The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown

I'll begin at the end.  Upon reading Robbins' epilogue about the process of writing The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown, I saw that Robbins regarded her subject matter very dearly (not unlike author Rebecca Skloot and subject Henrietta Lacks).  Unlike Skloot, Robbins admitted plainly that she was biased toward the anti-racist and anti-feminist perspectives.  I found that this strengthened the reliability of the account. 

That attempt for a balanced hand was evident in the inclusion of both Ruth Brown's positive and negative personality traits and kept me from thinking of Brown as a saint.  For example, when I read that Brown was at times viewed as harsh, strict, and overly frank, I knew that Brown's crusade for racial inequality did not spring from perfection but from a flawed individual trying to do her best.  That said, her lack of concern at the prospect of losing job and reputation was amazingly brave.  As I've researched for my group's project on intellectual freedom, it's been easy to scoff at teachers and librarians who've given into book challenges.  However, I realize that standing up to powerful community members is no easy task.  I wonder what I would do in Brown's position.  I wish I could say I knew I'd do the same as she.

Brown's commitment to free access to materials and to intellectual freedom early on were impressive.  Before the ALA had established a firm stance on intellectual freedom, it seemed to be up to individual librarians to stand up to censorship.  I was actually surprised that so many on the original library board supported Brown's choice to retain controversial materials in the library.  Though that minority may have pointed to the beginnings of intellectual freedom in the library and nationwide, it was disheartening to read of the mistreatment of Brown's supporters.  Many have suffered to bring us the library policies we find so common today.

So, this story was inspiring, but it was also informative.  The book filled in quite a few gaps in my understanding of 20th-century history that I didn't even know existed.  Previously in my mind, World War II, the civil rights movement, the women's movement, and McCarthyism were disparate events.  I was interested to observe the interplay of anticommunism, racism, sexism, and classism that surrounded the events of Brown's firing.  One example was the impact that World War II's fight against racism had in encouraging anti-racist sentiment in American citizens.  On the other side of the argument, anticommunists assumed that African American and liberal organizations had communist leanings.  I had not realized that some of these broad associations stemmed from the communists' efforts in combating racism. 

oh, deer

Ha, ha.  I know I'm corny.  Eschenfelder and Miller's take on the positive government-citizen relationships made possible by the internet is interesting in light of Yudof's warnings about the government and technology.  Both articles did say that the internet provides a very quick and effective way to reach the masses.  Whether the purpose is for propaganda or public safety & education is in the eye of the beholder.

Again remembering Yudof's warning concerning governmental omissions of information, I can see how easy it would be for CWD sites to strategically leave out information to tailor the message to someone's agenda.  The variety in levels of disclosure among the four CWD sites was astonishing.  I appreciated the authors' attempt to provide some structure and framework for including enough information for stakeholders to make decisions.  It makes a lot of sense that agencies should follow "guidelines for 'influential' information that require agencies to provide sufficient information such that interested parties could conduct an independent reanalysis and come up with similar conclusions" (p. 82). 

Of course my brain heads to school libraries.  In the same way that government websites must present the complete picture, school libraries should endeavor to provide a well-rounded collection, complete with controversies and debates.  The omission of certain books and topics may speak as clearly as the inclusion of them and should be considered carefully.  Just as government agencies should follow clear guidelines, so should school libraries follow a plan for collection development and management.

Changing directions, I found something missing in both the other articles was citizen-to-government communication.  If the governing body believes it is true that "the role of government information is to educate citizens so they can provide input to agency decision makers", then there must be a convenient avenue for communication from citizens to those agencies (p. 82).  The citizen-publisher form of government information dispersal seems to fill that gap.  The article goes so far as to suggest an online forum for discussion or even published articles from concerned citizens.  While this model may thwart traditional forms of authority to some extent, it also allows for a public sense of ownership (and possibly more complete/diverse information than would be available from the governmental office alone).  In light of the ubiquity of "wikis" and social cataloging, it seems like user-created content and discussion would be a natural next step in government information.  As providers of information to patrons, do libraries (particularly school libraries) provide ample opportunities for the public to speak to the library about their needs?

