The Atlas of New Librarianship

The Atlas of New Librarianship shows a publication date of May 31, 2011 but the book seems to be shipping now.
Table of contents for the book.
Companion website to the book.

The Library War.

Is it me, or has the library war already started? Because I keep reading about how the old library is dead and the new library needs building. That print has been mortally wounded and now those inbred and bastard children fight to be the next ruler. We have our own Game of Thrones (this week on HBO, which I have neither read nor seen, so whatever connection I make, is purely accidental) in the fantasy library world of Bibliotania (yeah, you come up with a better name):

• We have the Knowledge Facilitators, once loyal to the throne but now impatient for political change so long as the office remains in their control.
• We have the Transliterates, plotting with foreign armies or mercenaries, anyone who can bring swift wealth and power.
• We have the Digital Natives, spoiled, selfish, corrupt, unable to see beyond their immediate desires, but who command a great army.

100 articles that every librarian should read

Over at Ruminations, Con is thinking about a link that she retweeted today from  @clairebrooks entitled 100 Articles that Every Journalist Should Read.
Con is riffing on this and wonders whether collaboratively we can get together 100 articles that you would:

  recommend to anyone working in a library, who is thinking about the future of libraries and their role in building this future?

        I have my own list of articles that I think all librarians should read – well those that are interested in the same things as me, anyhow. Some are there because they offer a perspective from outside the library echo-chamber, some are there because they represent large-scale research that breaks away from the “how we done it good” that characterizes much library literature. Some are toolkits for equity of access.  Most items are on it because they are a good read by themselves – clear, logical and interesting writing that makes me think of more questions, rather than feel like I have just read all the answers.

        I see very little literature on my list about management or philosophies of librarianship. There is little about taxonomy, cataloguing, corporate librarianship and knowledge management. I guess they are outside my interests.
My list has an Australian slant, and leans toward:

• equity of access to information and library resources
• the impact on libraries of shared data on the internet
• how library users find research information
• format changes – the rise of online video, ebooks, transliteracy and DRM
• how librarians and libraries are preparing for the future

       I have created a Zotero group for sharing articles that people recommend, 100 articles every librarian should read . The library of references is here, 100 articles that every librarian should read library .It is public, so anyone can look at it. Some of my links go through my university library’s link resolver, but it is easy to work out what they should be.  If  you have (or make!) a Zotero account, then you can add your own candidates. We can then pare them down to just 100. If you are blogging this or want to contribute to the list in another way, please pop over to Con’s post Day 14 #blogjune Library Futures Reading List and leave a comment there.

       So – I have around 40 items on my list. I am sure that only about a quarter of them would make it to a definitive list of “must reads” for EVERY librarian. What would you keep? What is missing?

MY LIST OF MUST-READS FOR LIBRARIANS

I have asterisked *** those that I think you should read RIGHT NOW. 

• American Library Association. (2008). Serving Non-English Speakers Toolkit. American Library Association: Office for Literacy and Outread Services. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/olos/toolkits/LI_toolkit.pdf

• ATSILIRN. (2005). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library and Information Resources Network Protocols. Retrieved from http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/atsilirn/protocols.atsilirn.asn.au/index6df0.html?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=0&Itemid=6

• *** Berners-Lee, T. (2010). Long live the web. Scientific American, 303(6), 80-85. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=long-live-the-web&print=true .

• Berners-Lee, T., Hendler, J., & Lassila, O. (2001). The semantic Web: a new form of Web content that is meaningful to computers will unleash a revolution of new possibilities. Scientific American, 284(5), 34.

• Bush, V. (1945). As We May Think. Atlantic Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/3881/

• Carpenter, J., Tanner, S., & Smith, N. (2011). Researchers of Tomorrow: Annual Report 2010-2011. British Library / JISC. Retrieved from http://explorationforchange.net/index.php/rot-home.html

• Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2006). Library 2.0 : service for the next generation library. Library Journal, 131(4), 40-42. Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html

• Colbow, B. (2010, March 1). Why DRM Doesn’t Work or how to download an audio book from the Cleveland public library. The Brads. Retrieved March 24, 2011, from http://bradcolbow.com/archive/view/the_brads_why_drm_doesnt_work/?p=205

