It’s the data, stupid.
Posted On May 14 2008I’ve generally steered clear of much of the debate surrounding Library 2.0. Nevertheless, the catalog work I was involved in at NCSU (somewhat over-hyped as a “2.0 catalog”…as though anything new in libraries must now carry the 2.0 moniker), resulted in several speaking invitations where the invitors assumed I could speak knowledgeably about Library 2.0. So like a good librarian, I did some research. I read a lot of Tim O’Reilly. I read a lot of Lorcan writing about 2.0 and O-Reilly. I tried to put something together that juxtaposed basic 2.0 principles against the entire workflow of the library. …
Virtually Virtual Reference
Posted On Sep 19 2007I will admit that I used to be pretty down on virtual reference. When the notion that librarians could get on board with unsolicited virtual conversation first started, the grandiose nature of the uptake—punctuated by conferences, scholarly articles, and prolonged navel-gazing discussion of this supposed paradigm shift—made one think that librarians had invented online chat. As with most things of this nature, a cottage industry emerged to support the library clamor for virtual reference (I know some vendors really hate it when I refer to their bread and butter as a cottage industry, but, well . . . tough). There …
An Unerring Eye for the Inessential
Posted On Jul 25 2007Every once in a while, I read something that just grabs me by the throat. If I’m lucky, it stimulates my thinking, makes me laugh, and prompts me to actually do something. I recently had such an experience when my boss forwarded a reprint of an article by Maurice Line, whom I am now ashamed to admit I had never heard of. He worked for the British Library and was a consultant before he retired in 2005. “Librarianship as it is practiced: a failure of intellect, imagination and initiative” was reprinted in Interlending & Document Supply (33/2, 2005, pp. 109-113). …