I had a hard time picking out just four bloggers for this post; as one professor recently put it, I'm still working on finding a particular direction within this field of information. Because of this, I didn't have an area of specialization in mind to pick two from for this assignment, so I just kept my spread distributed across at least three of the list categories we were provided.
The Bloggers
Jessamyn West, a Vermont library technologist and Metafilter community manager, addresses the issues that most interest me; digital libraries, public knowledge projects, and hip/relevant information/knowledge technologies. She's secured her spot as a well-known blogger over years of addressing the future of information technology and freedom of speech and expression since 1999. I was particularly drawn in by her attitude of interest and enthusiasm for open access and her post about SI's own Michael Barera and his Wikipedian in Residence job.
New Jersey public librarian Andy Wentworth is a mover and a shaker, the man behind Sweater Vest Sunday and the facebook groups for “
People for a Library Themed Ben & Jerry’s Flavor” and Save the NJ Libraries. His posts typically address library-related current events and posts, such as books banned or removed from circulation, ebooks and licenses, and a librarian-petticoat-ruffling article that made the internet rounds.
This anonymous blogger for
Library Journal brings a humorously blunt, realistic/practical voice to the greater library discussion table, addressing perhaps a wider range of current library events and articles than that of Andy Wentworth. She's addressed the "bookless library" trend, an article about librarians' "soft skills," censorship/books removed from circulation, and ALA politics. Her writing voice is critical and sometimes abrasive, but I appreciate the informed discussion.
K.G. Schneider, University Librarian at Holy Names University in Oakland, CA, is a librarian, writer, and beer-brewing hobbyist with a preference for the mor modern, technological aspects of the library. Her posts are long and very thoughtful; she usually writes about her own life and whatever issues she has been musing about, be they more current library events or more overall library theory. Particularly of interest to me were her posts about "Rediscovered Management Lessons" and a mixed bag that covered the importance of the ALA and the changing focus in library spaces, where I appreciated her level, experienced voice on the subjects.
The Trends
The ALA (Politics)
The Association is a very public forum and indicator of library issues, so it's no surprise that each blog mentioned it at least once. On the more personal-experience end, K.G. Schneider has a recap of her attendance the Midwinter conference, but there are many more posts that address library-politics, the current issues of the more official libraryland. K.G. Schneider supports ALA committees as useful, if sometimes frustrating. Jessamyn West posts about larger advocacy events (national Library Week and Banned Books Week) and articles/talks that the ALA promotes that are relevant to digital libraries and information freedom. Andy Wentworth seems to uphold the Association as an authority, a useful vehicle for advocacy, while the Annoyed Librarian turns her skeptic's eye on Wentworth's Sweater Vest awareness movement.
Technology
Annoyed and Wentworth address eBooks and a recent announcement about an Apple-store-like bookless library, but Schneider and West get more into devices and services; Kindles, MOOCs, the cloud, and iPad apps.
Open/Free Information/Libraries/Access
Wentworth and Annoyed have twin posts about censorship, almost all have a Banned Books Week post, and Jessamyn West has several posts about open libraries and Public Domain.
Library Currency
Librarians like to worry about being librarians. K.G. has posted about the aging idea of cataloguing and a patron's comment about the dated appearance of her library. Jessamyn has posted about new library lob postings and articles questioning the necessity of libraries. Annoyed Librarian posts "Librarians: Evolving or Extinct?" and calls that Apple-store-like bookless library a "passing fad." And Andy Wentworth's main cause seems to be library awareness, giving me the impression that the institutions are on the "endangered" list and in need of volunteer activism.
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