- Apply the evaluative criteria in your reading to one of the useful Blogs you have discovered in previous activities.
- Do a bit of research in order to be able to comment on the evaluative criteria, describing your research steps.
- Add a comment to the LIBR 1111 Blog post called Evaluate a Blog.
- Include the URL of your Blog, your evaluation, and sign the comment.
Due: September 25, 2008
34 comments:
The blog I chose to write about is a blog that, since finding it last week, I have been spending a decent amount of my time reading. It’s called The Invisible Library (http://sanchezkisser.com/blog/) and is written by a Librarian named Keith Kisser. I have to say, everyone should read this blog! It is witty and informative and goofy and it so much fun to read. He even wrote a Sci-Fi novel called “The Machine of the World” that I have since ordered off Amazon. Throughout my Google adventures I came across several reviews of his book but no information on his professional career or credentials other than he is a Librarian who lives and works in Oregon. His blog is a collection of his own opinions and that the “content of [his] website is entirely the product of the author and does not represent the views or opinions of any of the nice people who employ him.” His opinions are personal and whether or not they are biased depends on whoever is reading it. He is the sole publisher of his blog and also hosts a website that he shares with his wife. You can access this at http://sanchezkisser.com. Keith’s blog is most definitely informal; he uses humor and current culture to express his views ranging from cake and cats to records management. The Invisible Library is full of interesting and informative links that lead you on a wild internet chase from interesting site to interesting site. Recently he used one of my favorite sites, www.howstuffworks.com in his article on the end of the world thanks to the Large Hadron Collider (learn about it here http://science.howstuffworks.com/large-hadron-collider.htm) The Invisible Library touches on almost every aspect of life including Government, current events, library trends and library life in general. The blog uses different forms of citing works depending on the specific posts. Sometimes it will feature an excerpt from a journal or periodical (this is especially used when quoting Political Candidates), while other times the reader is simply linked directly to other websites using hyperlinks. My favorite thing about this blog is that it is written in a way that everyone can enjoy it. I have found that with a few of the blogs I read while choosing were either SO technical that it was impossible to understand or that the posts were related to the activity of a specific location so it was hard to relate. In other words, they were boring and much too dense. The Invisible Library seems to have a small but devout following of readers from all walks of life and is not directly associated with librarians. The Invisible Library is updated a few times a month, the last post for September was on the 12th. I really recommend this blog to everyone. You will laugh, you will learn and you will most definitely enjoy.
-Annie
The weblog is called CE Buzz. [http://cebuzz.wordpress.com/ ]
This blog created by group of Librarians and it is the unofficial weblog of the Continuing Library Education and Networking (CLENE) .The author group consist of Max Anderson, Peter Bromberg, Steve Garwood, Betha Gutsche, Gail McGovern, Jay Turner, Mary Ross, Paul Signorelli who seems to be professional Librarians or Library Managers.
The main subject of the CE Buzz is providing a thought-provoking resource for those interested in and responsible for Continuing Education (CE) and staff development in libraries, so this information might be useful for students who are studding Library and Information Program. While browsing this blog, I find that CE Buzz helps readers in learning theory and practice as well as linking to online learning resources.
CE Buzz, along with disseminating information, will also provide a communicative and collaborative environment for its readers. Each post will include a comment feature to allow readers to comment on what they read.
In point of reliability, the authors often give the links to the main websites as their proof. In fact the main readers of the CE Buzz are librarians, people who works in the jobs related to Library and Information and Library students. That is the reason I recommend this weblog to all students in Library Technician Program. Also, CE Buzz seems to be an up to date weblog because the blogs added almost every month.
Farnaz
The "Gargoyles loose in the Library" (http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/library/blog/index.html) is a light, non-academic Library Blog. Frances Jacobson Harris is the author of the Journal, but most of the posts are references of other posts of Book related subjects. She is the author of one book, called “I Found It on the Internet: Coming of Age Online” (ISBN 0838908985) . One review states this book will “…will leave librarians spellbound, feeling insecure certainly but nonetheless unequivocally called to arms” as the teachers of access of information to the general public.
Frances Jacobson Harris is affiliated University Laboratory High School, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her purpose is to enlighten readers (not necessarily other librarians) to interesting library news on the site. She also gives resources to find information, and other blogs. At the University Laboratory High School, she is responsible for teaching gifted teens the ways of internet research.
Her articles written for library journals – especially school library journals - has also won her recognition from librarian organizations (two of which has been the American Library Association)
A very informal Blog, it seems to reach out to younger audiences, trying to get them interested in the library field and its news. She loves to link to News articles, library gadgets and other interesting posts from Library blogs/sited. While it doesn’t give me information about topic of research, it gives me the resources and links to.
All her quotes have references, links, and items to back up what she is staying. The problem then turns to the question of the sites she uses – if they are reliable. She often uses only one site to back up her topic, but more than often, it is enough. Her posts are rarely serious enough to warrant extensive citing.
The Audience is definitely targeted at a younger, unprofessional crowd. She most likely maintains her Blog for readers from the Library she works at. The posters are all writers with non-academic style of writing, with a restriction on their profiles. Once again, the posters are most likely her students at her School. This is certainly not an academic Blog.
At the very least her Blog is updated regularly. Often four to five times per week. Her articles however, are few and far between. The posts consist of interesting information taken from other sources that have some relation to the Library. Not a Blog to use as an Academic Reference, nor a Blog to take serious. It seems more like a personal Blog that happens to have a Librarian Author.
Chantal D
The blog I have been reading is entitled “Fahrenheit 451: Freedom to Read” and the URL is http://www.pelhamlibrary.blogspot.com/. It is named after the famous Ray Bradbury novel, “Fahrenheit 451”, which focussed on the issue of book burning and was a very controversial literary work. The blog is entirely focussed on controversial and banned literary works. The author of the blog is Elaine Anderson, a Canadian librarian living in Ontario. Upon research, I discovered that the blog can be accessed directly from the Pelham Library web site, and Ms. Anderson is the Adult and Youth Programs Press Liaison. Subsequent searches on Google and library catalogues such as AMICUS resulted in very little information on Ms. Anderson since her name is rather common.
The focus of the blog is solely controversial and banned literature of all kinds, including books about gay marriage, hate literature, questionable ethics, and religious extremism. There is very little deviation from this theme. Although the material is sometimes heavy, the blog is still informal. It is written in a style that is easy to understand, and includes contests of sorts, such as the ‘banned book challenge’. On occasion, a guest author writes an entry, and their biographical information is included at the beginning or end of their entry. Ms. Anderson also draws fairly heavily from periodicals ( such as Quill and Quire ), the American Library Association, and many other types of media, such as newspapers and radio programming. Most of the entries have citations from various sources, but information on the source is occasionally not included – for example, she refers to a Bruce Kaufmann in one entry, but it is very difficult finding out who this individual is. Links are also included in many postings for additional research, and the sidebar includes a plethora of links related to banned and controversial books, censorship, and various other blogs and sites by librarians.
Finally, due to the content, the blog can be considered fairly left wing. Ms. Anderson seems to support the freedom of speech and written word, as most of the content defends banned and controversial material and disdains censorship. There seems to be a rather moderate take on the issue, though, allowing the blog to come across as accessible and non-threatening. Allowing the reader to access so many other sources (via the side links) is also beneficial, since other points of view are always welcome. In terms of audience participation, there is very little commentary. The few comments to entries I have read are normally written by individuals under the name of ‘Anonymous’. Despite their anonymous status, most of their commentary is rather intelligent. The blog is also updated rather regularly, with entries being added every few days, and occasionally per week. In my opinion, ‘Fahrenheit 451’ is definitely a blog I would like to continue following.
Andrew McDonald
(The above deletion was from me. I forgot to sign my entry.)
The name of the blog is The Liminal Librarian (http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/). The author is Rachel Singer Gordon, who is a webmaster for the blog’s published, LISjobs.com, and a consulting editor for ITI Books. The content ranges from discussions on “hot button issues”, reflections on being a librarian, and thoughts on Library 2.0.
According to the resume the poster has on her “about” page, she has published books about being a librarian and general topics in information technology. She has also written columns for the Library Journal, and is a speaker for library groups and institutions on various topics. The poster has also worked in various libraries as a reference and computer services librarian. She has a BA in religion from Carleton College, a MA in modern Judaism, and a MLS (concentrating on Reference) from Rosary College. The site Ms Gordon runs – LISjobs.com, is an online resources guide for professionals in the library field.
