Very Still and Hard To See at the Lex.

I think almost all hotels are kind of creepy. All those people who slept in your room -- who knows who they were or what they did? And as for what gummy, gunky horrors that might be crawling around on that floral bed coverlet, well, anyone would be terrified about what could be there. But how much more frightening still the hotel where the original architect made some kind of a deal with a delivish monster to turn the place into a sort of luxury playground for the demon’s delight? The set of Steve Yockey’s engrossing set of horror vignettes consists mainly of a bare stage, with some chalk drawn circles on the floor. And, yet, from this director Michael Matthews crafts the atmosphere of a towering hotel, crumbling with decay and evil, full of secrets and ghosts. The architect in question, pompous Buck (Andrew Crabtree) tumbles into a hole that collapse in his construction site, and winds up in a Hellish underworld, where he’s confronted by a dialbolical demon spirit (CD Spencer). The spirit offers him his life in exchange for a small change to the structure of the hotel Buck’s constructing – a change that will allow the demon to use the building as “her” own toy. In exchange, the demon promises the architect a gift of his darkest, deepest desire – and you know that’s not going to be good. The rest of the play’s vignettes vaguely follow the history of this decidedly cursed hotel. A trio of young college kids are possessed by ghosts that compel them to murder and suicide. A beautiful, immortal woman suffers from a curse that causes her to devour anyone with whom she falls in love. And a half century later, the original architect, now a crazy old man, comes to a dreadful end at the hands of the psychotic granddaughter whom he molested for years. However, the most chilling anecdote might just be a monologue told by fussy housewife (Adeye Sahran), who, staying in the hotel during a raging storm, sees a monstrous sight that causes her to perform a terrifyingly cruel act. There’s nothing like a cracklingly paced, smoothly executed ghost story to delight and entertain – and Matthews’ spooky, suspenseful, and atmospheric presentation of Yockey’s surprisingly nuanced and creepy tales is wonderfully chilling and effective. It’s like we’re the cast and crew’s guests around the campire, as they conspire to scare the bejeesus out of us with harrowing incidents, both broad and subtle. Yockey’s writing possesses influences from Japanese folklore, but also from the works of Clive Barker and Stephen King. The plays require great versatility from the cast, with many of the performers depicting normal people trying to keep their cool and their sanity as they come face to face with the horrifically inexplicable. Particularly fine turns are offered by Coleman Drew’s cadaverous hotel elevator operator, by CD Spencer’s grinning she-demon, and by Sahran

Patty: Revival at Highways Performance Space.

Art isn’t supposed to be easy, but occasionally a show is so inscrutable that you’re left thinking that you really need to see it twice or more to get what the creators are trying to get at. That is certainly part of the challenge in creator/director Patrick Kennelly’s gorgeous, but oblique rock drama at Highways, which is full of strange and eccentric stagecraft, dazzling showcase musical numbers, and sharp video sequences. And, yet, the show somehow is indefinably less than it seems.

Of course, with the most charitable of interpretations, mere understanding might be beside the point in this sort of show. One is ultimately just supposed to sit back – or in the case of Kennelly’s site specific-style staging, follow the action on foot around and around the building – as the dazzling music and startling images waft around one.

In terms of plot, “Patty” can perhaps best be explained as a study of the corrosive and empty nature of fame, as depicted by a figure (played by three actresses) who might be either Patty Duke, the sugary actress from the 50s and 60s, or Patty Hearst, the infamous heiress who was kidnapped by the SLA and (afflicted with Stockholm Syndrome) joined her captors in a bank robbery. The underlying theme, and perhaps it’s one that doesn’t bear too much scrutiny, is that Patty Duke’s abuse and brainwashing on the part of her domineering mother who wanted to create a “star” for a child, is somehow similar to Hearst’s being tortured to the point of goofiness by the Symbionese Liberation Front. One may also extend the premise to the idea that women generally are forced to adhere to stock roles that are forced on them by malevolent outsiders. Of course, these are only guesses, as the Pattys are portrayed by three actors simultaneously (rather in the same way that Joe Orton’s screenplay for the Beatles portrayed the group collectively as one figure).

