National Library Week revisited

We hope you enjoyed our activities, displays and contests during National Library Week. Here is a video just to cap it all off. Created by the American Library Association I know that the quotes contained in here express the feelings of so many in our community. http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/al_focus/national-library-week-2011-quotes-about-libraries ... and here are a few more...

Libraries: The medicine chest of the soul. ~Library at Thebes, inscription over the door

We may sit in our library and yet be in all quarters of the earth. ~John Lubbock

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library. ~Jorge Luis Borges

Geeks of the World Unite and Take Over!

What do you geek?

That’s what the folks at geekthelibrary.org are asking and the answers are diverse. This online project has spearheaded a community-based public awareness campaign aimed at spreading the good word about the vital role of public libraries. The project organizers believe that “no matter who you are, there are things you are passionate about—things you geek. Maybe you geek engineering or hip hop. Maybe you are passionate about composting, schooners or vampires. Or maybe you just geek the weather. Whatever you geek, serious or fun, the public library supports you!”

I discovered GeektheLibrary today via a BooklistOnline blog. I enjoyed learning what other library lovers across the country are passionate about and how they use libraries to pursue their interests and hobbies. The ‘Get Your Geek On’ section invites participants to talk about what they geek and you can also find some great tips on how you can turn your library love into a little social activism. Take a minute to explore the site and don’t forget to post a comment here and tell us what it is that you geek!

p.s.

I geek the Missoula River Market!

The Future of Libraries and Librarians

During my two and a half years of working towards my Master's degree in library science, I can't count the number of times I've been asked why the heck I want to become a librarian. These same people say that no one reads anymore; everyone finds all their information on the internet. Now while I find this to be a grossly inaccurate statement (based on the number of books that pass from my hands to yours on a daily basis), the idea of the future of libraries intrigues me. Some view libraries as a dying and soon-to-be irrelevant organization. But maybe its just libraries as we know them that are ending; instead of dying, however, they are evolving and adapting to meet the needs of our technology-minded culture.

Don't think libraries are forward-thinking places? Visit the Seattle Public Library (above) or check out this design I found for the Czech National Library in Prague (left).


Check out this article to see what some up-and-coming librarians have to say about the future of libraries. They describe how librarians are changing, too. "The Hipster Librarians" are a new group of young, vibrant librarians who are excited about the marriage between books and technology that is librarianship. They don't think libraries are going anywhere anytime soon.

But this is an ongoing debate in the library world. How much longer will libraries be relevant? What do you think? Are we a dying breed, or are we hear to stay?

Library Smut

Everyone who knows me will tell you I'm a huge fan of gadgets. Computers, software, web based applications, etc. And with that I'll tell you: nothing beats sitting down and reading a book. I'll never be one to use the new e-books, but I will test them out and marvel at their software and portability.

So I was excited to "stumble-upon" (if you haven't tried out this ultra-neat firefox add-on, you're WAY behind the web 2.0 curve) a great photo gallery of libraries filled with books that nearly made me drool. Look:


Pretty amazing, huh? Click here for the full gallery.

I wonder where you check your email in those libraries?