from recylart.org

Reference work in an elementary school library looks different than in an academic library, but I see useful strategies to apply to school library reference in Elmborg's article, "Teaching at the Desk: Toward a Reference Pedagogy".  He asserts that reference librarians should seek to meet students at their individual levels of readiness and styles of learning.  Within the elementary school classroom, I strive to do the same, but the challenges are great when one has 20 or more different personalities with their unique styles and needs (or zone of proximal development).  On the other hand, the reference scenario is set up for meeting one person's unique needs, seeing the request through to completion with that patron or student.  One drawback I see that Elmborg also mentions is that reference librarians have such a short time in which to ascertain an individual's needs, whereas in a classroom the teacher has the whole year (or at least the semester) to build a relationship.  That's where the "cognitive interview" comes in, which seems like it would take quite a bit of practice to perfect.

Elmborg posits that questioning is an effective teaching strategy at the reference desk.  It is also a great tool in the classroom, though it is often harder to ask strategic questions than to just explicitly teach a skill.  I do try to use questioning with my students, knowing that it allows students to construct their own knowledge.  Further, higher-level questioning teaches students to think critically and keeps the students in control of the project.  This kind of gentle guidance is what I remember about the positive interactions I had with my undergraduate librarians.  However, another difficulty in using questioning is that tendency in teachers and librarians alike to want to be the "fount of all knowledge".  I think the fear that reference librarians make their positions obsolete by fostering independence in users is unfounded.  First, there are always new users, and second, once users have mastered information literacy skills at one level they may need you again to help take their abilities to the next level.

When Olson quotes that “'[e]quality may well be defined as deliberate indifference to specific differences'”(653), the type of equality in this case hearkens back to our class discussion on Wiegand's view of neutrality as negative. After my summer “Beyond Diversity” workshop and that class discussion, the ideas of “decentering whiteness” and eradicating institutionalized racism have been in the back of my mind.
This article offered the first concrete example of how librarians could actually affect those kinds of changes. It was useful for me to consider how the issues with the Dewey Classification system would actually effect students or patrons. I can imagine an individual looking for information about people of his or her race. Under Dewey's hieracrhies, helpful and relevant materials may be stored in an area apart from other materials on race and ethnicity. This is yet another example of white privilege and how assuming patrons are a collective, homogenous group disenfranchises another group. I liked how Olson illustrated this problem using the railroad: while the Westward expansion of rail lines provided efficiency to some, it negatively affected the lives of others (whose opinions were not solicited nor heeded).
One remedy for the current restrictiveness of information organization that both Weinberger and Olson suggest is collaborative tagging or social cataloging. Authors and readers would not be restrained by traditional cataloging language and thus could label materials with accurate and usable search terms.
It's no secret that Weinberger enthusiastically supports this kind of organization, but I hesitate to turn to tagging in my own information management. It would take the same or more time and effort to tag my photos, for example, than it takes to place them under a date or event heading. I like that my bookmarks and emails are organized under categories and subcategories that I've created. However, I know that my system only works because I created it for myself and no one else. So when it comes to organizing information for the public, either digitally or physically, social cataloging may be a viable solution, like Olson's suggestion that users “leave a trail” for future users.

privacy: bodies and books

illustration from The Incredible Book-Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

image from babygotbooks.com

Up to this point I had been thinking about privacy issues in terms of digital privacy only, but Byrne's article reminds me that I  have been putting my personal information out there long before the days of Facebook and blogs.  I am not comfortable with the idea of my social security number floating around outside of my control, as my campus identification number freshman year, for example.  In the digital realm, the fact that advertisements pop up relating to the content of my emails is a somewhat disturbing one.  But despite my uneasiness, I did not find it necessary for Byrne to resort to giving a worst-case example: freedom of information leading to an awful murder.  I see this as a kind of fear-mongering that chisels away at the rationality of his argument.  I think many people, especially young people, are consenting to small and seemingly harmless losses of privacy, as with Facebook, that could have major effects down the road.

