Category: Public Sphere

New Book: Vanishing Act: The Erosion of Online Footnotes and Implications for Scholarship in the Digital Age

July 12, 2010 by RoryLitwin

Vanishing Act: The Erosion of Online Footnotes and Implications for Scholarship in the Digital Age Authors: Michael Bugeja and Daniela Dimitrova Price: $18.00 Published: Summer 2010 ISBN: 978-1-936117-14-7 Printed on acid-free paper A decade ago, most research was done in the library rather than through its Web site, and scholars, editors, graduate directors and librarians … Read more New Book: Vanishing Act: The Erosion of Online Footnotes and Implications for Scholarship in the Digital Age

Jaron Lanier against digital collectivism

July 9, 2010 by RoryLitwin

New book: A Space for Hate: The White Power Movement’s Adaptation into Cyberspace

June 9, 2010 by RoryLitwin

A Space for Hate: The White Power Movement’s Adaptation into Cyberspace Author: Adam Klein Price: $25.00 Published: June 2010 ISBN: 978-1-936117-07-9 A Space for Hate speaks to the media and information topic of hate speech in cyberspace, but more specifically, how its inscribers have adapted their movement into the social networking and information-providing contexts of … Read more New book: A Space for Hate: The White Power Movement’s Adaptation into Cyberspace

Wayne Bivens-Tatum on Librarians and “Traditional Cultural Expressions”

May 14, 2010 by RoryLitwin

There is a hot issue in librarianship that I think has great significance in terms of how society and the institution of libraries is changing. The issue is how the profession will deal with claims by native cultural groups who desire that their cultural works, documents, and artifacts be kept in public libraries, but with … Read more Wayne Bivens-Tatum on Librarians and “Traditional Cultural Expressions”

The Market Colonization of Intellectuals

April 13, 2010 by RoryLitwin

A very intelligent op-ed on Truthout about the present situation for public intellectuals: Lewis R. Gordon, “The Market Colonization of Intellectuals.” I’m not a regular reader of Truthout, but maybe I will pay more attention to it now. Gordon is writing about the new economics of academia, and intellectual work within and outside the academy. … Read more The Market Colonization of Intellectuals

Jaron Lanier’s You Are Not a Gadget

February 7, 2010 by RoryLitwin

Jaron Lanier has a new book, You Are Not a Gadget (NY Times review), which I have to add to my reading list and bump up a few notches. There is an excerpt from it in the February issue of Harper’s: “The Serfdom of Crowds.” He’s writing along the lines of some of what I … Read more Jaron Lanier’s You Are Not a Gadget

Vancouver Public Library to enforce brand loyalty in sponsorships

January 12, 2010 by RoryLitwin

This is an interesting tidbit coming from Vancouver, BC, site of history’s largest librarian’s strike in 2007. Library management has sent branches a list of “do’s and don’t’s” concerning the upcoming Olympics. Branches must not allow Olympic-related library events to be sponsored by sponsors other than those with official relations with VANOC (Vancouver Olympic Committee). … Read more Vancouver Public Library to enforce brand loyalty in sponsorships

SFPL adds a social worker to the staff

January 12, 2010 by RoryLitwin

San Francisco Public Library has added a professional social worker to the staff to manage issues relating to library users who are homeless or in poverty. They’re paying her a lot more than they pay the librarians, which is annoying. However, it looks to me like they are addressing the needs of poor people in … Read more SFPL adds a social worker to the staff

Google splits apart the search

December 12, 2009 by RoryLitwin

Adorno and Horkheimer might have something to say about this, too. I thought I had noticed this beginning to happen and was actually planning to post something about it soon, but Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land has the full story: “Google’s Personalized Results: The “New Normal” That Deserves Extraordinary Attention.” Read through this and … Read more Google splits apart the search

Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer will not be in attendance

December 11, 2009 by RoryLitwin

Something is happening in Minnesota that is worth noting if you’re interested in the public sphere. There is a mining project in the Iron Range that is awaiting state approval. It would be the first mining project in the Iron Range that would mine copper and precious metals instead of the usual iron that has … Read more Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer will not be in attendance

