By Maureen Clements

The other day I was listening to some pieces from 1975 and came across this hilarious music button from All Things Considered. It's an amusing diversion for the first Monday in August.

By Maureen Clements

Welcome to the second installment of our Patron Profiles feature, the series where we introduce you to our library clientele. Today's victim is Tom Huizenga, NPR Music's classical music producer.

Tom's a regular fixture in the Broadcast Library which makes us quite happy, not only because he's got a great sense of humor, but also because his coolness quotient is way over the top. When Tom was a teenager his favorite local radio station--which played the likes of John Coltrane and Nick Drake--suddenly switched its format to hard rock. Never one to follow the crowd, Tom soon found the classical music station. The next thing he knew, he was riding is bike all over town blasting classical music from the transistor radio he jimmy-rigged to handlebars. Now that's what I call cool.

Tom hanging out with his favorite cardboard cutout of Maria Callas Maureen Clements

 

Continue reading "Patron Profiles: Tom Huizenga" >

By Mary Glendinning

Hannah accepts a gift from the stork Maureen Clements

 

The NPR Library is delighted to announce the arrival of its newest asset! Based on research, we can tell you that Boy George, Che Guevara and Burl Ives now share their Flag Day birthday with Noah Bartholomew Sommers Yoder.

Additional Metadata:
Born: Sunday, June 14th, 2009
Weight: 7 pounds, 11 ounces
Lenght: 21 inches
Hair: Lots
Lungs: Loud and clear
Provenance: NPR Broadcast Librarian Hannah Sommers and her husband Anthony Yoder.

By Maureen Clements

Gwen jamming on the bass Maureen Clements

Today, we're beginning the first in our series of Patron Profiles, the feature where we highlight fun facts about our patrons and how they use the library. Please allow me to introduce Gwen Outen. She's the director of NPR's Talk of The Nation, affectionately known around the office as TOTN (TOTE-n). It takes an ultra-cool demeanor, mad planning skills and insane music knowledge to direct a live, two-hour radio show and lucky for us Gwen has those qualities in spades.

To keep the show flowing, Gwen uses music to fill breaks and end segments. She often flexes her considerable music knowledge muscle to select songs that will fit seamlessly with the various topics being covered on TOTN. So, where does she get that music from? From the broadcast library's music collection, of course! Gwen likes to mix it up so she selects a variety of genres to fill in the gaps including folk, electronica, pop and classical. When a topic is particularly perplexing, she works with our music librarian, Robert Goldstein, to select the perfect cut.

If Gwen had to pick one genre of music over all others, she admits it would be jazz. She also cites the incomperable Michelle N'degeocello as one of her musical inspirations. A little known fact about Gwen: she's an amazing bass guitarist who gets together with other NPR musicians to entertain her fellow staffers at various functions. Above is a pic of Gwen playing the bass during a lunch time jazz music gathering. It's patrons like Gwen who make working at the NPR library one of the best jobs in the world.

Gwen with our music librarian, Robert Goldstein, picking just the right song for that oh-so-hard topic Maureen Clements

 

By Kee Malesky
This week, I'm sure Swine Flu (or H1N1 virus) has been a major topic for many libraries. We've been collecting information, links and all kinds of resources, and posting them on NPR's internal News Wiki (sorry, we can't point you to it!) to support the incredible work of the Science, National and Foreign Desks, as well as NPR show hosts and the reporters from our member stations.

One particular item caught the librarian's eye, and I guess we should give our colleague Linton Weeks honorary librarian status. Yesterday, his NPR.org column on the influenza epidemic included some lexicographical information:

Is H1N1, or some derivative, a sign of Internetese or "txt msg creep"? Michael Agnes, editor in chief of Webster's New World dictionaries, says not. He says such alphanumerical designations are frequently used within the scientific community. And nothing but "swine flu" has gained traction so far among the general public...

The English language has always been amazingly absorbent, able to soak up words and phrases from all over the planet. So we shouldn't be surprised at the inrush of codes and abbreviations from the scientific and digital world...

Hey, Linton. We're happy to share our "language police" function with you!

By Maureen Clements

It was September 2004 when Amy DeCicco first arrived at NPR. She was our fresh-faced music intern who spent months cataloging such illustrious titles as Babbachichuija by Tom Waits and Hag's Christmas by Merle Haggard. As luck would have it, Amy's internship ended just as a position opened in the Broadcast Library. Three grammar tests, two phone interviews, and one formal job offer later, Amy officially became an NPR Broadcast Librarian.