Streiffer's article brings up thoughts about informed consent (or lack thereof) in the case of Henrietta Lacks.  I have not yet read Skloot's account, but during the RadioLab podcast's story on HeLa, I the family members' grief and frustration over the use of Henrietta's cells was hard to hear.  I felt that if the family had been given an adequate scientific explanation in lay terms, the daughter and others would have had options other than falling back on superstition and fear to understand the cells' usage.  For example, when Henrietta's daughter found out about her mother's cells, it seemed to her that an essence of her mother had returned, almost in a haunting manner.  That being said, I was shocked that a woman's cells could be used so extensively and for so many years without the knowledge of her family.

This relates to the issues in Strieffer's article in that family members may be spared a great deal of grief and confusion if the intended use of their loved one's cells is made clear up front.  It seems the actual consent forms should play a role in making this clear, if not for legal reasons, then for ethical ones--a "respect for persons" as Charo put it (1519).  I think that some individuals may hesitate to donate a family member's or embryo's stem cells because they are not sure how the cells are to be used.  While being transparent about stem cells' usage may turn some donors away, it may also alleviate some of the tension or apprehension surrounding the entire issue.

What doe all this have to do with libraries?  Protecting privacy should be one of a librarian's central professional values.  There are few institutions that give so much to patrons as libraries while asking so little personal information in return.  The struggle continues for balance between adequate service and the right to privacy.  When I worked in my undergraduate college's library in 2003-2005, the library administration had decided to adjust the circulation software so that no record remained once an item was returned.  This victory for personal freedoms was a huge point of pride for the library staff.  Unfortunately, it also meant that if we didn't check inside the DVD case before checking the item back in, we would likely never see that disc again.

Just like stem cell research and internet privacy, personal privacy in the library is not without its complications--and more serious ones than missing DVDs.  Although I believe in supporting the privacy rights of children in public libraries, I still have not sorted out how privacy or "neutrality" works in the elementary school library where the teacher and librarian are unavoidably influencing student book selection, persuading students to find books appropriate to their abilities and interests, and enforcing our opinions regularly.  There are even more complex privacy issues in the public library, relating to library/computer use and convicted criminals.  How much can or should a librarian do to protect the rights of such an individual whose rights have been revoked by the government?  If there are still controversies swirling around the use of something as tangible as human cells or as seemingly clear-cut as ownership of one's own body, I very much doubt that we will soon sort out all the issues concerning intellectual property and privacy.

readers reading

I found Ross' article much more enjoyable to read than Pawley's, which surprised me since I really enjoyed "Unequal Legacies".  I certainly understood Ross' article more readily than "Beyond Market Models and Resistance".  "In the Company of Readers" encompasses many aspects of reading:  who reads, what they read, how, and why.

First, Ross' comments about reading for pleasure engaged me.  It made me aware of my own hang-ups about recreational reading.  For example, in a young adult literature class last year I was assigned "The Hunger Games"...and loved it.  It was not a love without reservations, however.  I felt that I had to make excuses for taking pleasure in the sci-fi/action/romance novel, that it was, as Ross mentioned, "too easy" or "too fun".  In contrast, I proudly toted around my thick Carl Sagan book this summer.  Clearly I am holding myself (and probably others) to the (maybe not so) old-fashioned ideal of "good" and "bad" reading.  I can admit that I deal with the same issues in movie taste.  It seems that I need to make sure I can maintain a distinct taste while not rendering value judgments in the workplace.  But again the question comes to mind, how much discernment is appropriate--or required--as a librarian (especially a school librarian) when it comes to selecting books for the library?

Fear of impending change came up in Ross' article and is a theme of many library-related articles I have recently read.  While I understand the apprehension some may feel in the face of digitization or some other new reading trend, I believe that society and humanity are always moving, however slowly, forward toward progress.  The author points out that even Socrates bemoaned the advent of writing, fearing it would be the end of oral culture.  While it may be true that we no longer rely on speech alone to transmit and retain information, the shift to the written word made way for much more (and more accurate) information to be stored and retrieved easily.  In the same way, librarians should view changing technologies as opportunities, not that the newest gadget should necessarily be adopted with haste, but with an open mind toward new possibilities.  In other words, I do not believe that reading is in danger of extinction, rather it will simply look different.  Libraries will need to continue to change with the shifting nature of reading and needs of readers.

