Book Review: You Are My Sunshine: Jimmie Davis & the biography of a song

One of the speakers at the Louisiana Library Association (LLA) Conference this year was Robert (Bob) Mann. He is a a professor emeritus of mass communication at Louisiana State University. He held the Manship Endowed Chair in Journalism at the Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU for 18 years. He is the author of ten books, including critically acclaimed political histories of the U.S. civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, American wartime dissent, Ronald Reagan, and the 1964 presidential election. {source: https://www.robertmannbooks.com/about-robert-mann} He worked as a journalist and then for several prominent Louisiana political figures.

This book is a combination of history of the song and its popularity, biography of Jimmie Davis, and commentary both on aspects of Louisiana politics and the societal issues from the 1920s to the present. It is exceedingly well written.

So many of us have sung or heard this song sung with no understanding of the origin story. I did not know very much about the two-time governor Jimmie Davis before I read this book. As I noted above, one of the foci of the book is his complicated story.

As part of the analysis of the song, Bob Mann includes discussion of the various "covers" of the song over time. Someone who is more musically astute than I could make a great web site linking to all the different versions which have been recorded over time. I would enjoy listening to some of these while reading the stories of how they came about.

It is a well researched work with 17 pages of footnotes (technically end notes), seven pages of bibliography, and an index. Anyone doing work on Jimmie Davis or the role of this song in the American pantheon would find this a seminal work. I am very glad that I read it!

P.S. I commend reading this article about his departure from LSU. It has some interesting, pointed perspectives including on the brain drain from the state: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/why-robert-mann-quit-lsu.html 

Living in Baton Rouge, Living in the South, and Lent

I cut and pasted this link in the summer of 2017. It was a year after it was written. It was written just after the Alton Sterling shooting. Go read the Wikipedia article, then read the "everythingisfinehere" post. I'll wait.

It’s not getting worse. It’s been there all along.

I spent a lot of years in Connecticut. For many of those years while I lived in Bridgeport, I worked in the suburbs - first Wilton, then Hamden. Both of them are pretty white. My kids went to school where they were in the minority (but not, as in this article, THE minority). I saw some of the issues outlined here. In the North they are often masked by artificial political divisions ... the City/Town line between Bridgeport and Trumbull, for instance.

Now go back and look again at the map. Can you find Florida Boulevard? It is amazing to me how graphically prominent it is. I will also note, that when I drive North/South in the city (or the reverse), I inevitably spend at least a full minute, and often more, waiting to cross Florida Boulevard. There is only one intersection that I regularly use where that does not happen ... it is the T-intersection at River Road and Florida where Florida Boulevard begins. Let me also note that I have driven from that intersection, along Florida Boulevard to Airline Highway without having to stop for a single traffic signal! The road is not only a geographical marker, but an actual physical divide.

Finally let me note. When I first moved to Baton Rouge, I stayed in the same Congressional District as when I lived in New Orleans. It is an amazingly gerrymandered district, drawn to maximize the number of black voters. Look at the map here. I moved south in Baton Rouge, a few miles, and am suddenly in a different district! (Actually, at my old place, it was 0.75 miles to work, and work was in a different district!)

The two most poignant quotes, which resonate most with me, are these:

1. "I had no idea the eye opening experience we had unwittingly signed up for when we agreed to move to Baton Rouge."
2. "I never thought I’d see a city this segregated in my lifetime."

 Part of what I am (finally) beginning to realize is the incredible life of privilege which I have lived.

My challenge to myself this Lenten season is: What am I going to do about that?

Reflections on a flood event

It has been an interesting couple of days. I don't think I have ever been in the middle of a "national natural disaster" before. Yes, there have been the snow storms ... but nothing like this.

One's perspective of the disaster (from inside) is often shaped by where you physically are. Baton Rouge as a city, and East Baton Rouge as a parish, are physically very large...much larger than the communities of the north and northeast with which I am most familiar. The parish is 470 square miles.

Historically, as in much of South Louisiana, the older parts of the city/settlement are on the higher ground. It is true in New Orleans, it is true in Baton Rouge.

We had been getting pretty regular rain for the past couple weeks. Daily showers/thunderstorms with a half-inch of rain or so. Not drenching, most of the time, but sometimes there were some pretty strong, but short, downpours. Thursday night to Friday was different. It was hard, steady rain over an extended period of time. This meant that Friday morning, there was a lot of water around, even in the older parts of the city. There was ponding, and drains that simply could not handle the volume. That happens. But, it kept raining. And raining, and raining.

Just for the record, the weather almanac in the Sunday paper (the only print one I buy) says that we have had 20.76 inches of rain this month (normal is 2.51) and since January 1, we have had 64.95 inches (normal is 38.57).

As the intensity of the storm lessened, the older parts of the city drained. It was not bad near where I live, and in downtown. The further out parts, however were beginning to see the accumulated run off. That is the flooding (as I believe) that we are seeing now.