The blog is both formal and informal. She posts about different topics, some containing links to various articles she found interesting. She also talks about general things, such as the new Google Chrome browser. The sites she links to are various articles over the web, as well as other library blogs. The content is reliable because there is obvious citation.
With comments replying to the entries, it is clear that Ms Gordon has an audience. There are conversations in nearly every entry. The audience seems to range from the general public to specific employees in the library field.
The Liminal Librarian is updated fairly regularly.
-Connie Ho
Growing up in the Philippines, I can only remember going to the National Library to do research one time for a term paper but that was the only library experience that I have back home. It is a bit sad that compared to other countries like the United States or Canada, the Philippines doesn’t have a vibrant “library culture” present in its educational system. So I find it refreshing that a blog like this makes an expatriate like me aware of the struggles of librarians and library professionals and its effort to become relevant in this age of information and technology despite the lack of government funding and lack of interest in libraries by the general public.
For this reason, I chose a blog called “The Filipino Librarian” (http://filipinolibrarian.blogspot.com) authored by Vernon R. Totanes, a Filipino librarian himself, who is currently in Toronto, Ontario as a Faculty of Information Studies student working on his PhD on library science at the University of Ontario. He is the sole author of the blog.
At a glance, it would seem like he has a bias for Filipino librarians but such is not the case. He has indicated that his blogs are for those who are interested in knowing more about the Philippines, Filipiniana, Philippine libraries and Filipino librarians as he seeks to raise the profile and awareness of the aforementioned things and not to say that it is the best thing. The site has been regularly updated until two weeks ago because the author said that he has been busy with a few things. Incidentally, his blog has ranked No. 9 among the 25 top librarian blogs by another blog called iLibrarian.
I used the Google search engine to do research about the author and his blog site. According to his profile found on the Philippine Association of Academic and Research Librarians where he is a member, he has Master's degree in Library and Information Science and an undergraduate degree in management engineering. He currently serves as a freelance editor for various publications in the Philippines and Australia. He has been invited several times as a guest speaker on different occasions at library events in the Philippines. He is a contributor on the subject of Freelance Book Producer on book titled, A Day in the Life: Career Options in Library and Information Science. Libraries Unlimited, 2007 edited by Shontz, Priscilla K. and Richard A. Murray produced for The Library & Information Science Professional's Career Development Center.
The blog itself is both formal and casual depending on the nature of the topic. He cites sources in his articles appropriately when necessary like providing a hyperlink to the source site. However, he normally writes in a journalistic style -writing just about everything from recounting different meetings with other Filipino librarians during many of his travels to library events and conferences to talking about technology application to library work. The blogs are given the short, RSS-like treatment so one can easily get to the gist of the article instead of getting bogged down with so many details a. He makes it a point to refer to his previous blogs if he needed to expand the topic a bit more later.
So I think I will keep visiting this blog in the future to get more updates on the Philippine library scene. It'll be fun to compare the similarities and differences of the libray field there and what I'm learning here in Canada.
- Allan Yu
Fahrenheit 451: Freedom to Read
Fahrenheit 451: Freedom to Read
1. Authority:
Elaine Anderson is a librarian at Pelham Public Library who has published four books. She has had this blog since March 2005 and is vividly passionate about the freedom of reading. She co-created the teen reading program Fahrenheit 451: Freedom to Read at her library which allows the teens and “tweens” to read banned or challenged books.
2. Publisher/Author Affiliation:
Fahrenheit 451: Freedom to read is affiliated with the Pelham Public Library.
3. Scope/Content:
The main purpose of the blog appears to be against the censorship of media, mainly books. The blog has a semi-formal feel and it typically refers to recent censorship, news about censorship, and others opinion on censorship and various freedoms related to it.
4. Accuracy and Reliability:
The author has presented links for the factual entries and has presented names for opinions of those who have answered the author’s questions. Due to the fact that censorship is a relative topic, it is hard to distinguish accuracy and reliability other than the lists of banned books, which appear true.
5. Audience:
The blog presents the information in an easily readable and accessible way. Whereas you may have to go to various sites to look for lists and opinions, all of them are accessible here. The commenters seem to be the general public and library workers as well. In general, it appears to be anyone interested in intellectual freedom.
6. Currency/Volume:
The blog seems to update relatively frequently as the last update was the 22nd of September. It seems to be updated on an almost weekly basis.
- Lindsey Nelson
Beyond the Job
http://www.beyondthejob.org
This blog has ideas on how to further your library career. It was created in October 2003 by Sarah Johnson and Rachel Singer Gordon, the Library Job People. They call it “an online clearinghouse of ideas and professional development opportunities to help you develop your career as an information professional”
There is information on scholarship and grant opportunities, tips on job-hunting and resume building, conference announcements, and articles on librarianship as a profession.
Rachel Singer Gordon is a writer with a regular column in the Library Journal, Computer Media. She has also written many books, and other columns. She is a professional speaker who does talks on various library related topics all around the United States. She also says she is a web expert. She is the co-creator of Beyond the Job, and blogs as the Liminal Librarian. She is the webmaster of LISjobs.com and Franklinparklibrary.org. She is the founding editor of Info Career Trends, an electronic career development newsletter for librarians.
Sarah Johnson is an Associate Professor in the Booth Library at Eastern Illinois University. She has received many honours including Library Journal’s Mover & Shaker award in 2006. She was listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in American Education, and Who’s Who of Emerging Leaders. She is the author of many editorials and columns, as well as 3 books. She is a member of the ALA Reference and User Association, ALA of College and Research Libraries, and many other committees.
This blog is very fact based with links to webcasts, conferences, and other sources. There are lots of new articles posted every day. This blog is useful for anyone in the library field who wants to keep on top of their career, or are looking to upgrade.
Ronda Lindsay
This blog is called “Library Juice” (http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/). It blog covers many different topics that all relate to books. There is information on books, cataloguing, librarianship, journalism, and more. The author of this large blog site is Rory Litwin, an Arts and Humanities Librarian in Duluth Minnesota. His name is easily found when inputting it into a search engine and it is safe to say that his information is reliable and uses references from newspapers:
Los Angeles Times:
“Pillaging Iraqi history: Shortly after Baghdad fell in 2003, the Baath Party archives were shipped to the U.S. It’s time to return them.”
He has many websites and attends discussions concerning books. Rory has no affiliations with other sites and owns his own site.
Rory’s most recent post was on September 17th and continually tries to add an entry every two weeks. The topics he covers vary from book reviews to current events. It informs people of the influential events happening in the world that affects books or libraries in various ways such as Iraq’s libraries being threatened while battles are happening. All of this information relates to books and even though it can be a website for those not pursuing a career in librarianship, it provides a good source of information of what’s happening around us.
The blogs are informal and Rory Litwin’s are no exception. They crack jokes and maintain a casual air when one reads about them, even if they are discussing about a heavy topic. As his profession as a librarian he may possess a bias view on certain things though during my readings his words were picked carefully and seemed fair for either sides. Book genre bias may play a role in certain entries.
Most of the topics the blog covers are political and concern the world and its libraries. The comments under the blogs are at the same level of respect and intelligence as Rory Litwin as most of them are librarians or teachers.
This blog site is valuable to those who love book reviews and like to know what’s happening around the world in a librarian’s viewpoint. It tries to update often but can have periods where nothing is posted for a while. It is reliable and managed efficiently.
Librarian Activist ( http://www.librarianactivist.org )
The author of this blog is Danielle Dennie, a science librarian at Montreal’s Concordia University. She is one of four regular bloggers who operate the site, which has existed since June 2005. A check of Concordia’s staff directory confirmed that she is a subject librarian in the Biology department. Ms Dennie has published a 2007 article in the Canadian Library Association’s “Feliciter” periodical issue 53 (2); and a 2008 article in Concordia University Library’s “Bibliofile” periodical. These articles are archived at the E-LIS site ( http://eprints.rclis.org/ )
Librarian Activist’s stated purpose is “to offer news, information, and resources to librarians who want to be active in political and social issues surrounding libraries and librarianship”. It is not evident that the blog is hosted or sponsored by any particular organization. The content of the site is of an excellent academic quality, with sources properly cited and linked, and is presented in a very focused manner. The tone of the blog is quite formal, yet reasonably friendly.
This blog seems to serve its intended audience very effectively, so it’s puzzling as to why its posts receive so very little reader comment. There are four-to-six postings per month of very interesting and engaging material, yet often not one post receives a reply.
The blog has a list of links to websites advocating for libraries, and another list of links to websites of interest to political-activist librarians and information professionals. The political orientation of these latter websites ranges from “progressive-left” to declared anarchist.
- Rik Kidd
Mattison, David. The Ten Thousand Year Blog. http://www.davidmattison.ca/wordpress/.
The Ten Thousand Year Blog, written and authored by one David Mattison. He works for the British Columbia Archive and Records Service in Victoria, British Columbia. He was born and raised in Hawaii, where he got his B.A. He moved to British Columbia and received his M.L.S. from UBC in 1978. I would say that his authority is upstanding. Though it takes some time you can find references to him on the BCARS website. A person has to ‘dig’ through many links on the page. He also has a few other web pages on the Internet which confirm his authority in the subject of the blog. Though his physical publications mostly concern photography, his Ten Thousand Year Blog, has extensive information on various topics concerning digital preservation. The blog does not seem to promote any particular product, at least that I can see, but he does provide for services such as RSS feeds, searches for different engines, tags, Swicki, etc.
This Blog seems to run very informally, but with topics from digital preservation (as mentioned above), to basic Internet news (like Google Chrome), and Information concerning many, MANY, different topics. Just check down the right side of the Blog and you will understand what I am talking about. The topics that I am interested on the Blog concern, regular and digital preservation of materials and information, Archival topics, and more. David Mattison and I seem to share similar interests.
The author, if he does not quote the source of his information directly, at least comments were he found or received the information from. I randomly choose many references that he cited just to make sure they were on the up and up.
The way that he covers the information is, as above, very informal. While he writes each posting well, the topics are scattered on the main page. I would suggest extensive use of the topic headings that he has to the right. Not many people seem to comment on the topics, there are a lot of lurkers. Those that do comment seem to have some knowledge and authority on those topics. Some are academics, and students of the topics, while others just have a passing interest.
The Content that is contained within the Blog is extensive, and is updated on a semi regular basis. This is every few days. The last update was on the 21st of September, this year, with the previous one being on the 15th.
This Blog has a gargantuan amount of information on various topics. It is somewhat difficult to navigate unless you have time. It is informative, and quite interesting, if you have the time and patience to find what you want. I would recommend that a person only look at the blog if you have spare time, are interested in the topics on hand, and can review what is written every few days. Over all I would say that this blog scores well on information content, but poor on navigation and access.
Nicholas Logan
Library Web Chic (http://www.librarywebchic.net/wordpress/) is written by Karen A. Coombs. The purpose of the blog is “to be a resource for librarians for the application of web design and other technologies” (http://www.librarywebchic.net/wordpress/about/).
Coombs is the Head of Web Services at the University of Houston Libraries, confirmed by the University of Houston Libraries website. She received an MLS/MS in Information Management from Syracuse University. According to U.S. News and World Report, which is an American magazine known for its rankings of colleges and universities, Syracuse University ranked third in the U.S. for Library and Information Studies programs (http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/lib/search).
Coombs also wrote a book on library blogging with Jason Griffey, Library Blogging, published recently (July 2008). Her education, position at University of Houston Libraries, and publishing credentials suggest that she is well-versed in her field and that she is an authority on the subject of web design for library use.
The blog is not affiliated with any institution, and it is fairly informal. Coombs writes on the subjects she is interested in as they come up, and not in any prescribed order. Her recent tech posts have been on using Wordpress as a content management system and building library applications for iPods and iPhones. There are also personal posts on Hurricane Ike, projects she is currently working on, and the importance of teaching technology to new librarians. The archives are a source of information on RSS, CSS, XHTML, XML, Wikis, and more. Some posts contain hyperlinks to articles, other blogs, and web resources. The blog is a good mix of technical details and exploring the current culture of technology in libraries.
The conversational tone of this blog makes it easy to read, but the topics are not explored in-depth, and the lack of comments (approx. one comment per post) indicates that this is not a busy blog for discussion.
Coombs posts about once a week. Her last post was on 16 September 2008.
--Elizabeth Taron
Library Juice (http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/), published by Library Juice Press, is a good blog that is useful for librarians and the students of library school. Library Juice used to be an electronic magazine, and now it has developed into a blog. Mr. Rory Litwin initiated both the magazine and blog. His diligent work provides timely update of the news in the library field, the recent academic and technological trends, and other theoretical and practical topics. Therefore, Library Juice is a useful blog for browsing.
Mr. Rory Litwin is an Arts and Humanities Librarian of UMD (University of Minnesota Duluth) Library, and was a reference and counseling librarian at California State Library, and a library service director of National Hispanic University. He obtained a master’s degree in library and Information Science from San Jose State University, a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from University of California, and a certificate in Fine arts, with a focus on photography from University of California. Mr. Rory Litwin has edited books, such as the Library Juice Concentrate and Library Daylight: Tracings of Modern Librarianship. He also has published a lot of articles. He spends significant time and effort on the blog, Library Juice.
The scope of Library Juice is broad. On the homepage, it is marked, “Library Juice: on the intersection of libraries, politics and culture.” The left columns show that the blog consists of many topics which are closely linked to library, such as, Librarians’ Resources, Library Education, Information Literacy, Information Policy, cataloguing, children’s Librarianship, and so on. It is also includes other topics which are somewhat related to library, such as Books, Government Information, Journalism, Legislation, Publishing, etc. There are other topics existing in Library Juice; for example, Fun, History, Web Culture, People in Focus, etc. These topics not only provide the “Juice” in library and information science, but also offer some “snack” to lighten up the atmosphere of the blog.
The articles on Library Juice have been checked and submitted by Mr. Rory Litwin. The blog still remains the magazine operation style, so the information should be selected and edited, which ensures the blog’s accuracy and reliability. The contents are very suitable for librarian, library and information science students, and other people who are interested in library. On Library Juice, comments are welcomed, for readers’ feedback is important. The comments are good ways for communication between authors and readers.
Another feature of Library Juice is that it updates in time. Unlike magazine which updating need a period of time, the blog can add new information frequently. Another advantage is that the blog has archives, so reader can browse old articles at any time. From the Archive of the blog, the quantity of information is about between 10 and 30 per month, which shows the frequency of the blog.
Library Juice is a nice blog to browse. It is an academic library blog which provides new information in the library field and also expands readers’ view.
Reference:
1. Library Juice (http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/
2. Library Juice Press (http://libraryjuicepress.com/about.php)
3. Rory Litwin’s Personal Space (http://juteux.net/rory/)
4. Libr. Org (http://www.libr.org/juice/about.html)
5. UMD Library (http://www.d.umn.edu/lib/ref/rlitwin/)
6. Rory B. Litwin – Curriculum Vitae (http://juteux.net/rory/cv.pdf)
The blog I chose to write about is called LibraryMan: Libraries, community, tecnology, and Pez. Website: http://www.libraryman.com/blog/.
It's written by Michael Porter, the Interactive Strategy Manager for WebJunction, an on-line community service for the library field based out of Seattle. He's held several different jobs in the library field and has his MLS degree. He’s also been the guest speaker at many conferences where he talks about all things technology and library related and is in the process of writing a book about "successful electronic communities for ALA editions," which you can read about here http://blog.alaeditions.org/2007/06/27/michael-porters-got-an-idea/.
Mr. Porter is not affiliated with an organization. He is independent and the only thing he is promoting are libraries, technology and community.
The purpose of the blog is to educate, inform, promote, and entertain. It is definitely informal and he talks about and links to all kinds of news articles, conferences, other blogs, web sites, etc. Sources are usually indicted by links to the original article.
His blog is very easy to read and highly entertaining. He archives things chronologically by month, as well as by topic, so things are easy to find and reference.
The blog was started in April 2003 and it covers the whole gamut from the political, to fun things to do (YearbookYourself!) to bits and pieces of random things of what’s going on in the library world. It is updated regularly with anywhere from 1 to 20 postings in a month.
This blog stood out for me because it was fun to read, colourful and visual. It doesn't get so technical that I don't understand it and the posts aren't so long that I have to fight to get through them.
Mary
AUTHORITY:
This blog is written by Denise Horoky who is the Education Library's Research & Instructional Librarian in the library of a very reputed university, University of Western Ontario. After doing a research of the faculty of the university, i concluded that Denise Horoky is a librarian in the university for a several years now.
Publisher:
The blog is owned by the university itself. The url of the blog is: https://www.lib.uwo.ca/blogs/education/. There are a couple of authors for the blog who actively participate in the blog, Denise Horoky being one of them. The author is a librarian from the university and the main motive of the blog is to share library related information and discuss social matters. They also encourage people to give their feedback.
Content:
This particular post is called “Single Sex Schools and Classroom” is talking about the differences between both the genders we have in our society and how experts two decades ago believed that boys and girls are different just because every parent brought up their kids in different ways. It gives us the actual statistics of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education (NASSPE). The author here is trying to tell us how researchers have now said that both the sex can be different in terms of their behaviour and issues of life. The author is referring to the book “Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences" by Dr Leonard Sax (founder of NASSPE) that tells both the genders are different in the way they think, feel and act and how they can react in different situations like risk taking, aggression, sex, drugs etc. He has also suggested a few ways in which one should raise their children keeping in mind the differences in their sex. He also emphasises parents in disciplining their kids in matters related to drugs and early sexual activity. In spite of leading educators promoting the idea of ignoring sexual differences, he feels having single sex classrooms can lead to educational, social and personal benefits.
Audience:
The blog is mainly for the students and the staff of the university as it gives out general information on social issues, books etc. The blog is referring to a book written by Dr Leonard Sax where he talks about the differences between the both genders. General public is not allowed to comment on the blog only the people who are part of the university and its library including the staff of the university are allowed to comment on it.
Volume:
The blog was posted on Sept 22 ’08.The blog is updated regularly at least once a week.
Benuka
The blog “The Liminal Librarian” can be found at http://www.lisjobs.com and has been run by Rachel Singer Gordon since 2006.
Although dictionaries don’t provide us with the definition of “liminality’, the author of the blog describes it as the “state of being “in between,” which is “inherently unsettling, yet full of possibility”. According to her, “liminal librarians are on the threshold, mindful of their in-betweenness”.
Rachel Singer Gordon divides her competencies into three categories: writer, speaker and Web expert. With remarkable credentials and about 10-year background in librarianship, she is considered as an expert in academic world. An impressive list of Google Book search results speaks in her favour, too. She has written and co-authored several books for information professionals, and has been published in a number of library-related journals. R. Gordon is also the founding editor of, and a frequent contributor to, the Info Career Trends electronic newsletter. As a speaker, she has made a lot of presentations on multiple topics, including writing for publication, accidental library management, library career paths, alternative careers, marketing yourself online, accidental systems librarianship, and next generation librarianship and succession planning. The third aspect of Rachel Gordon’s activity covers the period from 1999 to the present and includes some Web and online community projects and other related blogs.
Rachel Gordon is a member of the American Library Association and most of the blog’s materials deal with that sphere and attracts the attention of professions, who respond promptly to most of the author’s articles. Take, for example, “The bookless librarian” which was posted on 19 September, 2008 and immediately received 7 comments of those in the field, such as Laura Crosset from lis.dom, Jennie Levine of theshiftedlibrarian.com, librarybob from The Lake Villa District Library at http://www.lvdl.org.
The author and commentators regularly raise the issues of virtual and conventional methods of library work, books’ value and give practical advice on creating web products. The questions under discussion are of general public interest as well. As a proof of the range of the author’s interests some titles from the Archive can be mentioned: “What books you would go jail for?” (August, 2008), “The Library Latte Factor” ( July,2008), “Consumerism and customer service” (May, 2008).
The blog can is also used as a tribune for the discussion of the articles, published in other journals. What makes it attractive is the author’s attitude to comments, which are analyzed regularly and the summaries made are also thought-provoking and worth reading . Although the communication is held in a friendly manner, the academic background and literary expertise of the author are obvious. That only adds value to the blog and its content, given a great number of too informal web products nowadays. The same can be said about accuracy and reliability of the information as the author always gives references to the sources used.
All the above-noted can be considered as a recommendation to read the blog’s posts on a regular basis to be informed about what is going on in the library field from a professional but reader-friendly point of view. “The Liminal Librarian” justifies its name perfectly well, being addressed to both professional audience and to general public and creating the foundations for mutual benefits.
Nonna
ALA TechSource blog (http://www.alatechsource.org/blog) is published online by the American Library Association. The blog is written by a group of ten authors: Cindi Trainor, Daniel A. Freeman, Jason Griffey, Jenny Levine, Karen G. Schneider, Kate Sheehan, Michael Stephens, Teresa Koltzenburg and Tom Peters. They are affiliated with the ALA, as they are members of it. The mission of the American Library Association is “to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all”(ALA website, mission statement). The purpose of the blog is not to promote a particular product or cause, but to help keep librarians informed.
The focus of the blog is technology, and how it affects the library world. This includes a range of topics such as the electronic book “Kindle”, OPACs, Web 2.0 and Library 2.0, Open Source ILS, RDA, social networking software and even electronic games.
The authors are all librarians, with the exception of Teresa Koltzenburg who is an editor, and information specialist. Many work in University settings, particularly the University of Illinois. Most also write for their own personal blogs. For example, Jenny Levine writes "The Shifted Librarian" and Michael Stephens writes "Tame the Web: Libraries, Technology and People." All the authors have expertise in the information and technology fields. They are participants in online networking communities such as flickr, twitter, and Facebook. Karen G. Schneider is an authority on Evergreen, the open-access ILS program, since she is Community Librarian for Equinox. All the authors are easy to cross-reference through their University sites, their own blogs or the ALA.
There is no such thing as an unbiased author. All the bloggers on ALA TechSource are writing from specific positions of race, class and gender. All are members of an educated section of society. The authors all tend to be supportive of innovations and change, therefore could be said to be biased towards technology. Nevertheless, the writers are not attempting to flog any particular products, and it is clear that they are offering their own personal opinions.
The tone is of the blog is mostly informal, with writers commenting on their take on recent changes and updates in the tech sphere. The posts are informative, and offer links to source sites. When articles are referred to or indirectly quoted, the article and the journal or blog from which it was taken are hyperlinked in the text (e.g. "The Atlantic Monthly"). This seems to be a common technique in blogging, rather than giving a full bibliographic reference at the end of the text.
The number of posts to the blog is about five per month, on average. However, the postings seem to have increased over the last four months. There are often no comments on a post, possibly because they are light and informative, without saying much that is controversial. One post from July 2008, “Gaps and Bridges, Bridges and Gaps” by Jason Griffey did prompt a lot of commentary. The subject of librarians being out of touch with American youth in the area of technology sparked some debate amongst the readers. It is difficult to check who these commentators are, since messages are signed by “anonymous” or by a single name. However, if one can judge by the messages themselves, the comments are made overwhelmingly by librarians. This indicates that the blog is reaching its desired audience.
The blog website has a useful organization section on the right of the screen, where readers can view archived posts by date, author or subject. There are links to the most recent posts, and an open search bar.
ALA TechSource is entertaining reading for those who are interested in technology and how it affects librarians and library patrons. There are many links to other blogs and online articles for the subject matter for further reading.
References:
ALA TechSource Blog: http://www.alatechsource.org/blog
American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/
Eastern Kentucky University Libraries: http://www.library.eku.edu/new/index.php
Equinox: http://esilibrary.com/esi/company.php
Free Range Librarian: http://freerangelibrarian.com/
The Library Journal: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA281672.html
Loose Cannon Librarian: http://loosecannonlibrarian.net/
The Shifted Libarian: http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/
Tame the Web: http://tametheweb.com/
WebJunction: http://www.webjunction.org/member-spotlight-archives/articles/content/452408
Sonja Peterson
librarian.net
putting the rarin back in librarian since 1999
http://www.librarian.net/
Jessamyn West’s blog, www.librarian.net , is a widespread source for a variety of Library issues. One of the oldest (if not the oldest) blog about libraries run by an individual, she covers anything from the internet meme of Rickrolling to rolling her eyes at Tori Amos describing herself as a librarian.
