Week 1 Readings

OCLC

"...the report shows how format now matters less than the info within the container." I heartily disagree. Packaging is highly important to users. While some may find it just as easy to take in information whether that information comes through vlogs, audio books, or smoke signals, a tremendously large percentage of people will have a strong preference for one information format or another. Besides the trouble of set learning styles, we also have the concundrum of the digital divide--as caused by both unfamiliarity with/fear of technology and inadequate financial resources to access technology.

The report's prediction for the changes in library services for the next five years means that librarians need to master new skills. Print resources will still be our bread and butter , but for how much longer?

LITA

Was this even an article? I don't really know how to comment on this. Well, in any case, one day when I win the lottery and am rolling in it like Scrooge McDuck, I'll be able to attend the Futurespeak conference at my leisure.

Brandt

I realize that this article is aging--it was published in 2001 afterall--but I still find it lacking to a great degree. At 9 pages, it's about 6 pages too long. Brandt would have done better to come up with a more solid argument for his position on the place of information technology literacy in the American public school curriculum, then add a stern reminder to would-be info tech lit teachers to take care in writing and implementing their lesson plans. Instead, his argument for info tech lit in the curriculum is underdeveloped. Who is he intending to receive this instruction? At what level will what mastery be expected? What sort of education credentials does Brandt have, anyways? He seems to have very little understanding of standardized testing (for effing sake he's got me siding with No Child Left Behind, frickety frack!) or the results and utility expected by school boards when defending instruction and attendant budgets. Does Brandt have a clue about the true technological state of most schools, where instructors are barely keeping up and the technology is inadequate in number, speed, and recency?

Lied Library

A good read for librarians looking to drag their institutions into the world of Web 2.0. My undergraduate university underwent a similar process just this past year. I had the good fortune to be a part of the University Library Committee as the student representative while the planning process was underway, and got to see Xavier considering a lot of these issues. We didn't have the good fortune that UNLV had of starting entirely new, we instead had to undergo the changes while still in operation, but the results are stunning. It's still a work in process for both Xavier and UNLV, that's for sure, as both serve as their university's learning commons.

Favorite line from the Lied article "...affirm UNLV's commitment to technology, collaboration, and goals of becoming a premiere research institution." The library as the university's primary support for its mission; perfecto. Library:University::Underwire:Bra.