The Darien Statements on the Library and Librarians

I missed the summit type thing on the future of libraries in Darien a few weeks back so I’m really enjoying getting to read the work product from that meeting. I think sometimes our profession suffers from a lack of focus, though that may just be me talking about my own shortcomings. In any case, please read and comment The Darien Statements on the Library and Librarians

the plural of manifesto is?

I’ve liked the idea of manifestos since I started rattling the idea of an OPAC Manifesto a ways back [it was a wiki before everyone had a wiki, and I didn’t like being a wiki-mom so now it just has a page]. Michael makes the link between the ILS Customer’s Bill of Rights and Jenny’s new proposal the Online Library User Manifesto. For anyone who considers the Cluetrain Manifesto essential reading — my copy is the only book in my boudoir currently — this is a logical extention. If, as they say, “markets are conversations” then libraries are big loud boisterous and lively conversations, and we’re all part of it. Jenny’s manifesto delightfully contains links to people who are getting it right, behind her no nonsense declarations like “I want to know how your library works.” I’d even bring this out further and change it to “I want to know how our library works.” Who wouldn’t?

What We Want, The OPAC Manifesto

Andrew Pace reminds me that I used to have a wiki, way back when. This wiki was a place where, among other things, I had a roomshare page for ALA as well as the OPAC Manifesto which was going to be an article in Searcher Magazine. However, the final version was not quite Searcher material, so I shelved it temporarily while I thought about wikifixing and promptly forgot about it. The OPAC Manifesto is back for your viewing [though not editing] pleasure. Thanks very much to people who helped with it. Feel free to link or republish in any not-for-profit venture, just cite it and credit it.

update: for those of you who missed this topic before, the manifesto was set up on a wiki so that anyone could add or edit ideas on it. The intro and outro are mine, the rest was collaboratively built.