back among the books

and now for a personal update: this summer, as soon as classes ended, I started volunteering at Maine Historical Society.  so far it’s been really great.  I knew from the first time that I interviewed there that being involved with a library again would be good for me.  I wavered constantly throughout the semester, questioning what to focus on in school, whether to even do a library degree, whether to go for the PhD option again, etc.  it’s been tough on me and on Emily as well, who’s sat patiently by, listening and trying to help me figure out what I want to do.  I pretty much had a meltdown every Tuesday and Wednesday, after a long Monday commuting to Boston for classes.  (OK, not every week, but that’s only because I skipped so many classes.)

being back in a library setting reminds me why I enjoy the work as much as I do, and also helps me think more about exactly what I’d like to do (or what I’d like to try to do — you never know exactly where you’ll end up).  so this summer I am assisting the Reference/Public Service librarians in helping patrons and researchers in the library, as well as helping to conduct some research queries submitted online.  I’m also translating a French journal from 1791 dealing with the attempt of a French aristocrat to purchase land in Maine for the creation of a French colony.

I am also starting this week to volunteer for a cataloging project at Greater Portland Landmarks.  I don’t really have much cataloging experience, but I think I’ve already figured out what I’ll need to be doing.  they are very glad to have me there to help out, and I’m very glad to have more experience to put on my resume when we go back to Boston.  I’m hoping to stick with MHS for the entire time we’re in Maine, so for some 15 months in total, which should help give me more experience when getting back on the job market.

I’ve also decided to continue taking classes.  initially, when we learned we’d be going to Augusta next year, we thought the commute would be too long, plus we only have the one car, etc.  so I decided to take a leave of absence and to just work and volunteer the whole time.  but then I thought, since I’m already volunteering at a library with tons of archival materials (and a great need for processing), I might as well take my intro archives class(es) and take advantage of their experience and flexibility in learning more about being an archivist.  plus, I’ll be able to know better whether I think archives is really for me.  so that’s the plan as of now: commuting back to Portland four days each week, two of which will involve volunteering/interning, and two of which will involve continuing on to Boston for the morning.  I’ll still be able to get back for dinner each night, so that’s good.  I’ll have to get up at 4/4:15, but whatever.

the other major benefit of continuing with classes next year is that I’ll definitely be able to finish up in the year we go back to Boston, which means being on the job market a year earlier and hopefully being able to have a nice place and STOP MOVING AROUND EVERY YEAR!!

other than that, Emily is busy studying hard every day and we’re starting to enjoy the warmer weather by taking walks and wandering around. as soon as she’s done, we’ll be able to do some more fun things, like taking trips down to Boston to wander around there.  I’ve continued working on my German, though I’ve also started learning basic Dutch.  I’ve also continued a bit of Old English while starting to concentrate more on Latin.  pretty sure I’ll be more likely to run across Latin as an archivist/preservationist/special collections librarian/whatever in the future than Old English or Greek.  though I really miss Greek sometimes.  (sigh)

editing work has been really crappy this month, which stinks and worries me somewhat.  this is the longest I’ve gone in a year without receiving a new project from my main company.  I hope something opens up quickly, or else next year we’ll be even harder…yet another benefit of getting a real job sooner rather than later will be finishing up with the inconsistency (and meager pay) of editing.  I may still pick up a job here and there for fun/tattoo money (!), but that will be totally on my terms and as a supplement to another job.  hopefully.

the future of libraries: less books, more baristas

I am my first semester into a Library & Information Science program, and so the big question on mind, and the murmur among the halls, is, what future do libraries have in a word of electronic media and digital books? the shortest answer is that there will always be a strong need for professionals who know how to collect, organize, and present information for others.  in fact, with increasingly complex (even if intended to be user-friendly) technologies and software, many people feel overwhelmed by it all.  granted, it’s easy enough even for your grandmother to use a search engine, but is that enough?  there is far too much information out there, and it takes a bit of know-how to learn to sift through and organize it all, not just for yourself, but for others.  and that’s where the need for librarians — or information professionals — comes in.  and that’s why a vital part of libraries in the future will be user instruction.

