Librarians flock to Seattle for American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting, time to address the challenges of a digital future
“DOTHAN, AL, January 25, 2013 — They won’t admit it, but librarians love a party and there is a big one going on in Seattle this weekend. The American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Conference is underway in the Emerald City and a big topic on everyone’s mind is how to adapt to the digital age.
“There will be the usual sessions on how to shush noisy patrons, what to do about homeless people sleeping in the reading areas, and using drones to track down overdue books. There will also be an ungodly number of exhibitors hawking their wares, an endless stream of “meet the author” sessions and a talk by Caroline Kennedy.
“The real activity in the world of public libraries right now is not what you might see on the exhibit floor, but the growing buzz among librarians about e-book lending, internet services and how much space to dedicate to computer terminals. Macmillan just announced it finally is offering an e-book program for libraries, leaving Simon & Schuster as the only major publishing house still without a digital library offering.
“There are just over 9,000 public libraries in America, 120,000 if you include special, school and government libraries. All of them are facing the issue of e-book costs and how many times they may be loaned out to patrons. Unlike print books, e-books come with restrictions.”
From Rick Townley’s article for The Washington Times, Librarians head to Seattle to face challenges of a digital future
American Library Association’s Midwinter meeting talks stress maker spaces and ideas for cheap, hands-on activities for kids and teens
“From ebooks to digital literacy, there was plenty to debate at the Midwinter meeting of the American Library Association. But the unconference on January 25 revealed clear consensus on one topic: maker spaces. They’re red hot.
“It’s the one thing we can all agree on,” an unconference attendee told this reporter. Indeed, the concept of hands-on programming in libraries—school, academic, or public—appeals to the broad spectrum of information professionals, from techy geeks at one end to traditional handcrafters at the other. After all, “we’ve been doing this in children’s programming for years,” she said.
“Put to a vote among unconference participants, “Creative Spaces” won out as the topic of choice (beating by a wide margin digital relevancy, advocacy, and budgeting).
“Attendees shared ideas, with an emphasis on low-cost, practical ways to implement “Maker” activities in the library. Much of the conversation urged partnering with other organizations, including:
- Reddit subcommunities. Local groups have formed around social news site Reddit. Consider hosting an event at your library. Or how about Ikea Hackers?
- Your local college or university. Don’t have native expertise among your library staff? Consider reaching out to a technical college or student organization to help lead programming.
- Area crafters. The Greenpoint branch of the Brooklyn Public Library enlisted the local Etsy community to help launch projects, from making zines to bicycle tire art.
- Hacker spaces. From robotics and electronics to wood and metal working, these groups are springing up worldwide.
“Then there are Maker Kits. MAKE magazine is starting with a beta group of libraries, retrofitting their commercially available MAKE kits for checkout by patrons, from grade school kids to adults. The kits include “Getting Started with Arduino,” “Squishy Circuits,” and “Spinbots.””
From Kathy Ishizuka’s article for the School Library Journal, Hot Topic at Midwinter: Library Maker Spaces, Ideas for Cheap, Hands-On Fun
Survey about American library use forecasts a future of library tech hubs
“Quick: What’s the point of a library?
“If you said “To borrow books,” then you’re correct, but probably because you were born before 1990. A new study suggests that there’s a new answer quickly gaining ground on the traditional response, with more than three quarters of respondents describing free access to computers and the Internet as a “very important” service that libraries offer.
“The study, titled Library Services in the Digital Age, was conducted by the Pew Research Center and looked at the question of what purpose (if any) libraries serve in an increasingly online world; a world where traditional books are en route to becoming more a relic of days of yore with the advent of digital publishing and e-readers. The results of this survey, however, suggest that the demand for libraries may be as high as ever – if for different reasons than traditionally – with an impressive 91 percent of those surveyed for the study (2,252 people aged 16 and over in the United States, interviewed between October 15 and November 10, 2012) saying they believed libraries are important to their families and communities, although they admitted that they weren’t aware of all of the services that libraries offer. Only 22 percent of respondents claimed to know most of the services offered, with 31 percent admitting that they knew “not much or nothing at all” about library services.
“When asked about specific services, 80 percent of those asked said they believed that borrowing books was a “very important” service, the same percentage as those who believe that reference librarians are similarly “very important.” Surprisingly for some, however, computer and Internet access ranked almost as high, with 77 percent of those taking part in the survey describing that as very important. Oddly enough, only 26 percent of those taking part in the study admitted to using the computers or Internet in their local library, with 66 percent of them doing so for school or work-related research, and 63 percent also admitting to browsing the Web for fun or a way to pass the time while there.”
From Graeme McMillan’s article on Digital Trends, Have libraries found new relevance in the Internet age?