Jess West posts her resume under the FAQ section of her site. She is published (Revolting librarians redux : radical librarians speak out) and listed at the Library of Congress’ Online Catalogue. She is often a speaker at library related conferences. She writes and comments on many issues in the field, but from a personal standpoint.
Ms. West’s blog is not linked to any association, though she used to be a council-person for the ALA. She has worked in a variety of libraries and has been a library activist for many years.
Her blog is an informal one, though more formal than her personal blog (which has also been around for many years). This site is kept library related. Her links are actually quite relevant, such as the ALA’s updated site, a blog called Library Finds that has pictures of Darwin’s Origins of the Species and other early editions of books (very nice pictures), and other blogs that might be interesting or relevant to her readers.
She normally doesn’t have a bibliography for her articles, but will link other web-pages that add information. For example, on her article about Sarah Palin, she hypertexts to news sources (New York Times, ABC News, & factcheck.org) and talks about the misinformation regarding the story. She does seem to check the facts and doesn’t overstate matters, though the title of the piece does seem a bit sensational, but that’s a conceit of most titles.
The blogs level is not specialised or in depth, but does cover a large diverse area. Most of the comments seem to come from other bloggers, some with library associations, but their personal information is hidden (generally). The commentary doesn’t seem to be in depth or from expert sources, more of a layman plus participation on average.
This is a busy blog, with usually some posting once a day, occasionally more often and sometimes with a week gap. Considering it is a nine year old blog, run by one individual, who has other blogs and seems to be rather busy in her work commitments, a gap of 5-7 days is a mere bagatelle to the amount of effort put in. The last two postings were both on September 23rd.
Rory Brewster
I chose to evaluate a blog that goes by the name of Confessions of a Science Librarian ( http://jdupuis.blogspot.com/) which is mainly written by one John Dupuis, the head of the Science and Engineering library in the York University in Toronto, Ontario. Checking via google and upon the York University website to see if he was in fact, the real deal-and he was, with one of the links citing various sites and articles that he has designed to help those at the York University.
Though he is from the University, the blog is not officially afflicted with the University itself. This does not mean that the blog is very informal- it seems, overlooking the postings previously written, that John Dupuis switches between informality to formality, depending upon the topic written-and even then, there is an academic overtone. For example, in his September 21 posting "Computer science does not study the digital computer" (http://jdupuis.blogspot.com/2008/09/computer-science-does-not-study-digital.html) he discusses what computer science really is, and what it details. But even as there are bits of jokes inside of this posting, he is still quite serious about the topic, and provides links to clarify as needed.
The topics themselves cover, as it says, "links and information for science librarians" and it does with satisfying results- with its consistent postings, links to other science librarian blogs, and resources, Confessions of a Science Librarian is the place to go when in need to check out topics of science librarianship.
-Krystle
LibrarianInBlack
*******************
http://librarianinblack.typepad.com
Written by Sarah Houghton-Jan, LibrarianInBlack is one woman's personal attempt to create a "one-stop shop for all Techie Library Staff" (Houghton-Jan, "About This Site"). Focused on increasing the accessibility of information to libraries and patrons of all kinds, Houghton-Jan is an advocate for open-source, low-cost programs and a frequent presenter on the incorporation of new technology into the library environment.
With ten years of experience in the library and information technology industry, including her current position as Digital Futures Manager for the San Jose Public Library, Houghton-Jan seems passionate and well-versed in the area of emerging technology and its role in the library world. She has published articles in numerous journals, including Computers in Libraries, American Libraries and the School Library Journal , and is also the author of Technology Competencies and Training for Libraries, a well received addition to the Library Technology Reports series.
Houghton-Jan is also a member of the Library Information and Technology Association's Top Tech Trends Committee, a group that meets twice a year to identify technologies with the potential to create a significant impact on the library community. This position puts Houghton-Jan at the forefront of integrating technological developments into American libraries, and this level of insight is clearly demonstrated in her blog.
Moreover, one thing that seems to set LibrarianInBlack apart is the user friendly approach that Houghton-Jan takes when discussing featured material. Having spent the last six years working as a consultant and workshop leader for Infopeople, a federally funded organization responsible for the training of the California library community, Houghton-Jan seems to have a great deal of experience translating the technological details of these developments into something that everyday individuals can make sense of. It is this reader friendly environment, coupled with the sincerity of her efforts, that makes LibrarianInBlack such a worthwhile blog to return to.
Houghton-Jan's enthusiasm for the field is made apparent in the tone and frequency of her postings. With archives dating back to December 3, 2007, she rarely goes more than a few days between updates, and often offers her readers multiple postings each day.
Her last posting alone, dated September 23, 2008, is comprised of 5 different entries. Two of these involve discussions on the latest tools for the visually impaired (VozMe and ReadThistoMe.org) and one makes mention of a reference tool that librarians can offer to those patrons looking for guidance during America's current financial crisis (NPR's Planet Money Website). This posting also includes information on a new program that helps libraries automate their disaster plans (dPlan), as well as a brief review of a colleague's article in Computers in Libraries that tries to help bridge the communication gap between IT and non-IT library staff.
In amongst the professional discussions, Houghton-Jan also injects a dose of fun into her entries by including information on a number of entertaining online opportunities. Two particularly interesting sites that have been the focus of recent postings are Librarian Gear, an e-store that sells library oriented t-shirts, coffee mugs, keychains and more, and HeroMachine 2.5, a site where any user can automatically create a comic book super hero in their own image. (As Houghton-Jan says, "just think of the fun library possibilities!" ("Super Heroes Say "Rawr!""))
While she does not adhere to the traditional form of bibliographic citation, all of Houghton-Jan's postings offer in-text links connecting the reader to the original source material. Of the 34 links included on the blog's first page, only one did not work -- a link to an article on cnn.com.
The only puzzling detail about this blog is that there is not a lot of discussion going on in terms of user comments. Very few postings have more than 1 comment, if they have any at all, although there are a few topics that always seem to stir up conversation (i.e. copyright issues). Individuals participating in the discussion include other technical librarians, information professionals and members of the general public.
However, despite the sporadic occurrence of comments on the blog itself, LibrarianInBlack certainly achieves its goal of providing a reliable source for information on the technological advancements that libraries are faced with today. One part professionalism, two parts personality, I would definitely recommend LibrarianInBlack to those who want to keep an eye on the evolving world of Library 2.0.
--Tanya Knox
Works Cited
**************
American Library Association. techsource.ala.org. Technology Competencies and Training for Libraries. Retrieved 23 September 2008
http://www.techsource.ala.org/ltr/technology-competencies-and-training-for-libraries.html.
CNN. cnn.com. Page Not Found. Retrieved 23 September 2008 http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/ptech/01/27/hello.kitty.robo.reut.
Houghton-Jan, Sarah. librarianinblack.typepad.com. About This Site. Retrieved 23 September 2008 http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/about.html#aboutsite.
Houghton-Jan, Sarah. librarianinblack.typepad.com. About. Retrieved 23 September 2008 http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/about.html.
Houghton-Jan, Sarah. CV. Retrieved 23 September 2008 http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/1pgcv.pdf.
Houghton-Jan, Sarah. librarianinblack.typepad.com. December 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2008 http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/2007/12/index.html.
Houghton-Jan, Sarah. librarianinblack.typepad.com. Home. Retrieved 23 September 2008 http://librarianinblack.typepad.com.
Houghton-Jan, Sarah. librarianinblack.typepad.com. Super Heroes Say "Rawr!" Retrieved 23 September 2008 http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/2008/08/super-heroes-sa.html.
Infopeople. infopeople.org. Infopeople Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved 23 September 2008
http://www.infopeople.org/about/faq.html.
Infopeople. infopeople.org. Instructor Sarah Houghton-Jan. Retrieved 23 September 2008 http://infopeople.org/workshop/instructor/99.
Library & Information Technology Association. www.lita.org. About the Committee. Retrieved 23 September 2008
http://www.lita.org/ala/mgrps/divs/lita/litamembership/litacommittees/toptechtrendcomm/toptechnology.cfm.
