Friday, February 25, 2005
A Contrast of Librarians - the Abbot and the Innovator
Its hard to imagine this Library Journal - Revenge of the Blog People! article being other than the fearful ranting of a modern day Abbot feeling threatened by today's version of the Gutenburg Printing Press. Imagine people being able to read anything on their own, using a "McGoogle" and even being able to comment on an abbot's pronouncements! "Blog People"? Well, according to Michael Gorman : "Blog People read whatever they want to read rather than what is in front of them...." and "... I doubt that many of the Blog People are in the habit of sustained reading of complex texts." And Mr. Gorman? He is President-elect of the American Library Association and Dean of Library Services at a California State University . Makes one fear for the relevancy of libraries under his leadership.
On the other hand, an excellent article in the same issue of the Library Journal - The Google Opportunity presents the views of a Library Innovator coming to grips with the promises and pitfalls of modern technology. In it, Stephen Abram notes the impact and importance of Google and asks "Can libraries compete, complement, or cooperate? Or will we lose out?" He believes libraries still have a choice and offers ten key things that libraries should do to adapt and thrive. Stephen Abram is President of the Canadian Library Association and Vice President, Innovation, Sirsi Corporation. His ten key things deserve full reading and serious consideration by library professionals and community proponents seeking actionable inspiration.
I love his advice to "Lead the wireless revolution'' and "Get into the community" with it ! And that's just 2 of his 10 points. Fortunately for us in Susquehanna County,PA, our County Library and Community Information Network (CIN) are already engaged in several of his recommended initiatives. Even so, there is much more we could do to take advantage of his insights. I wonder if we could annex ourselves to the Canadian Library Association?
On the other hand, an excellent article in the same issue of the Library Journal - The Google Opportunity presents the views of a Library Innovator coming to grips with the promises and pitfalls of modern technology. In it, Stephen Abram notes the impact and importance of Google and asks "Can libraries compete, complement, or cooperate? Or will we lose out?" He believes libraries still have a choice and offers ten key things that libraries should do to adapt and thrive. Stephen Abram is President of the Canadian Library Association and Vice President, Innovation, Sirsi Corporation. His ten key things deserve full reading and serious consideration by library professionals and community proponents seeking actionable inspiration.
I love his advice to "Lead the wireless revolution'' and "Get into the community" with it ! And that's just 2 of his 10 points. Fortunately for us in Susquehanna County,PA, our County Library and Community Information Network (CIN) are already engaged in several of his recommended initiatives. Even so, there is much more we could do to take advantage of his insights. I wonder if we could annex ourselves to the Canadian Library Association?
