Hi. I’m Lacey. As you may have seen, I am the new editor-in-chief for Library Juice Press and Litwin Books. I know that the purpose of an initial message of … Read more Greetings from your new editor-in-chief, Lacey Torge
Inland Editions is a new publisher out of London that is particularly interested in libraries. They are preparing to publish their first book, which appears to be a beautifully designed … Read more Inland Editions
Barbara Fister expresses a welcome dissenting view regarding the death of libraries and reading in the current Inside Higher Ed: “The End of the Twilight of Doom.” I agree with … Read more Barbara Fister on the “End of the Twilight of Doom”
The recent assaults by the police on various Occupy movement encampments highlight the tenuousness of our right to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. Certainly, there is … Read more Occupying the First Amendment
Here is a guest post from Julie Teglovic, an MLIS student at the University of Denver, where students have been protesting a decision regarding the library… Library as Space: University … Read more Students at the University of Denver Want Books
I was honored when Rory Litwin asked me to write for Library Juice. I have followed the blog for some time now and have always found it a source of … Read more Beyond Access
Given Google’s dominance in search and the scope and integration of their Google Books product (hate to use the word product, but libraries have been converted into product here), we … Read more What Google permits and does not permit in Google eBooks
The use of certain library statistics, mainly related to circulation and its electronic semi-equivalents, has taken on a high degree of importance in library management since 1979, when Charlie Robinson … Read more Some objections to our use of library statistics
I was discussing the free press with a Russian friend once, and she told me that the main difference between Soviet Russia and the contemporary USA was that Russians knew … Read more Terrorists meeting at the Capitol Building today? Government information and alternative media
Many large institutions, such as universities, are beginning to contract their email services out to Google. At the university where I work, we are in the process of switching our … Read more Institutions are switching to Gmail, but are they discussing the fine print?
As the more civic-minded among us have observed, the American Right has mostly rejected rational discourse in favor of strategic communication. There is a reason for it that has to … Read more The underlying reason that the American Right will always be irrational, and a couple of ideas as to why the problem is presently so acute
I am very serious in the view that we should not be trying to increase voter turnout, in this or any election. Let me explain why. Most of us have … Read more Get out the books, not the vote
More and more, I find that the library profession’s efforts to stay relevant in the age of information technology are in fact eroding our relevance. As a result of these … Read more Our niche and how to get back into it
Many librarians, when asked what is involved in being a librarian besides checking out books, will say something to the effect of, “I don’t know the answers, but I know … Read more Knowing how to find out
The big theme in the current era of librarianship is to be user-centered. Being user centered is the key to maintaining relevance, changing with the times, and erasing the barriers … Read more Motives in the conception of the “user” in user-centered service design
I want to suggest a possible strategy for reference departments in academic libraries. I think a lot of library administrators who have an eye on the future see less of … Read more The “assessment piece” and reference strategy
Notice that I am not using the word “ontology.” I’ll get into why later, but if you’ve read any Heidegger you can guess… Hope Olson, Sandy Berman, and many others … Read more Quick note on taxonomic transparency
This post is a presentation of two lists of priorities – first, priorities of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT), and second, a list of the kind of issue that … Read more Two sets of priorities
“Verbiage” is a derisive word describing prose that uses many words to say not a lot, or more particularly, prose that uses words carelessly, to create impressions without attending to … Read more “Verbiage,” “Intuitiveness,” respect for language, respect for users