libraries

any library that can be replaced by the Internet is no library at all

Another beautiful essay by Michael McGrorty on this whole library vs Google thing.

[T]he earth has only the one moon. While the Internet will confirm that fact, it does a lousy job of explaining why that is, either in literal or figurative terms. The Internet does a lousy job of explaining anything, but that isn’t surprising since it hasn’t any responsibility, no code, no direction and is bound to no constituency.

can you see our culture by looking at our libraries?

Posted on 15Aug04 by jessamyn

For anyone who has ever contemplated the “cheeseburger in the library” dilemma [summed up thusly “If we’re just going to be everything the patrons want, why not serve cheeseburgers with our books and DVDs?”] you will enjoy
Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library: How Postmodern Consumer Capitalism Threatens Democracy, Civil Education and the Public Good. I’m about on Chapter 5.

Soon after I had begun working for a large, urban public library in 1992 I was invited to talk with an elderly administrator who was about to retire after a long career which she began as a children’s librarian. She was aware of my previous teaching experience and in the privacy of her office she explained to me that education was not the mission of the library. “I consider myself an entertainer,” she said, “not an educator.” But in fact she taught me a great deal, because she instigated a process of reflection lasting many years in which I have tried to understand the meaning of her words. What is the difference between education and entertainment? Did entertainment replace education as the mission of the library and if so, why? [lisnews]

touch your toes and pray, who knows where that book is….

Posted on 11Aug04 by jessamyn

Okay let’s just say it straight. Having our OPACs say “Check shelves” when a book is supposed to be checked in is not much better than saying “Dream On” right? An amusing post by Karen on Web4Lib. [crafty]

more on the Boston Public Library

Posted on 07Aug04 by jessamyn

I guess my DNC blog was enough of a paean to the Boston Public Library but I found a link to this BPL tribute page from Larry Nix who runs an interesting postal librariana page in addition to his regular librariana pages.

nudes!

Posted on 02Aug04 by jessamyn

The American Nudist Research Library turns 25 this year. See also the Toni Egbert Naturist Law Library.

Live nudes would seem to provide more reliably strong effects than photographs of nudes. The American Nudist Research Library has nudes of both varieties, a bounty that should be of interest to scientists. And it may be instructive to librarians elsewhere who lament that people don’t visit libraries the way they used to.