Since then, Amy has cataloged thousands of NPR stories, answered countless audio reference questions, organized the entire spoken word collection, written reams of documentation, and made major contributions to the online content management system. Not only has Amy done all these things, she's done all these things to near perfection. Last month, Amy landed a great taxonomy gig with an uber-crafty and cool web company located deep in the heart of Brooklyn, a place she's been longing to live. So, from all of us, we'd like to wish you the very best luck in your new venture, Miss Amy D. We'll miss you!

by Hannah Sommers

Sticker from Baked & Wired, Georgetown / Hannah Sommers

I recently spotted this sticker in a local bakery and had to ask for an extra for our rocked-out library cart. It's even more appropriate since baking is a process we're familiar with in our archive. Over time some reel-to-reel tapes absorb moisture, leading to sticky shed syndrome. Exposing the tapes to the drying environment of a lab oven stabilizes the tapes long enough to create a digital copy. So, we bake.

In fact, our sassy tape transporting cart is showing its age, so it's time to start thinking about grooming another to take its place. Do you have a sticker that needs to live on an NPR library cart? If so, go ahead and send it our way!
(That's: NPR c/o Broadcast Library; 635 Massachusetts Ave NW; Washington DC; 20001.)

Library Cart / Hannah Sommers

 

By Kee Malesky

How Dare They Besmirch The Majestic Noble Beast? iStockphoto.com

One of the services the Librarians provide to the news programs is fact-checking for their commentators. If Diane Roberts or Ted Koppel need a detail verified, they send us the script. I sometimes check facts for Morning Edition's sports commentator, Frank Deford. I'm not much of a sports fan, so it's often a challenge and always an education to check a script for Mr. D. When I received the script for today's commentary, I got out my highlighter and started marking things to check. Some guy in Michigan wanted the legislature to stop the Detroit football team from using the name Lions, since their performance is apparently an insult to the noble beast. Who knew?

I actually started checking the Michigan legislature's web site before I looked at the rest of the script (other similar examples of fan outrage), realized the air date for the piece was April 1, and stopped checking.

You got me, Frank! I fell for it. Happy April Fool's Day to everyone.

By Kee Malesky

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon mentioned us on this morning's show -- I'm listening to it right now!

Thanks, Scooter!

By Amy DeCicco
A somewhat stale stereotype about librarians is that we tend to be conservative dressers: sensible shoes, ill-fitting clothes from a generation ago, and unfortunate decisions about hair. Lately, though, it's been pretty well-documented that we can also be a hip, well-dressed lot, and the NPR library is no exception. I submit to you just one day's worth of librarian fashion in the following slideshow.

By Hannah Sommers

Can you remember what you did during your last spring break? Were you sipping mojitos at the beach, or catching up on Law & Order? (Or were you slaving in a windowless computer lab trying to stamp out an incomplete?)

Li Li at NPR for Alternative Spring Break / Hannah Sommers

This week nearly a hundred students from the University of Michigan's School of Information are taking advantage of their Alternative Spring Break program, which matches students with real-world information projects. NPR was lucky to get one of these dedicated students, Li Li, who is specializing in human-computer interaction.

A week is a short time to complete a project, but Li is providing some very thoughtful analysis of the contracts we have that provide NPR transcripts to the public through commercial databases. Having this information will help us make smarter business decisions -- crucial in these tough economic times. Thanks Li, and good luck in your studies!

An invitation to all interested LIS students out there, NPR offers several library internships each semester. Although the summer application deadline has passed, fall applications are being accepted. Click here for application forms and instructions.

By Barbara Van Woerkom

The Reference Library creates internal Wiki pages whenever topics cry out for them -- things like the Obama transition, Mr. Blagojevich, and, of course, the Financial Crisis.

A helpful resource has been beSpacific, a law and technology news blog that compiles links to useful documents. Thanks to Sabrina I. Pacifici for her work on this!

By Hannah Sommers

Anne Ledford with some cool Ale-8 / Hannah Sommers

There's a new face in the NPR Library -- lately she's been hiding in plain view at our Broadcast Library Reference Desk. Anne Ledford recently joined NPR from the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, KY, where she facilitated metadata sharing between publishers and accessible media producers, and took a stand for quality metadata every day. In her short time at NPR she's already contributed to the stories we hear on-air and online. The archival sound of George Wallace heard in this Debbie Elliott piece is just one example: Rep. Artur Davis To Run For Alabama Governor.

However, the most important thing we learned about Anne today is that her Kentucky bourbon balls are totally badass. And we can thank her for a proper introduction to the one and only Ale-8-One. Welcome Anne!

Anne's favorite things / Hannah Sommers

 

By Barbara Van Woerkom

You never know where the search for primary sources might lead. In this case, it led to a closet where I keep my collection of Barbie dolls from my childhood. These "antiques", as my stepdaughters called them, came in handy for a request from Weekend Edition. They were looking for Barbies of all kinds for their photo shoot in honor of her 50th anniversary in March.

Barb brought along her friend Midge, Ken, his bud Allen, and even the red T-Bird. Who knew my antiques would find a place in public radio?

By Maureen Clements

Cookies from Fresh Air / Maureen Clements

Back in December, All Things Considered aired this story about the enforcement of Louisiana's ethics policies and its effect on public librarians. In short, no cookies.