a further concern relates to how expensive digital subscriptions to various resources can be, from journals to reference materials (see a brief discussion in this New York Times article).  although your average library-goer may have little interest in these resources, anyone who wants to access responsible scholarship and important studies may have no way to get their digital hands on these materials — at least not for free.

anyway, there are a number of discussions of these issues to be found across the interwebs.  last September, CNN ran an article on the “The future of libraries — with or without books.”  in it, the author, John Sutter, stressed an important point: no matter what format books or information comes in in the future, the purpose of a library will remain the same: “To be a free place where people can access and share information.”

hence Library 2.0, which means more than libraries that use social networking and information-sharing tools; it also involves a reimagining of libraries as places not just for accessing but for sharing information, as community-gathering centers.  some have incorporated multimedia centers, featuring video-shooting and -editing technology; others feature e-readers and plasma screen TVs for accessing information.  in fact, larger public libraries are now offering e-books that can be downloaded with your library card.

a particularly exciting example is the “Urban Mediaspace” set to open in Denmark in 2014.

not only is it going to be one of the — if not the — largest libraries in Scandinavia, creating a new community center and landmark on the waterfront in Aarhus, but it will be state of the art in a number of ways.  the architecture/design website Mood writes,

Knowledge is today more valuable than ever, and a local community that highly prioritizes a state of the art library symbolizes democracy and a clear vision for the future.Years ago knowledge was often associated with books, classrooms and hard focused work. In our vision for the new Mediaspace, we offer a broader interpretation of knowledge. In our point of view it is still hard work to acquire, understand and contextualize knowledge, but it also overlaps with play, experiences and physical activity. The Mediaspace is therefore not only shelves and media in a rational universe; it is also a flexible space for contemplation, inspiration, communication and innovation.

it is also designed for sustainability and synergy with the city, stressing inclusiveness and openness — the latter principle literally being part of the design plan.  this seems to be a feature of a number of new library designs.  as Miller-McCune put it,

Architecturally, these new libraries seek to respond to the evolution of information technology and the blending of ways people seek knowledge, entertainment and social encounters. Many have glass walls, which both express their openness to the city and reveal the lively goings-on inside.

these libraries feature “living rooms,” chat and discussion areas, coffee shops, etc., such as in the Seattle Central Library.

I think all this is fantastic, and very exciting.  of course, it will take money to convert current libraries to these new, forward-looking, digitally inclined media spaces — and many libraries and library systems are already in danger of losing funding.  but that danger comes from a misperception that the work of — and thus need for — libraries has passed, and that is something we need to fight for.  education, the sharing of ideas, and connectedness — local and global — must be a priority if we’re going to have any chance at a reasonable future.



book review: From Gutenberg to the Global Information Infrastructure

this was a very disappointing book.  although it does contain some insightful discussions, so much of the book is devoted to discussing the potential definitions of the relevant terms (“digital,” “library,” “access”) while not really offering anything novel — she ends up going with an essentially intuitive understanding, and so, so much time has been wasted.

what disappointed me most was the promise of a real analysis of information infrastructure and “the social life of information” based on historical precedents.  after all, the title does suggest such a scope.  but this is lacking, apart from a few casual, generalized references.

moreover, what this book lacks in vantage is not made up for in vision.  it ends up being one of those books where the author discusses many of the problems we’re facing and offers, as a solution, a general discussion of what other people are doing (but no specs) or what other people imagine might happen, tying it all together with generalized thoughts and “we should think more about this” remarks.  don’t write a book about what you think we should do or what might be a solution!  do the work and report back if it seems to be working!  don’t use a book to talk about how we should talk about a problem!

while I don’t think she’s ever blatantly wrong, she is irredeemably boring, which, in a book with few other saving graces, is like being kicked when you’re down.

what’s the big idea?

over at Edge, this year’s big question, which will be weighed in on by a number of important thinkers — from evolutionary biologists to psychologists, from law professors to tech innovators — is, “How has the internet changed the way you think?”  for anyone unfamiliar with this website and its attempts to create forums (well, not technical forums) for cutting-edge ideas across various disciplines, I suggest you check it out.

