Alternatives in Print is a directory of book publishers and critical periodicals, consisting of the former print resources, Annotations and Alternative Publishers of Books in North America (APBNA). Library Juice Press published the 6th edition of APBNA, and the Alternative Press Center has been the publisher of Annotations, the periodicals directory. We have been working … Read more New online resource: Alternatives in Print
Litwin Books Series on Archives, Archivists and Society Richard J. Cox, series editor The notion of archives and the archive and the work of archivists and related professionals are undergoing great changes today. While archives have been around for thousands of years, it is only in the past century or so that the notion of … Read more Litwin Books Series in Archives, Archivists and Society
I also had a strong reaction to Rory’s recent post on “Deprofessionalization and the Library Blogosphere.” Others have made good points about his criticism of library blog-discourse, and I won’t repeat those. The main issue I have his emphasis on “expertise.” I think this is problematic because what is just as important is breaking down … Read more Expertise and Psychology (And a Mention of the Blogosphere)
Something that never fails to charm me is discovering the ways that acquaintances use the library, especially when it comes up before they find out that I work there. That’s what happened one day in our main library when I bumped into someone I know from the salsa socials, and it turned out that he’s … Read more Philosophy and Democracy in the Public Library
The most recent Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR had a story about a different kind of archive: a vault containing seeds from the world’s grains, for preservation purposes. Central to the story is the Global Crop Diversity Trust. This is interesting in a number of ways. One rather academic question it raises is whether seed … Read more A Different Kind of Archive: The Svalbard Global Seed Vault
I want to provide a link to some admirable and important work being done by the Center for Media and Democracy: ALEC Exposed. (ALEC is the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that serves as a clearing house for model state government legislation written to further the interests of corporations.) The work of the Center … Read more ALEC Exposed, and some food for thought
Libraries and the Enlightenment Author: Wayne Bivens-Tatum Price: $25.00 Published: March 2012 ISBN: 978-1-936117-42-0 Contemporary American libraries are products of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment–the intellectual and political movement that emerged in 18th century Europe–consolidated various scientific and political ideals into a worldview advocating scientific discovery and experimentation, reason as a touchstone of truth, intellectual freedom … Read more New Book: Libraries and the Enlightenment