It is interesting to read about the historical shift from reading out loud to reading silently.  In my first grade classroom, we expect students to transition from "whisper reading" to silent reading over the course of the year.  I am not sure that this expectation is entirely reasonable.  As I have been reading difficult journal articles recently, I've found that whispering (or at least mouthing) the words and gesturing have bolstered my comprehension.  I have recently sought to make more space for my students to "talk to learn".

Oh, and, by the way, I'm changing format--no more article titles at the top of my posts.  I'm so over that.

 
I've been obsessed with wordle.net since I heard about it last week!

Beyond Market Models and Resistance: Organization as a Middle Layer in the History of Reading
by Christine Pawley

I'm writing my reactions as I read through the article, so bear with me as I work through the questions that arose in the first part of the article.  I am interested in how poaching could be perceived as subversive and exciting, but it also retains the impression of illegality, dishonesty, and villainy.  The latter seem like strange descriptors for readers, exactly those for whom the texts are created and marketed.  Digesting books, projecting oneself onto the author's creation, and interacting meaningfully with the text seem like the intended purpose of the books, not some sort of resistance.  I can understand that the resistance theory itself is a reaction to the authoritative market models, but I don't see how reading itself is a resistance since producers of books--authors, editors, publishers--rely on reader consumption and trends to guide their work, as Pawley quotes, "'Cultural consumption, whether popular or not,'...' is at the same time a form of production, which creates ways of using that cannot be limited to the intentions of those who produce" (78).  It seems she's saying that there is power inherent in consumer choice.  I think my issue is that while Pawley criticizes the two models she does not distinguish who the authority figure is in each model.  Is she implying that readers resist or revolt against the powers of publishers and writers?  My perception was that market models are about readers and producers while resistance models address the clash between readers and greater societal power structures.  However, as I read further, I began to see that since producers are in the position to either perpetuate or terminate racist or sexist ideals, readers can exert their power of selection to positively influence publishing choices while also educating themselves.  I also saw that I came to the same conclusion that Pawley did: "the concept of reader resistance only makes sense if applied selectively" (90).  Yesss!  I'm not going crazy!

When reading about earlier ideas about "high" and "low" reading, especially concerning comics, I was reminded of how the debate about the value of comics as reading material is still being played out.  It appears that cultural acceptance of comics has evolved out of several institutions and individuals at once, illustrating the interplay involved in the consumption and production of reading materials.  As libraries and schools let go of their disapproval of comics, children would have had more comics at their disposal.  As the demand for comics increased, so would the production of new comics in additional genres and markets.

 

image from craftychick1221.blogspot.com

Librarians and Party Girls: Cultural Studies and the Meaning of the Librarian

by Marie L. Radford and Gary P. Radford

It occurred to me that the tenets of cultural studies align nicely with the assertions in the "Traces" article.  For example the idea that "[t]here is no world 'out there' that is free from its representation" demonstrates how the "traces" of our culture are our culture.  According to the Radford article, such "traces" do not have inherent meaning, but instead meaning relies upon the context in which "representations" are placed and are ever-shifting and malleable.  I expect that McKemmish would agree.  I like how the example of the word "tree" points out that language is arbitrary and that meaning does not reside in either the object nor the word, but in the associations with the code of language that we have constructed (57).

Stereotyping tends to be my issue with movies and television in general.  Writers water down each character into one central characteristic from which that character can never depart.  It sounds like "Party Girl" suffers from the same issue.  Whereas I prefer a movie or show in which characters can play both the "good guy" and the "bad guy" at the same time, Parker Posey's character, Mary, in "Party Girl" seems be only able to play one or the other.  Mary is considered "bad" when she is a fun-loving party girl and "good" when she is a rigid, uptight librarian.  What does that tell us about the public's idea of a librarian?  A successful librarian must abandon all personality traits other than "an obsession with order, sexual repression, matronly appearance, dowdy dress, fussiness, dour facial expressions, and monosyllabic speech" (60).  If that list were a requirement for librarianship, I certainly would not be entering the field!  Since most of these librarian stereotypes are also women, the characterization may also shed light on widespread perceptions of female kind as a whole.  It was useful to consider how stereotypes of librarians and others are used.  Stereotypes rarely exist without a purpose: a justification for mistreatment or rationalization for privilege.  It still bothers me that librarians feel they have to work against the stereotypes by using "scandalous" blog titles that include words like "renegade", "lipstick", or "leather".  Not that librarians should not express themselves in such a way, but I wonder: why would one not expect that in any profession a broad spectrum of personality types and interests would exist?

