You can check out any time you like but you can never leave!

I was taking a (well-deserved!) break from writing papers last weekend when I sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and The Globe and Mail. Within 2 minutes I was absorbed in a fascinating article by U of T philosophy professor Mark Kingwell. The purpose of this post is not to discuss the substance of his article, but let's just say he refers to such topics as scholarly work, Web 2.0, blogging, citation, copyright regulations, ownership, authorship...some break! (refer back to blog title!)

What I found even more compelling than the arguments in his essay though, is the concept that these issues are being debated at all. My heart beats faster south of Bloor St. I've been looking forward to being back on this campus for a long time. It's astonishing how much has stayed the same in 27 years, but it's remarkable how much has changed too. Good minds look at problems and search for answers. The status quo isn't just swallowed whole, and big questions are debated with relish and energy! We're rooted in the past but we're looking at the future. In a place full of good minds and good intentions, it's easy to be optimistic.

OK, now back to those papers!

If you're interested: Kingwell, M. (2007, October 13). The end of the single author, student-brain-on-paper essay. The Globe and Mail, pp. F8.

Do Libraries Matter - You Bet They Do!

The Talis white paper issued a call to action to all librarians to technologically transform their libraries or risk becoming irrelevant or even obsolete. From the provocative title to the final paragraph, the authors use strong language to convince their audience that the library's salvation lies in the use of cutting-edge technology. While they discuss numerous creative ideas, many of their assumptions are questionable, including the premise on which the paper is based, that libraries as they are have become outdated in the modern world. Technology, while a transformational tool, is not an end in itself. Libraries have always made use of technology throughout history, from card catalogues to MARC records, to serve their patrons. It is in this progressive way that librarians should approach the ideas in the white paper. Technology alone will not affect the future of the library. Libraries offer a unique service which cannot be replaced by a search engine. Not all technologies suggested by Library 2.0 may be an optimal fit for libraries. It is always good to challenge the status quo to keep an institution vibrant, but change inspired by panic or fear, without a strategic plan, may not be appropriate or sustainable.

Readers & Writers

In her October 3 post, Rachel Beattie discusses how libraries are not like Starbucks, and how, in many ways, they shouldn't aspire to be like Starbucks (Beattie, 2007). This made me think about my experience a few weeks ago, when I went to a reading at a local book store.

The store had set up a roped off area with a podium and a lectern and approximately 100 chairs. The reading drew a crowd of at least double that amount of people, and by the time I got there, the patient staff was very busy corralling the overflow into an SRO area well back of the chairs, because they had to leave an open walkway to allow people to come in to the store. Needless to say, it was very difficult to see and hear, because shoppers kept loudly walking in front of half the audience! (Most of them would actually stop walking and inquire of one another: "ooh, I wonder what's going on here?").

While I decided (perhaps rationalized) that I was still glad I went to the reading, I continually asked myself why this couldn't have been done in a library. As Rachel says, there is a time for quiet, or at least whispering, not to mention that writers belong with readers, and where, better than a library, can readers be found?

References

Beattie, R. "Shhhhh!!!!" (2007) Retrieved October 4, 2007 from http://rebeattie1311.blogspot.com/