Still, the stagecraft here is dazzling – frankly, the crew of computer and sound engineers stationed right in the center pit of the stage are sometimes as interesting to watch as the performers. The pacing of Kennelly’s staging is frenetic, but every gesture is totally controlled with Kabuke-like intricacy. The all female cast possess gorgeous voices – although this is performance art more than a drama, it’s hard not to leave humming the tune to Duke’s paeon to ‘dolls’, ”Colors,” or to be amused by a hilarious video-and-rap combo that’s executed as a Star Search-esque production number.

Marina Malgahaes’ choreography possesses a crisp gorgeousness that’s part lavish MTV video and part dreamlike myth. The score, credited to several composers but mainly Jonathan Snipes, is pure rave party – but the shrewd listener occasionally may detect homages and nods to rock anthems of the 80s and 90s. Kennelly's skills sometimes seem to be more as a videographer and DJ than as a nuanced delver into emotional truth, but there's no questioning his eye for spectacle and for energy.

Indeed, some of the performances resemble those of the back up girls from the old Robert Plant “Addicted to Love” video – and, in one scene, Kennelly tosses in a drum major number that would make one think of Madonna at the Super Bowl half time show, were the words not those of the Goddess Shiva (and Oppenheimer at the atomic blast). Although some of Kennelly’s theatrical tropes are familiar – reminding us of an MFA thesis or a Laurie Anderson performance of the 1980s – it’s hard not to be enthusiastic about the energy and precision of this unusual, imaginative experience.

SLIS 5630: UCLA Science Library -- User Services.

Yesterday, although I wrote about the user-oriented double tiered reference service in my local library, I concluded feeling somewhat wary that I had not touched upon any elements involving STEM or scientific information. The truth is, Santa Monica Public Library is a public lending library and their attempts to service the scientific or technological community are limited to what you might find in any generic library in the Dewey 500s section.

I wanted to actually explore some of the user services available specifically in a STEM library, and to do this, I decided to log onto the nearest library that specifically services students engaged in the scientific fields. The library that came immediately to mind, of course, was the one servicing UCLA’s STEM student and faculty community. This library’s web presence is clearly less than five years old, making it a good candidate for analysis.

The UCLA Science and Engineering library may be found at http://guides.library.ucla.edu/content.php?pid=57686. The home page offers a number of user-friendly informational details, such as a link to an FAQ page containing links to a number of user-centered basic topics, including how to find the library, procedures for renewing books online, and the usual library advisory offerings about copyright, plagiarism, and patents.

However, of more germane interest to the provenance of this class in reference services for science and technology, are the subject specific sections. Scrolling downwards, I found a list of “subjects supported,” which described the long list of scientific areas available for students. I clicked on “chemistry and biochemistry”, which took me to a page specifically devoted to the fields. On the left side of the page may be found a column entitled “research guides,” and these appeared to be keyed to individual classes – there’s one for the specific introduction to chemistry course, for example. Clicking the links to the individual classes takes one to pages listing individual science class reading lists, along with a modified powerpoint display on how to find scientific information, created by the class’s embedded librarian. Links along the top of the page send users to lists of the scientific scholarly professional organizations. Another link takes readers to a launch platform that allows the user to select e-journals, which, presumably, will be full text.

To put the library within the context of this class’s assignment, to describe how the layout works for the user base, I would note that the site appears to be designed very carefully for ease of access. In many respects, I think this site is much more intuitive and cunningly designed than, say, UNT’s science sites, which require you to know how to manipulate the library’s home page before finding the science information.

It is clear from the synthesis of library content to class work that the site has been designed with a great deal of cooperation with the professors teaching the material. And I really liked the way that each page has a window allowing the user to contact embedded librarian “Courtney”.

That said, I am not entirely sure how useful the site would be for faculty – not undergraduates, but the Professors who might use the library for their own research. It seems likely that when the needs are more elevated and higher in requirement, the professors probably utilize other resources. Nevertheless, with its attention to detail, I would consider this a great site to study if one wanted to learn how to create an excellent science library site.

SLIS 5630: User Services 1: Santa Monica Public Library

The Main Branch of the Santa Monica Public Library entirely rebuilt its facilities approximately five years ago. I am told that some time in the next year or so, the head librarians will be performing an “environmental scan” of the institution to ensure that it is meeting the needs of its stakeholders. Because Santa Monica PL is publicly funded, all changes and renovations to the place are inevitably placed within the thematic context of what the alterations bring to the users. Users are the alpha and omega of this public library system.

