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The Federal Trade Commission hosts the free public and webcast workshop From Town Criers to Bloggers: How Will Journalism Survive in the Internet Age? Tuesday and Wednesday, December 1-2, in Washington, DC. Pre-registration by those attending is encouraged to reserve space.

They are accepting public comment by Friday, 11/6. An organization called FreePress.org has put together a survey to add public comment.

Tuesday’s (11/10) Berkman Center for Internet & Society Luncheon Series features David Weinberger on What Information Was.

“It’s puzzling that even though we named an age after information, very few people can tell you what information is. And the ones with the clearest answers are often defining information in the technical sense, which is not the sense in which the culture took it up. In this session, we’ll look back at information, trying to understand what about it led us to embrace it as the dominant — paradigmatic — way of understanding ourselves and our world. David Weinberger will present an informal sketch of a direction, suggesting that we leaped into information because it reflected a long-held but squirrely metaphysics. There will be lots of time for open discussion.”

Folks attending in person should RSVP by Monday afternoon to rsvp @ cyber dot law dot harvard dot edu. Webcast listeners should tune in around 12:30 pm Tuesday.

The Massachusetts Library Association is holding a rally for libraries on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at the State House at 11 am:

“Please join library colleagues and supporters for MLA’s rally for libraries! “Don’t Close the Books on Libraries” will take place on Wednesday, November 4th at 11:00 a.m. on the steps of the State House in the “well area”. Massachusetts Center for the Book’s annual MA Book Awards will be held inside the State House from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m., so plan to attend this exciting event following our rally so that we can celebrate and support Massachusetts libraries and authors!”

If you cannot be there, contact your state rep or senator!

http://capwiz.com/ala/ma/directory/statedir.tt?state=MA&lvl=state

On October 29, Massachusetts cities and towns dodged a bullet when the Governor didn’t cut local aid. But this could still happen depending upon what the State Legislature does. The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners have to cut 16 percent out of their FY2010 budget.

Posted by Rich

NEASIS&T is holding a program called “The library is dead. Long live the library! The rebirth of libraries in the 21st century” at the MIT Media Lab on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 between 9 am-4 pm.

“Library closures, slashed budgets, user apathy – everything’s online, right? It’s a story many of us have heard too often or experienced ourselves, especially with the recent downturn in the economy. But many libraries are re-inventing themselves, offering new services and transforming into very different entities while still at heart performing the same role they always have – helping communities connect with information.”

Come to this NEASIS&T program to hear:

* How changes in publishing are driving changes in libraries. How can we radically change an ancient institution that evolved from providing shared print copies into one that effectively provides online content (that we often don’t even own). It’s time to get past the kludges in our processes and organizational structures and embrace our future.
* What it takes to be a librarian these days. What skills and interests are necessary? In 10 years will we be librarians or technologists?
* Success stories from libraries that have radically changed their roles and services.
* How to design your library around user expectations and keep your organization relevant.

We’ll provide breakfast, lunch, and network access for all!

Speakers:

* John Palfrey, Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources at Harvard Law School & Co-Director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society
* Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian for Research & Instructional Services at Temple University’s Paley Library
* Shana Kimball, Publications Manger at the Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan Library
* Marguerite Avery, Senior Acquisitions Editor at The MIT Press
* Cyril Oberlander, Associate Director of Milne Library at the SUNY College at Geneseo

Cost:

Students / Retirees: $50
ASIST & SLA members: $60
General public: $75

For more info:

http://tinyurl.com/yf7rjdz

neasist09

Posted by Rich

Toby Pearlstein is giving the ISI Samuel Lazerow Memorial Lecture: Is There a Future for Special Libraries? on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 5 pm at the Kotzen Meeting Center, Simmons College, Boston, MA.

“2009 is the 100th anniversary of the Special Libraries Association, making this an ideal time to consider if there is a future for special libraries (and the skill set of librarians who work in them). Are we prepared to answer the question of whether in the struggle for our survival we will be “the fittest” or if special libraries will become a casualty of the ongoing information revolution? In exploring these questions Dr. Pearlstein will take a look at the roles special librarians have typically played as intermediaries and arbiters of information and knowledge in their parent organizations, discuss the increasing challenges to these roles from both within and outside the profession, and conclude by taking a pragmatic look at some ways to position ourselves for survival and success in a future of ongoing economic and social turbulence.”

