There are starts and finishes, but no beginning or end.
The infinite is in ants and stars.
The finite is in ants and stars.
Go in, in, and further in to an ant's eyelashes, and in, in, further in to the teardrop wobbling on a single lash,and in and beyond to worlds and causations behind the tear, and it goes on and so on until it's too much, and too little to see.
Dream of God with the universe as your ceiling, the stars rushing by, bigger and bigger, and bigger still until it's too much too much and too big to fathom, and find yourself right back with the ants.
Humanity is more ant than star, but ants are not forgetful of their Oneness.
To continue to elevate humanity, no one must be left behind. All of the world's citizens must have their basic needs met, and have at least the opportunity to love the library.
The library is bigger than four walls. It is concrete dedication to freedom, and must be protected for the sake of our future generations.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
My Vision of the Library of the Future
The Library of the Future has a prime spot in the community, a large piece of land protected by a Land Grant, and positioned on the community power grid, with back-up generators so it always has power.
It will be a community meeting place, a place to go in emergencies, a place where people can gather.
The building is large---like Grand Central Station. The First Amendment is above the entrance.
Inside are oasies of green, fountains, chairs, places to play checkers, for people to drink coffee, eat, and chat, large maps, large screen tv of the U.N., Congress, State Congress in action, Stock Exchange Reports, travel information.
The Library is sustained by revenue from food courts and rentals, handled by a 3rd party.
The building includes a post office, social service representives, a passport office and other information related services.
Non-profit agencies who serve the public have offices in wings, at reduced or no cost.
Our information is proactive. If a dangerously depressed old woman limped in on her last good leg, the future librarian could connect her with an actual person on the premises---someone who can actually help her.
It is accepted information that if a person wants help, it is available, but I can attest that sometimes its too much to be able to find it.
A person in acute pain does not have the capacity or energy to chase down that care.
People are suffering behind closed doors, and under bridges.
If you've lost your capacity to make money, you are at the mercy of a very cold world.
If the one-legged lady can make it into the Library of the Future, she is delivered with compassion to people who can actually help, and when she can stand on her one foot, she can hop to the Library of the Future and learn what she can do next.
We see gardens as information too, especially in urban environments, and the grounds provide beauty and respite for the community.
We have auditoriums inside and out, a variety of smaller meeting rooms.
Following the model of the shopping mall, information related services are consolidated in one building.
The same way that 'links' drive traffic to websites, the Library of the Future will create liasons that provide information and drive traffic to the Library.
We have achieved diversity by accepting college graduates as Jr. Librarians, able to do work towards a Master's in LIS as they work. We ensure qualified specialists in this way, rather than manning our desks with bored teenagers.
Computer labs are manned for on-the-spot computer assistance or training.
The Library is on the public transportation line, and includes a huge map of public transportation routes as well as a ticket office.
One wing is a museum with important archives and copies of documents are on display (Constitution, Bill of Rights). A reading room will have readable copies of old books.
Beleagured mothers seeking help for their families in one wing can check their children into the Children's Library so their children can enjoy learning experiences instead of waiting for help with nothing to do. Any parent seeking help, counseling, training can check their child in for a learning experience.
Major focus is dedicated to this wing in giving children opportunities for digital literacy, to hear stories, to have literary experiences. This wing is a colorful wonderland with literary inspired features, including some interactive beanstalks, rabbitholes, or pig's huts.
There are homework labs for all ages of youth for two or so hours each weekday. Liasons with local colleges provide extra assistance from future teachers during homework labs. Homework supplies are provided for any child who needs them and printing school projects are free. Businesses pledge support for literacy and digital literacy for youth allowing these expenses to be paid.
It will be a community meeting place, a place to go in emergencies, a place where people can gather.
The building is large---like Grand Central Station. The First Amendment is above the entrance.
Inside are oasies of green, fountains, chairs, places to play checkers, for people to drink coffee, eat, and chat, large maps, large screen tv of the U.N., Congress, State Congress in action, Stock Exchange Reports, travel information.
The Library is sustained by revenue from food courts and rentals, handled by a 3rd party.
The building includes a post office, social service representives, a passport office and other information related services.
Non-profit agencies who serve the public have offices in wings, at reduced or no cost.
Our information is proactive. If a dangerously depressed old woman limped in on her last good leg, the future librarian could connect her with an actual person on the premises---someone who can actually help her.
It is accepted information that if a person wants help, it is available, but I can attest that sometimes its too much to be able to find it.
A person in acute pain does not have the capacity or energy to chase down that care.
People are suffering behind closed doors, and under bridges.
If you've lost your capacity to make money, you are at the mercy of a very cold world.
If the one-legged lady can make it into the Library of the Future, she is delivered with compassion to people who can actually help, and when she can stand on her one foot, she can hop to the Library of the Future and learn what she can do next.
We see gardens as information too, especially in urban environments, and the grounds provide beauty and respite for the community.
We have auditoriums inside and out, a variety of smaller meeting rooms.
Following the model of the shopping mall, information related services are consolidated in one building.
