The idea is simple. Readers can take as many books as they want, for as long as they want - even permanently.
BBC News Magazine, 20 Sept 2012 - for full story.
Showing posts with label Information wants to be free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Information wants to be free. Show all posts
Thursday, September 20, 2012
The man who turned his home into a public library
"The only rule is that there are no rules."
The idea is simple. Readers can take as many books as they want, for as long as they want - even permanently.
BBC News Magazine, 20 Sept 2012 - for full story.
The idea is simple. Readers can take as many books as they want, for as long as they want - even permanently.
BBC News Magazine, 20 Sept 2012 - for full story.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
What do you want? Information!
Many people (both technophobe staff and members of the public) still seem to disparage the internet and its resources, and often blame it for a detrimental change in libraries, who uses them, and how they are used.
A perfect example might be Wikipedia, which many people will tell you is full of errors, bias, hidden agendas and downright false information, as though you would be so much safer in the secure portal of (say) Encyclopedia Britannica. Well, yes, sort of... Encyclopedias do get edited and researched, vetted and assessed, revised again, and all that. So the information they contain seems pretty accurate (if dull). They also respond to change very slowly, have very limited information on obscure subjects (even assuming they offer a listing at all) and they certainly have agendas of their own (EB seems to have quite a US bias, for instance).
Wikipedia, however, in spite of the turf wars on certain 'hot topics' has far more detail on subjects of minority interest, written (for the most part) by enthusiasts, who are experts of a different kind.
They are both useful resources, even if, as Robert Anton Wilson explains:
"When I was working on my historical novels, my wife used to collect old encyclopedias. Every time she was at a bookstore they had an old set of encyclopedias and she’d buy it. And so we had about eight different sets of encyclopedias in the house. So every time I wanted to look up a historical detail, I’d look it up in three or four of the encyclopedias and always—it didn’t take as much as three—usually only two I’d find a disagreement.
If I went through all eight encyclopedias, I’d find eight different answers. Like how old was Mozart when he wrote his first symphony? – he was either 7 or 8 depending on which encyclopedia you’re looking in. This is what provoked me to what I call “Wilson’s 22nd Law: Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only own one encyclopedia. If you own more than one you’d be thoroughly encountering a certain amount of doubt and a certainty about things in general.” There is no one reliable source; there are a dozen different sources all claiming to be reliable. You got to use your own ingenious mind, and your own talent for analysis and skepticism to try and figure out “Which one of these guys really sounds like he might know what he’s talking about?” or “Which one should I bet on?”
Every act of perception should be regarded as a gamble. From the experiments I’ve done and the experiments I’ve led and in my workshops and seminars, that has become overwhelmingly obvious and true to me. Every perception is a gamble.The major problem with the US is that about fifty percent of the population who at least thinks The Bible has all the answers. And then there are libertarians who think Ludwig van Mises has all the answers—except for all the ones who thinks Ayn Rand has all the answers. If you think there’s one book that has the answers, you’re never really going to discover anything and you’re never going to think an original thought. If you find out there’s twelve books with different answers you’re almost forced to start thinking. So I feel the internet is forcing more and more people to do something they have never done in their lives before and just try to make an independent judgment and how to judge between alternatives.
Not sure if I got that quote verbatim, but IMHO - RAW got this right... libraries promote thinking, they don't simply offer answers...we'll miss them if we get rid of them...
A perfect example might be Wikipedia, which many people will tell you is full of errors, bias, hidden agendas and downright false information, as though you would be so much safer in the secure portal of (say) Encyclopedia Britannica. Well, yes, sort of... Encyclopedias do get edited and researched, vetted and assessed, revised again, and all that. So the information they contain seems pretty accurate (if dull). They also respond to change very slowly, have very limited information on obscure subjects (even assuming they offer a listing at all) and they certainly have agendas of their own (EB seems to have quite a US bias, for instance).
Wikipedia, however, in spite of the turf wars on certain 'hot topics' has far more detail on subjects of minority interest, written (for the most part) by enthusiasts, who are experts of a different kind.
They are both useful resources, even if, as Robert Anton Wilson explains:
"When I was working on my historical novels, my wife used to collect old encyclopedias. Every time she was at a bookstore they had an old set of encyclopedias and she’d buy it. And so we had about eight different sets of encyclopedias in the house. So every time I wanted to look up a historical detail, I’d look it up in three or four of the encyclopedias and always—it didn’t take as much as three—usually only two I’d find a disagreement.