I drove through some of the more eastern parts of the city today. (For me, that is east of Airline Highway.) There were places that had some water yesterday, that now had a lot of water. The Florida bridge of the water by Sharp Road was not quite flooded over, but a couple miles further the road *was* closed from flooding. I drove through some neighborhoods, trying to get around, and was unsuccessful. What those neighborhoods had in common was age - or lack thereof. Most seemed to be built in the 70s or more recently. They were part of the urban sprawl. Big houses, with big lawns, with spaces between them, and often a median down the street with trees. Yet at the same time, some of the drainage ditches closer in, had barely more water than normal for this time of year.

Those are some random thoughts. I have spent time over the past few days keeping the library's LibGuide on disasters up to date. There have been challenges in finding information on the web sites where you would normally expect to find them (Red Cross shelters, for instance). Some of that will become work to be done after the dust settles (? is that a bad metaphor?).

Bourbon Street: A History – A book review

Bourbon Street: A History, Richard Campanella, Louisiana State University Press, 2014

I don’t usually do book reviews, but I felt compelled to talk about this one.

I love New Orleans. I lived there for four years, and that has certainly helped both develop my affection for the city and its people, but has also informed my ideas and opinions about the city. Prior to living there, I had visited the city about 8 – 10 times, always for a conference/convention. The areas I visited then were the French Quarter (including Bourbon Street), the CBD/Warehouse District and the Convention Center. Living there, and visiting since, I have seen much of the rest of the city which is different than the Quarter and has its own charms.

In the Preface, Richard Campanella notes: “And yet Bourbon Street has been almost completely ignored by scholars. Not a single book has been written about its history, much less an in-depth scholarly investigation.” This book fills that gap. The book is divided into three parts: Origins, Fame and Infamy, and Bourbon Street as a Social Artifact.

“Origins” sets the stage both in talking about the larger history, and some of the geography of the area. “Fame and Infamy” has a period-by-period history divided into six eras. The last part includes more interesting analyses. The book includes reproductions of maps and photographs, some from very early periods.

Part of the analysis of history and data that he does goes well beyond what I consider “geography” – a concept probably limited by my elementary school classes on the topic. Some of the modern data is based on research and data collected by the author: musical genre performed, volume of pedestrian traffic, numbers of men and women standing on balconies, origins of Bourbon Street pedestrians, and local versus out-of-state ownership of property

It is a fascinating history and discourse about the most famous part of New Orleans. It is a weaving together of tales told by history, and by data, along with anecdotes from the participants.

I had a chance to hear the author speak at the Louisiana Book Festival last weekend, and he was as engaging as his book.

Mardi Gras - some reflections

Today is Lundi Gras. Those who know a little French, recognize that as being "Fat Monday," after all, "Mardi Gras" is French for "Fat Tuesday." It is the sixth Mardi Gras since I moved to Louisiana, and I thought I would share some reflections.

First of all, in South Louisiana, Mardi Gras is not just one day. It is a SEASON. The season begins on January 6, the Roman Catholic Church's Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day. For purists here, that is traditionally the first day on which you can eat King Cake.

For the record, I love King Cake. It seems like each bakery takes great pride in the quality of its King Cake, and everyone seems to have some special touch. The very simple description is that it is a twisted, filled sweet roll/bread, usually with at least a cinnamon filling, if not some other flavor, which is in the shape of an oval, and is frosted and sprinkled generously with colored sugar. (More on colors in a moment.) Today, many come filled with cream cheese, fruit (strawberry), or even candy mixtures (praline). They can be so sweet as to make your teeth ache.

Celebration of Mardi Gras started with the arrival of the French in Mobile. [Mobile was actually the first capital of Louisiana, a fact often lost in the quick trip that many of us make through the history of the US outside of our home areas.]

The traditional colors of the New Orleans Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. All three colors were used by the Catholic Church throughout history and thus continued to be used in relation to Mardi Gras which was Catholic in origin. The traditional meanings assigned to the colors are:
         Justice (purple)
         Power (gold)
         Faith (green).

From early January on, South Louisiana is decked out in these three colors.

Then there are the parades. Ah, yes, the parades. While New Orleans is most famous for them, there are parades throughout the region. Some have floats which are very family friendly, some have floats which are bawdy, and some floats are downright raunchy. In New Orleans, none of the motorized parades go through the Quarter any more, and there is a complicated scheduling algorithm and set of routes for most of the parades.

Like for so many holidays, people here seem to fall into one of two camps: Love it (want more of it) and Hate it. Once in a while you find folks who are neutral, but not so often.

Those who live here and love it, point to the family events and activities. Parades are often an opportunity for families to gather. Many of the parades (day and night) are visually stimulating. They can even be very educational in talking about the classic, mythical creatures who are either portrayed or used as the theme for the Krewes which put the parades on. Parades outside of New Orleans are often daylight parades, and are really family events. Unlike (well, my experience of them) "Northern" parades, parades here are all about the "throws." "Throw me something, mister!" is a cry heard all along the parade route. Most parades have beads (classic, you can buy them in the French Quarter year around), some simple and in the basic Mardi Gras colors, and others with added decorations, often reflecting the theme of the Krewe or float. For example, the parade Muses (in New Orleans) usually includes throws with ladies high-heeled shoes. One year we caught a bracelet from that parade which was just plastic shoes. There are many, many traditions, and many people love Mardi Gras and all its traditions.

