Category: Links

• Twitter Digest for 2012-02-11: RT @jill_hw: 10 things you have to know to be computer literate http://t.co/buV... http://t.co/eUwKVRRk 01:34:32, 2012-02-12
• RT @ppival: Library forced to shut down intelligent computer that ‘learns’ after it starts giving borrowers saucy X-rated backchat http … 20:24:00, 2012-02-12
• @MargoGustina this will probably take more than 140 characters. Are you on campus or up for a phone call? in reply to MargoGustina 20:27:14, 2012-02-12

• RT @jill_hw: 10 things you have to know to be computer literate http://t.co/buVUIRcG 11:52:09, 2012-02-11
• Twitter Digest for 2012-02-10: @MargoGustina in Pearltrees or in general? The short answer is an easy way to mak… http://t.co/9su8BRlw 20:29:28, 2012-02-11

• @MargoGustina in Pearltrees or in general? The short answer is an easy way to make URL addressable "conversational chunks." in reply to MargoGustina 07:17:46, 2012-02-10
• “How to Talk to Your Patrons About Penguin & Other Publishers Not Loaning eBooks to Libraries http://t.co/z72zFGBD” time to make our own. 07:19:37, 2012-02-10
• RT @iSchoolSU: Expanding Sci-tech librarianship beyond the core duties http://t.co/fGDKhwSG #libraries 07:53:52, 2012-02-10
• If we continue to define our libs by what we collect instd of our impact we'll always be at the mercy of others who don't share our mission 08:14:46, 2012-02-10
• Very much worth a read: http://t.co/GdMFHPwI 09:04:45, 2012-02-10
• @theanalogdivide @walkingpaper certainly overlap to this point, but does it need to always be such a large overlap? in reply to theanalogdivide 11:47:20, 2012-02-10
• @theanalogdivide we never will if we don't work toward something better. Amazon is moving in the direction of less dependence on publishers in reply to theanalogdivide 11:51:12, 2012-02-10
• @theanalogdivide why can't we? Start our own platform for example. in reply to theanalogdivide 11:51:40, 2012-02-10
• RT @iSchoolSU: A New Take on Professional Development | New on #InfoSpace: http://t.co/rf1gSSQt 11:52:35, 2012-02-10
• @theanalogdivide @walkingpaper absolutely. in reply to theanalogdivide 12:04:08, 2012-02-10
• @mstephens7 @walkingpaper @theanalogdivide YES YES YES! Let's bring back the people's university! in reply to mstephens7 16:09:52, 2012-02-10
• RT @jill_hw: Big, Noisy and Visible – Yes, that is what training should be! @TisForTraining 16:16:17, 2012-02-10

I had a great conversation with Roy Tennant about “what keeps me awake at night.” He is doing this as a series of podcasts, and he has just posted our talk. I also love that he sped it up to make it faster to hear (and it doesn’t sound odd…I normally talk that fast anyway).

Here’s the link: http://hangingtogether.org/?p=1513

Neal Gabler has a great opinion piece in the New York Times on living in a post-idea world:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/opinion/sunday/the-elusive-big-idea.html?pagewanted=all

Aside from some seemingly obligatory swipes at social media, there is a lot to think about there. Has society become so immersed in information we have lost our desire/ability to think deep thoughts? In an area of abundance, are we so overfed with information we loose our ability to seek more depth? This is not The Shallows argument of us becoming stupid, instead it is a cultural question.

Part of the reason I wrote the Atlas of New Librarianship was because of a perceived lack of big ideas in librarianship. As a profession I worry that we have become so enmeshed in processes and functions, we have begun to loose the centrality of why we do things. Librarianship is at its heart a big idea – that knowledge is the path to improving society, and that the knowledge process needs to be facilitated.

People think the Internet is the enemy of libraries. It is in fact a great boon. Not only can librarians do their jobs better, the abundant information on the web makes people curious – a prime motivator of library use.

No the enemies of libraries is the twin dilemma posed by anti-intellectuals on one hand, and the small thinking hipster on the other. One hates big ideas and the other dismisses them if they cannot be easily monetized. We need information to make good decisions sure, but we need big ideas to know what questions to ask.

Extremely well done video that talks about libraries as communications and scholarship. At the end see how they celebrate not knowing where we are going…understanding that it is a journey of discovery and invention not blueprints. Is you library about invention and discovery of the future?

OK, first you must watch this video. It is at the very least, adorable:

Now, reflect on what you just saw. A kid (10 maybe?) talking about using AutoCAD to make a 3D object. What’s more, talking about using an open source self-replicating 3D printer. Do not simply dismiss this as one extraordinary kid (though I’m sure he is). This technology is coming to your home and your children. We are entering the day when a 10 year old can design the next action figure, lego, or vehicle, and then email it to their friends. Not consumer, not producer, but participant in a creative community.

Imagine your dishwasher breaks and you call the manufacturer. Instead of mailing you the part, they email it to your printer. Are librarians ready for that? Imagine a member walking in to your library with the idea for the next great gadget. You can help them research it, make it, and then build a community around it. This is facilitating knowledge as much as giving them a “how to” book.

Thanks to Stephen Abram for the link, and thanks to Meg Backus who saw this coming years ago.