scholarly journals Point: The Future of the Book in the Public Library

2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Moore
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The Other ◽  
Electronic Format ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
Short Time

There appear to be two different trends of thought with regard to books in the public library today. One trend says that books in paper will cease to exist; they will become museum pieces in a relatively short time, as electronic format materials will replace them. The other trend is that the traditional book will continue to exist as a viable, and the preferred, format for conveyanceof ideas and information. These opposing viewpoints are often represented as being mutually exclusive and at war with each other. In some instances the combat is real. One need only read one article about the controversy at the San Francisco Public Library (“Nicholson Baker is a Luddite”; “The leaders of the San Francisco public library are book burners”) to understand that not only are the two belief systems at odds, but also that they really don’t like each other and occasionally dip to “ad hominum” arguments to prove their points.

Immaterial labour, public librarians, and third-generation public libraries

2016 ◽  
Vol 117 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 186-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan A Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
Public Librarians ◽  
Policy Arena ◽  
Blind Spots

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to draw attention to one specific upper-level government policy document in which a discourse of perpetual innovation and customer service is promoted, and the kinds of questions such discursive interventions raise for the future of work in public libraries; and second, to demonstrate the explanatory potential of the concept of immaterial labour for questions relating to emerging labour processes in libraries. The concepts of “prosumer” and Web 2.0 are included as discursive resources of relevance to any discussion of immaterial labour. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of a public policy visioning document for public libraries in Ontario, Canada, with reflections on related literatures. Findings – The concept of immaterial labour provides an additional analytic tool suitable for questions of relevance to public librarians and library scholars. Within the government text under review which deals specifically with the future of the public library to 2020, the identity of the public librarian is alarmingly absent. Conversely, the library patron as a producer and consumer is privileged. Research limitations/implications – Failure to attend to the broader policy arena within which the public library resides creates dangerous blind spots for public library professionals, educators and researchers. Practical implications – This paper demonstrates the value of a discourse analysis for uncovering the ideological dimensions of policy documents, while simultaneously modelling the method using the kind of policy text commonly produced in governments around the world. Social implications – This paper shows how failure to attend to the broader policy arena within which the public library resides creates dangerous blind spots for the public library community. Originality/value – This paper contextualizes the immaterial and volunteer labour of the public library user as producer/consumer in the context of the future of the frontline professional and waged librarian.

Islam, Islamic Law and Constitution Making: International and Domestic Engagement in the Constitution-Making Process in Afghanistan

MAZAHIB ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Rofii
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
International Community ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
The One ◽  
Constitution Making

The making of the 2004 Constitution was a significant moment amidst the continuing conflicts in Afghanistan. It was an attempt to transform differences and conflicts into a shared agenda for the future of the country. The process of constitution-making in Afghanistan was marked by intense negotiations between the international community and actors, on the one hand, and domestic actors, on the other. The outcome would be called a “win-win solution”. This essay focuses on the making of the Islam-related clauses: How was the public participation? How has the negotiation been undertaken? What was the result and why? This essay is an attempt to answer those questions. It will argue that the process of constitution-making in Afghanistan particularly with regard to the Islam clauses is the acts of negotiations between different competing actors. The Constitution is the product of negotiations not only between international and domestic actors, but also between domestic actors. As evident in the making of the Islam clauses, these negotiations might be characterized as between puritan Islamist and more moderate Muslim actors.Pembuatan Konstitusi Afghanistan tahun 2004 adalah momen penting di tengah konflik yang terus berkecamuk. Ia merupakan upaya untuk mentranformasi perbedaan dan konflik menjadi agenda bersama bagi masa depan negeri ini. Proses pembuatan konstitusi Afghanistan ditandai oleh negosiasi yang intens antara masyarakat dan aktor-aktor international di satu sisi, dan aktor-aktor domestik di sisi lain. Hasilnya dapat disebut ‘win-win solution’. Tulisan ini fokus pada pembuatan klausul-klausul Islam: Bagaimana partisipasi publiknya? Bagaimana negosiasi dilakukan? Apa hasil dan mengapa? Tulisan ini adalah upaya untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan tersebut. Ia akan beragumen bahwa proses pembuatan Konstitusi di Afghanistan khususnya terkait dengan klausul-klausul Islam merupakan tindakan negosiasi antara aktor-aktor yang berbeda. Konstitusi Afghanistan tidak saja merupakan produk negosiasi antara aktor-aktor internasional dan domestik, tetapi juga di antara aktor-aktor domestik itu sendiri. Sebagaimana terbukti dari pembuatan klausul-klausul Islam, negosiasi-negosiasi tersebut dapat dikarakteristikan sebagai negosiasi antara aktor puritan Islamis and aktor yang lebih moderat.

