I ran across this essay by Karl Mannheim while looking into ideas on “styles of thought” in relation to philosophy and politics. Mannheim was one of the founders of the “sociology of knowledge,” which is an area of inquiry that some in LIS have said constitutes a good theoretical underpinning for what we do. The … Read more Karl Mannheim on “conservative thought”
Message sent to me by the International Solidarity Initiative. I don’t have any personal names to connect to this group, but in response to my questions about them they told me that they are independent and not a part of another organization. They can be excused for wanting to stay personally under the radar given … Read more Solidarity Library in Central Bethlehem
I spent the better part of Wednesday at VuStuff II, a small regional gathering hosted by Villanova University’s Falvey Memorial Library, which focused on the intersection of technology and scholarly communication in libraries. The attendees were an interesting mix of people from academic and special libraries, and included library directors, archivists, systems librarians, special collections … Read more Thoughts on VuStuff II
Do you love big words? Love your Theory words? Then you’ve probably noticed that MS Word likes to underline a lot of your prose in red. For some reason their dictionary is not as complete as it should be given the ubiquity of the software in academic settings. I wonder why that is? Here is … Read more 147 $20 words that MS Word does not know
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 interest. As this is my first post, I thought I’d write on an issue that I find to be central to librarianship, namely, the tension between our … Read more Beyond Access
There’s an occupation in my city – maybe in yours, too. The activity itself is born of the frustration, rage, and inspiration of people who are looking for alternatives to the current corporatist state of things, but of course there’s also work to be done within the movement. People are working to “counter the images … Read more The Occupation Has a Library
We have often pointed out here that privacy in Facebook is not primarily a matter of controlling what you share with your friends, as Facebook likes to say it is, but what data Facebook has about you that it can sell or otherwise make available to its business partners. Here is a great link that … Read more Facebook’s Data Pool
Hello, this is Erik Sean Estep. I’m one of the new bloggers here. I’ve been a librarian for over ten years and I’m currently the Social Sciences Librarian at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. I’m honored to be a contributor because I think that this is one of the most intellectually compelling blogs in our field. Many times, … Read more On the Pleasure of Libraries as a Place
For those who have noted, along with Jon Stewart, that in the Fox News era the media treats facts in a relative way, as a matter of political taste… This phenomenon was first described by Frankfurt School critical theorist Herbert Marcuse, in his 1965 essay, “Repressive Tolerance.” According to Marcuse, it is a problem of … Read more Repressive Tolerance (link to essay by Marcuse) and a comment on information literacy
Call for Submissions: Special Issue on Archival Education and Human Rights InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies In a recent article in American Archivist, a group of some two-dozen archival faculty and doctoral students from programs around the world called on archival educators to develop a new educational framework that both reflects and … Read more CFP: Archival Education and Human Rights
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 should be especially aware of their policies regarding what they will permit and what they will not permit in terms of inclusion in their full … Read more What Google permits and does not permit in Google eBooks
Red in black and white: The New Left printing renaissance of the 1960s – and beyond Essay by Lincoln Cushing in Peace Press Graphics 1967-1987: Art in the Pursuit of Social Change, Catalog for a 2011 exhibition at the University Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach. Exhibition curated by Ilee Kaplan and Carol A. … Read more Lincoln Cushing writes on the printing renaissance of the 1960s
Dan Kleinman is the man behind the SafeLibraries campaign, which opposes the American Library Association’s intellectual freedom efforts regarding challenged books in school libraries and classrooms. From Dan’s point of view, as many know, ALA is responsible for exposing children to sexually inappropriate materials. Dan agreed to an interview, which we conducted on Facebook chat. … Read more Rory Litwin interviews SafeLibraries’ Dan Kleinman
Caroline Nappo sent a link to this New York Times story to the Library History Round Table email list: What’s a Presidential Library to Do? SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — When Republicans gathered at the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum here for the presidential debate last week, the backdrop was an overhauled exhibition on the Reagan … Read more The Reagan Presidential Library and the Nixon Presidential Library
Not to start grandiosely or anything, but I’ve been thinking about philosophies of librarianship as well the current state of the profession. Some time ago I read a little online commentary about the people who get into librarianship as a calling that happens also to be a career, versus those who just treat it as … Read more Introduction and Some Reflections
The Long Island University Faculty Federation is on strike. Librarians are included. Information is available at the LIU Faculty Federation home page.
University of Western Ontario Librarians are on strike. (Link goes to recent news from the Faculty Association.) From the press release announcing the strike: “It is with great regret that we make this decision,” said Bryce Traister, UWOFA President. “We simply haven’t seen enough movement on the key issues important to our members. We find … Read more University of Western Ontario Librarians On Strike
2nd Call for Papers Protest on the Page: Print Culture History in Opposition to Almost Anything* (*you can think of) Center for the History of Print and Digital Culture Madison, Wisconsin September 28-29, 2012 Protest has a long and varied tradition in America. The conference will feature papers focusing on authors, publishers and readers of … Read more Call for Papers: Protest on the Page: Print Culture History in Opposition to Almost Anything* (*you can think of)
James Welbourne was an important and inspiring leader among librarians who changed librarianship in the late 60s and early 70s. From the New Haven Register, New Haven, CT WELBOURNE, JAMES CLIFTON AUGUST 10, 1942 – AUGUST 22, 2011 “Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just … Read more James Welbourne has passed on
Not exactly a library issue, but one which rests on the same ideals. It seems urgent to me that we legalize making video recordings of on-duty police officers. (Only illegal in some states.)