Free Range Librarian

I had a great talk with Tom Sloan at SEFLIN today where we talked about what I’d be talking about in May at the SEFLIN directors’ retreat. He thought I had a standard shtick about Web 2.0, but really, I don’t. Every group is different, and every time I talk, I’m different, too. Even if [...]

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I grit my teeth whenever anyone tells me they haven’t done X because they are “busy.” We’re all busy. But the recent quiet here has been because… well… I’m busy. I spent last weekend working on a document due Friday that isn’t anywhere near done yet (with breaks for church and–ouch–a Sunday work teleconference), then [...]

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Only through a belated mea culpa from Dorothea did I catch that last month, “In a characteristically provocative talk… Richard Smith, who is on the Board of Directors of PLoS [Public Library of Science], accused traditional subscription-based publishers of acting like slave owners. And he compared open access advocates to abolitionists.”
Provocative? How about embarrassing? [...]

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I’ve been in Gainesville since Wednesday morning, soaking up knowledge about Aleph (Ex Libris’ software) and communing with like-minded souls from around the state. I have about five minutes to write this; I got up early and did some work email, then updated the About page for this blog. I thought that had been [...]

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By way of Dorothea I found this nascent meme. (Yay! I’m in early on a meme! By the time I find them, they’re usually so ten minutes ago.)
If you are a library blogger reading this, consider yourself tagged, and add the tag fiveblogs wherever you do such stuff.
I read a lot–a lot–of non-library blogs and [...]

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Another year, another list of Movers and Shakers!
At some point in the last several years I stopped pouting about not being a Mover and Shaker. I realized that playing a role in selecting the Shakers was really more important. It gives me great pride to see M&S names I’m associated with, either as a recommender [...]

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New iPod

Originally uploaded by freerangelibrarian.

I have drunk the KoolAid. I finally broke down and bought Satan’s Music Player, a wicked toy designed to distract us from the ruthless efforts of Jobs et al. to rule us through device hegemony.
I feel as if I should [...]

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We’ve been in a cargo cult for several decades, waiting for library software vendors to cure our ills. Not too long ago I met a librarian who with a wan smile told me she was actually “trained” on Taos, the vaporware DRA promised its customers before DRA stopped being DRA.
Now we hear that Sirsi-Dynix [...]

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So last Sunday I called Weber, and Jean–who I suspect is in Minnesota–got my Silver Genesis working again.
Jean: I’ll be sending you a document, now just give me your email, see?
Me: Oh, thank you!
Jean: So now, you know where the manifold is, right?
Me: Yes, I see it in the booklet.
Jean: That’s good, then! You just…
At [...]

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They wanted feedback on their meeting tomorrow about bibliographic control (and uncontrolled biblios are a fearsome sight to behold), so I wrote them a “Dear Liberry” letter, posted to TechSource. I was writing like a typing maniac, due to limited time to do this, so it has somewhat of a breathless, spittle-flecked feel to it. [...]

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