The First Ever Catalog Flash-Mob
The mob.Check out Sonya's pictures, Elizabeth Thomsen's pictures and her blog post.
Turnout was much more than we expected--twenty people!** With so many hands--and despite some wifi problems--we got an enormous amount done. By lunch time we were flying, and after powering through the actual job, the 1,363 items in the church library (member StJohnsBeverlyFarms), we went ahead and tackled the rector's 734 books too (member: TadsLibrary***). I have a mind to go back and start in on all the parishioners' libraries, particularly that of a local author of some renown.
It was an amazing day; everyone was helpful, friendly, and amped to be there. We left feeling weary, satisfied, and despite the Episcopal coloring, vaguely Amish.
So, let's do it again! Why not do it somewhere else? New York? California? We could time it with a big book show or a library conference.**** Jeremy is also very open to blending flash-mob cataloging with the Legacy Library project, by collecting to do a house museum or an important collection in a historical society.
*The Wikipedia definition of a flash mob is "A group of people who converge on a spot at a specific time, perform some action, and disperse quickly."
**How many world libraries have twenty catalogers?
***Who still doesn't have a profile picture, Amy!
****Just imagine, 500 librarians from the ALA show descending upon every church, synagogue, house museum and lean-to library in Denver.
Labels: beverly farms, cataloging, church catalogs, flash mob
posted by Tim at 11:17 PM
20 Comments:
Sounds like you had fun.
How about some names to go with the pictures
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing them. It really does look as if you had lots of fun. I second the nomination for names to go with the pix.
:( my friend judith from beverly didn't go.
What a good idea! Well done.
This sounds like fun! Now if only a flash mob could descend upon my house and help me finish cataloging my personal collection. :)
I'm all up for New York! I'd be there in a heartbeat...sounds like a lot of fun.
If you do this anywhere near LA, I'm there!
You really oughtconsider expanding this to other places outside of the Boston area.... :)
That last photo, if you didn't notice, is of me spending 20 minutes cataloging the book "On the Proper Use of Time". Ah, cataloging irony.
If you do one in Denver, or the front range of the Rocky Mountains, count me in.
If you do one in Denver, or the front range of the Rocky Mountains, count me in.
What about Minneapolis? We were the most literate city in 2007.
My vote is for Hawaii next time. -Mike
count me in for London (UK) . . .
Hey! VHS Tapes? I thought cataloguing other media was "discouraged"! ;)
Seriously, great photos. Wish I could have been there.
I so wish I could have been there! Hopefully next time!
~kathmuse
This looks wonderful, I hope this idea spreads. Warm fuzzies all round!
The moment you decide to do a flashmob in Connecticut, sign me up!
Could someone who participated in this reach out to us Episcopalians down in New Orleans? We could use some advice about how to connect the power of flash mobs and the enthusiasm of bibliophiles around a new book we have just published, An American Awakening. I've posted it on LibraryThing, Redroom.com, and a number of stories about it are bookmarked on del.icio.us.com and Google bookmarks. It's also in the collection of the Michigan Episcopalians who are members of Library Thing. We need some help from fellow bibliophiles who get the power of books and the possibilities for spreading their message via the web. Thanks for getting in touch!
I absolutly love Library Thing I think its the coolest thing in the whole world!!
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