The same way that 'links' drive traffic to websites, the Library of the Future will create liasons that provide information and drive traffic to the Library.
We have achieved diversity by accepting college graduates as Jr. Librarians, able to do work towards a Master's in LIS as they work. We ensure qualified specialists in this way, rather than manning our desks with bored teenagers.
Computer labs are manned for on-the-spot computer assistance or training.
The Library is on the public transportation line, and includes a huge map of public transportation routes as well as a ticket office.
One wing is a museum with important archives and copies of documents are on display (Constitution, Bill of Rights). A reading room will have readable copies of old books.
Beleagured mothers seeking help for their families in one wing can check their children into the Children's Library so their children can enjoy learning experiences instead of waiting for help with nothing to do. Any parent seeking help, counseling, training can check their child in for a learning experience.
Major focus is dedicated to this wing in giving children opportunities for digital literacy, to hear stories, to have literary experiences. This wing is a colorful wonderland with literary inspired features, including some interactive beanstalks, rabbitholes, or pig's huts.
There are homework labs for all ages of youth for two or so hours each weekday. Liasons with local colleges provide extra assistance from future teachers during homework labs. Homework supplies are provided for any child who needs them and printing school projects are free. Businesses pledge support for literacy and digital literacy for youth allowing these expenses to be paid.
The Library is Unique
No one could forsee the impact of the world wide web. A virtual world has been created, and as more and more of our information is digitized, there is danger that the public will view the physical library as unnecessary.
In my mind, the library is unique in its dedication to people, and to the preservation of our first amendment rights. Even if all the world's information were digital, and our society paperless, we still need people helping people with information. We still need a watchdog for our first amendment rights. We are still tactile beings who need tactile experiences, and we will always have a need for open access to information and tools for all of our citizens or future citizens.
For the Library to survive in the future, I think it needs to command a central place in society, and expand its idea of information and service.
In my mind, the library is unique in its dedication to people, and to the preservation of our first amendment rights. Even if all the world's information were digital, and our society paperless, we still need people helping people with information. We still need a watchdog for our first amendment rights. We are still tactile beings who need tactile experiences, and we will always have a need for open access to information and tools for all of our citizens or future citizens.
For the Library to survive in the future, I think it needs to command a central place in society, and expand its idea of information and service.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Library Studies: Perception, Politics, Funding
Allen, Bryce. 2003. "Public Opinion and the Funding of Public Libraries." Library Trends 51, no. 3: 414. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed July 20, 2011).
This study focuses on the theory of public choice as a driving factor for library funding. The author finds that positive public opinion about library services appears to have no impact on public library funding. While the library has a positive reputation for service, there are other services that may be deemed to have higher priority in funding.
Weiss, L. (1996). Buildings, books, and bytes: Libraries and communities in the digital age: A report on the public's opinion of library leaders' visions for the future. Washington, DC: Benton Foundation.
Although this article is written in 1996, it still provides some interesting insight into the future of the Library, as envisioned by library leaders and the general public. Weiss finds that the public envisions the library of the future more as a museum than a place to seek current information.
Lagoze, Carl Jay. 2010. "Lost Identity: The Assimilation of Digital Libraries into the Web." ProQuest LLC, 2010. ERIC, EBSCOhost (accessed July 20, 2011).
The adoption of the Web 2.0 model for the exchange of information, and the increased evidence of the efficacy of this model for activities such as learning and scholarship, make this author question the viability of the library information model and the digital libraries that were meant to instantiate that model online.
Niemi, William L., and David J. Plante. 2008. "Democratic Movements, Self-Education, and Economic Democracy: Chartists, Populists, and Wobblies." In Radical History Review, 185-200. Duke University Press, 2008. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed July 21, 2011).
Democratic movements drive change towards more egalitarian treatment of all people, creating support for libraries.
Roe, George. 2010. "Challenging the Control of Knowledge in Colonial India: Political Ideas in the Work of S. R. Ranganathan." Library & Information History 26, no. 1: 18-32. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed July 22, 2011).
Ranganathan's pioneering work of the 1930s challenged the ideological structures of colonial rule, advocating libraries and librarians as agents of a national political awakening, especially amongst the rural poor. However, the potential to spread mass self-education across India was lost through Ranganathan's simultaneous reliance on the state to deliver social reforms following Indian independence.
Bracha, Oren. 2007. "Standing Copyright Law on Its Head? The Googlization of Everything and the Many Faces of Property." Texas Law Review 85, no. 7: 1799-1869. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed July 21, 2011).
Google announced the Google Print Library Project which makes texts of book digitally searchable online. The project is in partnership with five major libraries including Harvard and Oxford libraries. According to the author, two separate copyright infringement lawsuits against Google were filed by the Authors Guild and a group of copyright owners. An opt-out option was given to authors wherein their works will not be included in the database if they do not give their permission.
Hall, Rachel. 2010. "Public Praxis: A Vision for Critical Information Literacy in Public Libraries." Public Library Quarterly 29, no. 2: 162. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed July 21, 2011).
