Changes in Libraries

The world of libraries, especially public libraries, is changing. Public libraries once were known for their broad, balanced collection of books and materials that supported literacy, as a resource for an informed citizenry, and a provider of recreational materials.

Now most public libraries, under budget restrictions, find themselves competing with the modern retail combination of bookstore/internet-cafe, and going after top sellers in multiple copies, at some detriment to the mission of a balanced, broad collection. To prove that the library has value to society, the median measured-outcomes focuses not on principles and missions, but on popular trade media.

Furthermore, the role of the Reference Librarian is fuzzy nowadays. I don't know of any other public librarian position description in such a state of flux as to definition, purpose, or value to librarianship. "Reference work" now, however, is frequently handled by all library staff. I doubt this identity crisis will be the case for Branch Librarians, Childrens' Librarians, Media Librarians, Information Technology Librarians, or Collection Development Librarians, to name a variety of positions that are still thriving.

I think individuals who are interested in entering MLS programs, with a focus in Reference work, might consider working for private business rather than a public library system. It is very likely that Reference Librarian positions will be eliminated from public libraries within the next generation; but, private industry will need them more than ever. Pick any private industry that interests you, and learn those resources -- text, database and Internet -- and how to assimilate and summarize information for reporting purposes. That is, sharpen you writing skills, and head into private librarianship for a future that is exciting and fulfilling!

gk

"Chipping" Away at our Freedom

Would you be willing to have an electronic chip embedded in your body for medical reasons? How about to track your health and financial records? Maybe keep your resume and work history? Well, maybe even your Social Security number, your driver's license, and your banking balance. Things would be so much easier; plus if you got lost in the Oregon wilderness, like poor James Kim and his family, you could be found quickly through Global Positioning Systems.

Well, all of these wonderful things are closer than you realize: like a frog sitting in a pot of water, slowly brought to boil, we won't know we are cooked until the chef prepares the serving plate: "A Generation is All They Need" by Kevin Haggarty for the Toronto Star.

gk

Open Source Voting Software

As you probably know, many people are concerned about problems with electronic voting. A new organization called the Open Voting Consortium is promoting a movement to use open source software to increase security, verifiability, accessibility and public oversight of elections.

Take a look at the Open Voting Consortium .


gk

A year has flown by!

It has been almost a year since I have posted to this blog. Blogger.com has improved its features and you may notice a different look. I'm going to declare a New Year's resolution to post at least once a month this year. [Shall I add that to my HPM goals & actions? :-)]

Connectedy.com/cat~refdesk~0 (that last character is a zero) is where the reference staff is stashing the web links we want to be able to find easily again.

This blog http://slolibrary.blogspot.com and the av blog, http://sloavclub.blogspot.com have been added to Connectedy as well!

This year two other reference librarians attended the Internet Librarian Conference and came back with new tricks of the trade. Some of you have received reports submitted by one of them; these will keep me busy for quite a while -- catching up with new sites and search skills.

Well, we are just about ready for 2007! Hold onto your hats! A new automation system, more library renovations, and indeed, more celebrations, including staff members releasing their creative works of art in publishing, music -- and who knows what else? What a group!

Joy to you and a Happy New Year too!

gk

Some state governments moving away from Microsoft?

Last year Governor Schwarzenegger looked into Open Source software for government use, that means, away from paying for commercial software packages such as Microsoft. Whether California will go that way is not yet clear. However some state governments are moving that direction. The following was found on Government Technology Magazine website:

Open Source Activity
Finally open source applications continued to make inroads into government -- a trend that sparked its own series of policy questions throughout the year.

The rap on open source is that it can't be trusted, and relying on it for important back-office functionality is premature. Several jurisdictions, however, are in the process of proving that statement wrong.

Mississippi made Linux the core of a new mobile data infrastructure, the Automated System Project (ASP), which will link police, fire and emergency medical personnel from three counties. The ASP will launch in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties, but the hope is that it will go statewide and perhaps serve as a model for a national program.

The ASP team used open source software components running on Linux to take two formerly isolated systems -- a records management system purchased from a vendor and an in-house developed jail management system -- and got them talking to each other. The open source tools didn't come with the hefty price tag associated with commercial integration products.

Furthermore, Chicago is fine-tuning a vehicle registration system using HP servers running the Red Hat Linux operating system and an Oracle database that will replace an aging mainframe system.

The registration system issues more than 1 million vehicle stickers annually, and was ready to go into production for this year's renewal cycle, said Steve Philbrick, first deputy CIO of Chicago. Stickers went on sale in June, so the system was set to begin generating notices in late April.

"The registration system generates several million dollars in revenue," Philbrick said. "Government is real big into mission-critical when it comes to revenue generation."

Philbrick said Chicago reduced maintenance costs by replacing hardware based on proprietary UNIX software with an open source platform.

But the biggest open source story in 2005 was a year-end battle in Massachusetts. All hell broke loose in November when state CIO Peter Quinn released a policy decision that sought to phase out office productivity applications from Microsoft and other providers in favor of those based on open standards, including the recently approved OpenDocument standard.

The state first described the plan in early September, and Massachusetts agencies would have had until Jan. 1, 2007, to install applications that support the OpenDocument file formats and phase out other products.

Quinn's decision created a firestorm.

The secretary of state attacked the proposal in the press, questioning the reach of the IT Division to enact the standard and force agencies to adhere to it. Then the Legislature jumped in, and the Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight held hearings to determine the process that Quinn's IT Division used to formulate the new open document policy.

The state Senate then tacked a provision mandating the creation of a four-person IT task force to approve technical standards in state government onto an economic stimulus bill. If approved, the provision would hamstring the IT Division from issuing such standards.

Like many other challenges that arose in 2005, it's a policy issue destined to occupy both policymakers and IT professionals well into 2006.

OO/Gwen