A Library is a Growing Organism

My favorite one of Ranganthan’s Five Laws of Library Science is “the library is a growing organism.”  Circulation of books and materials is similar to the human circulation system.  Another metaphor for the “growing organism” might be a garden, with the librarian tending to healthy plants by weeding and planting (acquisition of new materials).  Books that are unused or unread have no place in a healthy library.  Lev Vygotsky, in Thought and Word, discussed the idea of thought being “alive.”  He stated that a “a word devoid of thought is a dead thing.”  In other words, when a book is opened and read it comes to life.

If we apply the law of the library as a growing organism to the Internet, what metaphors might come to mind?  The resources on the Internet are almost impossible to monitor for maintaining the health of the organism.  Instead of a lovely garden, is this organism more like a growing monster?  Working as a school librarian, I enjoyed my role as “gardener” tending the library.  In the future, will the role of the librarian be more like a knight battling a dragon or perhaps a captain navigating through storms and giant waves to bring passengers to small islands of relevant  high-quality information?  Or, will there be so few passengers onboard who care about the quality and authority of information, librarians will be isolated on those small islands of academia or in the hushed halls of museums?  I do hope they have a garden there.

The Sea of Information (or The Flood)

When my daughter was studying the impact of the Internet on society, her college professor compared today’s world with the dark ages.  He spoke of life before the printing press, when people had no access to information and were “in the dark.”  Today we have access to way too much information, in fact we are drowning in it.  Struggling with this overload of information (covered in water) is similar to being “in the dark.”  I did not invent this concept.  I didn’t even hear the professor’s discussion.  When I googled the idea, I found an interesting article by Lawrence Murray.

One might find this idea alarming.  Certainly this world has always been full of alarming ideas.  Instead of crying out in fear, or wallowing in the negativity of what this world is coming to, I suggest focusing on what we can do to make the best of it now.  By surrounding ourselves with positive people and thinking about helping educate the next generation, we join in a fight that has gone on for centuries.  People have always worried about the youngsters.  Instead of griping about the rising water, let’s work harder to make them lifeboats.

The balance of personal / professional

Blogs are like personal diaries where each unique voice is important.  Blogs are also a new collaborative resource which can help us in professional growth.  I have had this nagging feeling of misunderstanding about whether the purpose of a blog should be personal or professional- I mean it almost seems like they are opposites.  I have always been fascinated by opposites (I could blog for hours on that topic and seriously need to tag that word) (OK-done!  Here’s my opposites blog!).  Social networking, digital media and blogs have changed what I like to call “the hierarchy of information.”  IMHO, the balance of personal and professional writing is no longer clear.  This would make a great dissertation topic!  decisions, decisions…

Virtual World Libraries, Education & Museums

The Virtual World Libraries, Education & Museums Conference 2009 will be held April 24 and 25th in Second Life and through Adobe Connect.  I filmed 5 short machinima ads for the conference on Youtube. These were filmed on a Mac Pro Laptop using Snapz Pro software.  My earlier machinima videos were filmed on a Dell PC using Fraps software.  Both programs are great but work differently, so I can not say I have a preference. Registration for the conference should open this week.

Free Blog (at a price)

So it turns out edublogs now allows “contentlink” ads to appear within my free educational blog.  I have investigated the possibility of ridding my blog of these annoying ads.  Now I read that in order to have an “ad-free” blog, I must pay an annual subscription.  It is difficult for a reader to distinguish my intentional links from these random advertisements.  I suppose this is another example of constantly changing technology.  As an educator, one can spend many hours learning a new technology tool which ends up becoming useless, unnecessary, or suddenly obsolete.  There is still one benefit, however, because each new learning experience provides skills that make the next one just a bit easier.

The secret to digital happiness is getting comfortable with change.

Alliance Virtual Library: Where can I find…?

Looking for information on the virtual libraries collaborating in Second Life through Alliance Virtual Library?  The Alliance Virtual Libraries Catalog provides slurls (Second Life url addresses) that will take you to many inworld libraries and library related sims.  Another directory lists many of the libraries and projects on Info Island.

Research is not poetry

The first hurdle I encountered in becoming a researcher was to loosen the passion and enthusiasm surrounding my personal perspective. My professor told me that research is not about feelings and that I should put a lid on my enthusiasm. Years spent teaching students to write about personally significant meaning is difficult to erase. And, to be honest, I love my perspective! Learning is always about looking at something outside our comfort zone. I am willing to try to change my way of thinking. But…fall is in the air and I long to write about the crisp air and collect some colorful metaphors as they float about. Oh, research, where is thy beauty?