“Librarians Against Palin”
That's the headline on the Library Journal website! I can't say I've been overwhelmed by the latest vice-presidential candidate's potential, or credentials, but I had not thought about her in connection with libraries.
A letter about Libraries We Love
It's such a pleasure to hear from readers--it doesn't happen enough with encyclopedias--and Prem Kishore has given me permission to quote her letter here. Her reference to "read your heart out" is a line from Henry Winkler's foreword to the book, which we published early last year. Greetings Karen Christensen When I saw this book in
“Old libraries and old librarians”
Librarians truly defy definition. Just when I'm beginning to think there's some way to characterize them, at least in broad groups, someone comes along who couldn't possiby fit - and yet is clearly a member of the community, and often a leader. I don't have much time to read listserv messages but I belong to a
Tim Coates blogs for better libraries
I'm speaking on the Community & Collaboration panel at the Global Information Industry Summit in a couple weeks about how to choose the right social networking tools for whatever it is your company wants to do. That is, choosing the right tool instead of trying to add the whole laundry list, "Blogs, wikis, RSS, and podcasts."
Of manicures and monitoring—the Fiesole Retreat in Hong Kong
Here is a long overdue, idiosyncratic, and long (do note my first use of the Read More functionality of WordPress) report on the Fiesole Retreat in Hong Kong last month, written from notes I made on the spot and meant, naturally, to post immediately. I’m not sure the time it’s taken me to write them up
Reference debate in the blogosphere
Boring, humdrum reference books being debated in the blogosphere--surely this is an April Fool's joke? No, really, and Richard Charkin, CE of Macmillan and one of my favorite people on the planet, "reliably contrarian" according to his blog and in my experience ever ready to light the fire, has started it. While Tim Coates, ((Former managing
American Libraries magazine review of the Libraries We Love
In Mary Ellen Quinn's column in the March American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association, opens with a review of Berkshire's Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love. After a three-paragraph description of the book, she writes: The loving attention that went into this beautifully designed book is evident on each page. Text
Hearing from readers of the Libraries We Love
I love hearing from people about our books. This happens rarely with reference (though we've plans underway to do something about that), but it's no surprise that our new book about libraries is generating some mail: I know this isn't a customer service issue but I couldn't find any other email address. I've just finished reading
Love fests
"The day of forced love," Liz says her brother calls Valentine's Day. The commercialization of what was (is?) a saint's day is quite remarkable, and the moderate snowstorm that's hit New England today is a blow to many businesses. Here in the Berkshires, it would have been a welcome midweek boost to the restaurant business, and
Tim Coates’s Manifesto for Good Libraries
Tim Coates has become an acclaimed and feared blogger in less than a year, with hits per month that I envy--and that many a large company would pay good money for (advertising is available, need I add?). At his Good Library Blog, which Berkshire sponsors, he has posted a manifesto for public libraries that merits discussion