For those who hate it, there seem to be as many reasons as there are people. Let's go backwards from the "love it" list above. Many "natives" resent those "from away" who have come in and adopted the Mardi Gras celebrations, often without any understanding, or appreciation of the traditions. This year, I observed a set of heated conversations about who should be allowed to carry a "flambeaux" (the lighted torches used to illuminate the night parades). I am not sure that I understand all the subtleties of the debate, but the carriers are traditionally masked, and, at one time, were limited to male slaves (and this was the only way that they could see the parades). I live near where the Baton Rouge parades travel. I can tell you, for all those beads, there is a huge amount of trash generated, and left on the ground for "someone" to pick up. Last Saturday, as I was heading out, some of the floats were headed in along a street over a mile from the assembly point. I saw floats departing as I returned home. One of the things I noted was the huge number of clear plastic bags blowing around, along the street which was over a mile away from any parade activity. It was even worse when, late that afternoon, when I drove down one of the streets of the parade route! What a mess of plastic bags, beads, plastic cups, and assorted trash. Finally, while many of the parades are suitable for families, there are many parades, or even floats within other parades, which are bawdy at best and borderline obscene at worst. I have seen some things which I would not want to have to explain to a young child!

Where do I fall? In between. I can appreciate the visual appeal. Night parades can be dramatic. I appreciate the camaraderie which develops for a krewe, including the year around work, fund raising and social events. It is definitely fun for kids -- at appropriate parades, and many are just fine. It is an important part of the culture of South Louisiana, and this would be a very different place without it. Oh, and I love King Cake!

What I am not so fond of is the madding crowd and often bad behavior which accompanies the parades. Much of this is the result of those "from away" who come here to party, forgetting that there are those of us who live here. There is a fair amount of disruption of the routines of daily living. These range from having to recalculate travel times and routes, to the unannounced road closures.

It is a season. It has a beginning, and, thank goodness, an end.

Happy Mardi Gras.

Runners and Readers

I had an interesting experience Sunday.

It was the Baton Rouge (Louisiana?) Marathon this weekend. I was asked to staff a table on Sunday morning. It was set up in the Welcome Center, right near where the runners picked up their checked gear after the race.

I shared space with two other folks from the Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism (the parent agency for the State Library of Louisiana). The other folks were from State Parks and from Retire Louisiana/Audubon Golf Trail. I was there promoting the Louisiana Book Festival (LBF). [The 11th Book Festival will be on November 1, 2014. The date has been set, the web site has wrap up information from the 10th Festival.]

I was the middle agency of the three. As we handed out information for each of our "projects" I was fascinated to see that most of the runners (and their families/friends) were not golfers and had very little interest in the golf information. However, a good number of them were interested in the Book Festival, and a significant proportion of them had at least heard of the LBF if not having attended it in the past.

There seems to be a larger overlap between runners and readers. Who knew? It occurs to me that this could be another segment to whom to promote libraries and reading.

Angola Prison

This past fall, I went to the Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka Angola). The bad news is that it is the largest prison in Louisiana, and a high security facility. The good news is that I was only there for the day.

I was there for the 48th Annual Angola Prison Rodeo.They have a web site which features tickets for the spring event.

First of all, getting in....there was a line of cars from US-61 which wound down the 20 or miles or so into what seemed like wilderness in the direction of the River. Then I had to go through the checkpoint. They gave us a list of what we were allowed to bring with us onto the rodeo grounds. Included in the "no" list were cameras as well as even cell phones and knives. There was a checkpoint at the pedestrian gate, and folks who had bags (like purses) had those searched.

I bought the program, and started by looking at the crafts. Part of the "rodeo event" is the arts and crafts market which accompanies it, and surrounds the rodeo arena. The craft sales are one of the ways that inmates can earn money. It is a massive exhibit, and includes many interesting items. (But no photos, no cameras or even cell phones allowed inside -- see above.)

The program has some interesting tidbits. The prison:

• is one of only three accredited by the American Correctional Association (ACA)
• is the largest in Louisiana -- 5,149
• is on 18,000 acres 
• grows enough fresh produce to feed 11,000 inmates in five prisons year around
• has the only FCC licensed, prisoner run radio station (KLSP 97.1 FM)
• is the only prison with its own zip code (70712)
• has the highest percentage of its inmates serving life sentences (75%); 1.6% are under the death sentence
• has been the setting for many movies (but not Cool Hand Luke).

The rodeo part is a combination of events from a professional rodeo circuit, entertainment, and events with inmates. For me, it was the first time I had ever sat through a "full" rodeo or even seen all of any one rodeo event. The entertainment is, well, just that. Most of the entertainment is built around horses and rodeo type events. The most interesting part are the events with the inmates. The web site describes the events. Words cannot do justice to these events. For instance Convict Poker. Four inmate cowboys sit at a table in the middle of the arena at a poker table.  Suddenly, a wild bull is released with the sole purpose of unseating the poker players.  The last man remaining seated is the winner. It takes a lot more than I have to sit there knowing that a a wild bull is about to be released. When the bull is released, the inmates stay seated, sometimes even as the bull -- encouraged by the rodeo riders and rodeo clowns -- heads straight at them.