Librarian Gear. zazzle.com/librariangear. Home. Retrieved 24 September 2008
www.zazzle.com/librariangear.
Morton, Andy. andymorton.org. About. Retrieved 23 September 2008
http://www.andymorton.org/about.
UGO Entertainment. ugo.com. HeroMachine 2.5 - The Ultimate Fantasy Entertainment Hero Machine Generator. Retrieved 23 September 2008
http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/heromachine2/heroMachine2.asp.
http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/?cat=33
Oh My Blog! What have I done? No I was not aware of the extensive credentials attached to my blog author or his never-ending affiliation to the Library world when I chose this blog. As it turns out associating one’s self to anything and everything to do with library to the point of exhaustion turns you into the best behaved debate blogger in the Library business, Mr. Rory Litwin of LibraryJuice.
I think it is only fair to mention a few of Mr. Litwin’s contributions to the library world.
(The condensed version)
Rory Litwin
Major Professional Experience
Assistant Librarian, University of Minnesota, Duluth – 2004 to present.
Consulting Librarian, California Labor History Map project, California Research
Bureau, California State Library – 2002-2003.
Reference Librarian, California Research Bureau, California State Library – 2001-
2002.
Library Services Director, National Hispanic University, San Jose, California, 1999-
2001.
From 1998 to 2005 he published Library Juice, an electronic zine that collected and recorded selections from the discourse of the Library Left during that period, and included his original writings on libraries and society.
In 2006 Library Juice re-emerged as a blog and a small book publishing company, which publishes books on the same subjects. Among those books are two edited by Litwin: Library Juice Concentrate, which is a collection of the best material from the e-zine, and Library Daylight: Tracings of Modern Librarianship, 1874-1922, which is a collection of essays and other brief items from the early days of librarianship as a profession in the United States.
Litwin presently serves on the Council of the American Library Association (ALA) and as a member of the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table's Action Council. He has also served as a member of the editorial board of Progressive Librarian and on the Coordinating Committee of the Progressive Librarians Guild.
Educational Background
Masters in Library and Information Science, San Jose State University, 1998
Graduate Certificate in Fine Art, with a focus in photography, University of California,
Santa Cruz, 1993
Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy, with College and Departmental Honors, University
of California, Santa Cruz, 1991
Edited Books
Library Juice Concentrate. Duluth: Library Juice Press, 2006.
Library Daylight: Tracings of Modern Librarianship, 1874-1922. Duluth: Library
Juice Press, 2006.
Published articles
“Moving the Cheese: The Critical Approach to Thinking About Change,” Library
Worklife: HR E-News for Today’s Leaders, Vol. 1, No. 10 (October, 2004)
“Radicals Defending Tradition: An Appeal to the Baby Boom Generation,” West,
Jessamyn and Roberto, Katia, eds., Revolting Librarians Redux (McFarland, 2003),
pp. 88-91.
“Neutrality, Objectivity and the Political Center,” Progressive Librarian No. 21
(Winter 2002).
“Classic and Neo-Information,” Information for Social Change No. 13 (Summer
2001).
Of numerous articles I have written for Library Juice over the years, one was cited in a
peer-reviewed journal: “On Google’s Monetization of Libraries,” Library Juice 7:26,
December 2004.
Presentations
ALA Annual Conference, Orlando, Florida, 004, “New Visions, New Voices: New
Leaders Speak on the Future of Libraries and Librarianship,” Sponsored by the ALA Diversity Office.
Voluntary Professional Service
American Library Association
Member at large, ALA Council, 2005-2008
Member, ALA Council Resolutions Committee, 2007-2008
Member, ALA Council Policy Monitoring Committee, 2005-2007; Chair, 2006-2007
Member at large, ALA/Social Responsibilities Round Table Action Council, 2001-
2007; Coordinator, 2002-2005
Member, ALA Website Advisory Committee, 2002-2004; Chair, 2002-2003
Progressive Librarians Guild
Member, Editorial Board, Progressive Librarian, 2001-2007
Member, PLG Coordinating Committee, 2003-2007
List Manager, PLGnet-L, 1997 to present
Information for Social Change
Member, editorial collective, 2007 to present
Libr.org
Edited and published Library Juice, an electronic magazine on the intersection of
libraries, society, and politics, 1998-2005
Web hosting and often webmastering on the Libr.org site for a variety of groups and
projects.
Miscellaneous
Profiled in Library Journal’s first annual “Movers and Shakers” supplement in 2002:
“The Importance of Being Earnest,” Library Journal, Vol. 127, Issue 5, Supplement
(March 15, 2002).
In 2006, founded a book publishing company, Library Juice Press, LLC, which
publishes books on topics related to libraries and society.
From June 2005 through June 2006, reviewed a different reference book each day and
published it in my Reference Books LiveJournal (blog). These reviews are still
available online, at http://referencebooks.livejournal.com/. It was a way of gaining familiarity with our reference collection.
http://www.libr.org/isc/profile.html
(For those of you who are wondering, this was the condensed version)
This guy has style, the more I explore his blog the more I appreciate his version of netiquette.
(Although I have caught him once or twice getting a bit “rough-and-tumble”.
All writers and contributors are sworn in by accepting a designed set of rules.
1. I will not refer to other bloggers by their first names.
2. I will not talk about my own life.
3. I will try not to be ugly.
4. I will try not to get rough-and-tumble.
5. I will pay attention and be fair.
6. Finally, I will not talk too much.
Oh Blog! I think I’ve already broke 4 of these rules.
I like Rory after reading his blog for a few days now; I have developed my own bias in regards to his blog. I have come to respect and appreciate his diverse and expansive blog design. He is serious about his political stand with regards to his profession, his blog is formal in the sense that he is not Blogging with overly casual communication, and still I find him to be contemporary with his dialog. Rory uses this forum as an opportunity to speak very candidly with the intention to inform, assist and educate library professionals from every facet of the industry, Government, Public, Private, Corporate, Archival, and last but not least librarian wanna-bee’s.
Topics covered in Library Juice
• Information as a public good (and attendant political struggles)
• Privacy
• Government and corporate secrecy and disinformation
• Intellectual Freedom and Civil Liberties
• The Public Sphere and its decline
• International solidarity in information issues
• Print culture, web culture, visual culture, and the meaning of literacy
• The state of the library profession (issues of identity, work life, and deprofessionalization)
• IP: Information Policy, Intellectual Property
• The Information Society
• Information Ethics
• Social infrastructures
• The Decline of Civilization and the position in which it puts us as librarians
Libraryjuice has links in every posted article. For instance if you are interested in a specific area of Library such as History the topic would lead you to the names of books, articles, and many useful sites with respect to your desired subject.
Example: HISTORY
Women In Print: Essays on the Print Culture of American Women from the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Edited by James P. Danky and Wayne A. Wiegand. Foreword by Elizabeth Long. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press in collaboration with the Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Pages 126-155. Available in print and as an online book.
Rory has a great subject called SECRECY. I became worried for his life after reading this little tidbit.
March 26, 2007
White House using private email to avoid the accountability of a public paper trail
(I think this one breaks rules # 2 and #6)
“This is so f-ing typical of the Bush Administration… White House staffers are using private internet domains for much of their work by email in order to avoid the accountability of a paper trail. White House correspondence is supposed to be part of the public record, eventually. Here’s a snippet:”…
“…[I]t is better not to put this stuff in writing in their e-mail system because it might actually limit what they can do to help us,” one lobbyist wrote Abramoff, citing advice from a White House aide, “especially since there could be lawsuits, etc.”
Thanks to Kathleen McCook for sharing this news item with the SRRT list.
Comments (1)
Filed under: Government Information, Information Ethics, Secrecy by — Rory Litwin @ 1:16 pm
There are some topics that Rory views as large taunting targets challenging him into a bull fight. For instance, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, he gets very heavy hitting with that one.
Here is a quote from Rory that I found under the Heading FUN…
“To ignore the shades of gray, the nuances, the complexities, and the diplomatic realities when the issue is one’s sole focus in life does to me suggest obsession rather than a healthy interest.”
Comment by Rory Litwin — August 7, 2008 @ 1:22 pm
(I am not so sure this guy would excel in hosting a Christmas Party)
Rory Litwin is a very busy man indeed, he has managed to start his own book publishing company called “Litwin Books,LLC “and a second publishing company called “Library Juice Press, LLC”.