I plan on concerning myself more this year (esp. as I start a Library and Information Science program) with questions about technology and the future of learning, literacy, techno-cultures, etc.  I also hope to enjoy some classic sci-fi and dystopian literature, just for kicks.

my immediate thoughts are that all of the innovations, esp. regarding networks and the organization — and availability — of information, are more good than bad, and the problems we face have to do not with complete upheavals of life, intelligence, values, or whatever, but with accustoming ourselves to doing things in new ways and coming up with creative solutions to new challenges, not with wallowing in our frustrations, imagining that once upon a time things were so much better (coincidentally looking a lot like what we think things should look like now), and ballyhooing our impending cultural demise.

anyway, to not get too far ahead of myself (haven’t read much yet), I’ll stop with a quote from Clay Shirky:

The beneficiaries of the system where making things public was a privileged activity, whether academics or politicians, reporters or doctors, will complain about the way the new abundance of public thought upends the old order, but those complaints are like keening at a wake; the change they fear is already in the past. The real action is elsewhere.

shh! the career

so far I’ve put off writing about my impending career direction, library school, for a number of reasons.  the most immediate was waiting to hear about financial aid information, to be sure that I would be able to attend before committing fully.  although I did send them the deposit before finding out, and I suppose I had decided that I would try to at least take one class if I didn’t have any aid … but oh well.  I finally received the information sometime last week and I’ll have the usual loan options available to me, which isn’t thrilling, but at least it means it will be possible for me to attend full time if I want.  there is still another grant option out there, but I don’t think I’ll know anything about that until just before the start of the semester.

I guess the other reason I put it off is that it just doesn’t seem all that real to me yet.  back to school … hopefully for the last time (in the immediate future, that is).  it feels odd committing to it fully because it makes my decision to abandon my previous career plan — even more school for the professor route — more concrete.  it means I’m committing to this revision of the plan for my life — for our life, now, as this decision is part of co-reimagining the future with Emily.  if I’m to take on any more debt, it has to be a full commitment, not something I’ll dabble in and change my mind about again.  we can’t really afford any more debt than that about which we have no real choice (see previous posts on this matter…).

occasionally — such as yesterday, reading about historical linguistics and toying with the idea of studying Old English again — I realize again how much I really really want to do a PhD someday.  but no sooner do I start questioning my decision to take the library science route than I remember that I want to do a PhD for me, not so much for a career plan.  what I really want to accomplish with a PhD is the full commitment to one of these topics I’m interested in in order to get a real hold on a topic and to produce something substantial in that field of knowledge.  make some sort of contribution, maybe, however small.  do I then really care about being able to teach that for the rest of my career?  not really.  add to that the reality that I’d probably be teaching more general subjects and not just my area of expertise, and the prospect isn’t any more enticing than my potential future career as a librarian of whatever sort.  would I be happier teaching than working in a library?  not at all necessarily.  what’ll matter are the details about my job and my specialization and location and salary etc.

but whatever I end up doing — whether working in libraries for a decade or so before going back to school and maybe changing directions (and having a career to fall back on just in case!) or staying in libraries for the rest of my career and maybe one day down the road, as I’m scaling down the hours and approaching retirement, pursuing a PhD in some area that interests me most (most likely linguistics of some sort?) — I think that the decision to go to library school now is the best option.  for the short term and the long term.  whether I go full steam and finish quickly, or whether I start with the basic classes and then try to get my foot in the door at a library somewhere and take it slower as I work — that we’ll have to wait and see.