State of the Libraries: Kansas

 Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library

Topeka, Kansas

photo from city-data.com

Carlson, J. (2009).  Woman fights Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library policy.  Topeka      
          Capital-Journal, The (KS).

Last year at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library (TSCPL) board of trustees considered the request of a member of the "Kansans for Common Sense Policy" group.  Kim Borchers had lobbied for nine years to have four sexually explicit books restricted for minors.  The state does have a law against exposing minors to obscene materials.  However, under the same law, schools and libraries are defended in making obscene material available to the public.  The case walks the line between censorship and responsibility to protect minors.  On the one hand, libraries should be free from censorship.  As far as I understand, schools act in loco parentis (in place of parents) and therefore limiting students' access to obscene materials would be justified.  However public libraries are under no such compulsion.  Parents retain the responsibility to monitor their children's library check out habits.  On the other hand, things are further muddled by the fact that TSCPL previously caved to pressure to house Playboy magazines behind the circulation desk and make them available to adults only.  Also, libraries often do filter the internet on their children and young adult computers.  Borchers complained that the library policies on obscene print materials are inconsistent with the policies on internet obscenity.  I would tend to agree, but rather than restrict obscene materials, I believe that discontinuing the use of internet filters would be more in line with the library's mandate to provide open access to information.  Along with that, the library should provide educational workshops on safe and responsible internet use for children. This issue calls into question a library's responsibility for its young patrons versus the value of freedom of information. A solution is somewhat unclear since I do not feel that it is in any way appropriate for children to check out obscene books or magazines, but I also believe that public libraries should not limit access to materials under any circumstances.

Library program aids job hunters (2010).  Hutchinson News, The (KS).

The Kansas State Library, located within the state capitol building in Topeka, recently picked up a software program to assist those in search of jobs, seeking to take standardized placement tests, or even pursuing United States citizenship. This kind of program speaks to the librarian's sense of calling and service, of professional responsibility. Librarians should continuously look for new ways to promote equality. As the role of libraries and librarians changes, it is sometimes unclear what the field will look like in the near future. The idea of the “new” library as a community center is an appealing one. In terms of social justice work, the unbiased library seems the perfect venue to “level the playing field”. By providing services to help people better their lives, the library offers equal access not only to materials, but in a larger sense to basic rights: employment, citizenship, education. Education will be an essential part of ensuring that a program like this one will serve the public. Advertising the new programs may not be sufficient. To benefit individuals who need these software programs, the library may need to reach out to patrons who had not previously utilized the library's services. In this scenario, the social aspect of libraries intersects with the technological in a way that could bring real change.

Roggie, A. (1999). Tolerance alliance gives schools books. Intelligencer Journal (PA).

In 1999, the Alliance for Tolerance and Freedom provided seven books on acceptance to each Lancaster, Pennsylvania public school library. One book in particular, called Annie on My Mind, deals with female homosexual characters, and its inclusion in school libraries has caused some controversy. The connection to Kansas is that this same book was challenged in 1995 in an Olathe, Kansas highschool, one of seven challenges since 1988. The ACLU sued the school district for censorship and ultimately the courts found removal of the book unconstitutional. When I consider what professional responsibility means to a school librarian, I immediately think of a calling to provide a broad swath of materials to my students. I believe that each student should be able to find his or her perspective reflected in the books on school library shelves. In addition, students should have the opportunity to be exposed to other cultures, viewpoints, and lifestyles through the variety in their school libraries. The director of the Alliance donated the diverse collection of books specifically for the latter, stating, “'The purpose of these donations is to have several books on the shelves in the library giving students a perspective on diversity they might not have considered'” (1).

