conservativism and ALA and the profession and you

Posted on by jessamyn

The Lonliness of a Conservative Librarian ends “[W]e should welcome diverse viewpoints within our profession.” I’m sure it would suprise nobody to learn that I wish ALA was different too. So, I joined some committees, tried to keep my wisecracks in check, worked with people who I vigorously disagreed with in the name of getting things done and, to a certain extent, sucked it up that ALA wasn’t exactly like I wanted it to be, because I felt that I could help make it better. I was also aware that I got more out of ALA than I would gain professionally without it, so on balance it was worth the headaches, the fustrations and the cost. I re-evaluate this decision a lot but it’s one that I made consciously.

Everyone needs to make their own balance sheets about these sorts of things. I empathize with people who have strong enough political convictions that they feel like a paraiah, but it’s a big profession out there and the jerks, naysayers, trolls and halfwits [on all sides of the political spectrum] are a small small minority of the people you get to meet and work with. Not letting them get you down is a good part of public service work, as is learning how to not be that jerk in the first place. No one’s ever going to bury me with a headstone that says “She was polite” but I try very very hard to treat all my fellow professionals professionally and I think it’s a good place to start from.

directory of open access journals

Posted on by jessamyn

The Directory of Open Access Journals. Free. Full text. Scholarly and quality controlled. Multilingual. Of particular note to librarians are the 49 journals in library and information science. Which ones are on my reading list for today? IT&Society’s issues about the Digital Divide including A Multifaceted Model of the Digital Divide and An Overview: Approaches for ther Development of Basic IT Skills from The Journal of Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology.

fighting poverty @ your library, or outside it

Posted on by jessamyn

You may have seen the letter to the editor that Eli and I wrote talking about the restaurant review section of the conference issue of American Libraries. We said something to the effect that calling a place with entrees $20 and under “low priced” [with no lower option] seemed to miss the boat in terms of the budget that many librarians are working with. One of the reasons that another run for Council does not appeal to me is not only because of the cash involved in six trips in three years, but the fact that discussion of the high prices of Council participation on Council lists can be met with the response that maybe you shouldn’t be on Council until you can afford to be. Maybe they’re right and maybe they’re not, but the presumption itself raises my hackles.

That said, I’m not poor. I’ve got a job that pays, health insurance and rent that I can afford, almost no debt, and income potential from several sources. I own a house and I have a good education that, barring disaster, cements my ability to maintain these things. I have a support network in place that can help even if there is a disaster. Many other people are not so fortunate, and I work with them every day, most librarians do too. I talk about the ways that librarians can address social issues in fairly simple ways in many of my talks when I talk about the social implications of software choices. It’s a topic I bring up a lot.

A few resources that I’ve seen lately include Mary Minow’s webcast Library Services and the Homeless: A Legal Perspective with this supporting documentation from the Hunger Homelessness and Poverty Task force of SRRT Just a Little Understanding: A Social-Service Provider’s Perspective on Homeless Library Users. John from HHPTF pointed me towards this story today about the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library’s program putting computers directly into Horizon House a daytime homeless center in Indiannapolis. HHPTF blog has a bit more info.