If I went through all eight encyclopedias, I’d find eight different answers. Like how old was Mozart when he wrote his first symphony? – he was either 7 or 8 depending on which encyclopedia you’re looking in. This is what provoked me to what I call “Wilson’s 22nd Law: Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only own one encyclopedia. If you own more than one you’d be thoroughly encountering a certain amount of doubt and a certainty about things in general.” There is no one reliable source; there are a dozen different sources all claiming to be reliable. You got to use your own ingenious mind, and your own talent for analysis and skepticism to try and figure out “Which one of these guys really sounds like he might know what he’s talking about?” or “Which one should I bet on?”
Every act of perception should be regarded as a gamble. From the experiments I’ve done and the experiments I’ve led and in my workshops and seminars, that has become overwhelmingly obvious and true to me. Every perception is a gamble.The major problem with the US is that about fifty percent of the population who at least thinks The Bible has all the answers. And then there are libertarians who think Ludwig van Mises has all the answers—except for all the ones who thinks Ayn Rand has all the answers. If you think there’s one book that has the answers, you’re never really going to discover anything and you’re never going to think an original thought. If you find out there’s twelve books with different answers you’re almost forced to start thinking. So I feel the internet is forcing more and more people to do something they have never done in their lives before and just try to make an independent judgment and how to judge between alternatives.
Not sure if I got that quote verbatim, but IMHO - RAW got this right... libraries promote thinking, they don't simply offer answers...we'll miss them if we get rid of them...
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The Darien Statements on the library and librarians
Down the right hand side you will see links to several members of the librarian blogosphere (as a non-professional library assistant I feel like a gate-crasher), which I browse at times.
I visited In The Library With the Lead Pipe to read a discussion of what librarians are for, etc - and a footnote to that article pointed to the Darien Statements, which cheered me up no end.
I offer a sample (as a teaser) but please click the above link to read the whole (brief) statement.
The Role of the Library
The Library:
• Provides the opportunity for personal enlightenment.
• Encourages the love of learning.
• Empowers people to fulfill their civic duty.
• Facilitates human connections.
• Preserves and provides materials.
• Expands capacity for creative expression.
• Inspires and perpetuates hope.
The Role of Librarians
Librarians:
• Are stewards of the Library.
• Connect people with accurate information.
• Assist people in the creation of their human and information networks.
• Select, organize and facilitate creation of content.
• Protect access to content and preserve freedom of information and expression.
• Anticipate, identify and meet the needs of the Library’s community.
I visited In The Library With the Lead Pipe to read a discussion of what librarians are for, etc - and a footnote to that article pointed to the Darien Statements, which cheered me up no end.
I offer a sample (as a teaser) but please click the above link to read the whole (brief) statement.
The Role of the Library
The Library:
• Provides the opportunity for personal enlightenment.
• Encourages the love of learning.
• Empowers people to fulfill their civic duty.
• Facilitates human connections.
• Preserves and provides materials.
• Expands capacity for creative expression.
• Inspires and perpetuates hope.
The Role of Librarians
Librarians:
• Are stewards of the Library.
• Connect people with accurate information.
• Assist people in the creation of their human and information networks.
• Select, organize and facilitate creation of content.
• Protect access to content and preserve freedom of information and expression.
• Anticipate, identify and meet the needs of the Library’s community.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
NewsBank
I attended a brief training in our new newspaper online resource, NewsBank.
The national library of Wales lives just up the road from the cottage, and they also offer a WAG-funded website which has made a start at integrating library services throughout Wales, where you can find NewsBank to use, if you register with the site.
And/or, of course, we offer it to members of Cardiff Libraries, in the e-Reference section of our online catalogue.
That www.library.wales.org website has all kinds of other interesting stuff - you might find this interesting...
The Little Book of Welsh Libraries (PDF)
The national library of Wales lives just up the road from the cottage, and they also offer a WAG-funded website which has made a start at integrating library services throughout Wales, where you can find NewsBank to use, if you register with the site.
And/or, of course, we offer it to members of Cardiff Libraries, in the e-Reference section of our online catalogue.
That www.library.wales.org website has all kinds of other interesting stuff - you might find this interesting...
The Little Book of Welsh Libraries (PDF)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Blogging for Librarians
I have just returned from a brief but informative workshop with Karl Drinkwater - Resource Discovery Officer at Aberystwyth University (and E-learning Adviser for Learning Resources at JISC RSC Wales).
In "Blogging Awareness" he took us through
In "Blogging Awareness" he took us through
- the possible uses of blogs (for individual or departmental announcements of services or news, for instance, or simply for internal collaboration and communication)
- the available sites that offer the service of hosting free blogs
- the pros and cons (conflicts of interest between ICT security issues and access, for instance, or corporate branding and 'the friendly face' of the staff...etc).
