Lighthouse Traveling Libraries

Through the Smithsonian Collections Blog, I've discovered Toniann Scime's very interesting Librarians Between the Covers, and the very interesting post about lighthouse traveling libraries.

I find traveling libraries fascinating, whether small such as these selections in a cabinet, in a traditional bookmobile motoring around, as large as a ship's library, or delivered via camel. The selections tell you something of the lives of the readers.

Sure, we are not of the same mind, when we, today, read the book that a lighthouse keeper read in 1898, but for a short time, the same words kindle our imaginations.

Libraries, Archives, Special Collections Jobs

Rachael Cristine Woody at the Smithsonian's Freer|Sackler Archives posted "How Can I Get a Job? (Libraries, Archives and Special Collections)" on Oct. 20, 2010, at the Smithsonian Collections blog.

She links to great resources for finding job and educational opportunities in museum libraries and archives, and provides sound advice--and links to more resources--for building a resume rich in social media experience as well as solid grounding in professional standards.

Also of interest to those already in the profession, are the statistics she reports:

Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010-2011 edition for Archivists, Curators and Museum Technicians, you'll see the profession is projected to grow a faster than average 20% by 2018. The statistics for Librarians are also expected to grow at least 8% and job competition to be favorable to potential employees as many librarians retire in the coming years.

Head over there to follow her links to the relevant Bureau of Labor Statistics sites for more info!

Albert Bigelow Paine's The Ship Dwellers

Originally published by Harper in 1910, The Ship-Dwellers : a story of a happy cruise, by Albert Bigelow Paine with illustrations from drawings by Thomas Fogarty and from photographs, is now available from Project Gutenberg.

Ka'iulani Murphy intervew

Lindsay Patterson's interview with Ka'iulani Murphy, "Ka’iulani Murphy’s star compass helps navigate oceans," is available in text and audio at one of my favorite blogs, EarthSky.org.

She succinctly describes traditional Hawaiian navigation, which uses the clues in nature to navigate on the ocean, rather than instruments such as a magnetic compass. In the short interview, she addresses how she navigates on cloudy nights when she can't see the stars, and where she plans to travel--around the world.