If you ever have a chance, it is worth a visit.

For me, the added interest involves my job. One of the things that reference staff (small "r" since it is both Reference Staff and Louisiana Section Staff) answer questions mailed to us by inmates. Many, many of these letters come from Angola -- the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Food - and misc thoughts

Several times recently, in Baton Rouge in particular, I have ordered "macaroni and cheese" as a side dish. In each case I have been surprised to get what I would call "spaghetti and cheese." To my literal, Eastern US mind, that is a different dish. [Actually, sometimes it was a mixture of spaghetti and linguine.]

A number of months ago, we were at our favorite barbecue joint in New Orleans, Squeal (on Oak Street). It is walking distance from home, go there! We asked why they did not have M+C on the menu. The owner/co-owner said that they had not been able to develop a dish which would stand up to waiting and being served with the right consistency. [As a home consumer, mostly immediately, I had not thought about the heat-table issues.] By the way, the menu at Squeal rocks...and they sometimes have "bacon vodka." The latter is a real treat!

I got to thinking about the meaning of the word "macaroni." For me, macaroni refers to a hollow shape of extruded pasta which has a hollow interior. For the most part, it is "elbow macaroni" (i.e. with a slight bend) and could be extended to ziti, rigatoni, and other hollow shapes. Interestingly, Wikipedia seems to agree.

I have heard Italian-Americans in the northeast use the term "macaroni" to refer to all pasta as macaroni, but that has been rare. Now, I have made pasta (linguine, spaghetti, spaghettini, etc.) but all of those are noodles, not extruded.

It has been an interesting change. BTW, Italians have been in the New Orleans area almost as long as they have been in the Northeastern US.

Spring has sprung

At least in Southern Louisiana, spring is here.

Temperatures are now getting close to 70 every day. We "Northerners" have turned off the heat -- a sure sign of spring.

I have also noticed on my drive to and from work, that the trees are beginning to "leaf out." There are some trees with "redbuds" on them, and this morning, in particular, I noticed many trees with green leaves starting to show.

We have not had to go through the idiotic practice of changing clocks (I'll suppress that rant for now), but in this part of the world, it is spring and I am glad!

"The Commute"

I've been thinking about this for a bit, and wanted to share some commuting reflections as well as comments about what I get to see every day on my way to work.

My current commute (each way) is longer than all of my prior commutes combined. One way it is double what my two longest commutes were. I drive almost exactly 80 miles each way. That's 160 miles a day, or 800 miles a week. I've been tracking my mileage (and MPG). In 2009, I drove over 35,000 miles with an average MPG of just about 28.

People wonder how I can do it. Well, I can tell you that part of the reason this commute is not such a killer is that it is predictable. It is about the same time each day, with predictable trouble spots, and it predictably longer (in time) going home than coming in. For 9 years I drove a route where I never knew how long it would take. Some days it was 30 minutes (for the 20 mile drive). Other days it was an hour or more. There was lots of traffic, and an accident on one roadway would result in tie-ups on the others. It was not predictable, and it was tough.

So, reflections on this commute include: the sun, the route, scenery, roadside "events," highlights.

In this winter season, I get to see the sunrise in my rear view mirror, and I get to see the sunset in that same mirror. Some of them are pretty spectacular. What I have noticed recently is that frequently even the clouds in the opposite direction can be as beautiful and colorful as the ones around the sun. Tuesday (1/12) was a perfect example. The low, scattered clouds in the east took on the pinks and purples of the setting sun, and created a great view as I trekked home. Eventually, I will get to do the drive in full sunlight, and I do look forward to that.

Each morning, I head out on Carrollton Ave, along side the streetcar line. I go past the end/beginning of the line the mile and a half to I-10, passing the Archdiocese of New Orleans Seminary, and a cluster of stores and restaurants between Earhart and the Interstate. The trip on the Interstate is what folks see coming into town from the airport. Cemeteries, the malls, etc. line the road. Just after the airport exit, the highway passes the end of the runway. It is not unusual to see planes taking off or landing immediately overhead. (It is kind of cool, if somewhat close.)

Then, after the rest of Kenner, it is across swampland to the lake. In the area of the interchange with I-310 are a bunch of trees (lakeside) where there are often a large number of egrets roosting for the night. They sit on the branches with their heads tucked under the wings. Big white spots on the trees. Just past, on the other side, are some cypress trees, and in the top of one of them is a large nest. Last summer I would have sworn I saw a bald eagle nesting there.

