LISNews: Librarian News

Here is an excerpt from the hard-to-categorize (here) A Political Economy of Librarianship?\" by William Birdsall, in the new issue of Hermès: Revue Critique:

No profession concerned with the administration of a public institution, such as the library, can ignore the need to pursue serious research into the politico-economic sphere of public policy. Understanding the enduring link between economics and politics is crucial to understanding the current political realm of librarianship. Achieving this understanding is the reason for the need to develop a political economy of librarianship. Currently, the primary attention librarians give to politics and economics is political advocacy for the purpose of generating enhanced funding of libraries. Such advocacy is admittedly very important and librarians have become increasingly sophisticated at doing it. However, I assert that librarians need to devote more effort researching the political and economic dynamics that define the past and current environment of libraries. Libraries are the creation and instrument of public policy derived from political processes. Understanding these processes includes appreciating the connection between the polity and the economy. This connection between the polity and economy defines the political realm of the library and the basis for this paper’s claim that there is a need to develop a political economy of librarianship.

The Denver Post has a Story on plans for a new library in Denver that will house a growing collection of documents related to African-Americans in CO.

\"We focused really hard on getting African-American political people first,\" Nelson said. \"But community people are very important also. Just the everyday folks, because they have the real nuts and bolts of things. We know the high-visibility people have done a lot. But the community people are very important to us too.\"

Michigan Live has a decent Story on the ol\' R-Rated Video checkout debate. They do a good job covering both sides of the issue. Should libraries \"rent\" R-Rated videos to Kids? If they can\'t do it at Blockbuster why should they be able to do it at a library?

\"Libraries exist to provide a window to the world. How far open the window should be is a matter of debate -- and it\'s not a new one.\" -- Read More

The Advocate has a nice Editorial on The Library of Congress. Remeber that report from The National Research Council that said the Library of Congress could turn into no more than a \"museum of books\" if it didn\'t take steps to apply its archival talents to the digital world? Well Jared Kendall say Pish Posh to that silly idea. He thinks LC would be better of putting the collection it has online, rather collecting what it online.

\"Reliability is what the Web needs more of, not storage space. The Library of Congress doesn\'t need the Web. The Web needs the Library of Congress. \" -- Read More