Recently in Library stuff Category

We, the WorldCat bloggers, tend to think about libraries a lot. We read about libraries. We visit libraries as professionals. We talk to librarians. Many times we are working for librarians here at OCLC. We do things that help libraries help you, the library patron. We spend a lot of time thinking about libraries.

I'm reading a book right now; it is not about libraries but about storytelling. I just came across a simple, two word sentence that made me think critically about what I'm doing on WorldCat.org. And what I'm doing on WorldCat.org is helping to build better list tools, better profiles and helping to introduce new capabilities like tagging, reviews and ratings.

Right now you might be asking: So what? And that's the sentence I came across when reading Storytelling in Organizations. "So what?" What does it mean to build a Web site that lets people find things in tens of thousands of libraries around the world? What story will make people care about what we are doing here?

There's the obvious: We're making information even more accessible than it already is. But I don't think that's the Big Idea, and I don't think that is a compelling story.

David Lankes, a librarian, has talked and written about how a library is really involved in a conversation with the people that visit it, that is it's patrons ... you. The conversation revolves around the things you read, watch and listen to. The conversation takes place in many ways, what you talk about over dinner, in your school or at work. This is, admittedly, an over simplified perspective of David's deep body of work; but it serves me well in thinking about libraries as an integral part of our communities.

So when we talk about the tings we read and watch and listen to, we create new relevance to these things we find in libraries. Each time you tell someone about the CD you checked out from the library you provide new context for that library.

The Web is great for telling stories and having conversations. The Web amplifies these conversations. You stories can grow by just sharing a list of things that help you complete a project or learn a new skill or just past some time.

That's my "So what?" I come to work to help build things that help other people share their experiences and interests. Does that seem far fetched? Take a look at a few of my lists. I think you'll understand a little about my story. If that story has any relevance to your own, we might be able to start a conversation.

(I can't publish this without at least a nod to Ministry's 'So What'.)

This week, September 27 to October 4, is the ALA event, "Banned Books Week." From that site:

Banned Books Week... is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted... BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.

I took the list of "100 Most Challenged Books, 1990-2000" and put it into a WorldCat.org list of the same name [Note: when a series, like the "Harry Potter" books was given, I opted to just add the first book as a placeholder for the entire series].

As I went through the list adding items, I was struck by a fairly consistent set of themes among the challenged items. Books about sex, race, scary things (ghosts, psychic powers, magic) and adolescence (or some combo thereof) seemed to show up more than anything. Though, for many of us, adolescence and horror may have had some natural overlap...

I'm not a librarian, and have been in the industry only about 3.5 years. Perhaps somebody with more experience could explain to me in the comments why "Where's Waldo?" is on the list.

Being a fan of high-density linking, I exported my WorldCat.org list to HTML, put it into a Google Docs page, and deleted everything but the title names and links. That's what's pasted in after the jump. If you'd like to put it on your blog or web site to help promote the event, just view the page source and copy/paste the whole block.

Cory Doctorow has made the first collection of his essays, "Content: Selected Essays on Technology, Creativity, Copyright and the Future of the Future," available as a free PDF download. He is also providing (as he's done with previous books) a "matching service" to connect folks who would like to support his efforts with libraries and educators. From the page on the book release:

If you’re a teacher or librarian and you want a free copy of Content, email freecontentbook@gmail.com with your name and the name and address of your school. It’ll be posted below by my fantastic helper, Olga Nunes, so that potential donors can see it.

If you enjoyed the electronic edition of Content and you want to donate something to say thanks, check below to find a teacher or librarian you want to support. Then go to Amazon, BN.com, or your favorite electronic bookseller and order a copy to the classroom, then email a copy of the receipt (feel free to delete your address and other personal info first!) to freecontentbook@gmail.com so that Olga can mark that copy as sent. If you don’t want to be publicly acknowledged for your generosity, let us know and we’ll keep you anonymous, otherwise we’ll thank you on the donate page.

Very cool idea. Once I've read the book (I've read some of the essays already over the years, and assume the rest will be as good), I'll get a review up on WorldCat.org and let y'all know.

Links:

• Main book page for "Content..." 
• Free PDF of the entire book
• WorldCat.org entry for "Content..."
• WC Identities page for Cory