Although I run several blogs (for my different 'hats') I learned some new things, and really should get to grips with RSS, for instance.
He manages this website for Aberystwyth University, but here's an example of one of his blogs, Subject Support
Unfortunately, this blog will not be accessible from Cardiff Libraries, as ICT recently blocked all blogs hosted at Blogger in response to a request from schools, after children were (presumably) found accessing inappropriate material.
It's just my personal opinion - as I know children need to be protected - but that seems like banning all newspapers in libraries just because The Sun has Page Three girls. Surely you just stop offering The Sun in the libraries - you don't ban The Guardian, the FT, The Independent, etc? IMHO
One by one I am getting harmless blogs unblocked, on request, but I have no idea how many useful, interesting and informative blogs get hosted on Blogger. Thousands? Tens of thousands? Millions?
I would prefer that individual sites which were found to be offensive got blocked, rather than these big sweeping moves. Contentious stuff, of course, but at least we had a chance to air and discuss some of these problems.
A very enjoyable course! Thanks Karl!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Searching Questions
I do find it odd that people still treat the Internet as an unreliable resource for facts. Many library staff don't seem to trust Wikipedia, for instance.
Of course, in a market place you have to watch your purse, not buy any old thing unexamined, or get too excited by someone on a soapbox, but generally you can find what you want if you take your time.
As ever, I don't think of things in black and white. The OED and Encyclopedias may well have gone through fact-checking editors, etc , and can present relatively objective facts - but even Encyclopedias don't always agree on those 'facts'.
“Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only own one encyclopedia.” - Robert Anton Wilson
I do use these old reliable resources for simple matters of fact like the date of a king's coronation.
Bare facts, or fine detail?
For detailed research, however, the internet (taking Wikipedia as a perfect example) has compilations of detail that Encyclopedias (in their necessary compression and brevity) can't possibly compete with.
Taking an example from my own knowledge base, I checked out 'Juggling' (no entry, but found 'Juggler') in the Encyclopedia Britannica, and got a not very helpful 289 words or so, mostly about circus.
In Wikipedia you find a Juggling entry written by experts - with not only the speculative history of origins, lists of famous jugglers and their feats, but also the history of the last few decades when this obscure skill or art form became a hugely popular pastime as well as developing rapidly in both the entertainment world (skill levels have rocketed) and in the nutty, obsessive Guinness Book of Records mode. Links to animations and videos on how to learn; links to books, classes, and other deeper resources like the Internet Juggling Database (which includes lists like 'every film ever made with a juggling scene in it, or even a background character juggling).
Contribute to knowledge
Now not all those facts prove accurate (I had to correct the number of people at the first juggling convention, because I attended as one of the participants, and had first-hand knowledge). But the wiki structure means I CAN correct and tweak these facts. And yes, I gather people sometimes get territorial about certain areas of Wikipedia (much the way academics used to form a closed shop to alternative theories, while writing up their 'objective' encyclopedia entries!)
Learn to assess information
So even if some 'facts' online have got lazily copied and pasted around, have lost their source reference, or become misquoted - for inspiration justifying further search and verification it seems hard to fault the Web.
Training in assessing results, judging and estimating the value of information sources and resources, etc seem an extremely useful part of any future educational projects. Surely the combination of detective and investigative journalist could appear inviting to inquisitive children, if their exams didn't get based around finding 'the right answer' or 'the truth'.
The sooner people discover that 'hard facts' rarely prove that simple or obvious, and we all learn to hold back from jumping to conclusions or relying on just one Book or source of knowledge to the exclusion of others - and see what we know in terms of probabilities rather than certainties - the sooner we may achieve a more intelligent, tolerant, generous world. IMHO.
I thank you for listening to this rant.
[The speaker climbs down from his soapbox, picks it up and walks away].
Of course, in a market place you have to watch your purse, not buy any old thing unexamined, or get too excited by someone on a soapbox, but generally you can find what you want if you take your time.
As ever, I don't think of things in black and white. The OED and Encyclopedias may well have gone through fact-checking editors, etc , and can present relatively objective facts - but even Encyclopedias don't always agree on those 'facts'.
“Certitude belongs exclusively to those who only own one encyclopedia.” - Robert Anton Wilson
I do use these old reliable resources for simple matters of fact like the date of a king's coronation.
Bare facts, or fine detail?
For detailed research, however, the internet (taking Wikipedia as a perfect example) has compilations of detail that Encyclopedias (in their necessary compression and brevity) can't possibly compete with.
Taking an example from my own knowledge base, I checked out 'Juggling' (no entry, but found 'Juggler') in the Encyclopedia Britannica, and got a not very helpful 289 words or so, mostly about circus.
