Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Readings for September 11th

Libraries by Pawley
It was very interesting to see how someone in the profession chose to explain things to "others". For some of us this is our first taste of librarianship and from whence it came. I found it incredibly interesting and helpful in thinking of my future plans since I have no idea what way I want to go.
libraries: Digital, Electronic and Hybrid
Like Julia said in her posting, I like the idea of digital libraries. Being able to access information types from one location instead of going to many locations is very convenient. Seeing movie clips, hearing music clips, photographs, reading, will make information gathering for whatever purpose seem much more possible even for those who aren't technologically up to date!
Tunnel vision and Blind Spots
I thought the article by Wiegand felt very thorough. One of the first things that caught me off guard was the statistics he stated: "...More public libraries than McDonald's...More children participate in summer reading programs at libraries than play Little League baseball..." etc. I guess I had thought that libraries, in the brick-and-mortar style, had fallen out of use (or at least were beginning to). I'm glad that libraries don't try to dictate what is in a collection for patrons to utilize. I think it's more important to have materials available from which the patron is able to choose. What a librarian thinks is inappropriate or "best book"-worthy may not be something the patron agrees with. There are too many factors involved to say what is good and bad for all people. It was nice to see how people in the profession have realized what censorship can mean and have been taking a stand against it. I also found it interesting how he used major national events to show differentiation in time periods. I liked that as the framing of how and why things occurred the way they did.
Information Science by Saracevic
Many of the points brought up in this selection made me think of librarianship in a new way. "Information science, as a science and as a profession, is defined by the problems it has addressed and the methods it has used for their solutions over time." Instead of keeping up or rolling with the changes, Saracevic claims that information technologists have been using the newest technology to solve problems. As much as it pains me to realize it, computers and technology are NOT made to make life more difficult, they are designed to make life easier.

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