This dude's crazy.....

....but he might be on to something

An article just arrived in my in box, and the first line really caught my eye "Bill Mayer imagines a library without librarians."

Wha? Really? No.....Seriously....?

...and then I read the article. It seems that Mayer (the university librarian at American University) actually has some radical, and maybe even good, ideas.

He doesn't want to get rid of librarians, he just wants them out of the library and in the community. He also wants to incorporate various community collections (In the case of AU, collections that various student groups and campus departments have already built up) and pull them together with the library's collection. As I go through library school, I am amazed at how often that word pops up....community.

It seems that libraries have gone through an evolution where the original focus was on the information itself, and then the focus was on the systems of retrieving information, and then the focus was on serving the patron. I think its time to stop thinking about serving individual patrons, but looking at a community, as a whole, as the patron. I also think that we need to stop thinking about bringing the patron to the information, but bringing the information to the patron.

How do we do this? I have no idea. That's what I'm going into debt for.

Anyways, it's a great article, I highly recommend you check it out.

And I'm curious about this Bill Mayer character, he seems like someone to keep an eye on...

Amazon hates blind people....

Not really, just looking for a catchy title. But here is an interesting development:

Schools who were testing the kindle for academic settings are stopping, and even going so far to recommend that schools don't promote the use of Kindles in the classroom.

The impetus for this move? Complaints to the U.S. Justice Department stating that the Kindle is not accessible to blind students. Although the Kindle has basic text to speech functions, these functions don't include menus or search options.

I guess Amazon isn't saying a whole lot about this little blunder, but in earlier statements the company recognized that key modifications still need to be made before the device can fully service blind individuals.

There's A Social Worker In San Francisco's Public Library

I would imagine that San Francisco's public library system is much like Multnomah County public library (Portland's Public Library); an amazing and vibrant library system that might be confused with a homeless shelter.

I love the central branch here in Portland - it's a beautiful building and the staff is amazing. I pick up the materials that I place on reserve there. I've even received some helpful research assistance from the reference librarians.

It is an open, free, democratic space. Hence, the proliferation of street kids, homeless folks and various other-rarely-discussed-members of society. Unfortunately it can make the library a little uncomfortable. On rainy days it's particularly smelly. Its hard to concentrate on homework when there is a gentleman having boisterous arguments with (I presume) the book he is reading. And you're generally pretty cautious when entering the restroom.

A few months ago I was having a conversation with two library staff members (one of whom holds a masters in social work) and they both agreed that a social worker embedded in the library would make a world of difference.

San Francisco's public library is one step ahead of us.

Not only has the library hired a social worker to refer patrons to various services (such as shelters, showers, food and employment services), she is overseeing a program where the library actually hires homeless patrons to act as "Health and Safety Associates," (i.e bathroom monitors). The social worker also trains library staff what to do when witnessing unpleasant behavior from the patrons.

I think this is amazing. Libraries should be information-sharing community centers. By having a social worker in the library, an individual with the proper training and experience is in a very visible place to assist specific members of the community find information that could directly improve their situations.

This is the view that I feel libraries need to take in general. It's not just about accessing books, it's more about accessing the community.

new ways to ask questions...

One of my first assignments this term is simply to shadow and observe a reference librarian for an hour or two, and write down my impressions of the reference interview. Working at a medical research library, I was looking forward to sitting at the desk and eaves-dropping on the interview, imagining what kind of crazy medical quarries I would be privy too.

I came, I saw, I was kinda bored.

That's not entirely true. I had a great conversation with the librarians about library school (he's an alumni of my program) his diverse experience (before becoming a librarian he worked for a video game development company) and librarianship in general (get us started and we go on and on and on....)

We just didn't have patrons come and ask us a question...in person.

We did receive a phone call, and the librarian was logged into the "chat with a librarian" and checked the general reference email. I was a bit frustrated, as I sat in during one of the busiest parts of the day - I was hoping for a little more action than what we got.

However, the hour wasn't a total loss - it did give me a chance to think about the future of information and information gathering behavior, making me wonder how we will be assisting information seekers in the future. As information dissemination becomes predominately digital, will librarians interact more and more with their computer screens? You can email with a librarian and chat with a librarian. There are companies currently developing programs that allow you to text a librarian from your cell phone. Maybe libraries should start a skype reference program....

In the next few days, I'll try the assignment again, and hope for better success, and maybe even recommend a revision to the assignment. After all the reference interview seems to be getting rarer and rarer, but there might be a future for the reference texting....

writers who are better than me....

