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October 28, 2012
Three Skeleton Key (A Great Lighthouse Tale for Halloween)
So what could be better this Halloween week than Vincent Price, Old Time Radio and the story of a Lighthouse! George Toudouze's brilliant story about a lighthouse off the coast of Afica was written in 1937. It first appeared in English in the January 1937 issue of Esquire. I would tall you more about the story - but spend a half and hour and enjoy the show.
Three Skeleton Key was performed numerous times on Escape and Suspense - the great long-running shows on radio. But the most famous and memorable performance appeared on March 17, 1950 on Escape. The recording featured Vincent Price in the lead role of Jean, one of the three member of the crew on that cursed light. I have heard some of the other performers as Jean....no one can do it like Vincent Price!
Here is the audio...enjoy:
Here are some other links that you will want to see.
- Script (RTF format - opens in MS Word)
- Script (web page)
- Blog entry about Three Skeleton Key from the OTR blog Escape and Suspense
- Episodes of Escape from the Internet Archive
- Episodes of Escape from 1949-1950 from the Internet Archives
Posted by cseeman at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)
Spooky Old Time Radio Shows
With Halloween around the corner, there seems no time like the present to share out some of the creepy and spooky Old Time Radio shows that are available via the Internet. Right now, Greg Bell has a great rotation of these shows on his old time radio channel (#82) on Sirius/XM or via the Internet Archive.
Here are four of my favorite horror series that you can listen to right now:
- Dark Fantasy - this was on NBC from 1941 to 1942 and features strange tales to keep you up at night. Be sure to check out the Pennsylvania Turnpike episode - a OTR classic.
- The Sealed Book - This 1945 series has always been one of my favorites. Kinda campy, but all in all, some fun ways to spend 30 minutes. Two favorites are Death at Storm House and Till Death Do Us Part.
- Inner Sanctum Mysteries - this series is well known for the creaking door - but all of them are great fun. This is also from the 1940s.
- Lights Out - This is more of the mysterious sort than straight out horror - but there are some great ones here, especially those penned by Arch Oboler. My favorite (and one I will write about later) is Profits Unlimited.
Here is the Pennsylvania Turnpike from Dark Fantasy....enjoy!
Here is Death at Storm House from The Sealed Book:
Enjoy these radio shows and Happy Halloween.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Old Time RadioPosted by cseeman at 06:38 AM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2012
On Library Annual Reports (ALAO 2012)
Presenting today at the Academic Library Association of Ohio's Annual Conference on Library Annual Reports.
Here is the presentation abstract: The library annual report can be a powerful tool in showcasing its impact on campus. Even modest annual reports can be an important element in a library’s marketing program. This presentation will show how we have grown the Kresge Business Administration Library’s annual report over the past five years and how it demonstrates ROI (Return on Investment) for the library to our Deans and Provosts.
Here are some resources that I will use today:
- PowerPoint slides are available online at Deep Blue.
- Kresge Library's Annual Reports from the Kresge Library Wiki.
Please note that the 2012 Annual Report (which will cover the 2011-2012 academic year) will not come out until later this year. We want to match with the release of the Ross School of Business Strategic Plan.
Some of the key takeaways from the presentation are:
- Creating a library annual report is easier than you think.
- Most libraries already compile most of the data you need to produce a great report.
- Creating a library annual report can be much less expensive than you might think (does not need to be printed).
- A library annual report allows you to share stories (especially outcomes) with your community.
- I am not a huge fan of benchmarking or dashboards. I do not think that they provide a compelling reason why a school or a community should invest more in the library.
I also presented on this topic at the 2011 Charleston Conference. I hope to start working on a written version of this article within then next year or so. If you have any thoughts or comments - please write me at cseeman@umich.edu
This entry was posted in the following categories: LibrarianshipPosted by cseeman at 06:47 AM | Comments (0)