That kind of policy that may not sit too well in our library, where treats and cookies are the norm rather than the exception. As a matter of fact, just two weeks ago the lovely folks from Fresh Air sent us the most delicious tin of cookies as a thank you for helping them with a digitization project.

That got me to thinking, if I accept and eat the cookies would I be violating the NPR ethics policy? After an exhaustive and thorough review, I was happy to discover eating said cookies would not result in ethics violations. That may not be the case if the cookies were gilded in gold and baked by Betty Crocker, but I digress. Needless to say, we accepted the cookies. Now, all that remains are memories and photographs and a silly little blog post.

Ethics compliance was maintained during cookie acceptance and ingestion / Amy DeCicco

 

By Barbara Van Woerkom

Before coming to work on inauguration day in my role as research librarian, I had the unique opportunity to see close-up the key players in the day's events -- at the private church service for the new administration. As a member of the professional choir at St. John's Episcopal Church, I got to sing for the President-elect and his family, friends, and administration officials.

Continue reading "Not Just Another Day at the Office" >

Because NPR is primarily audio-based, many of our shows are transcribed so a written record can be produced. That's a lot of transcripts when you think about it. NPR's very own transcripts czarina, Dorothy Hickson has written up a short FAQ on NPR's transcription process.

Continue reading "Transcript FAQs" >

What is 'As A Matter of Fact'?

NPR's information provocateurs are emerging from the stacks to bring you a super-fresh perspective on what it's like to be an NPR librarian. We'll cover everything from pop-culture insanity and weird pronunciations to the history of NPR and libraries in the news.

What's the NPR library all about?

The mission of the library is to support NPR in its information endeavors. In order to do so, our group is divided into three areas: Reference, Broadcast, and Transcripts. All three areas are under the auspices of Senior Librarian Laura Soto-Barra, our fearless yet stylish leader.

Reference Library

The reference library is composed of four reference librarians who answer just about any question the news staff can throw at them -- seven days a week. Reference librarians are embedded throughout the building to provide maximum coverage for maximum newsocity. When reporters need to know how to pronounce the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, they call the reference library. When editors want to know what the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow is, they call the reference library. When producers need to know the exact length of time it took Billie Jean King to beat Bobby Riggs, they call the reference library. Reference librarians are important and know everything. You get the drift.

Broadcast Library

Things are a bit different in the broadcast library. For one thing, it's a rather large physical space on the first floor of the Mothership. There are seven broadcast librarians who tend to thousands and thousands of hours of NPR programming, all of it stored on reel to reel or CD. Not only do we archive the audio for posterity, we also create catalog records for nearly every news item NPR's ever aired. We do this to track programming and to reuse the audio for future production. On top of all that cataloging, we also provide audio and programming reference services. The broadcast library also houses the music collection. NPR's thousands of music CDs are lovingly watched over by the library's very own rock god legend and knower of all things musical, Robert Goldstein. Last but not least, we also have a fantastic commercial spoken word collection, which has only grown in its amazingness since it's been under Amy DeCicco's care.

If you're interested in learning more about what we do, keep checking back here. In the coming weeks and months, we'll be highlighting the varied tasks involved in maintaining such an extensive collection.

Transcripts

Transcripts as part of the library? Confused? We've written up a whole FAQ section just for transcripts.

Who's blogging?

For centuries, librarians and their library predecessors, the monks and scribes, have been quietly and contentedly greasing the wheels of the information juggernaut. And in that solid tradition of quiet contentment, not all the NPR librarians will be blogging. Rest assured though, there are plenty of us who will be. Blogahogan Bibliotecasaurus.

What programs are transcribed and archived?

* All Things Considered (and Weekend All Things Considered)
*Day to Day
*Fresh Air
*Morning Edition
*News & Notes
*Talk of the Nation
*Tell Me More
*Weekend Edition Saturday
*Weekend Edition Sunday

** We also archive a bunch more shows that are not transcribed, including Wait, Wait..., On The Media, Car Talk, World of Opera and a host of other cultural specials.

Is the NPR library open to the public?

No. But if you ever visit the nation's capital, you can schedule a public tour through our Listener and Audience Services Department. We're also going to try a feature called "Ask a Librarian". This entails that you, the blog reader, submit some sort of librarian-answerable question. Once a month, we'll ponder those questions, select the easiest ones and publish the answers on the blog. If we publish your question and you send us a self-addressed stamped envelope, we'll send you an NPR decal. How's that for a deal?

Got story ideas?

Doing something cool at your library? Heard about some new information initiative? If so, let us know. You can contact us at AsAMatterOfFact@npr.org

Comments?

You can comment on our blog posts but you need to join the NPR Community first. Be nice please, we're still learning the ropes.

Caveats

We help journalists do their job but by no means do we present ourselves as such.

Anything Else?

No, but thank you for your patience.