I think it is appropriate for my first post of 2010 to continue the examination of emerging content delivery technologies: eReaders.

Don't worry, it's short. (I'm way to excited to go home and cook dinner to focus too much attention on writing). I just wanted to share with you a great article on npr about eReaders. It features author Nicholas Carr (who wrote a great article, called Is Google Making Us Stupid, for The Atlantic), who brings up a very important question: is there a relationship between how we read and what we're reading off of?

So there you are: two great articles to start off the new year....

Looking back, Looking forward

Here we go, new decade, fresh start.

I'm sitting at the circulation desk on New Year's Eve, and it goes without saying, things are pretty slow...

I'm clicking through some of my favorite links to stave off the boredom, and everywhere I turn I'm faced with "best of" lists and "decade in review" pages, and I feel like I should also take a moment and reflect.

In the past 10 years I've graduated high school, completed college and started my masters. I've traveled to Kenya, left my hometown and moved to the opposite side on the country. I've participated in the weddings for both of my siblings and I've helped a few of my friends and loved ones welcome little bitty babies into the world. I've gotten tattooed, pierced and grown one of the greatest beards of all time. I've done a lot, traveled a lot, and seen a lot. As I come to the end of my third decade, I realize that it's been an amazing and crazy ten years, but I'm really looking forward to the next ten. I feel like I am finally on a path of turning my avocations into an occupation.

I'm at a point in my life where I'm anticipating the future, both my personal future and our shared future. I'm excited to finish my degree and find a position in a library where my skills and talents will be utilized. I'm excited to see where in the world I will end up. I'm excited about being a participant in the continuing evolution of information dissemination. And I'm looking forward, in general, to joining and participating in the larger community of librarians and information professionals. The people I have met in the past year, through school, work and general library exploration have been some of the most fascinating, caring and genuine people I have ever met.

If I was asked what I imagine 2010 to be like when I was a child, I would probably describe a scene out of the film "Back To The Future II" flying cars, self adjusting clothing, holographic entertainment, the whole bit. We may not be there yet - but there certainly is a lot going on these days: iPods, iPhones and maybe even an iSlate. We've lost classifieds in the newspapers (thanks to craigslist), Encyclopedia Britannica (thanks wikipedia) and dial up Internet (actually glad to see that gone). With Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs we live in an era of instantaneous global communication. Banking & personal finances, education & entertainment, and news & current events are all conducted through our computers (and even our cell phones...). We no longer search for information. Information now searches for us. It's a grand time to be alive with all these new toys and technologies - and it seems like things are going to develop and change faster and faster. For example: will we see a day when a contact lens that transmit computer data and images directly into you eye? It might be sooner than we realize...

If you're reading this, I wish you well as we come into 2010. I hope you also have a chance to reflect and to look forward. I hope you have a chance to celebrate with people you care about. And I hope that you, too, are excited about the possibilities and challenges that await us.

A post for my fellow Oregonians...

Bare with me, as I indulge in another political rant....

Hopefully the readers of this blog who live in Oregon realize that a special election is right around the corner. We have an opportunity to vote on two measures, 66 and 67, that will effectively change the state's tax structure. Without going into too much detail, and on the verge of way oversimplifying things, it will essentially mean that those over a very high income level will pay more than those under it, as well as some changes to corporate tax structure.

For more information, and a better explanation of the measures, check out the League of Women Voters and the Oregon Center for Public Policy.

On that note, I think I'll step up to the soap box and encourage you all to vote yes on these measures. From what I have gathered, it seems that only 3% of Oregonians are going to see an increase on their personal income taxes, and if you are a business owner, unless you declare tens of millions of dollars in profits (or more) there will not be much of a change either (about $150 dollars more a year).

However, there will be some major benefits from these minor changes. Namely, many public services that have seen drastic budget cuts (such as public education and public health care) will see more funding flow their way....including libraries!!

Basically, hundreds of thousands of dollars will be directed to the Ready to Read Program (which has helped tens of thousands of Oregon children access books since the program started in 1993), the summer reading program, and the State Library (which, among many other things, currently circulates the state's Braille collection).

One example of the importance of these measures: without the potential funding, the Ready to Read program could be outright cut. It'd be like taking books away from children....That would suck.

No one likes ignorant children.

Measure 66 and 67 are essential for supporting important public services as we weather this recession. So please, if you're an Oregon voter, vote yes. If you haven't registered to vote yet, click here and register, and again - VOTE YES ON MEASURE 66 AND 67 ON JANUARY 26th!!