- Jessamyn and Andrew are both right re the Slow Food movement: it can be a toy for the elites who can afford fine wines; it can also be a powerful tool in the hands of farmers and others who care about their way of life and our future. I like to think the latter will win out. Likewise re Slow Library. Life may depend on which way the quark spins, but I like to think we have some control over which direction that is ;-)

- K.G. on doing fewer things well. Yes. Slow Library is about striking that balance and Ryan has pointed out the value of doing what makes sense rather than what pushes all the wrong pressure points. Having said that, if doing something in Second Life has value and can be done together with the e-mail notices, then I say do both. Hopfully we move ahead thinking about Craftsmanship and addressing a “local” need, not punching it out of a die to be the first.

- Open Source is the key – the same way that the right ingredients are key to a good meal. They don’t all have to be locally produced (I like turnips, but not that much), but they should allow the local to show through. Open source provides a philosophy, methodology, community and tool bench to get it done. All it needs is a pot, colleagues to stir it up and appropriate libations to keep the humour (Canadian spelling – remember the local!) flowing. The result can be a beauty to behold!

Slow food encourages that people know and/or participate as much as possible in the preparation and manufacture of meals.

Open source encourages that people know about and/or participate as much as possible in the development of their software applications.

Also, both have a grass rootsy feel about themselves.

First, the “Slow Library” idea is worth pursuing. For example, the concept relates well to the process of identifying and preserving unique special collections, archival and manuscript materials, etc. This happens at the local level, requires considerable investment and commitment, and results not only in preservation and access but in a more diverse information environment on the global scale. Slow Food has its parallels in projects like the Ark (http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark/index.html), which supports and encourages preservation of rare and localised food crops, livestock and poultry breeds, etc. that are in danger of being wiped out by factory farming.

Second, in response to the idea that Slow Food is precious or elitist, this varies quite a bit between different convivia (local chapters). In some cases, there can indeed be a tendency toward fairly expensive “food and wine society” types of events. In others, including my own (see http://www.slowfoodeugene.org/blog.html), the emphasis is more on supporting small local farmers, information sharing, education, partnership with like-minded groups , etc., which re also priorities of the national and international parent organizations. Of course, we still make sure our meetings and events include good food and wine!

For more info see
http://www.slowfoodusa.org

Best,

Andrew Bonamici
Eugene OR USA

Is there something I’m missing about anything at all in common between “Slow Food” and “Open Source”? I don’t get it. It just makes me think it’s buzzword soup.

I was riffing on related issues (slow library, not food…) with folks just last week. When I went to South Africa, I said pick five 2.0 technologies you like, focus on three, and implement one. Doing one thing well can be better than doing a million things poorly. Furthermore, the library that is doing Second Life but still won’t email library notices and doesn’t keep its new-book section freshened is missing the point.

I’m suspicious of hype in general, but I think Slow Food’s work is pretty similar to how library work, and Leggott does a good job of demonstrating that.

The big thing for me is where [public] libraries fit in the grass root community development sphere [where RSS, wikis and etc. are still a hunh? to a large degree] and Mark’s “Slow Library” seems to be a good connect from here [where I am] to there [where I would like to be].