 The Ugly Side of Librarianship: Segregation in Library Services from 1900-1950
by Klaus Musmann

 I find it incredible that only 6 African-Americans became librarians in the first 25 years of the 20th century.  Libraries have welcomed African-American librarians for less than a century, and even then not in large numbers.  How diverse is the library profession now?  This calls to mind how in my district, the superintendent has made it one of her goals to bring more educators of color into our classrooms, stating that students of color in the schools have requested that more teachers "look like them".  I would assume that just as seeing teachers of color makes students of color more comfortable and welcomed, the same might hold true for libraries.  The diversity of the employees should match the demographic of their patrons.   Are there still roadblocks--instances of institutionalized racism--that are holding African-Americans and other people of color from entering the library profession?  Or have we made progress?  The country has clearly come a long way in the past 150 years from a time when African-Americans were prohibited from owning books.  However, I would guess that based on the demographic of my class and of the libraries I frequent, we still have work to do to make librarianship open to all.

After reading the article and thinking about librarianship this week, some questions that arose are these: if I am to provide library services and materials to all without judgment or bias, "tak[ing] the people with their prejudices" (81), how then am I to work for social justice?  Should I not hope to eradicate prejudices?  It seems that at least public librarians, unlike teachers, cannot (and perhaps should not?) do much to shape the opinions of those they serve.  Where does a school librarian fit on this spectrum?

Information Technology and the De-skilling of Librarians
by Roma Harris

Although I understand that feminist issues remain in the workplace, I am not sure that I buy that because some routine tasks are being automated that women's work is necessarily under attack or underappreciated.  Also, at least in education I do not see any evidence to suggest that men in IT positions garner more respect than the women in teaching, paraprofessional, or other support positions--even though we do revere our tech guy.  Perhaps there is that much difference between the cultures of elementary schools and libraries, or maybe the 1986 study quoted to support this claim of inequality is just that out of date.  I would be interested to learn about current perceptions of various library positions.  I also don't appreciate that the article consistently calls clerical, secretary-style work "women's work" while ignoring the contributions that women could make to the new style of library work with its focus on teaching and guidance.
 
Another area where the article seems to date itself is in some of its complaints about the deprofessionalization of cataloging.  Because digital cataloging systems have been the norm for most or all of my conscious library-using life, concerns about the shift from manual to digital catalogs seems distant...and old news. The library survived that change and will weather others.  To me the moral of the story is that libraries and librarians must be ever-transitioning to keep up with technology and user demands.  Not to mention that Sunny's presentation last week demonstrated that with the plethora of sources available, patrons need explicit direction from a trained professional now more than ever. 

The article did resonate with me when it said that "[s]tandardization and routinization make professional activities more comprehensible to outsiders, and consequently subject to their evaluation and control" (p. 2).  It sounds as if libraries encounter the same struggle between accountability and self-determination that is currently facing public education. 

illustration from Wave by Suzy Lee

photo from weheartbooks.com

Libraries: Digital, electronic, and hybrid 
by D.D. Rusch-Feja

My initial sense when reading this article was that it lacked a human element.  However, as I continued I tried to take the perspective that the complex systems outlined are the basis for user-friendly virtual libraries.  That said, I did appreciate the concept of the "life cycle" of digital libraries: "'from information creation, access and use, to archiving and presentation'".  I know that all libraries go through such a cycle, but digital librarians face unique challenges as they attempt to keep pace with the internet, an issue that Johnson also raised when she wrote of attempting to save rapidly changing and disappearing web content.  I had a momentary mental image of a tsunami-sized wall of information about to crash over librarians armed with buckets, trying to scoop up the information and whisk it away into relevant and usable organizational format.  That involves discernment of quality and worth, an act that seems subjective and sticky, as in Johnson's discussion of the papers of Joe Hamburger.  I have more to learn about archiving and how it relates to library collection management.

Traces: Document, record, archive, archives
by Sue McKemmish

I liked way that "Traces" placed archiving within a more human context.  When archivers are described as keepers of stories it gives their work a mystical bend--not that archiving involves anything resembling magic, but it demonstrates archiving's a purpose on a grander scale. 

