Thursday August 24, 2006
Thursday August 24, 2006 Some recent interesting blog posts elsewhere about digital library issues
Three recent posts on other blogs dealt with digital librarianship and issues that have been written about by several of us here over the summer including networked books, Google's digitization program, and digital presses in the academy. All three are better written than the average blog post, are not rants (imho) and make for decent reading.
At If: Book a rare post was put up that actually deals with physical books. It challenges academic libraries to stop handing over the keys to the store, so to speak, in making deals with Google's book digitization program. http://www.futureofthebook.org/blog/archives/2006/08/librarians_hold_google_accountable.html
Here's an excerpt:
That's because no sane librarian would outsource their profession to an
unaccountable private entity that refuses to disclose the workings of
its system ? in other words, how does Google's book algorithm work, how
are the search results ranked? And yet so many librarians are behind
this plan. Am I to conclude that they've all gone insane? Or are they
just so anxious about the pace of technological change, driven to
distraction by fears of obsolescence and diminishing reach, that they
are willing to throw their support uncritically behind the company,
who, like a frontier huckster, promises miracle cures and grand visions
of universal knowledge?
Strong stuff, especially that last sentence. unaccountable private entity that refuses to disclose the workings of
its system ? in other words, how does Google's book algorithm work, how
are the search results ranked? And yet so many librarians are behind
this plan. Am I to conclude that they've all gone insane? Or are they
just so anxious about the pace of technological change, driven to
distraction by fears of obsolescence and diminishing reach, that they
are willing to throw their support uncritically behind the company,
who, like a frontier huckster, promises miracle cures and grand visions
of universal knowledge?
Meanwhile, over at Inside Higher Education, Scott Palmer posted a trenchant critique of If: Book itself and its recent high profile activities.
http://insidehighered.com/views/2006/08/15/palmer
I can't help but smile when Palmer says :
"Still, when one filters out the soul-deadening jargon about ?authentic
learning opportunities,? ?self-reflexivity,? ?mediated environments,?
etc. that permeates their posts, it?s clear that the blog?s authors and
readers are thinking creatively and earnestly (although rather
pretentiously) about the prospects of the digital age in transforming
academic writing."
He also caught my attention when he argued:learning opportunities,? ?self-reflexivity,? ?mediated environments,?
etc. that permeates their posts, it?s clear that the blog?s authors and
readers are thinking creatively and earnestly (although rather
pretentiously) about the prospects of the digital age in transforming
academic writing."
"the emphasis that contributors to if:book seem to place on
the ?transparency? of scholarship and ?immediacy? of publication made
possible by digital delivery misses a very important point...One can build a convincing case that, in the current age of instant
analysis, self-absorbed ?experts,? and ubiquitous 24/7 live blog feeds,
the last thing that the academy needs is to embrace transparency and
immediacy."
the ?transparency? of scholarship and ?immediacy? of publication made
possible by digital delivery misses a very important point...One can build a convincing case that, in the current age of instant
analysis, self-absorbed ?experts,? and ubiquitous 24/7 live blog feeds,
the last thing that the academy needs is to embrace transparency and
immediacy."
Finally, IHE also had an article a bit ago that dealt with digital publishing and blogs.
http://insidehighered.com/views/2006/07/12/mclemee
The articles revolves around the question
"But will urging university presses to think more seriously about blogs
(and other new media forms) really offer a solution? Or does it just
compound the problem? Hearing from readers over the past week, I?ve
started to wonder."
Posted by WARREN, SCOTT
| Aug 24 2006, 03:08:26 PM EDT
| Permalink
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(and other new media forms) really offer a solution? Or does it just
compound the problem? Hearing from readers over the past week, I?ve
started to wonder."
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