Then it is on the to the end of Lake Pontchartrain and the Bonnet Carré Spillway. The lake is fairly shallow, and with winds from the East or Northeast, there can be waves which seem to raise the water level. However, with no wind, or winds from West/Southwest and a low tide, the lake can seem rather low. (However that is a difference of only about 2 feet...not really tidal in my mind.) The bridge from the St. Charles Parish border to the I-55 interchange is about 12 miles. (If you go north on I-55, there is another 20+ continuous miles of bridges.) On I-10, you hit solid ground for the weigh station (usually open) and two exits for Laplace. Then it is another 4 - 5 miles of bridge across swamp to solid ground.

The next stretch is where I see more cars along side the road. From the end of the bridge to US-61 is about 15 miles of nothing but swamp. There are some areas which are "DMAP Posted No Trespassing." There are only one or two exits, and no visible buildings. At night (going home in winter) it can seem desolate. There is more swamp after US-61 before hitting the edges of the Baton Rouge metro area. Exit 177 has a large outlet mall and a very large Cabela's store.

It is usually somewhere after there that I hit traffic going in, and lose it going home. There is construction going on from Exit 166 past Exit 160 to the I-12 interchange. I just hope it is a widening of the road, because it seems like a choke point. After I-12 merges in, what you see is malls and urban area. The last stretch, I-110 to the exit, can be tense with folks merging in from I-10 on the left and then a series of three left exits. But by then I am home free -- or standing in traffic on my way home.

Once (just before Christmas), I did see a couple of deer standing along side the road. However, I have not seen a dead deer (road kill) in the more than a year. There is the occasional racoon or nutria. More often than not, the northern equivalent of "roadkill" is the dead vehicle. Sometimes the vehicle is there for a day and gone, and at other times it seems like a week or more.

At this time of year, there are not only the "road kill vehicles" but, further off the road, closer to the "swamp/forest" are the big pick-up trucks. These are clearly hunters. A couple of times I have seen them pulling on waders, and/or getting ready for hunting. There are also sometimes fishermen (sometimes with boats and trailers). There is no fence between the highway and the natural area...gives lots of access!

Anyway...that is my daily commute.

More Seasonal/Weather reflections

I re-reading my last post, I realized that I had forgotten to mention another observation which is more related to the local weather conditions. This summer was a "dry" summer -- by local standards. Areas which were normally swampy/marshy were drying up.

Over the past few weeks it has rained a great deal. (To me if "feels" like the winter rainy season I remembered from my years in the desert of Tucson.) On Wednesday (that wonderfully warm and sunny day), there was a great deal of water in places that had been dry. There was water in the median (in the grassy areas, as well as on the bridges). It had turned into a wet world again.

The water went down over the course of the week. But last night it rained heavily at times, and pretty steadily over the course of the night. I expect to see that water again on Monday, since the weather forecasts are for more rain this weekend. (And yes, I much prefer rain to snow! Current temp [Sat, 8:30 am local time] 46....forecast, rain.)

Next Transition -- Deja Vu

Today begins my next transition at work.

I started working at the State Library of Louisiana (SLOL) on December 1. I was hired to be a Library Consultant, and to be the State Data Coordinator (SDC). As the SDC, I got thrown right in to gathering the data for FY 2008 (in Louisiana, that is the same as the calendar year). It was fun! I had the opportunity to deal with every public library in Louisiana. The state data report has now been published.

A little more than a week ago, I was asked to take on some more responsibilities. The SLOL, like many state agencies in Louisiana [and across the country], had some budget challenges in the "new" fiscal year (for state government that is July 1 - June 30), and some positions were not funded and others lost.

One of those was the head of the Reference Department. I was asked to take on those responsibilities, in addition to my current ones of SDC and doing special projects like the Library Support Staff Certification Program (LSSCP) for which SLOL is one of the pilot sites.

So, I am back to middle management. Since July 2008, I have not been a supervisor. A part of me really likes that. In a way I am back to the same kind of position that I was in beginning in October 1982, when I became Librarian III at the then Tucson Public Library. I continued as a "middle manager" through my first stint at Bridgeport Public Library (April 1983 - April 1985). After that I was "the boss" until July 2008. (That is a quarter century for those counting.)

I have not worked a public service desk since I left Wilton in December 1994. I have a lot to learn -- again. I have some new staff to work with. And, we have a chance to fill a vacancy soon, so I get to start with someone new, too.

Life is full of changes. You never know what is next. [I also believe in "Never say 'Never!'"]

Leadership and Candor

I picked up on a tweet from Amy Harmon who said: "We can handle the truth even if its bad. ... What our profession needs: a culture of candor." It had a link to this article from the Harvard Business Review.

There is a section towards the end which jumped out at me:

Leaders are far likelier to make mistakes when they act on too little information than when they wait to learn more. But Blake and Mouton went deeper, demonstrating that the pilots’ habitual style of interacting with their crews determined whether crew members would provide them with essential information during an in-air crisis. The pilots who’d made the right choices routinely had open exchanges with their crew members. The study also showed that crew members who had regularly worked with the “decisive” pilots were unwilling to intervene—even when they had information that might save the plane.

Wow...that is huge. I am pleased that I can say that my "boss," the State Librarian, here has been candid about the legislative issues related to funding for libraries in Louisiana. When I was a boss, I tried to act that way. I am now being reminded that it is easier to work for someone who acts that way, even when the news is bad.