I had never before thought of archiving in the broadest sense, as preservation of anything--the environment, architecture, and so forth.  The chapter also stretched my understanding of what can actually be archived.  I had always thought of archiving as keeping intentionally-created items such as books or websites, and not so much preserving the "traces" of events, like photographs, recordings, and news reports.  "Traces" also impressed on me the great responsibility placed on archivists since there must be a very deliberate hand in selecting (or discarding) records which in turn shapes the "social and organizational structures of remembering and forgetting" (17).  The way in which information is selected, classified, and organized sends a specific message that could be used for good or ill.  This conjures images of history being rewritten in 1984, but in the case of archiving the facts do not need rewriting, only careful retention and deletion, classification and labeling. 

 Libraries
by Christine Pawley

It is incredible to me how relatively quickly libraries have evolved from simple collections to multimedia hybrids.  Librarians' list of tasks have also grown.  Every day I see my school's media specialist taking on technology tasks that fall to no one else.  In the public schools, I have observed the tug-of-war between buying physical materials versus digital services.  In many cases, as I'm sure is the case in libraries as well, we'd like to have the best of both worlds. 

Information Science
by Tefko Saracevic

It makes sense that information science is interdisciplinary because of the interdisciplinary nature of libraries themselves.  It is interesting to see how information science correlates to information literacy, the topic of my other course this semester.  I think information literacy is what a person has when they have mastered the basics of information science.  Also, both information literacy and science deal with computer literacy and science, but are do not solely involve technology.  The article added to my understanding of information and how to qualify it--the value of information is based on the difference the information makes in one's decision-making process.  Information, like information science and literacy, are broad and abstract terms, but perhaps rightly so, since the work of librarians and the tasks of libraries are ever-changing.  The aspects of information literacy that interest me are practical applications in social and educational settings, which is not surprising as I'm on my way to school librarianship.

 photo from weblo.com

This Book is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All
by Marilyn Johnson 

We all know reading is sexy, right?  That librarians are sexy seems to be the point as Johnson enthusiastically promotes the librarians of Library 2.0.  She appears to idolize the youthful, tattooed, blogging librarians--or is she trying overcompensate for the prevailing stereotype of the shushing, white-bun-topped librarian?  She spends a great deal of time covering Second-Life librarians who work exclusively in the digital realm.  Then, Johnson's presentation of the ostensibly woeful case of the NYPL is an unexpected turn.  While she previously lauded change and progress, suddenly in the tenth chapter she digs in her heels against the integration of a circulating library in the research library.  Not surprisingly, the hip, young, blogging librarian types at NYPL are also the librarians who support the circulating library and the values I think the library stands for: research and education, yes, but also accessibility and community.

As someone who uses iTunes and an iPod but also tends a growing record and cassette tape collection, I can understand the conflict between digitalization versus preservation.  My lifestyle relies heavily upon digital technology, and yet I do not believe anything can replace the look, feel, weight, and smell of the physical book or vinyl--as media as well as art piece.  I do think that the two can coexist peacefully.  For example, when Johnson hastily attempts to reconcile the traditional role of the library with the new demands of library patrons, she seems to be talking about something like the "hybrid libraries" aptly summarized in the Rusch-Feja article.  I like the idea of the library providing one simple search process that might take the user to either digital or physical artifacts.

This Book is Overdue had me wondering--who are the heroes?  Is Johnson urging us to admire the hip, blogging, progressives of Library 2.0 or the old school traditionalists still holding down the fort?  Both.  I think her intention is to show that librarians of any stripe are indispensable gatekeepers to knowledge and the skills to find information themselves.  Since this is a book written for general audiences, the question remains whether the book is an effective argument for our case. 

On a more personal note, I find it interesting that Johnson is so tickled when she encounters librarians with a sardonic, sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.  My plastic-framed glasses and blog may place me among her stereotyped "hip librarians", but I tend to be quite genuine and gullible and often fail at using sarcasm.  She comments on the obvious: that any profession will contain a smattering of most personality types.  I would guess that a reader not familiar with librarianship would develop a broader mental picture of what librarians can be, but Johnson's oscillation between high-tech libraries and traditional ones, with little attempt to synthesize the two, might be confusing.