In this blog posting, I would like to discuss the changes to the structure of the reference system, and the impact they appear to have had on the user base. In the previous library, there was one system for reference questions, consisting of a gigantic wall-length desk at which several prune-faced librarians would sit, answering all questions. It was not the happiest atmosphere. I used to visit the library myself when I was a boy and then again before the place closed, and the only thing that changed for decades was the fact that the librarians used to wear pants suits and sport Farrah hair dos. I was pleased to see the end of the pant suits, but I would not mind if Farrah hair made a comeback.

Strangely enough, in terms of service provided, the public never seemed to have many questions for the librarians of yore at the Santa Monica Public Library – and Santa Monica had a rather poor reputation for reference services. People were too afraid to approach the intimidating-seeming desks, which resembled nothing so much as a judge’s bench – and the position at the desks appeared to create a sort of “attitude-y state which, while it might not have been actual, was perceived as real by the patrons.

The renovation of the Santa Monica Public Library split the library into two floors – fiction on the main floor and non fiction on the floor above. But more importantly, reference services have been split into two sections. The first floor has a sort of receptionist desk right inside the main doors. This table has room for two staff members – a minimum of one of them will always be a public services librarian, but the other might be a librarian or might be a paraprofessional imported from the circulation check out desk. This desk is where patrons seeking easy ready reference questions can quickly find their answers.

Meanwhile, on the second floor, there’s a line of three rather pretty little desks that more resemble the marble counters found at a Starbucks. This is where the three actual bona fide reference librarians sit. Behind them are the stacks and stacks of reference books, containing the government information and scientific indexes available for reference questions.

The new atmosphere is one of approachability – and, in truth, as a result of this retrofitting, the librarians appear to handle more questions than ever before. I am not entirely certain how many of the questions are academic in nature – the residents of Santa Monica appear mostly to want to learn how to access government information or want to discover trivia for purposes of entertainment – but providing scientific information is certainly part of the reference librarians’ purview.

Santa Monica does operate with some defined “subject specialist” librarians. In particular, there are a pair of librarians who specialize in technical information – stuff involving computers and technology. They operate a “petting zoo” to instruct patrons on the use of the newest gizmos and geegaws, from Kindles to Ipads. They are also the figures who are the ultimate overseers of the 70 public internet stations, deciding the policies relating to time limits, filtering (there’s none), and programs installed onto the computers.

Santa Monica’s collection development policy specifies that works retained by the library should appeal to a general audience, with an overall emphasis on self help. Thus, in terms of STEM materials, the print works consist of basic textbooks and how to manuals, along with some subject specific items. There are some text books – along with the sort of science books by popular culture mavens like Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawkings, as well as the great philosophers and scholars. However, the general goal is not to provide material for academic or advanced scholars – it is believed that there are other options in LA for that sort of thing.

SLIS 5630: Reference for Science and Technology.

Well, all right. For the many who know me, I am not just a theater critic – now I am a librarian, too! Or, it seems that’s what I shall be after I graduate with an MLIS in about a month’s time.

Now, this term I am taking a class in reference for the fields of science and technology. One of our assignments this term is to create a Science Blog, or at least to create a blog that is going to be used to post a message or two on the topics near and dear to the class. I actually think that if I WERE a science librarian, I would probably create a science blog and fill it with useful information on resources for my target user group. This would, as I have learned, be as much about teaching the users about how to find the information they want, as it would be about marketing the library.

As it happens, I have had a blog here for quite some time! Actually, I have had several blogs – but this is the cleanest and most presentable, and so it earns the privilege of being “my class project.”

Back in my Advanced Management Class (can you imagine, I took a class with that title!), we discussed Advocacy and how making people remember the library is available and useful is one of the librarian’s prime duties. After all, what is to be done when budget cutting time arrives and all the library is appears to be a big pile of books in a room?

I expect that if I had the good luck to be hired as a science librarian, I would frequently update with posts about “how to use Web of Science!” to locate important information. Or maybe I would try to post frequent little tricks on general web searching – “10 Tricks You Can Do With Google” sort of things. My feeling is that a library blog should probably be half “corporate voice” and half “in flight magazine.” Lure em in with sugar and prove the library’s use.

As it happens, though, for the assignment for this class on Reference for Science and Technology, I have been given very specific instructions. Thus, over the next couple of days, you can expect to see some posts here that will be geared towards this class. So do join me for some fun and entertainment here on my glamorous big blog!