My head has been exploding the past few weeks as I enter the academic life. I’ll have more to say once I get a few more things crossed off my to-do list.

For now … I marvel at how well-staffed and well-supported faculty members are compared to their K-12 counterparts. I could go on and on about that, but let me just say these things for now:

* Free Post-Its.

* Color copies whenever you want ‘em.

It’s a big learning curve, but it’s an exciting one.

All that being said, here is something I won’t be including in my upcoming syllabi. Be sure to note not only the detailed instructions but also the MORAL that accompanies this tale:

How to open a book and ‘library hand’ – Stephen’s Lighthouse via kwout

To all the librarians who put new books on the shelf without engaging in this highly moral activity, I thank you for letting me be the first to break them in. Hope I didn’t ruin them too badly.

via Stephen’s Lighthouse and LIS News

One of the weird things about being a Midwesterner is that many of our southern colleagues are already back to work and thinking about ramping up their library’s identity. Meanwhile, those of us who got a six-week delayed start to our vacation have close to a month of vacation left!

Whether you’re already back at work or (shhh) being lazy, check out these two videos that have been circulating that focus around the Old Spice Guy campaign.

First up, the realOld Spice Guy took suggestions from the Twittersphere for additional Web campaigns. He took Andy Woodworth up on his suggestion and came up with this:

And here’s BYU’s New Spice Guy take:

Enjoy!

I had the pleasure of reading the Mo Willems / Jon J. Muth picture book City Dog, Country Frog at ALA. It is a beautiful collection of simple, heartful text and gorgeous watercolors. Might it be Caldecott-bound?

Check out this video preview, featuring Mo talking about the inspiration for the book and the collaboration: