BibMe, Zotero

When I heard that BibMe.org and Citavi.com had become WorldCat.org citation partners, I decided to check BibMe out. I went for BibMe simply because it's web-based, and that made it attractive for accessing from multiple computers--if I worked mostly from one machine, I would have downloaded Citavi to explore also.

I have to admit I'm rather new to online citation & reference management. I've been using Zotero.org for a few months, and love it for managing information gleaned from online sources, but was attracted to BibMe because it's a bibliography builder. I have to also admit that I haven't thoroughly explored Zotero's capabilities to generate bibliographies--after about five minutes of clicking around, I gave up, and the announcement about BibMe sent me there--so please let me know if there's great functionality in Zotero that I missed!

Within seconds, I was compiling a bibliography in BibMe. Registration isn't necessary--you can use it to generate citations immediately without registration. I did end up registering, though, because I wanted to save a bibliography and share it. I had a great bibliography generated in a few minutes: my Maritime Reading Lists (or lists that include maritime titles). If you want to add any of these to your own bibliography, click the "Add to Bibliography" icons--although you won't see anything happen, when you click the "Bibliography Maker" tab, the citations you added will be there, where you can manipulate them, download them, etc.

My only wish is that the URLs listed in the citations for websites be activated--having to copy & paste a link into a browser window to go there seems antiquated to me.

In the future, I will explore the capabilities of Zotero more thoroughly--I like it because of the short learning curve, or, really, no learning curve--I was up and running with it right away after installing it with my Firefox browser. But I won't be doing that right away--it runs very, very slowly for me. BibMe runs faster--everything loads quickly, and I have a citation in whatever standard format I choose right away, accessible from anywhere. With Zotero, I need to log in to see "My Library," (after doing a sync from the computer I've been using), and just logging in takes a long time.

So if you're new to managing your online sources, you may wish to check out these tools--or others--there are many, many out there! These are two tools that I've been trying out.

Assistant Librarian, Reader Services, Castine, Maine

The Nutting Memorial Library at the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, is seeking an Assistant Librarian, Reader Services. From the listing on LISJobs:

Assistant Librarian, Reader Services
Nutting Memorial Library
Maine Maritime Academy
Castine, Maine

The successful candidate will possess an MLS from an ALA-accredited Program; experience in an academic library; experience with integrated library systems (I.I.I. Millennium preferred); thorough knowledge of bibliographic database searching; and familiarity with web site design and maintenance. A background in teaching library skills is strongly preferred. Responsible for reference services, library instruction, interlibrary loan, and circulation services. Ten-month position with generous benefits, pay range 20 $35,511.97. Some nights and weekends may be required.

Interested candidates should submit a completed application and resume as soon as possible, including a list of at least three professional references to:
Director of Personnel Administration
Box 3
Castine, ME 04420
An original, Maine Maritime Academy application must be submitted to the MMA Human Resources Office, prior to consideration by a supervisor or selection committee. Successful candidates may be subject to a background investigation appropriate to the position offered. For an online application form, go to www.mma.edu under jobs@mma. MMA is an EOE ~~~ Women and minorities are particularly encouraged to apply.

Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) is an 850 student, public, fully accredited four-year college located in the small coastal village of Castine, Maine. The college is one of six state-supported Maritime Colleges in the United States. MMA is a college of engineering, transportation, management, ocean sciences and international business.

Library web site: library.mma.edu

When applying, please mention that you saw this ad on LISjobs.com.

The Adventurous Life of the Late William Scoresby

Memorials of the Sea : My Father: Being Records of the Adventurous Life of the Late William Scoresby, Esq. of Whitby by his son, the Rev. William Scoresby, D.D., is now available on Project Gutenberg.

Third in the author's Memorials of the Sea, the volume does seem to cover a remarkable career, as outlined by the table of contents:

Chapter I.—Early Life and Progress as a Seaman  3
Sect.  1. My Father’s early Life  3
   2. His First Year’s Apprenticeship  12
   3. His Progress as a Seaman, with Incidents of Sea-life  20
   4. Capture by the Enemy, and Escape from a Spanish Prison  26
   5. Rewards of Masterly Seamanship  31
   6. Entrance on, and Progress in Training in, the Greenland Whale-fishery  36
Chapter II.—Commencement and Progress in Whale-fishing Enterprise as Commander  42
Sect.  1. Disappointment in his First Command  42
   2. His Second Adventure and commencing Prosperity  52
   3. Further Successes, with their comparative Relations, in the Ship Henrietta  55
   4. Episodical Incident—the Rescue of endangered Pleasurers  65
   5. The Greenland Doctor  71
   6. Taming of a Bear—interesting Recognition  78
Chapter III.—The Ship Dundee, of London  86
Sect.  1. Entrance on, and general Results of, this new Command  86
   2. Dangerous Accident—admirable Tact  89
   3. The Dandy Sailor, or “Fine Tommy”  92
   4. Unfortunate Voyage, and Adventure in the Greenland Ices  96
   5. Successful Stratagem in War  103
   6. Extraordinary Exploit in “cutting in,” single-handed, a moderately-grown young Whale  108
Chapter IV.—The Ship Resolution, of Whitby  116
Sect.  1. Continued Prosperity; the Results, comparatively and generally, of this fresh Enterprise  116
   2. Treatment and Recovery of a half-frozen Seaman  126
   3. Judicious Treatment of Men having suffered from severe Exposure  129
   4. The Crow’s Nest  135
   5. Extraordinary Celerity in preparing an empty Boat for the Fishery  139
   6. Tact and Bravery in attacking and killing a dangerously-resisting Whale  144
   7. Remarkable Enterprise: the nearest Approach to the North Pole  152
   8. Devotional Habits, at Sea and on Shore  164
Chapter V.—Further Enterprises: General Results  171
Sect.  1. The Greenock Whale-fishing Company  171
   2. “Cum au greim a gheibhthu”  174
   3. Subsequent and concluding Enterprises  178
   4. General Results of his entire Whale-fishing Adventures  185
   5. Unusual Capture of Walruses  189
Chapter VI.—General Characteristics, and Miscellaneous Notices  195
Sect.  1. Superiority as an Arctic Navigator  195
   2. Natural Science  203
   3. Improvements and Inventions  215
   4. Miscellaneous and concluding Notices  224

The book also includes interesting statistics about whaling activities and the vessels' finances--it's wonderful to see this book become widely available from Project Gutenberg, like all their titles, in such a nice electronic edition, in so many formats.

Melville and Hawthorne

Robert McCrum's article, Herman Melville, the last great enigma of American literature : a new fictionalised account tries to unravel the dark secrets of the creator of Moby-Dick (published Jan. 30, 2011 at the Guardian's website) doesn't actually get around to mentioning Jay Parini's new novel, The Passages of Herman Melville, until the end. Until then, it's a witty, engaging introduction to this momentous encounter. His first mention of Melville is captivating:

...Herman Melville who, after a very successful debut (Typee), was struggling to complete an unwieldy coming-of-age tale about a South Seas whaler.

In no more than a couple of screens, McCrum presents many of the reasons why so many have been so interested in Melville for so long.

If you have never read biographical material on Melville, maybe even never read Moby Dick, and wonder what all the hoopla is about, take just a few minutes to read what Robert McCrum has to say on the topic.