Public libraries in the United States have a radical opportunity to incorporate information literacy into their service missions. This article explores the reasons why public libraries are not addressing information literacy and engages the educational theories of John Dewey, Paolo Freire, and New Literacy studies to argue that critical information literacy in public libraries is essential to the vitality of democratic societies. In order to deliver these services to their communities, public libraries must provide not only the technologies and instruction for information literacy, but also the impetus for action—what Freire called “praxis.”
This study focuses on the theory of public choice as a driving factor for library funding. The author finds that positive public opinion about library services appears to have no impact on public library funding. While the library has a positive reputation for service, there are other services that may be deemed to have higher priority in funding.
Weiss, L. (1996). Buildings, books, and bytes: Libraries and communities in the digital age: A report on the public's opinion of library leaders' visions for the future. Washington, DC: Benton Foundation.
Although this article is written in 1996, it still provides some interesting insight into the future of the Library, as envisioned by library leaders and the general public. Weiss finds that the public envisions the library of the future more as a museum than a place to seek current information.
Lagoze, Carl Jay. 2010. "Lost Identity: The Assimilation of Digital Libraries into the Web." ProQuest LLC, 2010. ERIC, EBSCOhost (accessed July 20, 2011).
The adoption of the Web 2.0 model for the exchange of information, and the increased evidence of the efficacy of this model for activities such as learning and scholarship, make this author question the viability of the library information model and the digital libraries that were meant to instantiate that model online.
Niemi, William L., and David J. Plante. 2008. "Democratic Movements, Self-Education, and Economic Democracy: Chartists, Populists, and Wobblies." In Radical History Review, 185-200. Duke University Press, 2008. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed July 21, 2011).
Democratic movements drive change towards more egalitarian treatment of all people, creating support for libraries.
Roe, George. 2010. "Challenging the Control of Knowledge in Colonial India: Political Ideas in the Work of S. R. Ranganathan." Library & Information History 26, no. 1: 18-32. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed July 22, 2011).
Ranganathan's pioneering work of the 1930s challenged the ideological structures of colonial rule, advocating libraries and librarians as agents of a national political awakening, especially amongst the rural poor. However, the potential to spread mass self-education across India was lost through Ranganathan's simultaneous reliance on the state to deliver social reforms following Indian independence.
Bracha, Oren. 2007. "Standing Copyright Law on Its Head? The Googlization of Everything and the Many Faces of Property." Texas Law Review 85, no. 7: 1799-1869. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed July 21, 2011).
Google announced the Google Print Library Project which makes texts of book digitally searchable online. The project is in partnership with five major libraries including Harvard and Oxford libraries. According to the author, two separate copyright infringement lawsuits against Google were filed by the Authors Guild and a group of copyright owners. An opt-out option was given to authors wherein their works will not be included in the database if they do not give their permission.
Hall, Rachel. 2010. "Public Praxis: A Vision for Critical Information Literacy in Public Libraries." Public Library Quarterly 29, no. 2: 162. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed July 21, 2011).
Public libraries in the United States have a radical opportunity to incorporate information literacy into their service missions. This article explores the reasons why public libraries are not addressing information literacy and engages the educational theories of John Dewey, Paolo Freire, and New Literacy studies to argue that critical information literacy in public libraries is essential to the vitality of democratic societies. In order to deliver these services to their communities, public libraries must provide not only the technologies and instruction for information literacy, but also the impetus for action—what Freire called “praxis.”
Monday, July 25, 2011
I Need Professional Help!
I have spent hours of my life now scouting the internet for publishing opportunities, only to decide that I need professional help--representation by a literary agent. Early in this web log, I wondered if the digital age would threaten the library as we know it, and if all the self-publishing opportunities on the internet would render agents and publishing houses unnecessary to authors.
As a result of my studies thus far, I do believe that the future of the library as a physical place is threatened, and that every effort should be made to ensure its continued existance for all future generations. I believe librarians will be more necessary in the future, rather than less, and I think ideas could be implemented that would ensure that the library remains central to communities in the future.
Like librarians, I think literary agents are even more crucial in the digital age, rather than becoming obselete as I had wondered. I have come to this conclusion because of the abundance of information presented on the internet.
I feel like I'm dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean.
There are scams and shams, many opportunities, and many opportunities for fools to part with their money on the internet.
I have also realized that I do not have the skills, aptitude, patience or judgment to serve as my own literary agent. I need professional help.
As a result of my studies thus far, I do believe that the future of the library as a physical place is threatened, and that every effort should be made to ensure its continued existance for all future generations. I believe librarians will be more necessary in the future, rather than less, and I think ideas could be implemented that would ensure that the library remains central to communities in the future.
Like librarians, I think literary agents are even more crucial in the digital age, rather than becoming obselete as I had wondered. I have come to this conclusion because of the abundance of information presented on the internet.
I feel like I'm dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean.
There are scams and shams, many opportunities, and many opportunities for fools to part with their money on the internet.
I have also realized that I do not have the skills, aptitude, patience or judgment to serve as my own literary agent. I need professional help.
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