So many books, so little time…
[1] Print is not dead, but the business model is. If you really want to insist on print being dead, send over your library’s storytelling program where the librarian reads a kid’s book from a Kindle or Nook or Iliad or whatever. And if the kids react to the screen the same way they do to a print book, then I will believe it.
via Why I Support Library 101 (And so should you) | LISNews.
Posted in ebooks, future of libraries.
– 2009/11/11
I think that the shifts we are now beginning to experience are going to be much more disruptive than we expect. I don’t think that we can take for granted that any current information-oriented profession is going to be around in the new paradigm. I think it’s a safer bet to assume that most of us in information-oriented jobs either are going to be replaced by something new or will see our professions so radically transformed that we may need to give them new labels.
via The (un)certainty of professional persistence – Dangerously Irrelevant.
Posted in future of libraries, librarianship.
– 2009/11/11
When books, magazines, newspapers, reference materials, music, movies, and other traditional library content all go electronic and online – deliverable on demand – what does that mean for the future of the physical spaces known as “libraries?” Mike Eisenberg said to me that we already should be taking yellow caution tape and blocking off the entire non-fiction and reference sections of our libraries. As content becomes digital and no longer needs to be stored on a shelf, with what do we replace that now-unused floor space: couches, tables, and cozy chairs? computer stations? meeting space? And if we head in these directions, what will distinguish libraries from other institutions such as coffee shops, community centers, and Internet cafes?
via 10 questions about books, libraries, librarians, and schools – Dangerously Irrelevant.
Posted in future of libraries.
– 2009/11/11
The problem with “everyone” is that in order to reach everyone or teach everyone or sell to everyone, you need to so water down what you’ve got you end up with almost nothing.
Posted in other.
– 2009/11/06
I guess this is why I call myself a Web 2.0 Enthusiast and not an Evangelist. I love tech. I think it has lots of great possibilities for improving library services. I also think there’s a lot of tech applications that our patrons are using anyway, so it’s probably a good idea for librarians to be aware of them so that we speak the same language. (And who knows…these fun applications may morph into something more usable in library services.) But if your library doesn’t maintain an SMS reference service or if you don’t have a twitter account, are you failing your patrons? No, of course not.
via SarahGlassmeyer(dot)com » Blog Archive » Message != Medium != Messenger.
Posted in reference, technology.
– 2009/11/05
The Five Laws of *Library Catalogs* for the 21st Century
1. The catalog must be relevant to the needs of its patrons.
2. The catalog must change as the needs of its patrons change.
3. As much as possible, the catalog must help its patrons understand what information is *really* available to them, not only what is held within the local collection.
4. If patrons do not come to the catalog, the catalog must go to the patrons.
5. The catalog must include the knowledge and information of non-librarians.
Five Laws of *Library Catalog Records* for the 21st Century
1. Catalog records must be created and maintained efficiently.
2. Catalog records must reuse relevant data input by other agencies.
3. Catalog records must work coherently (i.e. interoperate) with catalog records created by other cataloging agencies.
4. As much as possible, catalog records must work with resources made for non-library purposes.
5. Catalog records must be made freely available for use by other developers in the world.
Posted in cataloging.
– 2009/11/04
SirsiDynix customers and prospects, as well as our library colleagues and peers, have asked us for our reaction to open source technology development as it grows and changes in the market. In response, I wrote a position paper that provides our perspective of open source technology as it exists today as an option for library automation. I am a librarian who has worked for libraries and several vendors, and I feel that the paper brings some very real challenges to light for any library considering open source solutions for their library automation.
The paper has been posted and exchanged in the past day, rumoured to be a secretive lobbying effort that SirsiDynix has been hiding. This is simply not true. There has been nothing secretive about the position paper, we have been offering and sharing it with many customers as we meet with them, and I am offering it to anyone interested at the link below.
via Stephen’s Lighthouse: It’s About a Respectful Discussion.
Posted in open source, software.
– 2009/11/04
There’s the growing divide between kids who have access to technology and those who don’t; kids who participate in creating content with technology at home and school, and those who can’t; and the kids who know a lot about technology, and the parents who fear them.
via Will the Digital Divide Close by Itself? – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com.
Posted in digital literacy.
– 2009/11/04
“The Library” doesn t have to be about books but it has to be about reading literacy and education. Otherwise it doesn t justify itself at all. Citizens should rightly examine their libraries and ask themselves why they should pay taxes to support some guy who sits in the basement of the library playing with gadgets and surfing the Internet. What exactly is that guy doing that s so important to the community
via Shiny Toys and Glossy Gimmicks – Annoyed Librarian – Blog on Library Journal.
Posted in community, librarianship.
– 2009/11/04