Fortunately for libraries in Louisiana, while there have been some funding reductions, the State Library is not laying off any staff, and the other cuts are much less drastic than they are in many states (Ohio, California, and Connecticut come to my mind.)

Links and miscellany

Most recently, I have been collecting interesting links from both Twitter and my Bloglines account. I have gotten into the habit of just leaving the link open in a tab in my browser. Well, it is time to clean up again. Some of the titles are self-evident, but I have added comments to some of them.

And now in categories!

Broadband:

Bringing Broadband to Rural America (the official FCC report)

Broadband Nation. A new blog about broadband issues.

Bringing in Broadband. The issues in one Florida county.

Mapping Broadband. This person/organization may well not be a friend for libraries.

Lobbying the FCC for access and no caps.

New technology and Web 2.0

Paper Highlights Pros and Cons of Twittering at Academic Conferences

"librarians express affection through information"

Resolving the 80/20 dilemma "End users are spending less time on gathering the information they need – but their search failure rate is going up." A great article of importance to all librarians, but this one is focused on special/corporate libraries.

Technological accommodation of conflicts between freedom of expression and DRM: the first empirical assessment This links to a much longer PDF file on the Cambridge University web site

Search is too important to leave to one company – even Google Cory Doctorow in the Guardian

Study: Unselfish Individuals Benefit in Social Networks

9 simple suggestions for using social media

Twitter in the workplace. This is a presentation for government leaders on the use of Twitter.

Intellectual Property issues (IP)

IP rights and the Blind The US, Canada, and the EU try to limit the rights of blind people to use technology to receive written material -- Cory Doctorow on Boing Boing

IP: File sharing and Copyright. I have not read the full article (a link to the PDF is here), but the summary presents the intellectual property issues in file sharing in a new light. (Hmmm, maybe a full post is coming.)

Publishers are trying to avoid the Music industry's mistakes.

ALA

All Dressed Up with Nowhere to Go: A Survey of ALA Emerging Leaders

General Library stuff:

Mommy haven takes a hit in down economy

How to love your library

The 'M' word always has good stuff about library marketing. Nancy Dowd does a good job, this one is on the future of the media we will need to deal with. {Memo to grammar caucus fans...I did that on purpose.}

Darien Library's new brand image was picked up from John Blyberg. Check out the other clients here.

Job seekers at the library. While this is not new, there are some interesting statistics at the end. I also have to comment that when I first looked at this site, I thought I was at NOLA.com which is the site for the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Freemium A new way of thinking about library services and charging for them.

The Big Picture

Google takes on Amazon from the New York Times...and it is only for e-books.

Communicating a message. An interesting re-post from Stephen Abram on the differences that the wording of a message can make.

Personal

Free Range Librarian on where she is in her life and in her blogging life. It is actually a little similar to where I am.

Hot flashes -- a new perspective I found this one absolutely fascinating.

Want. Need I say more?

The rise and fall of LSU. I am not completely sure of the author's credentials, but it certainly is an interesting perspective on the positioning of state universities within the state power structure.

DMV - Fail - Update

Just a final note, the third time was the charm, and now both cars have not only Louisiana plates, but "brake tags."

DMV - Fail

I had such high hopes.

When you live a while in a place, your interactions with the DMV become infrequent. You only have to show up in person to renew your license (as long as you have the car dealer do the registration on new or leased cars). So I had not had any memorable experiences in Connecticut with the DMV.

My experiences in Wisconsin were fine. At least in Eau Claire, they have a system where you walk up to a machine, and push a button for a number, depending on the type of transaction. Then you sit and wait for your number. No big deal. I may have waited as long as 20 minutes on one occasion.

My experiences in Louisiana started out, well, okay. First of all, you get in a very long line, and then when you get to the head of the line, you get a number depending on the type of transaction. That part took me the better part of an hour, but from then on, it moved very quickly and efficiently. I registered my car and got my license in one trip. Not bad. Maybe I was lucky because in Wisconsin, even if you finance your car, you get the title.

Well, it gets worse. My partner has a leased car which she leased before leaving Minnesota. It took a total of seven trips to the DMV, plus a trip to the car dealer, multiple faxes and phone calls to the car company over the course of 3 months to get her car registered. It seems like Louisiana makes it hard to register a leased car, and to move it from another state. The first time they gave a list of documents. Well, based on using the standard English meaning of the word "or" we thought we had the documents after the visit to the car dealer and the first fax to the car company. But, no, we did not. Another fax to the car company, and more documents sent to us, and we tried again. [Remember, each time, there is the wait in the long line for the number only to be told we are missing documents!] We try a different DMV office, located in our parish, but on the other side of the river. Finding it was an adventure in itself, but....even though it is an official office, they don't do out-of-state transfers or drivers licences! Back to the other DMV office. We get in line again. They say, "You have to have the original title." (This is even though the document they had previously given us said "or a certified copy.") But we say, they won't give us the original. They say, have them send it. We call. We can't ask to have it sent, the DMV has to ask. Another trip. We get them to ask. How will we know it is there? They say to call the toll-free number and ask to be transferred to that office. Off we go. A few days later, we call the toll-free number. "Oh, we can't transfer you. You have to go there in person." Another wait in line, and....they don't have it!

