“into the lifeboats” – a review of Nomadland
“You could not have been born at a better period than the present, when we have lost everything.” – Simone Weil Having been forced to flee, a weary traveler returns … Continue reading
Statues or It Didn’t Happen
Editorial Note: In the aftermath of the white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville, where an anti-fascist protestor was murdered, much of the debate turned to the topic of statues. Specifically: was … Continue reading
Who moderates the moderators? On the Facebook Files
Speculative fiction is littered with fantastical tales warning of the dangers that arise when things get, to put it amusingly, too big. A researcher loses control of their experiment! A … Continue reading
When it Comes to Social Media – Is There No Alternative?
In the first weeks of a new year, many people look back on the previous year and dwell upon what they wish they had done differently. And thus inspired, they … 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
Pat Skarda, Professor Emerita & Spinster Aunt to Thousands
I don’t always read my undergraduate college’s alumnae [do stop checking my Latin, though I’ve never studied it, I promise all the feminine declensions are correct] magazine, but I do … 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
Books – Tools for Conviviality
Libraries are about much more than books. Granted, there are caveats to such a declaration. After all, there are rare book libraries, manuscript collections, and many types of libraries that … Continue reading
Control and Commodification – Facebook Turns 10
The realm of consumer technologies is so fixated upon the “new” that it can be easy to forget just how long some of these platforms have been around. Thus it … Continue reading
Towards Which Utopia in 2014?
The start of a new year is the socially sanctioned moment when people are encouraged to engage in optimistic dreaming. People “resolve” that in this year they shall achieve some … Continue reading
October is Archives Month…and the National Archives are Closed
Throughout the year it is not uncommon to hear that a given month has had a the privilege of having a certain cause or subject attached to it. October, for … Continue reading
So, you’re going to library school…
With summer reaching its conclusion many are eyeing their backpacks in anticipation of the soon to start school year. It is a time of excitement mixed with trepidation for those … Continue reading
Grifting, Garbage and Graph Search
Money is much beloved by tech companies and major websites, yet it is hardly the most important thing for them. What glitters most brightly is not gold, but information. Granted, … Continue reading
Living Within Justice is not Living With Injustice
When confronted with injustice, there are still some who rise to the occasion and take to the streets. Gathering in what public spaces remain they come together, embrace one another … Continue reading
A Very Kafkaesque Birthday (because it’s Kafka’s birthday)
At times historic anniversaries have an amusing resonance with current happenings. In particular there have been two recent birthdays (of individuals long dead) that nevertheless seem rather fitting for the … Continue reading
NYC Libraries Survive Another Round
Every year there comes a moment where librarians and library allies pull on the sackcloth and take to the streets to wail to the heavens that “The End [of that … Continue reading
The Left! For…um… (the Left will return as soon as it remembers how to do so)
Since 1981, New York City has annually played host to the Left Forum conference, a quasi-academic/quasi-activist gathering which brings together a hodge-podge of representatives from the union hall to the … Continue reading
Advertising Our Ethics – Facebook does the right thing for the wrong reason
There is something about the anonymity – or near anonymity – of the Internet that can bring out the opposite of the best in people. When a bunch of people … Continue reading
The Technologenie! You Can’t Wish away 3D-printers
Gun reform is no longer the major political issue it was even a few months ago, and much of the debate around guns now revolves around ones that would not … Continue reading
So, Did You Hear the One about the Yahoo and the Tumblr?
People appreciate a good diversion. The humdrum routine of day-to-day life can be so dull, so alienating and stultifying that people yearn for a good laugh. To wrench these guffaws … Continue reading
The APPS Act is not an Appendectomy (unfortunately)
There is a certain tradeoff inherent in using the technological tools of a modern society. Though people may chafe over more onerous aspects of what they are expected to give … Continue reading
YouRube! (YouTube has never been free)
Since its premier (in 2005) YouTube has become one of the Internet’s best loved sites of (supposedly) free content. Music videos, amateur news, how to videos, personal narrative, video game … Continue reading
Hiding in the Pew[s] – technology, class, and libraries in the new Pew study
Evidently, Americans really like their libraries. Even more than we thought just a few weeks ago! While most librarians (even some of the more depressed ones) knew this, it is … Continue reading
A Year Without the Internet (but with everything else)
Regardless of whether a person believes that humans (in some evolutionary form) have been present on Earth for tens of thousands of years or whether they believe that humans arrived … Continue reading
E-Books, Libraries, Democracy, Groucho
E-books have presented something of a challenge for libraries. Not because libraries are opposed to e-books, but because many of the largest publishers (collectively called the “Big Six”) have been … Continue reading
There’s No Such Thing as a Free Library
Despite most people’s awareness of the general price attached to lunch, it frequently seems that such insight has limitations. Precisely at a time when people are accustomed to getting much … Continue reading
While We Were Distracted…CISPA Passed in the House
When the news cycle is focused on tragic events it is all too easy for other important stories to be ignored, particularly stories that might not have garnered much attention … Continue reading
We are the 91% (who think libraries are important)
Librarians have become accustomed to the tragic chorus declaring that libraries must adjust to changing times or woe shall befall them. Well, some have become accustomed; others have become frustrated, … Continue reading
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