In Wikipedia you find a Juggling entry written by experts - with not only the speculative history of origins, lists of famous jugglers and their feats, but also the history of the last few decades when this obscure skill or art form became a hugely popular pastime as well as developing rapidly in both the entertainment world (skill levels have rocketed) and in the nutty, obsessive Guinness Book of Records mode. Links to animations and videos on how to learn; links to books, classes, and other deeper resources like the Internet Juggling Database (which includes lists like 'every film ever made with a juggling scene in it, or even a background character juggling).
Contribute to knowledge
Now not all those facts prove accurate (I had to correct the number of people at the first juggling convention, because I attended as one of the participants, and had first-hand knowledge). But the wiki structure means I CAN correct and tweak these facts. And yes, I gather people sometimes get territorial about certain areas of Wikipedia (much the way academics used to form a closed shop to alternative theories, while writing up their 'objective' encyclopedia entries!)
Learn to assess information
So even if some 'facts' online have got lazily copied and pasted around, have lost their source reference, or become misquoted - for inspiration justifying further search and verification it seems hard to fault the Web.
Training in assessing results, judging and estimating the value of information sources and resources, etc seem an extremely useful part of any future educational projects. Surely the combination of detective and investigative journalist could appear inviting to inquisitive children, if their exams didn't get based around finding 'the right answer' or 'the truth'.
The sooner people discover that 'hard facts' rarely prove that simple or obvious, and we all learn to hold back from jumping to conclusions or relying on just one Book or source of knowledge to the exclusion of others - and see what we know in terms of probabilities rather than certainties - the sooner we may achieve a more intelligent, tolerant, generous world. IMHO.
I thank you for listening to this rant.
[The speaker climbs down from his soapbox, picks it up and walks away].
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Truth is Out (there, I said it) - Libraries gave us power
Apparently people actually do read blogs. Well, well.
As you can tell, I belong to the group of people who think 'information wants to be free' - even if that does carry its own risks and dangers.
I grew up in the censored generation (I'm old), and I can assure you that felt even worse. OK, so perhaps the slackening of control meant that our tv screens got filled with swear words and quasi-porn, etc, and now you can read William Burroughs, Henry Miller, D.H. Lawrence, etc - but people grow out of that 'secret thrill' eventually. We are talking 'the lesser of two evils' here - I don't pretend that completely open and freely available information will ever arrive. And, of course, we do have the privacy aspect to consider. When censorship went we also got satire - previously you couldn't criticize religion, the royal family, politicians, etc. Now that we know more about them (and their expenses) I think it's a good idea. IMHO. And it seems an excellent idea that we can actually say what we think out loud (Have I Got News For You), allegedly.
But still, I work in a library, and we hope to provide information without bias for all and ordinary people. You need to be able to look up the history of Nazism, unpleasant though it is. You have to be able to read Mein Kampf, too. Our job isn't to filter stuff (as I see it, and it's only a personal opinion) or to over-protect people.
Religious parents may object that children can borrow books on atheism and anarchy, but I could object to the amount of shelving dedicated to religion - as opposed to Free Thought. I like the idea of a library as a level playing field for information.
The Secret Is Out
Let me not rant, though. The male voice choir's voice is ringing through the libraries, the mayor and entourage have arrived, the Manics (yup it was them, as I originally posted, before being told it was supposed to be a secret, which made me go edit the post and confuse the fan forums) will no doubt cut that ribbon, unveil their plaque and everyone can go home.
And using the speed of online media, you can see proof that the Manics really were at Cardiff Central library today - my photo shows them on the 3rd floor, looking down on the Press on the 1st floor (the Children's Dept). You'll see better quality pictures in the papers, later...
The staff will carry on serving the public as they have for 3 months now (we are open until 19:00 on a Thursday) and all's right with the world.
Library 2.0
Oh, and because I don't like anonymity (it goes with censorship) I guess most people who work around here now know (or can find out) who posts this blog. The blog arose from a growing awareness of an online culture of (some but not all) library staff around the world who think we should use modern media tools, as a complement to the traditional library - an approach called - in shorthand - Library 2.0. (Like Web 2.0, etc).
Oh look! Swansea library have joined Twitter! See their Paige Turner blog. Of course, Twitter is currently blocked at our library, but everything does change slowly...and eventually.
So - learning by doing - I continue to try to demonstrate what we could be using these tools for, including ephemeralizing the library (so you don't actually have to visit a building, even a state-of-the-art one). I haven't been inside a bank building for months. I do it all online, pay my taxes, renew my books, check my accounts.