RSVP
http://gslis.simmons.edu/signup/
by Tuesday November 10, 2009.

Posted by Rich

In September, The New York Review of Books printed an article about trends in the news industry and the potential future of news. An upcoming issue includes some editorials in response.

“The Podcamp Foundation is teaming up with TechWeb And O’Reilly Publishing to plan the Open sessions at the Web 2.0 Conference at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City on Wednesday, November 18th and Thursday, November 19th, 2009.

The Open’s theme is ‘Doing More with Less,’ and we’re lucky enough to have a collection of some of the brightest minds in social media and marketing to talk about how they are using the web to expand their businesses, making both time and money stretch to maximum efficiency. …”

The Boston Book Festival is being held on Saturday, October 24, 2009 in the Copley Square area between 10 am-6 pm:

“The wait is over! The Boston Book Festival has just announced its official schedule of events, and with 31 to choose from, and you’re guaranteed a fun-filled, jam-packed day on Saturday, October 24 between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Click here for the list of sessions with times and locations.”

“In addition to our illustrious workshops, panels, presentations and performances, there will be more than 30 exhibitor booths set up in the plaza, featuring local booksellers, publishers, educators, and arts organizations. Meet authors and get books signed!”

“Don’t forget to bring the kids! We have several great events planned for the young ones, including fun activities put on by some of our exhibitors– the Boston Children’s Museum, 826 and One Laptop Per Child for example. And don’t be surprised if you run into Curious George or Madeline!”

“Also, be sure to check out the Festival Stage in Copley Square plaza, featuring live tunes ranging from a cappella to bluegrass, funk to reggae, with some impressive talent from Berklee College of Music.”

“Feeling peckish? Score a free cup of joe from Green Mountain Coffee or a chowdah sample from the Legal Seafoods Chowder Truck.”

Most events are free, but some require purchased tickets to attend.

Ken Burns, Anita Diamant, Anita Shreve, Jane Kamensky and Walter Isaacson are some of the writers who will be attending. Nicholas Negroponte will be talking about the One Laptop Per Child project, New York Times personal technology columnist David Pogue will leading a discussion on ebooks and digitalization.

For more information:

http://www.bostonbookfest.org/index.php

Posted by Rich

I breathed a big sigh of relief when I read the front page headline of my paper copy of The Boston Globe yesterday: The New York Times decided not to sell The Globe. The future of this newspaper and Boston journalism were in question. Sure, there are lots of news sources around here, but without this newspaper, the area would be missing a major source of news. I wonder how the folks at the Boston Herald are taking the news.

The Globe has a special section on their Web site about the prospects of selling and the future of journalism.

(Oof. I really haven’t posted this workshop yet. My apologies for the late notice.)

Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society and the Center for Research on Computation and Society are facilitating a free Ruby on Rails workshop this weekend, October 16 and 17. Intended to be a supportive learning environment to encourage women in the software industry, men can register as the guest of a woman. Newbies are welcome. There is a discount with an in-home child care provider. Register through the blog post linked above.

Popular with developers, Ruby on Rails simplifies the programming of Web applications and should be a good first language for someone without programming experience. Knowing a programming language will only help librarians in these times. If you can’t figure out how to use Ruby in your job, learn a different language, like perhaps Python. I’ve heard from many programmers that learning languages becomes easier after they’ve learned one.

Addenda 10/15: The ladies running the workshop told participants it is full. I think there will be a webcast or some kind of audio archive. Information might be in the blog post linked above.

10/17: Webcast! IRC on freenode.net: #boston.rb -> Boston Ruby group’s channel, which they’re encouraging the participants to use today. Tweet hashtag: #rorw4w (In English: that’s the Twitter tag.)

And lots more notes~ That way you folks who don’t care about programming and what nifty tools like Ruby on Rails can do can easily skip this post.

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