Hi. My talk went well and is available in the very-slimmed-down slide format here. It was really exciting to get to hang out with a bunch of super-smart librarians who mostly “get” technology and hear what they had to say and what they were working on. I was the only public librarian in the room which I found quite amusing. People seemed to like my talk. The keynote by LoC librarian [and former private investigator?] Thomas Mann was unforgettable and I’ll try to sum it up in some notes later. No WiFi at Columbia, though there is WiFi through the walls of my friends’ Brooklyn apartment. Updates spotty for a few days.
hi – 10mar
Hi. With great power sometimes comes great responsibility. This was in my inbox today. “Dear ALA councilor-at-large, please tell the person in charge of designing these to stop looking at these. It’s derivative and therefore embarassing.” In other words, we’re approaching National Library Week, aka the first anniversary of the ALA website!
National Library Week poster, redux
So in case you didn’t look at the links in the intro paragraph, let me spell it out for you: The ALA National Library Week posters look like iPod ads. A lot. Someone mentioned to me that maybe this is ALA’s way of “pushing the envelope on fair use” by inviting lawsuits. More copy on the ALA site reads “Bright colors and all-inclusive silhouettes invite everyone in your community to celebrate at your library…. This timeless design is not dated making it perfect for long-term use.” I think “all-inclusive” in this case means that with everyone silhouetted, you don’t need to worry about racial or perhaps even gender equity. Plus you don’t need to pay models. Smart! Now I don’t know about you, but I see a videocasette in that banner as well as headphones that are already out of style even where I live. Timeless, indeed.
“Your Public Library: Just Another Defenseless Victim Zone
In response to Toledo Ohio’s new concealed carry law, the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library will be posting signs letting patrons know that the library is exempt from the concealed carry law. [thanks chris]
white haired librarian versus white haired librarian
I was sort of excited when I went to ALA and saw that ALA Presidential candidate Barb Stripling had a blog. I was a bit less excited to see it not really go anyplace. I appreciate the effort, but I’m not sure if a failed attempt beats a lovely ALA presidential candidate website with no blog. I’ll be endorsing Michael Gorman for ALA President though I do appreciate the work of both candidates.