When I read the Annoyed Librarian’s posting on September 22 posting on her old blog about how she had sold out to someone, and I tried to post a comment but I couldn’t get it to work. It would have ended with the cheap shot: “You know what they call people who do it for money.” I told Francine about my comment, and after she let out a short gasp, she said, “You don’t come in for our staff meetings, so you probably don’t know that it was us, Library Journal, who offered AL a contract to move her blog to LJ.” I was stunned, but in a second or two I realized what a coup Francine had pulled off. Annoyed Librarian probably has more readers than American Libraries. Of course, my first question to Francine was, “Well, who the hell is this cranky woman?” Francine was ready. “I don’t know,” she said, testing my belief...Read More

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I was amused by the Annoyed Librarian’s  April 16 good old days rant about the beginnings of National Library Week (NLW) when the publishers (the National Book Committee) who started it thought the best strategy to support libraries was to promote reading and books. ALA suckered along. I remember those beginnings, and the angry criticism of the emphasis on reading and books by many library leaders. “Why not call it National Reading Week?” they said. In truth NLW  has not done very much for libraries or books. Despite Annoyed’s assertions to the contrary, the popularity of libraries grows more than...Read More

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Every librarian must read Rebecca Lossin’s “Iraq’s Ruined Library Soldiers On,” in the Nation online. As Lossin, a graduate student in the School of Information and Library Science at Pratt Institute in New York, points out “the lack of solidarity from the American community of librarians and scholars for their Iraqi counterparts is shameful.” American librarianship can take many cues from these embattled Iraqi librarians. Our own professional fate at the hands of our various levels of government is less disastrous, but disaster lurks near every library budget hearing this year.  

 

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In an interesting discussion on the NewlibL list one poster said: "ALA doesn't even list the ALA accredited MLS as a preferred qualification for this job. They are not looking for a librarian to fill this position. This job is usability testing, a skill we all learned in library school. Perhaps they don't think someone who emerged from one of the programs they accredit will do a good enough job at it.  Kinda makes you think, doesn't it?" 
I've been worried about the apparent attack on librarianship's basic credential for quite a while. First there was the hiring of folks without the degree to run many of our major libraries, some of whom were then sent to LIS programs to get the credential, but some of whom weren't. Then there was the birth and promotion of the ICaucus schools, who have promoted only...Read More

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You may not have noticed, but I haven’t blogged here since last April. I was silenced by a combination of other deadlines, technological change, and a beautiful summer of gardening, traveling, and all.

Most important, it was NOT  the argument over anonymous postings which shut me up. Yes, we allow anonymous postings here. And yes, I even agree with the Annoyed Librarian that anonymous postings are protected expression, and our courts and First Amendment apply to them. But Annoyed got very defensive about it all, even quoted a long statement by the Electronic Frontier Foundation about it. But I haven’t changed my mind, and I still think most who hide behind anonymity or some pseudonym are simply cowards, afraid to tell us who they are. I don’t deny them their right to do it, and if I were AL, for ex...Read More

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