Hi. Michael McGrorty and I and Eli sat around talking politics in Los Angeles this past weekend. While I think the current administration will be marginally worse for libraries [and much worse for people] than the alternative, let’s just rememebr that all John Kerry said about libraries in his big suck-up-to-everyone speech at the DNC was about putting one on a chip. Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for everyone who feels bad this week, but let’s not act like the Great White Hope just walked out the door on us. The decline of libraries and funding for libraries in the US didn’t start with Bush and while I suspect it won’t end with Bush, I’d argue that it wouldn’t have ended with Kerry either. Americans are changing their mind about how they feel about the public good, about sharing, and about other people in general. This election didn’t cement that, it reflects that. So does the decline of libraries. Let’s get started now, shall we, fixing it?
Author: jessamyn
google + ALA web site = ?
One of the search engines that ALA is contemplating the replace the one on their site is the Google search appliance. I’m still mucking about with the various options, but it seems that there are definite benefits to having a search engine that many if not most ALA members (and the public) already know how to use…. or do they? Tara links to Google’s cheet sheet and then adds a few additional syntaxes you might not know about.
technoplans vs. technolust
Michael Stephens has an article in Library Journal Technoplans vs. Technolust about the difference between being a gear fetishinst and having a solid technology plan.
Our users, also technology consumers, have evolving expectations of what the library should provide. Yet new technologies can be disruptive to both staff and public. Added to all this, some of us remain technophobes while others are consumed by technolust—an irrational love for new technology combined with unrealistic expectations for the solutions it brings.
hi – 02nov
Hi. Are any librarians who are responsible for staffing public access computing facilities feeling some sympathy today with poll workers stuck with malfunctioning voting machines, lack of backup procedures, insufficient provisional ballots and grumpy support staffers and voters? Remind me what problem were these machines supposed to fix again, and at what cost?
Dartmouth confrerence outreach notes online
I’m just going to be hurling some links up here today. The talks from the Dartmouth conference I was at on Thursday are now all online linked at the end of each presentation. There were some really great ideas about library outreach and assessment put up, I recommed you take a look at a few things librarians are doing. They also did another cool thing [in addition to being fierce about the time limits for talks] which was to have a conference evaluation online. They sent an email reminder with a link to the evaluation form. Anyone who filled out the fairly detailed evaluation form — which had an entry for rating each presentation — would be eligible for a $75 gift certificate for something or other. It added $75 plus staff time to the conference budget but I bet they get nearly 100% return rate on their evaluations. Smart!