The only librarian in the world...

I've never been to Bok Gardens, but I've been told that I should visit. Imagine being the only person with your job in the world... Or working in a tower... Or having your library surrounded by a moat...

Joy Banks of Lakeland is thought to be the only carillon librarian in the world. She chronicles and catalogs the largest collection of carillon music known. That extensive collection is housed inside that majestic, singing icon known as Bok Tower in Lake Wales.

"I saw the listing online, and when I read the qualifications, I knew I could do it," Banks said. "It called for someone with cataloging experience, foreign language; mine is French, and music."

Banks actually manages two libraries inside Bok Tower. Located on the second floor are the archives of Bok Tower, which houses marketing products used over the years to personal letters from celebrities and politicians. The extensive carillon library is on fifth floor of the Medieval-style tower, complete with a mote and locked iron gates to further protect the historic collection.

Read the whole article here: http://www.newschief.com/article/20120311/NEWS/203115014/1009/living?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar

Bonus: Do you know what carillon music is?

Britannica Fun

Continuing the Britannica post, here are some fun facts about Britannica.

Britannica is going fully digital

They won't be printing more bound copies of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

We'll continue to keep our 2005 set for show, but Britannica Online has been a better option for years. Information can be linked, and Britannica will easily guide users to further resources. My two favorite features:
-Audio pronunciation of any word. Need to learn how to say "Algonquian" for a presentation on languages? This site has you covered.
-Editors. Wikipedia is great in many ways, but it's still true that incorrect and biased information makes it to the site. I love having experts review the material beforehand. (Something else that I've noticed with wikipedia is that articles are often very long. They're outside the scope of what an encyclopedia is supposed to cover---the basic explanation of something. Britannica editors distill each entry into its essence. This can be better for students who just need to know a paragraph or two on a particular subject.)

Go to the subscription databases page of the library website for access to the school's Britannica account.