On the DEWLine 2.0: Dwight Williams

About Library Branches in Orléans

2026-01-06T21:48:19Z

This went live today:

https://theneworleans.ca/2026/01/06/orleans-needs-more-public-libraries/

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Trumpomuskovia: Reminded of Gordon R. Dickson's Warning Now...

2025-03-21T14:29:46Z

...for the Trumpomuskovians have come for the Haskell Free Library and Opera House.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/us-border-canada-quebec-stanstead-library-1.7489528

As for Mr. Dickson's warning:

“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage among his books. For to you kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned with the flick of a finger.”

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Cluttercore

2022-05-09T01:48:21Z

I feel respected.

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210430-cluttercore-the-joy-of-a-maximalist-home

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Libraries: Ādisōke

2021-08-05T15:56:35Z

The building to come, meant to host both the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library and the geneology resources of Library and Archives Canada in years to come, now has a name: Ādisōke.

Details in this Twitter thread:

https://twitter.com/opl_bpo/status/1423307279139549189

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Books: A Poll Result and a New List

2021-06-04T02:27:47Z

You remember this poll?

Decided to go with an option unpicked to date by anyone: Stumptown Vol. 4: The Case of the Cup of Joe. Greg Rucka wrote it, he helped me out with some research on something I co-wrote a little over twenty years ago, and a lot of his stuff's entertained me over the decades since then. So he gets a little more of what I can spare, effective today. I pick the book up on Saturday.

Other titles I'm either reading, re-reading or trying to make time for right now, whether by my own finances or with the public library's help:

Glimpses of Cumberland Township - For the Honour of Our Ancestors - Cumberland Township Historical Society
The Red Atlas: How the Soviet Union Secretly Mapped the World by John Davies and Alexander J. Kent
Star Trek: Discovery - Wonderlands by altariel
Obscure Ottawa by Ray Corrin
Earth by David Brin
Chasing the Flame: One Man's Fight to Save the World by Samantha Power (Yes, she's a Biden appointee nowadays.)
Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen
Draplin Design Co. - Pretty Much Everything by Aaron James Draplin
This Day in Vancouver by Jesse Donaldson
How to Lie With Maps by Mark Monmonier
On Property by Rinaldo Walcott
The Library Book: An Overdue History of the Ottawa Public Library by Phil Jenkins
Trumpocalypse by David Frum
Tangled Up in Blue by Rosa Brooks
Cartographic Grounds - Projecting the Landscape Imaginary by Jill Desimini and Charles Waldheim

Another incomplete list, and I'm not going to be able to get to all of them, anymore than I managed with the March 2021 list.

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Books as Props

2020-12-27T03:36:23Z

For politicians as much as movie and TV soundstages, apparently.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/26/books-by-the-foot-washington-dc-covid-books-440347

https://www.wonderbk.com/bookseller/theyre-gonna-put-you-in-the-movies/

And yes, I've seen news reports of libraries on cruise ships. I have a Haynes Manual detailing the history of the Queen Mary II, and that vessel does have a reading library aboard her. I suppose Books By the Yard's management and staff have already heard of such themselves more directly.

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Progress

2020-11-15T02:56:07Z

New printer is up and running.

New eyeglasses are on order. I should be seeing them - and seeing with them - in about a month.

Made more progress with cataloguing my personal library today.

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CULLING: Magazines II

2020-10-19T22:45:20Z

Made up my mind. Those six titles get purged.

Keeping the NatGeo maps, though, if I can.

I'm still not moving fast enough.

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Culling the Books

2020-10-04T19:03:46Z

I've started trying to sell some of my personal library via Facebook Marketplace. Five titles so far, all being offered for sale under my real name. It's an odd assortment of titles so far.

When I have to move, IF I have somewhere to move TO...it's going to be crazy. I'm going to be crazier.

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Some Other Stuff

2020-10-03T01:06:59Z

Three jobs applied for today. Tried for a fourth, but couldn't log into the website properly for that company. Still waiting for the password reset e-mail half an hour later.

Oh, I might be looking for a new place for me and my personal library to live starting next January.

"Might?" Probably will be. Long story, not all of it mine to share. Not right now, anyway. Not going to count on lottery money showing up to save anyone's day, let alone mine. But, yeah, this adds a little urgency for unloading some of my collections.

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LIBRARIES: New Rules for OPL/BPO

2020-05-28T20:45:21Z

https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/node/301646/

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OTTAWA-GATINEAU: Public Libraries' Online Services

2020-03-26T14:06:14Z

In case you don't already know, our local public libraries have online operations still available to us:

Ottawa Public Library

https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/

https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/fr/

Gatineau Public Library

https://www.gatineau.ca/portail/default.aspx?p=guichet_municipal/bibliotheque

To those of you working to keep those online services running smoothly during this time of pandemic, I thank you all.

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Writing Workshops Cancelled For Three Weeks (Maybe)

2020-03-13T23:42:43Z

My workshopping group, Pen and Paper, usually meets at the Rideau Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. This should have been expected. We'll have to figure out a workaround if we want to keep going, probably via Internet.

https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/blogs/novel-coronavirus-covid-19-update

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Pen and Paper Workshop Night

2020-01-14T20:39:10Z

I figure to be at the Rideau branch of the library by 630 PM tonight.

See you later, in any case...

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Publishers vs Libraries re: E-Books

2019-10-20T01:43:40Z

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-public-library-fights-publishers-restrictions-ebooks-1.5314623

https://ebooksforall.org/

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Library Stuff on a Friday Morning

2019-06-14T14:26:53Z

So the library branches across Ottawa are closed today because professional development day stuff. Which is mildly annoying, but it can't be helped. Right?

Still grateful to have a branch within walking distance of home, though.

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JOBS/WRITING: Tuesdays

2019-05-28T17:52:38Z

Some federal paperwork's been taken care of this morning, so I'm now at the main branch of the library searching for jobs, and researching for several personal projects. Since there's that writing workshop tonight over at the Rideau branch at 630 PM, and the paperwork this morning had to be delivered to a mall about halfway between home and downtown anyway...time to check the e-mail and job boards downtown after lunch.

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JOBS/WRITING: Attachments

2019-05-28T02:22:17Z

And I finally have about 500 words coherently written for Pen and Paper workshop for tomorrow night at the Rideau Library. So that covers skills maintenance in writing, employment networking and public speaking. I hope.

Also mental health maintenance. Hopefully.

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Going Digging Through the Stacks...

2017-02-03T18:17:28Z

...of my very disorganized personal library, I rediscovered my copy of Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine. I suspected as much, and my memory didn't betray me. Chapters 11 and 12 are devoted to what might be called an inquest or autopsy into some of the other root causes of Grazhdanin Putin's rise to political dominance in Moskva.

And from there, I think I'll spend part of the afternoon watching Agents of SHIELD as I catch up on my e-mail.

More on other matters as the day wears on.

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Home again...

2017-01-04T02:17:54Z

...and the workshop's off. Weather issues, as expected. The Rideau Branch of the library's got its winter break retrofitting done and it looks okay enough for visiting.

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