Libraries were created under an economic model where it was more cost-effective to buy something a book, a video, a magazine and share it than to buy a copy for everyone. And for centuries this model has given libraries their value. But for the first time in history we are moving from a time of information scarcity to one of information abundance. Can we define why libraries are necessary when information is ubiquitous, more scalable, far more convenient, and often “free” online?

via Things That Keep Us Up at Night – 10/1/2009 – School Library Journal.

The budget cuts come at a time when libraries around the country are rethinking their role in the 21st century. National library associations are redefining libraries beyond the book depositories and lenders of the past. Modern libraries also are digital centers where information is exchanged and Internet is available to those who don’t have it at home. They are community hubs where people can learn skills they need in the digital era. They are evolving beyond quiet reading spaces to bustling places of public discourse. They are striving to make information available 24-7, not just during library hours.

via Are local libraries in process of checking out?: Anchorage | adn.com.

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.

“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.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we really can’t look at things as being so black and white. We can’t say open source=good, proprietary=bad. It’s not that simple. Stephen Abram is not a bad person because he wrote a crappy “position paper. OCLC isn’t necessarily evil. Open source vendors aren’t necessarily good. We shouldn’t assume that a vendor is out to take us to the cleaners and steal all our data, but neither should we assume that a vendor has our best interests at heart (no matter how cool they or their representatives are). Things are really, really gray, and require a much more critical eye than we sometimes have by default.

via Shades of gray | Information Wants To Be Free.