Don't you? You could, you know!
Did I mention the library has free WiFi access, so you don't have to depend on the Council network, or use Council PCs, just bring your laptop, and do all your work on your own machine.
And if you prefer to work from home here's the Library Catalogue, which also offers access (from anywhere) to our free e-reference material, and your account, if you are a member.
All you have to do is join!
[Later]
You can see a nice slide show of images of the Opening Ceremony here. Funny that they chose the opening line for the plaque though...when they had this choice, from Design For Life:
Libraries gave us power
Then work came and made us free
But what price now for a shallow piece of dignity
I wish I had a bottle
Right here in my dirty face to wear the scars
To show from where I came
We don’t talk about love we only want to get drunk
And we are not allowed to spend
As we are told that this is the end
And here's the BBC's version of the story.
As you can tell, I belong to the group of people who think 'information wants to be free' - even if that does carry its own risks and dangers.
I grew up in the censored generation (I'm old), and I can assure you that felt even worse. OK, so perhaps the slackening of control meant that our tv screens got filled with swear words and quasi-porn, etc, and now you can read William Burroughs, Henry Miller, D.H. Lawrence, etc - but people grow out of that 'secret thrill' eventually. We are talking 'the lesser of two evils' here - I don't pretend that completely open and freely available information will ever arrive. And, of course, we do have the privacy aspect to consider. When censorship went we also got satire - previously you couldn't criticize religion, the royal family, politicians, etc. Now that we know more about them (and their expenses) I think it's a good idea. IMHO. And it seems an excellent idea that we can actually say what we think out loud (Have I Got News For You), allegedly.
But still, I work in a library, and we hope to provide information without bias for all and ordinary people. You need to be able to look up the history of Nazism, unpleasant though it is. You have to be able to read Mein Kampf, too. Our job isn't to filter stuff (as I see it, and it's only a personal opinion) or to over-protect people.
Religious parents may object that children can borrow books on atheism and anarchy, but I could object to the amount of shelving dedicated to religion - as opposed to Free Thought. I like the idea of a library as a level playing field for information.
The Secret Is Out
Let me not rant, though. The male voice choir's voice is ringing through the libraries, the mayor and entourage have arrived, the Manics (yup it was them, as I originally posted, before being told it was supposed to be a secret, which made me go edit the post and confuse the fan forums) will no doubt cut that ribbon, unveil their plaque and everyone can go home.
And using the speed of online media, you can see proof that the Manics really were at Cardiff Central library today - my photo shows them on the 3rd floor, looking down on the Press on the 1st floor (the Children's Dept). You'll see better quality pictures in the papers, later...
The staff will carry on serving the public as they have for 3 months now (we are open until 19:00 on a Thursday) and all's right with the world.
Library 2.0
Oh, and because I don't like anonymity (it goes with censorship) I guess most people who work around here now know (or can find out) who posts this blog. The blog arose from a growing awareness of an online culture of (some but not all) library staff around the world who think we should use modern media tools, as a complement to the traditional library - an approach called - in shorthand - Library 2.0. (Like Web 2.0, etc).
Oh look! Swansea library have joined Twitter! See their Paige Turner blog. Of course, Twitter is currently blocked at our library, but everything does change slowly...and eventually.
So - learning by doing - I continue to try to demonstrate what we could be using these tools for, including ephemeralizing the library (so you don't actually have to visit a building, even a state-of-the-art one). I haven't been inside a bank building for months. I do it all online, pay my taxes, renew my books, check my accounts.
Don't you? You could, you know!
Did I mention the library has free WiFi access, so you don't have to depend on the Council network, or use Council PCs, just bring your laptop, and do all your work on your own machine.
And if you prefer to work from home here's the Library Catalogue, which also offers access (from anywhere) to our free e-reference material, and your account, if you are a member.
All you have to do is join!
[Later]
You can see a nice slide show of images of the Opening Ceremony here. Funny that they chose the opening line for the plaque though...when they had this choice, from Design For Life:
Libraries gave us power
Then work came and made us free
But what price now for a shallow piece of dignity
I wish I had a bottle
Right here in my dirty face to wear the scars
To show from where I came
We don’t talk about love we only want to get drunk
And we are not allowed to spend
As we are told that this is the end
And here's the BBC's version of the story.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Teaching Copyright
The EFF has launched a new initiative - Teaching Copyright - a curriculum and website designed to counteract the 'scare story' approach to students wishing to copy material.
After I have browsed through the curriculum I will come back to add a little more.
EFF = Electronic Frontier Foundation.
After I have browsed through the curriculum I will come back to add a little more.
EFF = Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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