Silence in the Stacks

Scott McLemee’s Silence in the Stacks says an outspoken, incisive, and timely stream of commentary on the problems and possibilities facing academic libraries would enliven and enrich the public discourse. If anything, it’s long overdue. He asks Steven Bell about blogs by academic librarians.
His answer came as a surprise: “When you ask specifically about blogs maintained by academic librarians,” Bell wrote earlier this week, “the list would be short or non-existent.”

June 10, 2005 by Uncategorized 5

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5 Responses

  1. Samantha says:
    June 10, 2005 at 9:00 pm

    Politics, perhaps?
    I think academic librarians face more heat for blogging. I’ve been warned a few times by coworkers that my journal here is “too visible” and that I will face repercussions for what I post. It’s made me pretty reluctant to write much of anything lately. I stripped off most of the identifying info and really watch what I say now but I still get warnings, even for the most innocuous things. I imagine that I’m not alone.

    I suppose we have the option of blogging anonymously and I read a lot of acad librarian’s blogs that are anonymous. But we’ll never get a “outspoken, incisive, and timely stream of commentary on the problems and possibilities facing academic libraries” that is truly noteworthy if there is so much pressure to not identify yourself or your institution.

    Reply
  2. lislemck says:
    June 11, 2005 at 9:15 pm

    the real intersection of knowledge and power?
    First off, I don’t see the need for one academic librarian/s’ blog to define the genre. The blogosphere is about many, many voices, as many as possible, each adding their notes to a glorious polyphonic choir. OK, some of the notes are clankers. We readers get to pick out the strains that interest us most, and add our voices. /overblown analogy

    LISNews has an academic library section. I cannot believe anyone who does not read LISNews qualifies as “kept up.” And I think you need to read all the sections if you really want to keep up.

    I am not an academic librarian. I read blogs by academic librarians. I think I can learn from all types of libraries/ians. On high-falutin’ days, I think an academic librarian might find something worth reading on my blog. Our collective experiences can and should be used to inform us, and policymakers, and funders, and our publics. In fact, I even follow some non-librarian blogs!

    I had the impression that academic librarians had better protection of their intellectual freedom than public librarians. (Don’t get me started on how I do not have intellectual freedom.) I know politics are everywhere. I think hard about what I post, and where. None of these considerations will stop me from reading blogs or from blogging.

    Reply
  3. stevenj says:
    June 15, 2005 at 4:13 pm

    Re:Being a Kept-Up Academic Librarian
    I always encourage librarians to read LISNews, but as an academic librarian I can tell you that there is a lot more to being “kept up” than just following LISNews and a few general blogs. For one thing, LISNews rarely reports developments in higher education. If you work in an academic library you are a professional in the higher education industry. That means you should probably know what the latest trends and developments are in higher education – but there are lots of other peripheral fields we need to keep up with (internet, computing, marketing, etc). Sure, you can go to your job and never pay attention to what’s happening outside your own cubicle, but where’s the fun and adventure in that.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous says:
    June 15, 2005 at 6:00 pm

    Re:Being a Kept-Up Academic Librarian
    “I can tell you that there is a lot more to being “kept up” than just following LISNews”
    -1 Troll!!!
    -1 Flamebait!!!

    “LISNews rarely reports developments in higher education”
    I bet if I was working in an academic library still I’d be following/posting more academic stuff. I really miss academia and that’s one of the reasons I read The Kept-Up Academic Librarian. Who knows, if I end up back in the college world this could change.

    “Sure, you can go to your job and never pay attention to what’s happening outside your own cubicle”
    Phew! OK, great, thanks, I don’t feel so guilty about doing that now.

    Reply
  5. lislemck says:
    June 15, 2005 at 9:05 pm

    Re:Being a Kept-Up Academic Librarian
    Guess what? As a librarian at a very large public library that serves many college students, graduate students, faculty members, scholars–from even Philadelphia University (as well as Penn, Temple, Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Swarthmore, and more!), I keep up with the latest trends and developments in higher education, as well as those in secondary education, primary education, even emergent literacy. There are days when I wish I could stop at one age or education level, but what would be the fun and adventure in that?

    Reply

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