had to get a hot babe in the white house. Alaska Hottie, you go girl!

SafeLibraries® said...

"Alaska Hottie"? You mean Baked Alaska?

Anonymous said...

No, the MILF with the hot glasses.

soren faust said...
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Anonymous said...

The Alaska Hottie rocked last night!

Anonymous said...

Way to go AL! I think that's fabulous and I love how the spirit of capitalism has moved you to continue your cause. Good on you!

I looked up that term MILF and wow...
When I was a child, I was taught to respect the President of the United States and the office he stood for. My parents said, "We may not agree with him, but he is the President and we have to support our government." Where have those days gone? When and where did people get the audicity to call a potential candidate a MILF? My goodness. It's tackless, rude, and beyond disrespectful. I fear putting a McCain/Palin sign in my front yard because some wacko disrespecting dumbass will vandalize my home. For those of you who say "Right On!", a conservative would never do such a thing. Call it good breeding and decent manners - none of which I've seen from the wacko left. Now I don't mean all democrats. I mean those wacky people who, in the name of NO MORE WAR, start a riot outside of the RNC. I guess those days that you respected the President went away with the days when we used to go to the library.

Anonymous said...

Calling an older chick a MILF is the ultimate sign of respect.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said: " I guess those days that you respected the President went away with the days when we used to go to the library."

Those days went away when Slick Willie pointed his finger at the American public and said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman!"

Anonymous said...

Calling an older chick a MILF is the ultimate sign of respect.

Especially if you focus on the F of MILF.

Who cares if she can think, talk, laugh, make you laugh, anything.

So long as the old bag of latex will F, then you are really respectful.