On the final trip, it works! Car registered, plates given, drivers license in hand.

But wait. Then there is the matter of brake tags.

I never would have known if someone had not casually mentioned them. This seems like the biggest boondoggle of all. Each parish has its own rules, some require emissions, some do not. (Thank goodness, Orleans Parish does not.) I visit a local service station which advertises "Brake Tags" and pull up. It costs $20. For this amount they:

1. Examine registration and insurance card
2. Check the head lights, tail lights, turn signals
3. Check the windshield for cracks
4. Check the windshield wipers
   
5. Check the horn

That's it. It is less of a check than what you would have had done in Massachusetts in the 1960s!

Well, my car was done. Having gotten the plates for the other car, we went on Saturday afternoon to get brake tags. Sorry, only do those between 8 am and noon on Saturday (that would be a day when people who work could actually get there). But, they will be doing it on Monday, Memorial Day from 8 am until 4 pm. Monday we pull up at about 9 am. We think all is fine. But wait, it is raining, and they don't do it in the rain or when the pavement is wet. [WTF???] Talk about a scam.

I will say I am puzzled about the brake checks. They are supposed to be done every year. If that is true, why do I follow so many cars which have at least one non-working tail light and/or turn signal (and, no, it is not that they don't use them -- which many don't)? Why do I see so many cars that pass me or that I pass which have cracks all the way across the windshield, and many of them have many cracks?

Definitely counts as, the current terminology on the web goes: FAIL!

Food and Language

It has been a bit, and I have posts perking. The next of which will explain the lacunae.

I bought my lunch today at a downtown Baton Rouge sandwich shop. The menu got me to thinking. I got the "Tuna Salad Po' Boy" (only because I had not noticed that they have a pastrami one!).

What is a "po' boy"? The Wikipedia entry says:

A po' boy (also po-boy, po boy, or poor boy) is a traditional submarine sandwich from Louisiana. It almost always consists of meat or seafood, usually fried, served on baguette-like Louisiana French bread.

It goes on to talk about bread, etc.

It seems to me that while in a large number of restaurants, the definition above is correct, it does not seem to be universally true in Louisiana today. My sandwich was on the same type of bread as a sandwich from Subway, or Quiznos, or any number of "mom and pop" sandwich shops. And while I would count tuna salad as meat, and certainly pastrami, neither of those is fried.

I have seen "Italian po' boys" offered which are little different than what I grew up with being called a "grinder." In the New York area, it would have been called a "Hero" (different from a Gyro which is pronounced the same). It is also the same as a "Sub" (and that is the origin of the Subway chain, founded in my former home-town of Bridgeport CT). Indeed, Wikipedia bears this out.

[I guess if I were really inspired, I'd segue into the milkshake/frappe/cabinet discussion...but I need to run.]

Spring is sprung and other reflections

It is spring -- at least in southern Louisiana. I have now been driving I-10 from New Orleans to Baton Rouge daily since December 1. It is about the same distance as from Eau Claire [WI] to the Twin Cities. I have noted some significant differences, besides the volume of traffic.

The first part of the trip after leaving the New Orleans metro area is across a swampy area, the Bonnet Carre Spillway, and more swamps. It is over 25 miles of bridges in the first 35 miles of the trip. After that, there is not much "built environment" until you get to the outskirts of Baton Rouge. I first drove the route right after Hurricane Gustav, and noticed that not only were there trees downed, but there were not many leaves on the trees. While my next several trips along the route were space out (early October, late November), the leaves never came back. Of course, it was soon "winter" in Louisiana.

About a month ago, I began to notice that there were "red buds" on some trees, and that others were getting green-ish at the tips. Well, in the month since then, the trees (many stripped bare at the end of August) have fully leafed out. It is a much prettier drive.

Here, we had a dry winter. However, after a couple of days of thunderstorms, I will note that it does not take long for the water to come back -- or it may just be a case of not draining quickly. Many places that were swampy last fall had dried up over the winter. But this morning I particularly noticed how high the water was in Lake Pontchartrain, and that not only the swampy areas along side the road, but the medians had filled with water.

One big difference is what you see along the shoulders. Last winter/spring, I counted over twenty dead deer, and many other dead animals on a trip from Eau Claire to the Cities. Here, while there is the occasional small, unidentified road kill, I have only seen one dead deer -- and that was gone in 24 hours, unlike the upper Midwest. What there is instead, are vehicles. There were a dozen or so (not counting the accident which had just occurred) along the side of the road as I drove this morning. Some of them have been there for several days to a week. I am not sure what it means.

Over the weekend I will be adding some recent Baton Rouge photos to my Flickr account (and will come back and insert a link). The flowers are out, and when it is not raining, it is very nice to walk around the Capitol grounds. There are many trees, flowering shrubs, and even flowers. With the day-time temperatures getting into the low 80s, it is very nice -- especially when the humidity is low. We will see what the summer means!

