ALA finally hiring Usability Officer

Posted on by jessamyn

You can get 75K plus decent benefits to be a usability officer at ALA. They say “senior” but to the best of my knowledge there aren’t any other usability officers there currently. I’m not sure where officer actually comes from, maybe some ALA-er can explain? In any case, if I were the Usability Officer after I changed the job listings to not spell Website with a capital W, I would ask very specifically what this requirement in the ad means.

The ability to work in a team environment and between two universes of Information Technology and Librarianship is essential in order to maintain an outcome-oriented, global vision.

I’m curious why those are deemed to be two universes instead of, say, two moons orbiting around one big planet of helping people do the things they want to do and go where they want to go. I’m sure Jenny is asking the same questions. I hope they find someone, but I wonder what affect that person will be able to have on the in-process-for-many-years-already website redesign?

Open Library, really open. Aaron Swartz discusses.

Posted on by jessamyn

David Weinberger blogs about Aaron Swartz talking at the Berkman Center about the Open Library project. Pay close attention to the Q and A and think about this in terms of the Google Books post/article from yesterday. Who is really in faveor of openness? Who talks the most about openness? Want to help? They still need programmers. And book lovers.

Q: Why won’t OCLC give you the data?
A: We’d take it in any form. We’d be willing to pay. Getting through the library bureaucracy is difficult…
A: (terry) You need to find the right person at OCLC
A: We’ve talked with them at a high level and they won’t give us any information. Too bad since they’re a non-profit. Library records are not copyrightable. OCLC contractually binds libraries.

Libraries Shun Deals to Place Books on Web, really?

Posted on by jessamyn

Quick quiz: when you read a headline like the one in the New York Times today Libraries Shun Deals to Place Books on Web do you think that the libraries involved are

a) sticking up for free access to information
b) prohibiting free access to information

Now read the article and tell me if you feel the same way. The article was also published in the International Herald Tribune with the title Research libraries close their books to Google and Microsoft which was where I read it at FreeGovInfo yesterday.

holiday shopping, early

Posted on by jessamyn

I have had a lot of people send me links to excellent things that I think other librarians might want. However, since I’m such a stuffy anti-capitalist, I sometimes shy away from “you might want to buy this” posts. Then my inbox fills up and I get into competitive Inbox Zero mode and I realize that one of the things that I like about my readers is that they’re not all like me and so this is why I am posting these.

  • Excellent library love t-shirt from Gluekit’s new PartofIt project (launching any day now) which designs neat looking stuff to help raise funds for non-profits.
  • Threadless “check out” double entendre t-shirt for your favorite bibliophile
  • If you read the BibliOdyssey blog (and you should) you might be pleased to know that there is a companion book full of delightful images from ancient texts. I had the pleasure of meeting PK when I was in Australia and I had no idea something like this was in the works. However, I got a copy last week and while I’m still poring through the frontmatter, the restof it is the real deal. Nice book and the blog post about it has more information on the convoluted process of getting a blog into print with associated rights-haggling etc.
  • Lastly, I was cleaning up my house up north and came across a few copies of Revolting Librarians Redux still in their “prepared for mailing” state. If you want one, KR and I are e-baying them off with the proceeds to go to the EFF (or another deserving charity if you’re so inclined). KR and I are pretty geographically dispersed, so signed copies might be a non-option, but ask us and we’ll do what we can. Want a copy? Click here.

Feel free to add other “perfect for the librarian who has everything” links below.

the digital dark ages? machines of loving grace?

Posted on by jessamyn

While I find that using my computer for more of my communication and cultural creations works for me, it’s more of a concern when we think of this as the model for large-scale cultural products. The National Library of Australia tells us/warns us that cultural production in Australia is predominantly in digital form. They’ve made a bold statement about the role of the library in maintaining and preserving these cultural products. It’s a strong but hopeful almost-manifesto ending with Investing in Australia’s digital heritage is an investment for the future. Well done. With that said, here’s a poem I’ve always liked from Richard Brautigan. [thanks gwyn]

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.