Litwin Books publishes scholarly books about media, communication, libraries, and related historical topics, and through its Library Juice Press imprint, books that examine theoretical and practical issues in librarianship from a critical perspective, for an audience of professional librarians and students of library science.
Library Juice Press, LLC
Library Juice Press is an imprint of Litwin Books, LLC specializing in theoretical and practical issues in librarianship from a critical perspective, for an audience of professional librarians and students of library science. Readers of the webzine and blog, Library Juice, can expect the books that we publish to be deeper investigations into topics that have been covered there over the years, including library philosophy, information policy, library activism, and in general anything that can be placed under the rubric of "critical studies in librarianship."
All of the postings and discussions on these subjects were very current, honest and informative.
Categories…
• Archives
• Books
• Cataloging
• Children's Librarianship
• Civil Liberties
• Disinformation
• Editorials
• Essays
• Fun
• Government Information
• History
• Information Ethics
• Information Literacy
• Information Policy
• Intellectual Freedom
• International
• Journalism
• Labor Issues
• Legislation
• Librarians' Resources
• Library Closings
• Library Education
• Library of Congress
• Non Library
• Preservation
• Privacy
• Publishing
• Secrecy
• Technology
• The Profession
• Theory
• Web culture
Library Juice provides links to a whole gamut of books and authors.
Blogroll-what can you find in a blogroll? Links to other library related blogs such as…
• Office for Intellectual Freedom
• Concerned Librarians of British Columbia
• The Googlization of Everything
• Book surfer
• BCLA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee
• Arts Journal
•
I have included an article that was written about Rory Litwin
Posted in Library Journal.com
Rory Litwin: California Research Bureau, CA State Library
The Importance of Being Earnest
Founder, Library Juice
-- Library Journal, 3/15/2002
Rory Litwin does not do lip service. What he wants to do is change the world, and when he believes in something, he puts his heart, soul, skills, and inordinate amounts of time into doing something about it.
He'd like to make the world more like libraries, which he calls "a rare example of beautiful ideals actually functioning successfully in the world"--they are communitarian, in that they pool shared resources; libertarian, in that they provide a marketplace of ideas; and models for sustainability, in that materials are reused.
He'our profession. He's excited by libraries in part because he thinks they need to be changed. He believes that they must provide more alternative voices and free access to all their resources, that library administrators need to become more democratic in their decision-making, and that our professional organizations need to be more responsive to the needs of ordinary librarians as well.
Litwin is willing to work within the system to bring this brighter world to pass; he's an active and vocal participant in the American Library Association (ALA) and the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT). But he also applies pressure from outside. At his libr.org site, he provides web pages for Progressive Librarian, Progressive Librarians' Guild, and SRRT. It's also where he publishes Library Juice, "a sifting of e-mail of interest to librarians, with a share of issues-oriented stuff, from a Left perspective."
Every week he presents news items about libraries and censorship, interesting web sites and quotes, draft statements from library organizations on current issues, announcements of new electronic lists and discussions, exchanges of correspondence about issues within ALA, and more. In the hands of a convinced ideolog, this could be hard-going. But there's a thoughtfulness about Litwin's opinions, when he feels like stating one. He actually listens to his critics, considers the possibility that they might be onto something, and even, occasionally, modifies his ideas. As SRRT's Mark Rosenzweig says, "Litwin always considers his positions revocable."
Library Juice is a serious contribution to librarians' community dialog, which makes it a little odd that people find Library Juice when they search Google for topics like "bug juice," "loony left schools," and "anarchy pez." Litwin gets a kick out of tracking these web site statistics and regularly reports on them.
Of course people also find Library Juice when they type "What is librarian," which has to be all to the good. There are many people out there who don't know that librarians can be young and hip, or that we stand ready to defend (well, in court, anyway) their privacy and their freedom to read, to know, and to think. If they're going to find a librarian by accident, Litwin is one of the best models they could happen across.
• Rory B. Litwin
• Library 268
• 416 Library Drive
• Duluth, MN 55812
• rlitwin@d.umn.edu
• 218-726-7896
Evaluating a Blog - Paula Justus
•
The blog that I evaluated is the Libraryman blog. The URL is www.libraryman.com/blog/ . It is written by Michael Porter, who has had many different jobs in the library field, and holds an MLS. He is a guest speaker at lots of conferences and is currently writing a book. He is also the strategy manager for WebJunction.
Michael Porter seems to be an independant writer, and promotes what he feels like. The audience could probably be anyone from someone like me, who doesn't know a lot about the library world yet, to someone with a lot more formal training and experience. It is definately entertaining for everyone though. The blog is informal; he has some silly blogs that are just plain funny, although he also writes for educational purposes. His blog is very user-friendly, with lots of links and it seems that lots of people are commenting on his blogs as well.
The blog was started in 2003, and the archives seem to be very thorough and easy to use. For the most part, it looks like he posts anywhere from only a few times a month, upto 15 or 20 times. I liked this blog because it was user-friendly, and it was inviting. It isn't all text, so it's not tedious to read long paragraphs. There are pictures and other interactive things to do on it that make it fun to read instead of a chore. I definately would recommend this blog.
(ok, really posting.)
Blog Without a Library
http://blogwithoutalibrary.net
The blog that I chose to evaluate is the “Blog Without A Library.” The author, Amanda Etches-Johnson, is a ‘User Experience Librarian’ at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. She is also an adjunct member of the Faculty of Information & Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario, and teaches a distance education course on libraries and social software. (A link to the distance course’s content, can be found at this blog.) Additionally, Ms. Etches-Johnson is the creator of the Blogging Libraries Wiki, which evolved from an explosion of bloglinks collected for a book chapter on library web services. She has also contributed to many periodicals, including Feliciter, and has presented at more seminars and conferences than could possibly be listed here.
The Blogging Libraries Wiki
http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/links/index.php?title=Welcome_to_the_Blogging_Libraries_Wiki
Periodical example;
Etches-Johnson, Amanda. 2006. "The Brave New World of Social Bookmarking: Everything You Always Wanted to Know but Were Too Afraid to Ask." Feliciter 52, no. 2: 56-58. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed September 25, 2008).
Conference examples:
Medical Library Association Annual Meeting
Blogs & Wikis (and what you can do with them) (closing plenary panel with David Rothman, Melissa Rethlefssen & Bart Ragon)
May 2008, Chicago, IL
Atlantic Provinces Library Association Annual Conference
Social Software: the Hows, Whys and What fors
May 2008, Charlottetown, PEI
Computers in Libraries
Pecha Kucha: Conversation Face-off (panel with Aaron Schmidt, Greg Schwartz, Meredith Farkas, David Free & Greg Notess)
Academic Library 2.0 (pre-conference workshop with Jason Griffey, Jenica Rogers-Urbanek, Chad Boeninger & Meredith Farkas)
April 2008, Arlington, VA
OCLC Western Service Online Workshop
Keep Up! Tagging, Social Bookmarking and Folksonomies
February & March 2008
The posts mostly involve Library 2.0, including emerging technology, social media, web development, education, and user experience. Unfortunately, there have been no posts since July, and few (a couple times per month) even then compared to when it began in September 2003. The lack of recent content did give me some concern as to the validity of writing about this blog, but the links and information discovered—especially the wiki—more than make up for it.
Blog post example :
http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/?p=320
There are more recent posts at her other, more personal, blog called ‘etc.’. An attempt was made to contact the author about the future of this blog, but there was no response. An explanation can, however, be found on ‘etc.’ under the heading ‘Saying No.’ The so-called “Project No” was to be embarked upon over the summer including the refusal of all library-related projects.
etc. Blog
http://www.etches-johnson.com/
This blog seems to be directed towards academics, and professionals, with a flair for the technological. Many of the posting refer to various symposiums and conferences that the author participated in. Frankly, much of the information is a little over my head yet not so complicated that it isn’t useful for learning more about the social tools and library organizations that were discussed. Commentators include librarians, web-developers, students, and academics with a sense of humour and strong feelings about aesthetics. Many of these people are bloggers themselves.