Ed D’Angelo’s book translated into Japanese

November 19, 2009 by RoryLitwin

One of the first books from Library Juice Press was Ed D’Angelo’s Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library: How Postmodern Consumer Capitalism Threatens Democracy, Civil Education and the Public Good, and it has been our best selling book so far. We’re pleased to announce that the book has been translated into Japanese and … Read more Ed D’Angelo’s book translated into Japanese

A few links

October 22, 2009 by RoryLitwin

From Salon: “Is the Internet melting our brains?” “No! The author of “A Better Pencil” explains why such hysterical hand-wringing is as old as communication itself.” By Vincent Rossmeier. From The Australian: “

Call for Papers – Politics, Libraries and Culture: Historical Perspectives

October 6, 2009 by RoryLitwin

Call for Papers *Politics, Libraries and Culture: Historical Perspectives* *Library History Round Table (LHRT) Research Forum, June 2010* * * The Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) seeks papers for its Research Forum at the 2010 ALA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., June 24-29, 2010. The theme of the Forum … Read more Call for Papers – Politics, Libraries and Culture: Historical Perspectives

The menace of the public (library) option

September 22, 2009 by RoryLitwin

This is a cute piece from the San Francisco Chronicle: “The Menace of the Public Option” (Public Library Option that is.) I am enjoying the the way people are making fun of the rabid anti-Obama crowd in the healthcare debate by pointing out that such mom and apple pie institutions as libraries and fire departments … Read more The menace of the public (library) option

“Most People”

August 28, 2009 by RoryLitwin

Yes, I know I’m supposed to be user-centered and all that, but I think the great wave of populism we’re seeing now is going to lead to bad things. Some friends say it’s a time of opportunity, that maybe the blind rage of the common man can be directed toward support of progressive policies. Perhaps, … Read more “Most People”

SRRT Councilor’s report

July 27, 2009 by RoryLitwin

ALA Council Report to SRRT, Chicago, July 2009 Before reporting on the business of the meetings, let me first honor the life of E.J. Josey, who died just before Annual Meeting. EJ was a founding member of SRRT and the founding father of the Black Caucus of ALA, the first black male President of ALA … Read more SRRT Councilor’s report

2009 Miriam Braverman Prize Winner Announced

June 2, 2009 by RoryLitwin

Announcement that went to PLGnet-L this morning: The Progressive Librarians Guild is pleased to announce the winner of the 2009 Miriam Braverman Memorial Prize. Sarah Clark has been awarded the prize for her essay entitled “Marketing the Library? Why Librarians Should Focus on Stewardship and Advocacy.” Ms. Clark is currently enrolled in the Department of … Read more 2009 Miriam Braverman Prize Winner Announced

Media in Transition 6… Reactions…

April 27, 2009 by RoryLitwin

I attended Media in Transition 6: Stone and Papyrus, Storage and Transmission in Cambridge, MA, April 24-26. (Follow that link for a summary of what the conference was about.) Here are my thoughts about the conference after returning home. Of primary interest to me, coming from Duluth, MN, where it was below freezing yesterday, was … Read more Media in Transition 6… Reactions…

The constraining effects of information privatization: Google’s purchase and shutdown of Paper of Record

April 22, 2009 by RoryLitwin

From today’s Inside Higher Ed, “Digital Archives That Disappear,” a brief article about Google’s shutdown of the historical newspaper archive Paper of Record, which it secretly purchased in 2006. This is a good example of what many people have feared about Google’s success – that turning over information resources from shared, public control in library-related … Read more The constraining effects of information privatization: Google’s purchase and shutdown of Paper of Record

New from Litwin Books: Library of Walls

April 11, 2009 by RoryLitwin

Library of Walls: The Library of Congress and the Contradictions of Information Society Author: Samuel Gerald Collins Price: $32.00 Published: April 2009 ISBN: 978-0-9802004-2-3 Printed on acid-free paper “The experience [of reading this book] was something akin to watching a reality show featuring Jorge Luis Borges, Marshall McLuhan, Michel Foucault, Lewis Mumford, and Paul Virilio … Read more New from Litwin Books: Library of Walls