• Draft Treaty on Copyright Exceptions and Limitations for Libraries and Archives. (2011). Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://www.ifla.org/en/publications/draft-treaty-on-copyright-exceptions-and-limitations-for-libraries-and-archives

• Fenn, J., Gammage, B., & Raskino, M. (2010). Gartner’s Hype Cycle Special Report for 2010. Trumbull United States: Gartner Research. Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=205839&ref=g_noreg

• Gleick, J. (2011). The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. New York: Pantheon. (See http://www.worldcat.org/title/information-a-history-a-theory-a-flood/oclc/607975727 )

• Gow, V., Brown, L., Johnston, C., Neale, A., Paynter, G., & Rigby, F. (2009). Making New Zealand Content Easier to Find, Share and Use. Museums and the Web 2009. Presented at the Museums and the Web 2009, Toronto: Archives & Museum Informatics,. Retrieved from http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/gow/gow.html

• Hildenbrand, S. (2000). Library feminism and library women’s history: Activism and scholarship, equity and culture. Libraries & culture, 35(1), 51–65. Retrieved from http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~landc/fulltext/LandC_35_1_Hildenbrand.pdf

• Holland, M. (1997). Diffusion of innovation theories and their relevance to understanding the role of librarians when introducing users to networked information. The Electronic Library, 15(5), 389-394. doi:10.1108/eb045587

• Hull, D., Pettifer, S. R., & Kell, D. B. (2008). Defrosting the Digital Library: Bibliographic Tools for the Next Generation Web. PLoS Comput Biol, 4(10), Retrieved from http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1000204

• IFLA/FAIFE. (2010). IFLA/FAIFE World Report. The Hague, The Netherlands: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Retrieved from http://www.ifla-world-report.org/cgi-bin/static.ifla_wr.cgi?dynamic=1&d=ifla_wr_browse&page=query&interface=map

• Johnson, L., Adams, S., & Haywood, K. (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report K-12 edition. Austin, Texas: New Media Consortium. Retrieved from http://www.nmc.org/publications/2011-horizon-report-k-12

• Kelly, K. (2011, 15). What Books Will Become. The Technium. Retrieved May 9, 2011, from http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2011/04/what_books_will.php

• ***Kelly, K. (2008, January 31). Better Than Free. The Technium. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/01/better_than_fre.php

• King, D. L. (2009). What is a Digital Branch, Anyway? Building the Digital Branch: Guidelines for Transforming Your Library Website, Library Technology Reports, 45(6), 5-9.

• Lankes, R. D. (2008). Credibility on the internet: shifting from authority to reliability. Journal of Documentation, 64(5), 667–686. Retrieved from http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Publications/Journals/credibilityontheinternet.pdf

• Lebert, M. (2009). A Short History of eBooks. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29801

• ***Lemley, M. A. (2011). Is the sky falling on the content industries? Journal of Telecommunications and High Technology Law, 9, 125–313. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1656485

• Levine, R., Locke, C., Searles, D., Weinberger, D., & McKee, J. (1999). The Cluetrain Manifesto. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from http://www.cluetrain.com/

• ***Library Council of New South Wales. (2009). The bookends scenarios: alternative futures for the Public Library Network in NSW. Retrieved from http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/services/public_libraries/publications/docs/bookendsscenarios.pdf

• Morville, P. (2005). Information Interaction. Ambient Findability (pp. 43-63). O’Reilly Media, Inc.

• National Library of Australia. (2007). National Library of Australia IT Architecture Project Report. Canberra, A.C.T.: National Library of Australia. Retrieved from http://www.nla.gov.au/dsp/documents/itag.pdf

• OCLC. (2010). Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community. Retrieved March 3, 2011, from http://www.oclc.org/reports/2010perceptions.htm

• Oldenburg, R. (1999). The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community (3rd ed.). Da Capo Press.