Examples of commentators:
(library studies student) http://breakablecrate.com/
(web-developer, librarian) http://www.michelleoleson.com/
Ms. Etches-Johnson stresses that the opinions posted on her blog are hers alone, and not those of her employers’. If there were any bias or promotional bent to be found in this blog, it would be towards education and academia. Extreme academia! As would be expected from such a blog, all references are linked to their source. These links include conferences, places, people and web applications and tools.
Margaret Jenkins
Blog name: Information Wants to be Free
URL: http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/
Meredith Farkas hosts this blog using the Wordpress platform. No one else is involved in the publishing of this blog.
Meredith Farkas is head of Instructional Initiatives at Norwich University in Vermont. I was able to confirm that information by going to the Norwich University website. She is the author of a book called “Social Software in Libraries”. UBC library has a copy of this item, but Langara Library does not.
Doing a search on the Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts through EBSCO I found numerous articles written by her in various library related journals. She also has a regular column in American Libraries.
According to the title banner this blog is a “librarian, writer and tech geek reflecting on the profession and the tools we use to serve our patrons”.
I would say that Meredith Farkas obviously has the expertise to be writing a blog on the library profession and how we use technology. She has a special interest in “affordable continuing education for librarians” and Wikis. She writes from the point of view of College Librarian in the Unites States. I do not feel that this bias is problematic, as she does not claim to be writing from or about anything else.
This blog is definitely aimed at people in the information and library field. Meredith does not write about much else and her writing assumes that the reader has a certain level of knowledge. She does a lot of reviewing of different technologies and how they pertain to libraries and her job in particular. She always provides links to the items she is discussing.
I found it very interesting going through some older posts about online education and open source software. Particularly interesting was a blog on SOPAC (Social OPAC). In this blog Meredith links to a Library Journal article.
It is clear that this blog has an active readership as each blog entry has numerous comments. It is interesting reading the comment section, as people link to their own blogs and raises issues and questions to do with the blog topic.
Meredith Farkas has been writing this blog since November 2004. It is an active blog, for the past year there has been an average of 10 posts per month. You can search the archive by month, or by categories. “Information Wants to be Free” is a useful blog to keep track of as it covers topical issues related to emerging technologies and how they pertain to libraries.
Sources:
http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/
EBSCOhost: LISTA database
UBC Library Online Catalog, http://www.library.ubc.ca/
Langara Library Online Catalog, http://twist.langara.bc.ca/search~S1
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6591377.html
Liza Saayman
The blog I chose to assess is http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Default.aspx
This blog is also a similar adaptation of its magazine counterpart, PCAuthority. I have been reading this blog for a few months and updates come so frequently to the point that it's more than humanly possible to keep track of (not technically). New blogs, often in the form of product review on computer-related products are what I find very fascinating. This blog consists of a massive amount of experts in the field of news research, graphics art, engineering websites, publishing and technology/computers. Regularly there are about 2-5 new blogs- a day, some open to comments and some restricted. The whole scheme of this blog was to attract people with their website interface and spiffy 'photo-shopped' illustrations- but it's quite a work of art, but to another large audience it can alone be just eye candy. When they are listing information on a new software, application or firmware of such products there are usually links to either download, try the trial or get directed to the source. The ads found on the pages are almost always about computers, laptops, phones and luxurious gadgets.
This blog opens up to very detailed topics on gadgets, technology and new innovations. This blog is targeted towards towards video-gamers, computer technicians, and simply to those who are interested in keeping up to date with the newest, sparkliest gadget. I roughly estimate the majority age group being 18-25.
There are also 'how-to' blogs, repair and maintenance blogs, blogs about computer companies and, not very often, about technology experts/prodigies on the move. The written text on the other hand deviate from firm formal language to a mixture of informal language, sarcasm and puns. Describing physical features of a gadget for example, usually consist of very strong formal language to the point of deep misunderstanding and possibly the leading cause of ADD. The informal language however is cleverly up-to-date on name-deviations of products (iphone aka jesusPhone, google aka the dark messiah of false prophet) and people such as myself do easily recognize this strangely geeky terminology, sometimes finding it humorous.
What I like most about this blog is that it's daily updated, and the content to me is very fascinating. The downside is...that each blog doesn't seem to have much citations or notes from where they retrieve their resources sometimes (or it's very well hidden), which is a bummer when you become very intrigued on a topic.
Tuan Le
LIBRARY PLAYGROUND:
http://libraryplayground.wordpress.com/
Authority :
Library Playground is created and maintained by a Canadian library technician. They have been working in the field for many years, and has a variety of experience with the different technologies on which they choose to write and comment about.
Publisher/Author Affiliation :
The author hosting the blog does not associate themselves with any specific institution, and clearly states that, all the views and opinions are their own, and not to reflect on an specific institution.
Scope/Content :
The blog seems a little unfocused at times, but you can tell that the main goal is to create interest and discussion amongst library technicians about the new technologies available in the world for use in libraries. You can tell that some of the articles the author is learning along the way, such as the article about Windows Vista. However, his articles in Library 2.0 are very well researched, and there is a plethora of information on many topics within the scope of the genre. A great section of the blog is a massive listing of library tech jobs available.
Accuracy and Reliability :
The host of Library Playground, does not specifically cite any sources, but this is not something new for the online world. All of his back-up information is related to the reader in the way of various links to other web pages, and resources, for the reader to discover the information on their own.
Audience :
I found this blog to be incredibly interesting. The author hits on a lot of points that we have covered in class already, but also gives a lot more information. The author gives a great first hand view for those going in to the library tech field, and all the challenges and rewards that come with it. As well, the author hits on allot of the new technologies being integrated into libraries in Canada, and how the library technician will be using them to their benefit.
Currency/Volume :
The blog is not updated on a regular basis, and it seems that the host has fallen behind, on it a little bit. The most current posting for Library Playground was on September 16, and before that it was August 16.
-Mykael Esplen
The blog that I’ve chosen to share with you all is called iLibrarian. (http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/) the blog is described as a blog about news and resources on library 2.0 and the information revolution. The author, Ellyssa Kriski, is a Reference Librarian at Columbia University’s Butler Library. Her book “Web 2.0 for Librarians and Information Professionals” was published in February 2008. Ellyssa teaches professional development workshops and provides technology instruction throughout the northeast and is an international conference speaker and moderator. InfoTangle is another blog which she utilizes as fast publishing platform for her library and technology related articles. While searching through Google to find any information in the author, I came across sites selling her book however no reviews where available. This blog is a collection of her own ideas and opinions which is quite apparent when reading any of her “most popular posts”. She supplies tips as well as posting helpful resources online that she passes on for whoever is interested. I would describe Ellyssa’s blog as formal but still an easy read. The Language is understandable and would be easy for the average web surfer to comprehend. The blog itself offers links to other blogs of interest as well as information about online education and online programs. The blog uses different forms of citing works depending on the specific posts however most times there are hyper links, linked directly to other websites with the corresponding information. The Blog Does not seem to have one kind of reader, instead many different people interested in whatever the topic for the day might be, whether it be new librarians to the average person just trying to learn more about Firefox or video conferencing. With updates almost daily, and blog posts such as “40 Useful Firefox Add-Ons for Librarians” and “6 Free Web Conferencing Tools Librarians Will Love” it is worth scanning regularly to see what’s new in the resources on Library 2.0 and the information revolution.
- Lisa Aquila
Blog Evaluation - Fahrenheit 451
The author of this blog is Elaine Anderson, a Public Services Coordinator from Fonthill, Ontario. Elaine works at a called the Pelham Public Library in Pelham, Ontario. Her official title at that library is the Adult and Youth Programs Press Liaison. According to her personal profile on another website, she is 51 years old and is a professional librarian. When I performed a Google search on Anderson, there was not a lot of information pulled. She did sign an online petition to stop allowing books to be banned. She may have written an E-Book with a few others about Library skills, but that has not been confirmed.
The author of this blog is affiliated with the Pelham Public Library,
The scope of this blog seems to be quite vast. She writes on Internet police in Japan, that monitor what individuals search on the Internet, as well as writing comments on Wikipedia, and how it is impossible to censor it.
The author doesn’t seem cite any sources for her information, it seems mostly related to current events and personal opinion. She provides links to videos that have been posted on the Internet, as well as links to related library blogs and websites.
The blog is very interesting, but I feel it would only be of interests to specific individuals. The posts are regular and up to date.
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