Because I believe the coming decade will be pivotal for American public libraries, I’m changing things up a bit to focus more on “reading the tea leaves”. Blog Posts Posts in the coming year will be more analytical and longer than most of last year’s. Like An Inflection Point for Public Libraries, they’ll examine broad
◊ Advocacy ◊
Library Photo Friday 9
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Adapting to the information ecosystem
In this post from the Scholarly Kitchen, Joe Esposito urges publishers away from retrenchment in “Publishing in the Google Ecosystem“. Google is now the defining entity in the information landscape. To flourish, as best as publishers can hope to flourish, it’s necessary to find a place within the Google ecosystem. There is no world elsewhere,
Library Photo Friday 8
Welcome to photo Friday! Click on image to enlarge. View the entire collection here.
Our community’s living room
Libraries are often referred to as their community’s living room. This is certainly true in West Boylston, MA especially during the holiday season. The Beaman Library radiates comfort and community with its holiday tree, elegantly decorated in commemoration of volunteers and a large wooden carving with the words “Peace” hung over the fireplace, alongside a lovely
Has Clay Shirky heard of libraries?
Last month, internet guru Clay Shirky shared ideas for how to save local bookstores. The territory he staked out for them is remarkably similar to the territory libraries are struggling to claim. It’s fascinating that Shirky didn’t mention libraries in his 1,900 word essay, despite his hunch that a non-profit entity might be required to
Library Photo Friday 7
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Bizarro blogs from publishing & libraryland
Remember the chance encounter between Jerry, George & Kramer and their bizzaro counterparts? Last week, Kassia Krozser at BookSquare responded to Nat Sobel, Cranky-Style about his idea to delay publication of ebook titles to preserve hardcover prices. The Annoyed Librarian took up the same topic in Hapless Publishers Now Blame Amazon. Two disrupted industries. Two
Library Photo Friday 6
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About those awful websites
In late August I gave a shout out to a new ALA initiative, the Privacy Revolution. By then I’d been following libraries long enough to feel reticent about endorsing a web effort, however the early site—which was more like a wireframe than a live site—seemed promising1. So I went out on a limb on this
