I read a mailing list called Secrecy News via RSS. One of the things they frequently link to are Congressional Research Service reports. These produce some of the best research out there on various important topics. They are public domain content and are free as in beer. However it’s often easier to find these documents via fee-based services than out on the open web despite web sites like Open CRS. There is a newish report that should be required reading for all librarians: Libraries and the USA PATRIOT Act, originally published in February 2003 now updated for July 2005.
former Health and Human Services Secretary chips himself
I don’t care if Tommy Thompson is going to chip himself, I’m still not sold on RFID technology for libraries as it’s being marketed and implemented currently. Let’s get real here. There’s a difference between voluntarily tagging yourself and having tagging being a prerequisite for your school or library. Would TT’s tag have his social security number on it? What about his library reading record? This article looks to be nothing more than a cheap stunt hyping VeriChip’s system of linking information on your chip to a database that could contain your health information. Like many nifty technology tools, this one only becomes useful when it becomes ubiquitous which seems to me to be a long ways off. Getting this sort of coverage would [or should] mean open standards to lower prices, encourage innovation, reduce vendor lock-in and encourage growth generally.
And, speaking of RFID, Laura Smart’s URL to her excellent Library RFID site has changed. You can find all her content here: http://libraryrfid.net/wordpress
Cliff Lynch: Where Do We Go From Here? The Next Decade for Digital Libraries
It’s very hard for me to believe that D-Lib Magazine is now ten because I was already in library school when it started. Be sure to check out Clifford Lynch’s article on the future of ditial libraries. I generally don’t enjoy futuristic talk about library things because I have a hard time seeing the “how do we get there from here?” part, but the path with digital libraries seems more clear cut, even if it involves the same sort of paradigm changes that we are seeing in the brick/mortar/print world.
noted (almost) without comment
I’m assuming this post means that Michelle Malkin didn’t like the Resolution on the Connection between the Iraq War and Libraries. This from someone who thinks my job involves “stacking books.” Good tip on the AALL conference blog though.
Versed, published by ALA’s Office for Diversity
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it was over a year ago. Under Tracie Hall’s skillful directorship, the ALA Office for Diversity has really been turning out some quality content in their newsletter Versed. I picked up the latest issue at ALA and read it on the plane on the way home. I particularly enjoyed the interviews with past ALA president Betty Turock, East Cleveland Public Library director Greg Reese and the conversation about how to grapple with racism, sexism and the future of the profession.
I wrote my dissertation on job satisfaction of Black librarians in some urban systems of the Midwest, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic states. I did a lot of interviewing. Salary was not a factor in why people were happy or unhappy. It wasn’t even mentioned. What gave people the greatest job satisfaction was being able to help people and doing the work of a librarian. A third major reason was one I was totally unprepared for — a feeling by Black librarians that they were doing the work of God. They felt a calling. It was really striking. The major reason for workplace dissatisfaction was working in a hostile workplace and being subjected to discrimination by library directors, staff, and patrons.