Archives

Hearts and Minds in Play

October 8, 2010

What makes younger library users, past or present, so interesting to researchers? At the Library History Seminar XII, September 10–12, many scholarly papers focused on youth services. The ideas in circulation at the Madison conference suggested that two factors ignite academic interest—censorship and new technology. Forces of change make young people visible in the library, … Continue reading Hearts and Minds in Play


Digitization for the Rest of Us

October 8, 2010

METRO (Metropolitan New York Library Council) has gathered 30 case studies for Digitization in the Real World: Lessons Learned from Small and Medium-Sized Digitization Projects. Examples range from the Chelsea (Mich.) Library District’s collection of 15,000 obituaries, created using volunteers and open source software, to Hudson River Valley Heritage, a collaborative project coordinated by the … Continue reading Digitization for the Rest of Us


Rethinking Library Linking: Making OpenURL Better with Data, Data, and More Data

October 4, 2010

OpenURL link resolvers have become a vital part of many libraries’ offerings, especially those of academic libraries. As resolvers have become more important, they have undergone the same iterative usability testing and interface improvements that are common for library websites and catalogs. Only recently has effort been devoted to improving the functionality of resolvers by … Continue reading Rethinking Library Linking: Making OpenURL Better with Data, Data, and More Data


Leonard Kniffel

Banning and Burning

October 1, 2010

I have never been prouder to be a part of this profession than I was on September 11 this year, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Barbara Jones, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, at the entrance to ALA headquarters here in Chicago, making a simple statement of opposition to book burning. At our sides were Gerald … Continue reading Banning and Burning


The Conservatives Among Us

September 30, 2010

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that politically the library profession is quite liberal. There may be a lot more conservatives in the profession than I know about but if they exist, they are for the most part quiet and under cover. My experience is that the library profession is not just overwhelmingly … Continue reading The Conservatives Among Us


Transforming a Hodgepodge

September 27, 2010

In Stevens County, Washington, public libraries are a fairly new concept. Residents voted to form a library district in 1996, transforming a hodgepodge of donation-based collections run by volunteers into a modern system. Over the past decade library staff have worked hard—not only at providing service but also on shaping perceptions of what exactly a … Continue reading Transforming a Hodgepodge


Joseph Janes

As the Web Fades Away

September 23, 2010

Growing up, my athletic prowess was legendary. Strong, graceful, fleet of foot, gifted in multiple sporting endeavors, and a role model to friends and rivals alike. I was also, coincidentally, third in line for the throne of France. Seriously, I stank. I was a dork and physically untalented, didn’t care and hated it; gym class … Continue reading As the Web Fades Away


With a Little Help from Our Friends

September 22, 2010

Following my return in August from the 76th International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions General Conference and Assembly in Gothenburg, Sweden, I was interviewed on two successive days about the state of America’s libraries by David Graham of Newsweek and Bob Edwards of Sirius XM Radio. I was heartened by the interest of the … Continue reading With a Little Help from Our Friends


Acceptable-Use Policies Go Mobile in Delaware

September 21, 2010

A new Delaware law that went into effect September 15 is enabling public libraries to get their internet use policies ready for the inevitable influx into their facilities of patrons wielding wireless devices. HB 340 extends libraries’ acceptable-use policies to any mobile devices that individuals bring onto library premises, and specifies that, while in the … Continue reading Acceptable-Use Policies Go Mobile in Delaware


Fit Libraries Are Future-Proof

September 21, 2010

The year 2009 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, as well as the 150th anniversary of the publication of his most famous book, The Origin of Species. Darwin’s work is memorable for its theories about the survival of the fittest, and by fittest he meant those species best able to adapt … Continue reading Fit Libraries Are Future-Proof


Nurturing Innovation

September 17, 2010

I’ve spoken to library staff from libraries all over North America and have heard countless stories about innovative new services that failed. I always ask people why they think the initiative didn’t work at their library and the answer has always been about the culture—whether it was because of controlling IT staff, managers who wouldn’t … Continue reading Nurturing Innovation


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Outside In

September 15, 2010

When she was researching her first book, The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries (2006), Marilyn Johnson decided that “the most engaging obit subjects were librarians,” especially since so many of their obituaries contained some form of the sentence: “Under her watch, the library changed from a collection of … Continue reading Outside In