scholarly journals Evaluating the benefits of joint-use libraries

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Calvert
Keyword(s):  
Formative Evaluation ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Evaluation Methods ◽  
The Other ◽  
Collaborative Advantage ◽  
The Public ◽  
Important Benefit

The project seeks ideas for evaluating joint-use libraries; here, libraries jointly administered by a public library and a school. ‘Collaborative advantage’ occurs when each partner brings something the other does not have. The evidence suggests that schools think the partnership helps them to provide a library at reduced cost while the public libraries consider it a way to extend their community reach. Do these different aims make it difficult to produce formative evaluation methods? The project discovered, however, that the most important benefit for both parties was better integration between the school and the community.  

scholarly journals Astin Colloquium at Randers: Subject A Report

1971 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-78
Author(s):  
Carl-Otto Segerdahl
Keyword(s):  
Practical Importance ◽  
Common Market ◽  
Risk Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Great Practical Importance ◽  
The Future ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Overall Risk

Our discussions today will concern Subject A: Risk Theory, in particular the overall risk involved in operating an insurance concern. 7 papers have been handed in to the Colloquium on this subject.To be quite candid, the referee would like to say that only one of these papers really treats the whole of the topic foreseen, and this is the paper by Mr. Colin M. Stewart (U.K.): The Assessment of Solvency. The other papers treat different special practical sides of the problem as well as general risk theoretical questions. One of the papers, that of Mr. Brichler, could have been attributed to Subject B as well as to Subject A, but it has been decided to take it up for treatment today.Mr. Stewart delivers a lot of interesting points, which, I may say, take into account the solvency aspect as it looks to the supervisory authorities much more than has been done within the ASTIN discussions earlier. This, of course, is very related to the fact that regional as well as Common Market discussions have resulted in or will result in legislative rules for judging the solvency of insurance concerns, which rules will have great practical importance in the future. Mr. Stewart stresses the point that in case of non-life concerns it is the business on the books and its future contracted periods, short time business to be signed before judgment can be practically undertaken, claims reported, claims occurred but not yet reported, as compared with free reserves available that really decide the matter of sovency.

Primary Source Publishers in a Googling World

2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjan van Dijk
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Internet Archive ◽  
The Public ◽  
New York Public Library ◽  
American Memory

In December 2004, Google Inc. announced its plans to digitize millions of books from prestigious libraries such as Harvard, Stanford, and the New York Public Library. Most of the books are in the public domain and will be available for free on the Internet. The Google initiative is one among many, including the American Memory Project of the Library of Congress, the San Francisco-based Internet Archive, and Gallica, the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. All of these programs offer free access to good-quality digital materials. Another common feature is that they are heavily funded.

scholarly journals Recap of Media Democracy Days 2015: Taking on the Federal Election

1969 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Ackerley ◽  
Sydney Ball
Keyword(s):  
Public Library ◽  
Alternative Media ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
Independent Media ◽  
Media Democracy ◽  
Media Practices

Over the 15 years since its inception Media Democracy Days (MDD) has provided a chance for the public to gather with members of Canadian independent media, journalists, and activists to discuss alternative media and the future of Canadian journalism. This year the MDD community came together with the goal of sharing what has been learned about alternative media practices in light of the recent federal election. MDD took place on November 7th at the Vancouver Public Library and was held in partnership with the SFU School of Communication, OpenMedia, Vancouver Public Library, and Fonds Graham Spry Fund.

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