Ford Presidential Library’s “Wikipedian In-Residence” talks about the program, how he is using his love of archives/history and technology constructively
“I had read with interest the articles that came out recently about the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library getting a Wikipedian in Residence. For more info, see this a short article about the library’s exhibits coordinator Bettina Cousineau talking about the library’s participation in the GLAM-Wiki Initiative (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums with Wikipedia), and a little more about the Wikipedian in Residence program.
“I think this program is nifty and I was excited this time because the WiR is a Master’s student at the University of Michigan’s iSchool. I dropped him a line and asked if he wouldn’t mind answering a few questions. Here is a small Q&A (done over email) with Michael Barera about his new internship.
“JW: The Ann Arbor Journal says you’ve been a Wikipedian since 2001. Is that a typo or have you been an editor there for over ten years? In any case, what first brought you to Wikipedia or the Wikimedia school of websites? What is your favorite thing about working on Wikipedia?
“MB: 2001 isn’t exactly the true year that I started on Wikipedia: I found the site first in 2005, and made my first edit in 2006. 2001 is the year of the oldest photograph that I have uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, so in a way my contributions go back to 2001, although I didn’t edit Wikipedia or Commons until 2006. I was actually introduced to Wikipedia by my high school Western Civilization teacher in 2005, which is interesting because most people don’t have such an academic entry into the site: perhaps he was part of the reason why I’ve always taken it seriously.
“For the first year or so, before I made my first edit, I used Wikipedia essentially as an extension of my social studies textbook: I’ve always loved how much more inclusive it is than the mainstream social studies curriculum in this country. My favorite thing about working on Wikipedia is sharing everything I’ve created or contributed with everyone in the world. We all chip in a little, and because of the CC-BY-SA and GFDL licenses, everyone gets to share and enjoy in the totality, all without ads or paywalls or subscriptions. I love the fact that it really is “the free encyclopedia”, both in the “gratis” and “libre” senses of the word.
“JW: You went to UMich for your undergrad work and now you’re pursuing your Masters at the School of Information. Is this internship a natural outgrowth of what you planned to do at the iSchool or is it more of a side hobby that turned into a big deal? What are your interest areas at the iSchool?
“MB: The beautiful thing is that it is both part of my career plan at SI and an outgrowth of a multi-year hobby. That’s why it is so perfect for me, because it allows me to use both my U of M bachelor’s degree (which has a concentration in History) and my knowledge and experience with Wikipedia, all in one package. In terms of my areas of interest at SI, I am specializing in Archives and Records Management (and maybe dual-specializing in Preservation of Information as well), but I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve taken so far, from human interaction in information retrieval to Python programming to dead media. SI really is a perfect fit for me!”
From Jessamyn West’s blog on librarian.net, interview with Michael Barera, Ford Presidential Library’s new Wikipedian in Residence
Looking again at the importance of digital preservation: Fate of Timbuktu manuscripts uncertain as library burns
“The fate of tens of thousands ancient manuscripts in Mali remained uncertain Monday as French troops liberated the city of Timbuktu from Islamic insurgents who were said to have set fire to the library there.
“Timbuktu is the last major city occupied by the insurgents, who have held sway there for 10 months, imposing the strict Islamic version of religious law, including carrying out public executions and amputations for crimes.
“The city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was an especially vibrant center of Islamic thought in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. As the Guardian explains in a retrospective article today, the manuscripts collected in the city “cover areas such as medicine and astronomy, as well as poetry, literature and Islamic law. Many were kept for centuries in private family libraries, passed down through the generations.”
“In recent years, some 20,000 of these manuscripts were collected in the new Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Islamic Studies and Research. When the insurgent army occupied Timbuktu last year, they used the 50,000 square-foot complex as a sleeping quarters.
“On Monday, Timbuktu mayor Hallé Ousmani Cissé told the Guardian that on Saturday the militants torched two buildings containing the manuscripts. “”This is terrible news,” he said. “The manuscripts were a part not only of Mali’s heritage but the world’s heritage. By destroying them they threaten the world.”
“The mayor spoke to the Guardian by phone and was not in Timbuktu but in the Malian capital of Bamako. And it is not yet known how much damage was done to the library, which had also been in the process of digitizing many of the documents. Many of the documents were stored in underground vaults.
“Most are in Arabic, but there are many in other languages, including Songhai, Tamashek, Bambara, Turkish and Hebrew. The oldest dates from the year 1204. A Wikipedia entry on the Timbuktu manuscripts contains several beautiful images of the documents.”
From Hector Tobar’s article for the Los Angeles Times, Fate of Timbuktu manuscripts uncertain as library burns