UNT/CSUN Information Meeting At Pasadena Library

You might recall Jared gave a recap of his experience attending a information session about the University of North Texas conducting a School of Library and Information Science program on the campus of California State University, Northridge. Dr. Philip Turner will give the presentation.


This is a distance learning program. Most of the classes and communication will be conducted via the Internet. The classroom meetings and exams will take place on the campus of CSUN. This program is restricted to Los Angeles/Southern California area students who can attended the CSUN class sessions. You can view the program flyer for more details.

This is a reminder for those of you considering an online library school program that they will be a information meeting March 9, 2009 at Pasadena Central Library, Pasadena, CA at 3 p.m. The address is:

Pasadena Central Library
285 E. Walnut Street
Pasadena, CA

There will be also be an information meeting the same day Buena Vista Library in Burbank, CA. The starting time for the Burbank information meeting is 7 p.m.

Buena Vista Library
300 N. Buena Vista
Burbank, CA

For more information about the Los Angeles area specific distance learning program you can visit the University of North Texas information page. You can also visit the main library school program site.

The Carlyle Letters - Victorian Reference Sources

There is something to be said about obtaining history from primary sources. If you are interested in the Victorian era, life during the time of the potato famine or how people communicated without cell phones, Internet or even telegraph then you should visit The Carlyle Letters Online from Duke University Press.


You will have the opportunity to meet Thomas and Jane Carlyle and be introduced to some of their family, friends and life in the 19th century. There are over 10,000 letters written to and from the leading lights of the day such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Ralph Waldo Emerson and many more.

You will also get a sense of gender relations, travel, the importance of the Victorian class system and an overview of the society at that time.

Insight on the Potato Famine

One of the letters I read talked about the Irish population and the Potato Famine. The disease that infected potato cultivation did not just affect the Irish community. Most of the United Kingdom was impacted. As the potato crop died other crops became more valuable and fortunes were lost and made because of the famine.

I learned that there was a proposal to provide job infrastructure projects to help the Irish population sustain itself. The project was discourage and defeated by the merchants and landlords. The business class felt that such assistance would be a violation of free trade. It gives me an opportunity to compare that sentiment with discussions we in the 21st century are having about health care and governmental involvement.

Easy To Navigate and Find Information

It is easy to find letters on a certain topic. You can search by date, by the recipient of the letter or by subject. For example, when I selected London Library, I was provided a list of letters that talked of Thomas Carlyle's concern about who should be the next Librarian.

The letters are all connected via links so that you can follow the flow of the "conversations" or jump to a specific writer and follow his/her contributions. There are subject notes and footnotes to help explain changes in meaning or obscure words.

This is an excellent resource to add to your research and information gathering kit.

John Blanchard, Jr. Memorial Scholarship For Potential Librarian-Teachers

The California School Library Association has a scholarship opportunity for a library technician.

From the CSLA website:

This $1,000.00 scholarship is to assist a school library paraprofessional in obtaining the preparation needed to quality and serve as a school library media teacher. Mook and Blanchard, in collaboration with CSLA, have established the John Blanchard, Jr. Memorial Scholarship. John, an avid reader, believed that self-discovery comes from reading books by favorite authors about special interests. He passionately promoted building collections of reading materials in school libraries so that students could discover themselves through the pleasure of reading.

The deadline for applying is April 30, 2008. You can download an application or you can contact Marlin More, Chair of the Blanchard Scholarship Committee.