Library Juice readers on most university campuses should be able to read this new one from EDUCAUSE Review: “If the Academic Library Ceased to Exist, Would We Have to Invent It?” It’s a brief think piece that demonstrates why academic libraries are necessary, answering the idea, apparently familiar to the EDUCAUSE crowd, that they are … Read more EDUCAUSE on libraries (with friends like these…)
Thomas Mann at the Library of Congress has written an update to his critical summary of changes there: More on What’s Going On at the Library of Congress, published through the Library of Congress Professional Guild, AFSCME 2910. The cover page lists these topics in the 24 page document: Series authority records Integrating the Web … Read more More on What’s Going On at the Library of Congress
Rebekah Azen resigned from her post as the director of the library at Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, because she believes that exposure to WiFi emissions is a health hazard and got no response from administrators after complaining. Library Journal covered this story yesterday. The Council on Wireless Technology Impacts, a group that … Read more Library Director resigns over WiFi irradiation risks
Tom Wilson has announced the new issue of Information Research, an electronic journal about information organization and information seeking behavior. This issue has some neat stuff in it, in my opinion: an article about casual, social information spaces used by college students, analyzed through the theory of “information grounds;” a study of how people organize … Read more New Issue of Information Research
Jim Carroll blogged this on January 4th: Why “Bandwagon Innovation” Doesn’t Work. Carroll states very succinctly what is wrong with bandwagonny innovation ideas (including Web 2.0 ideas as they are commonly approached). He is a futurist whose primary interest is innovation; he is not anti-tech at all. His points about innovation bandwagons have to do … Read more “Bandwagon innovation”
The Progressive Librarians Guild has endorsed a resolution by the American Historical Association, titled Resolution on United States Government Practices Inimical to the Values of the Historical Profession. The resolution addresses the Bush Administration’s violations of historic preservation practices and other principles held by historians, in the context of the war in Iraq. The violations … Read more PLG endorses AHA resolution on US gov’t and historical preservation
Stephen Talbott’s NETFUTURE: Technology and Human Responsibility, the electronic newsletter he has edited since 1995, is back in publication after a fifteen month hiatus. I wondered if it would ever resume publication, and I am very glad that it has. In Talbott’s words, NetFuture is an electronic newsletter with postings every two-to-four weeks or so. … Read more NETFUTURE is back
After his last address on Iraq, President Bush broke with precedent and refused to be photographed at the podium by journalists, instead distributing an official, government produced photo which he expected the media to publish. Some media outlets did publish the official photo, and some published still video captures from the address. Put it on … Read more Bush refuses to be photographed
ALA has started up some blogs. Some belong to staff members, but there are many that belong to units. Check out the Office for Intellectual Freedom blog, and then look at some of the others linked at the top of the top level ALA blogs page…
Library Juice Concentrate Edited by Rory Litwin Preface by Kathleen de la Peña McCook Price: $25.00 ISBN-10: 0-9778617-3-2 ISBN-13: 978-0-9778617-3-6 6″ by 9″ Published: December 2006 Library Juice Concentrate is a compilation of the best of Library Juice, an e-zine published by Rory Litwin between 1998 and 2005 that dealt with foundational questions of librarianship … Read more New from LJP: Library Juice Concentrate
Library Daylight: Tracings of Modern Librarianship, 1874 to 1922 Edited by Rory Litwin Introduction by Suzanne Stauffer, Ph.D. Price: $25.00 ISBN-10: 0-9778617-4-0 ISBN-13: 978-0-9778617-4-3 6″ by 9″ Published: December 2006 Library Daylight: Tracings of Modern Librarianship, 1874 to 1922 is an eclectic collection of thirty-six articles about libraries and librarianship published between 1874 and 1922. … Read more New from LJP: Library Daylight
I’ve been tardy in blogging this… The Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service has issued a report on the EPA library closures. That link goes to a PDF of the document hosted by the Federation of American Scientists. Thanks to ALA’s Don Wood for distributing this info.
I had announced a small Library Juice Press book release party at ALA Midwinter in Seattle, saying that I would announce the location when I had more info. I have since decided not to attend Midwinter, so I won’t be in Seattle. I was looking forward to showing off the first four books and to … Read more ALA Midwinter
The new issue of Information for Social Change is out. It’s issue 24, and its theme is “Libraries & Information in the World Social Forum Context. There hasn’t been much participation in the World Social Forum by U.S. librarians, including the progressives and socialists, though there has certainly been awareness and enthusiasm about the WSF … Read more New – ISC #24 – World Social Forum
Lawrence Lessig has an editorial in last month’s Wired Magazine about how money distorts the political process, with a specific tie-in to the recent legislation concerning network neutrality: A Costly Addiction.
This post is a compilation of web resources having to do with alternative literature and libraries. It replaces an out-of-date page on my personal site. By “alternative literature” I mean books, magazines, and other written media coming from any of a myriad Left perspectives (socialist, anarchist, green, feminist, queer, or specific-issue-based) and published independently of … Read more Alternative Lit and Libraries
ALA’s Don Wood has a blog that he uses as a channel for his communications on libraries and intellectual freedom. Today he has a post about the ALA Washington Office and their response to statements by the director of the FBI that they say reveals the Bureau’s continued lack of understanding of libraries and the … Read more Privacy, Libraries, ALA and FBI
This is a cute visual argument for the value of printed books. A friend at work sent it to me….
Whatever you think about Christopher Hitchens, I think you’ve got to appreciate his iconoclasm. His review of David Nasaw’s book about Andrew Carnegie gives me the slight feeling that he wishes he had written it himself, or at any rate that he appreciates it very much for the many-sided story that it tells. It is … Read more Christopher Hitchens reviews David Nasaw’s book on Andrew Carnegie
Southern Methodist University is the front runner to be the site for the Bush Presidential Library, and is favored by President Bush because of his United Methodist religious affiliation. The administration at SMU has been pushing to win the project. Faculty at SMU are starting to protest, and United Methodist leaders are also questioning the … Read more Southern Methodist University faculty uneasy about a Bush Presidential Library