I Own Me
Posted On Sep 22 2006I got a very exciting email today–probably one of the best I have gotten in a long time. It was a statement from Sallie Mae announcing that my last student loan payment would be posted next month. “It’s like you’re a real librarian now,” said Sharon, my loving wife. Actually, that was a good one. I felt like I owned something new. It got me thinking about ownership, sort of a hot topic in libraries for the last several years. I don’t want to belabor content ownership here because others have done that better. My concern lately is just who owns …
Topsy Turvy Summer
Posted On Aug 7 2006This summer has seen no shortage of interesting announcements in the library automation world. At first glance, things seem upside down in a library world where the Library of Congress can be accused of abandoning the profession, and internet behemoth Amazon.com announces that it will supply MARC records! The many happenings at LC have been given plenty of digital and print ink, so I won’t belabor the debates here. In “The Changing Nature of the Catalog and Its Integration with Other Discovery Tools,” (pdf) Karen Calhoun makes several (and some radical) suggestions that are shaking things up. Combine that with …
Follett Acquires Sagebrush Software
Posted On Aug 2 2006Like dying celebrities, mergers and acquisitions seem to come in threes, so we’ll call this one number two after Ex Libris (I predict that number three will happen before the end of the calendar year). Sagebrush Corporation announced last week that it has sold its library automation division to Follett Software Company, a subsidiary of Follett Corporation. Two of the biggest players in the K-12 library automation market, this is a consolidation of importance to that market, and a more focused direction for Sagebrush Books, Sagebrush Library Services, and Sagebrush Viewpoint, which has rebranded and renamed itself Savia, LLC. Bob …