Walt has started a little blog page to post announcements when he’s done a new issue of Cites & Insights. It includes announcements and brief tables of contents. You can subscribe to the Atom feed if that’s what deweys your decimal.
Month: August 2004
can you see our culture by looking at our libraries?
For anyone who has ever contemplated the “cheeseburger in the library” dilemma [summed up thusly “If we’re just going to be everything the patrons want, why not serve cheeseburgers with our books and DVDs?”] you will enjoy
Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library: How Postmodern Consumer Capitalism Threatens Democracy, Civil Education and the Public Good. I’m about on Chapter 5.
Soon after I had begun working for a large, urban public library in 1992 I was invited to talk with an elderly administrator who was about to retire after a long career which she began as a children’s librarian. She was aware of my previous teaching experience and in the privacy of her office she explained to me that education was not the mission of the library. “I consider myself an entertainer,” she said, “not an educator.” But in fact she taught me a great deal, because she instigated a process of reflection lasting many years in which I have tried to understand the meaning of her words. What is the difference between education and entertainment? Did entertainment replace education as the mission of the library and if so, why? [lisnews]
DebW in Gawker!
So nice to see my long-time e-colleague Deb Wassertzug looking lovely and interviewed in Gawker. [thanks all]
the USAPA “a long bill”
Well, looks like someone else got to hear Kerry mention the USA PATRIOT Act, John Perry Barlow.
had a conversation with Kerry. It was pretty disheartening. I asked how he felt about civil liberties. He said, “I’m for ’em!” That’s great, but how do you feel about Section 215 of the Patriot Act? He said, “What’s that?” I said, it basically says any privately generated database is available for public scrutiny with an administrative subpoena. He says, “It says that?” I say, “You voted for it!” He says, “Well, it was a long bill….” [randomwalks]
DoJ prints almost retraction
If you were a government depository library that destroyed those DoJ documents when they asked you to, and then they changed their mind, and now you’d like fresh copies, there’s a page up on the DoJ web site where you can order them. In case you were wondering what all the hubbub is about forfeiture lately, this site will give you an activist overview of the controversy.