State of the State Library (Louisiana)

Rebecca Hamilton started in spite of some time spent trying to overcome technical difficulties.

The State Library budget is $12.6 million, $20,000 self generated, $2.9 million in federal funding. The largest expense is personnel. Next largest is “inter-agency transfers” which includes all of the building expenses. Other library operation expenses include printing and postage. Another large category is the book festival at $250,000; Inter-Library Loan costs $210,000; databases are about $1 million,( Rebecca regularly reminds legislators that if libraries were billed individually for the same databases, the total cost would be $10 million). Other items are filtering software, and an automated system for the Library for the Blind and Physical Handicapped. State aid is $3 million. If Louisiana gave publid libraries the national average (per capita) then state aid would be $7.5 million. Books and materials for the State Library is budgeted at about $360,000.

In January there were mid-year budget cuts. The state went from expecting a surplus to having a deficit. Agencies gave back about 7%. Cuts included not filling seven vacant positions, and reductions in items which had not been spent, or could be delivered in other ways such as using email instead of mailing items including the newsletter Communique.

For the next budget year, the budget will most likely be reduced further. The Library was asked for an additional 33%. It was tough because the State Library restructured significantly after “the storms” (Katrina and Rita). The Library figured out, at that time, a new way to do business. Some positions were eliminated, and departments were combined. Job descriptions were re-written and positions were re-classified. The new governor believes in transparency, streamlined government, but the new governor does not know that the Library has already done that. New budget from the Governor was presented yesterday.

Yesterday the Commissioner’s office asked for the seven positions to be permanently eliminated. That was not acceptable. Library leadership is going back to look at the organization chart to see what can be done. The Lieutenant Governor is willing to help in the fight to save the positions.

Rebecca’s view is that people have different views about what is the best for the state. Of course, Rebecca believes that her position is right, and she will fight as strong as she can for the positions.

State Library will continue to communicate to librarians in the field

What are the benefits that the State Library delivers to libraries? They are

Databases $1,109,674

ILL $210,000

Delivery services $220,000

Internet $500,000

State Aid $3,000,000

Library for the Blind and

Physically Handicapped $857,750

Workshops & Children’s

services $120,000

TOTAL = $6,017,424

Federal funding from IMLS is used to support the statewide initiatives. The state dollars are tied to the federal funding. Therefore, reducing state funding has a large impact because of the loss of federal dollars.

At the worst, right after Hurricane Katrina, 121 of the 339 public libraries in the state were closed. Now 321 of 338 library buildings are open, thanks to the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Solinet, plus $70,000 in individual contributions. There was an additional $2.4 million from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. Altogether over $9 million was donated.

From storms, and after 48 days on the job, it is critical to have a plan. But there was no plan for loss of power at the State Library.

Created a plan, and learned with Gustav and Ike that the plan worked. The State Library started to implement the plan 4 days before landfall. They had gathered contact info, not just the library director, but other key staff and even parish staff who are involved with buildings and building maintenance. So after Gustav, opened the State Library with a generator and a fan to provide Internet access.

The State Library back up server used to be in Vermillion, and it now has been moved to Monroe (away from the coast). Core services were backed up. Data was stored in multiple, secure locations.

Some of the successful services and programs that the State Library provides were listed next.

The summer reading program had 83,000 participants. All statistics are now rising. Louisiana has joined the national programming cooperative. The children’s theme is Be Creative; for the teen program it is Express yourself; and there is even an adult program with the theme Master the Art of Reading.The Book Festival has grown from 5,000 to 21,000. The Louisiana Gumbo project is complete with 23,000 photos 1,600 WPA documents and many art works. Anew ILL system has been implemented and all library systems have been trained. The first state-wide library staff day was help in January with almost 150 attendees. An IMLS grant for providing leadership training to the next generation of Louisiana library leadership has been submitted. Fighting the Fires of Hate: America a the Nazi Book Burnings, a national exhibit will be hosted. Libraries received early literacy workstations, and the State Library has received a national Leadership Training Grant.

By a stroke of luck, Louisiana will be participating as a pilot site in the ALA-APA Library Support Staff Certification Program. This is a national program funded by IMLS and ALA which will help standardize expectations for support staff and master job competencies.

Louisiana will be providing content for one of the competencies. The pilot will run March-November 2009, and the full program will launch January 2, 2010.

The PowerPoint presentation (with pie charts and graphs) is on this page under presentations or directly linked here.

Louisiana Library Association Conference 2009

Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I have been at the Louisiana Library Association Conference in Baton Rouge. My original plan was to blog this as I have other state conferences in the past. Thursday and Friday I took copious notes, created and edited Word documents, and saved them to my work laptop. I saved notes from my last Friday session and headed to the awards.

There was no wi-fi in the conference part of the hotel (I am near registration and at the State Library booth now).I saw a guy using a laptop and asked if he had access. He said yes, I opened my laptop and got "the blue screen of death." So....it goes to the IT department on Monday, and I'll post this morning's session in a moment. For the next two hours I am at the State Library booth.