• Schneider, K. G. (2006a, April 3). How OPACs Suck, Part 2: The Checklist of Shame | ALA TechSource. ALA Techsource. Retrieved September 16, 2010, from http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2006/04/how-opacs-suck-part-2-the-checklist-of-shame.html

• Schneider, K. G. (2006b, March 13). How OPACs Suck, Part 1: Relevance Rank (Or the Lack of It) | ALA TechSource. ALA Techsource. Retrieved September 16, 2010, from http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2006/03/how-opacs-suck-part-1-relevance-rank-or-the-lack-of-it.html

• Seale, M. (2008). Old Maids, Policeman, and Social Rejects. Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship, 9(1). Retrieved from http://southernlibrarianship.icaap.org/content/v09n01/seale_m01.html

• ***Sheehan, K. (2010, August 3). Keeping Up with Keeping Up. ALA Techsource. Retrieved October 1, 2010, from http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2010/07/keeping-up-with-keeping-up.html

• Silipgni, L., & Dickey, T. (2010). The Digital Information Seeker: Report of the Findings from Selected OCLC, RIN, and JISC User Behaviour Projects ( No. 706). London: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) on behalf of JISC. Retrieved from http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/reports/2010/digitalinformationseekerreport.pdf

• State Library of Victoria. (n.d.). Disability Awareness Kit: A training resource for public library customer staff. Retrieved  from http://www.openroad.net.au/access/dakit/welcome.htm

• Raymond, E (n.d.) The Cathedral and the Bazaar.  Retrieved from http://catb.org/~esr/writings/homesteading/cathedral-bazaar/

• The IFLA Internet Manifesto. (2002). . Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://www.ifla.org/publications/the-ifla-internet-manifesto

• Thomas, S., Joseph, C., Lacetti, J., Mason, B., Mills, S., Perril, S., & Pullinger, K. (2007). Transliteracy: Crossing divides. First Monday, 12(12). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2060/1908

• Transformation Lab – Prototyping the Future. (2007).  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpFO_L_jA1c&feature=youtube_gdata_player

• United Nations Organisation. (n.d.). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml

• Wesch, M. (2008, July 26). An anthropological introduction to YouTube. Library of Congress. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

• Wesch, M. The Machine is Us/ing Us (Final Version). (2007).  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Libraries are not in the construction business

 Libraries are not in the construction business


Social constructionism, constructivism, post-structuralism, standpoint epistemology, deconstructionism….ever heard of these? Chance are, if you’ve taken a look at some of the recent literature in the philosophical aspects of librarianship, you’ve come across these and/or similar theories. Variously lumped together under the aegis of postmodernism, these theories are distinct, yet they are united through a common belief that we have no epistemic access to a mind-independent reality. Some of these theories go even further and claim not only that we can’t know anything about the world outside of ourselves, but that there isn’t even an objective, mind-independent reality at all—reality is subjective. In effect, these theories advocate various forms of relativism. I’ve criticized this type of relativistic thinking in previous posts, but perhaps it’s time to clarify. Specifically, I want to explain why relativism, in all of its forms, is harmful to librarianship. This type of thinking is self-refuting, it impedes learning, it disenfranchises those who most need our help, it obstructs social progress, and it erodes the value of libraries in society.

L for Library (by Marie Lebert, translated by Jane Golding)

       A decidedly humorous account of my professional life in Normandy and Jerusalem at the end of the twentieth century, before I discovered the internet and left for San Francisco. The first part concerns the city library in Granville, with its dust and old books, before it was transformed into a beautiful media library. The second part concerns two libraries in Jerusalem, one with its cardboard boxes and the other with its computers. This account was inspired by an older version that was published in a printed magazine. It is dedicated to my colleagues past and present.

Old City libraries in Hyderabad India cry for attention

Old City libraries in Hyderabad cry for attention
Housed in dilapidated buildings with infrequent supply of electricity, shortage of staff and facing space crunch due to increasing number of old books, the government libraries in the Old City are crying for urgent attention.

Hyderabad district has about 90 libraries of which 40 are located in the Old City, reflecting that once this part of the twin cities had a vibrant reading culture. Today, the condition of these libraries is a deterrent for visitors.

How digital technology makes the library invisible to scholars

Nobody cares about the library: How digital technology makes the library invisible (and visible) to scholars

In an information landscape increasingly dominated by networked resources, both sides of the librarian-scholar/student relationship must come to terms with a new reality that is in some ways more distant and in others closer than ever before. Librarians must learn to accept invisibility where digital realities demand it. Scholars must come to understand the centrality of library expertise and accept librarians as equal partners as more and more scholarship becomes born digital and the digital humanities goes from being a fringe sub-discipline to a mainstream pursuit. Librarians in turn must expand those services like special collections, support for data-driven research, and access to new modes of publication that play to their strengths and will best serve scholars. We all have to find new ways, better ways to work together.