kctipton writes “Rael Dornfest mentions an entry from libraryjournal.com about Library Hackers.
There is a subculture of librarians that could make a significant impact on the profession. They are women and men, youthful and experienced alike, who all share one thing: a passion for solving problems by creating software. They are hacker librarians.
I know of two who post on LISNews regularly, and I think Blake counts as one as well. Are there more?”
Programmer/analysts?
There was a day when people in the library field with a passion for solving problems by writing software were called something other than hackers. Programmer/analysts, software analysts…you name it.
In which case, I’m one of them–or at least was, back when my programming chops were equal to my analysis chops. Now, most of my analysis turns into software written by others–most of whom, incidentally, do have library degrees.
Dan Chudnov
He’s the one I think of first, though Eric Morgan comes to mind as well, along with Tom over at OhioLink.
I’d put myself in the hacker club as well, though not on the same level as most of them.
Re:Programmer/analysts?
Programmer/analysts?! How boring! Hacker is all cool, dangerous and sexy sounding, way more interesting than Programmer/analysts.
Hacker are extreme, exciting, young, vibrant, creative, curios and interesting people with a passion for solving problems by writing software.
Programmer/analysts are people with a passion for solving problems by writing software.
The difference is obvious 😉
Re:Programmer/analysts?-ah, now I see!
I think you’ve nailed it precisely, Blake.
Although you might have meant “curious” rather than “curios.” Some of us are resembling curios more and more each year, but that’s another issue.
Hacker/programmer? maybe
I’ve written several ColdFusion apps. Some would call that programming. And I can put together JavaScript when I need to.
Blake wrote:
Extreme? No. Exciting? Maybe. Youngish. Vibrant, creative, curious, interesting? I think so.
Re:Hacker/programmer? maybe 🙂
I was just trying to make myself look good
Re:Hacker/programmer? maybe
Based on Blake’s description, it would be an honor to be included in the list of famous “librarian hackers.” Blake exemplifies every word in the description (yes, even “extreme”) – a worthy aspiration for all of us!