No Such Thing as a Free Lunch : Labor in Open Source Systems Implementations
This post is adapted from a presentation I gave at the Amigos Library Technology Roadmap conference earlier this month. I supervise the library systems unit at a public R1 university … Continue reading
All [White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy] is Local
Y’all, it’s bad out there. In case a second concurrent pandemic, Roe v Wade being overturned, and deadly weather caused by climate change weren’t enough, the rising tide of fascism … Continue reading
Librarian Was My Occupation – Remembering the Occupy Wall Street People’s Libary
In the fall of 2011, the angry shout of “we are the 99%!” could be heard echoing in localities big and small across the US. The movement had seemed to … Continue reading
How to keep from getting distracted when you are trying to read
There is far too much going on these days. Truly, the world is being very inconsiderate. How can someone like yourself be expected to get any reading done when there … Continue reading
How to Move Your Books in the Middle of a Pandemic
When the world is gripped by a pandemic, there are many activities that need to be approached with a new level of caution. Masks, gloves, social distancing, especially thorough handwashing, … Continue reading
What is Happening In the Libraries While They Are Closed?
Libraries are generally fairly quiet places, and yet the near total silence that currently exists in many libraries is not the result of an overzealous librarian’s commitment to quiet. Instead, … Continue reading
What to do if you Encounter Paranormal Forces at the Library
Have you ever found yourself pleasantly working in the library when suddenly the lights flicker and the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention? Have you ever … Continue reading
How to make the most of your trip to the archive
Archival research is something of a rite of passage for many individuals in many disparate fields. Admittedly, it can be something of a daunting task. What follows is carefully curated … Continue reading
Things I learned while working as a reference librarian
Since November 2011 I have sat at a library’s reference desk. And though my job title has changed several times over the years, as of 5:31 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday, … Continue reading
What Pokémon can you catch at a library?
Though you might not suspect it, libraries are an excellent place to catch Pokémon! Indeed, libraries are filled with many kinds of wondrous, rare Pokémon that can be found there … Continue reading
Beyond the Prototype: Libraries as Convivial Tools in Action
How important are the technologies found in a library to the actual library? Are libraries simply places where various tools and technologies are used, or can libraries (themselves) be viewed … Continue reading
How to Grade Assignments in a Library
At this very moment, legions of students are busily writing papers and studying for their final exams. Indeed, for the end of the semester is upon us! These students will … Continue reading
En Garde! How to Defend Yourself With a Book
“Hungry man, reach for the book: it is a weapon.” – Bertolt Brecht 1. Popular parlance is filled with catchy phrases about the ways in which books can be harnessed … Continue reading
What to Do When the Internet Stops Working in Your Library
There may come a day when you find yourself happily sitting in a library only to have your pleasant feelings disrupted by the recognition that the Internet has stopped working. … Continue reading
How to Keep What You Are Reading Secret
Is there anything more annoying than being interrupted with the question “hey, what are you reading?” while you are engrossed in a book? Is there anything more frustrating than feeling … Continue reading
How to Avoid Being Bothered While Working in a Library
There are instances wherein an individual seeks to flee from convivial communication, instead craving that variety of isolation fruitful for concentration and introspection. At such times a person may find … Continue reading
TOR, Libraries, and DHS: fuck that noise
Our dear comrade Alison Macrina at the Library Freedom Project had the fabulous idea to set up Tor relays in public libraries — after all, providing services and assuring patron … Continue reading
Treat Your Personal Library…Like a Library
Have you ever found yourself at a gathering at which a speaker says something along the lines of “it’s important to read”? Or perhaps you’ve found yourself at a gathering … Continue reading
How to Organize Your Library
“The acquisition of books is by no means a matter of money or expert knowledge alone. Not even both factors together suffice for the establishment of a real library, which … Continue reading
“Walking Makes the Road” and the Library
It can be easy for librarians to take space for granted. After all, there are many issues with which libraries must contend, but generally the physical building itself can be … Continue reading
Where Are They Now? The People’s Library Today
For many librarians the experience of reminding patrons to “please, return the books when you’re finished with them” is fairly common. After all, the idea of a person returning a … Continue reading
How to Sleep in a Library
It is always too loud to sleep. There are always sounds coming from the other rooms, noise leeching in from the streets, the faucet is always dripping, pets are always … Continue reading
(Libraries and/or Archives) + fire = bad
While playing the somber game of “what is posing an existential threat to libraries and archives this week?” it can be easy to focus on slow destructive forces such as … Continue reading
#GivingTuesday
Let’s see. Yesterday was Cyber Monday, and I’m not quite sure what that meant, but none of y’all submitted naughty comments, so. Before that was Sunday, and I don’t even … Continue reading
Looking for the Best Deals on Black Friday? (try the library!)
Regardless of what the barrage of advertisements tells you to the contrary – you will not find the best deal in any store or on any website this Black Friday. … Continue reading
How to Avoid Ruining a Book
“The club had a lending library. I was delighted by a poster that described in detailed words and in pretty colored pictures how many ways there were to avoid ruining … Continue reading
Read Banned Books – Support Your Library
Displays of challenged, or banned, books generally provoke rather predictable responses: one group contentedly observes that somebody is speaking up against such filth, another group stares in bemused shock that … Continue reading
LIS WTF
Hold onto your hats, librarians, you’re hardly going to believe these two bits of news. Yes, they are that busted. ***** First, comes the saga of the Evanston, IL, public … Continue reading
The Laboratory or The Library?
Using social media has always involved a vague recognition that the platform (and the company behind it) will be using the user right back. Usually this understanding has involved a … Continue reading
If You Want to See the Sharing Economy…Go to the Library
The value of sharing is one instilled in us from a young age: from the parental injunction to share with our siblings to the early socialization received in kindergarten. Sharing … Continue reading
LibrarianShipwreck 