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We are the 99 percent

Start a Social Movement in Your Library

Posted 9 years ago on April 22, 2014, 10:45 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: Libraries

"Libraries are the future." - Occupy Wall Street

This article is by Jane Carlin (Director, Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound) and Barb Macke (Associate Librarian, University of Cincinnati) and was originally published by The Huffington Post.

In our last post we talked about the future of academic library spaces. We encouraged everyone to dust off the shelves and to begin to think differently about their libraries. Recently at Puget Sound, we had the opportunity to brainstorm with Occupy Solidarity Network board member, social activist and library supporter, Micah White. Micah is one of the founders of Occupy Wall Street and a former editor of Adbusters. His unpublished dissertation, Post-Search: Libraries, Search Engines and the Organization of Knowledge reflects his innovative thinking and challenges us all to consider some fundamental questions about the future of libraries.

Micah draws inspiration from the Five Laws of Library Science by S.R. Ranganathan:

  1. Books are for use
  2. Every reader his or her book
  3. Every book its reader
  4. Save the time of the reader
  5. The library is a growing organism

At a roundtable luncheon with librarians and faculty he posed three questions:

  1. How do we organize libraries to unlock the knowledge hidden in the stacks?
  2. Why do digital natives avoid the library stacks?
  3. Imagine what could come after the Library of Congress classification and rows of well-organized books?

We were intrigued and challenged by these questions and here are some of our thoughts:

  • New technologies like Google glass can anticipate and connect students with resources before they even know they want it

  • Libraries need to adapt to the changing ways that digital natives find information. LC doesn't always work. Of course, a radical transformation of library space and classification might not be possible - but are we really supporting creativity with our static rows of books?

  • Physically placing interdisciplinary works together to spark imagination and to encourage the serendipitous aspect of creative discovery.

  • Are new book displays really the way to go? What about displays of books recently checked out, what is trending, books selected by departments or faculty, books not checked out?

  • Use our digital technology to create virtual browsing rooms to help recreate the visual and tactile experience of browsing

  • Establish a twitter feed of books just returned or checked out

We think the library of the future will have books - but perhaps we need to think about how we arrange them and take more responsibility for curating collections to inspire students to use resources in new and creative ways. The design and order of our physical book collections may indeed foster the ongoing development of electronic discovery and virtual browsing.

We'd love to have your responses to Micah's questions posed above. And in the meantime, I think I will take a lead from Alice in Wonderland. After falling down the rabbit hole, Alice is confronted with a bottle labeled "Drink me" and a cake labelled "Eat me". Of course she couldn't resist, and the end result was a wild cacophony of events she could never have imagined. So, how can we help "every book find its reader?" Maybe we need to encourage our students to 'drink' and 'eat' them. TAKE ME HOME, CHECK ME OUT, and LOOK AT ME notes might just appear on some of our dusty books, and we'll let you know what happens!

30 Comments

30 Comments


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[-] -1 points by 99nproud (2697) 9 years ago
[-] 1 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 9 years ago

that's why corporate website are allowed to be top heavy

[-] -1 points by wickerman (62) 9 years ago

Before someone takes this as support for the BLM mess out in Nevada, let me say that this is not a statement for or against Bundy or the BLM.

Now to the point, unlike the internet books can not easily be edited. Once a book is published it is very difficult to round up every copy. During the early days of the Nevada incident there were references to BLM documents that were accessible on the internet. Those link stopped working in a matter of hours. There were countless articles that appeared, then disappeared just as quickly. Books are tangible.

[-] -1 points by 99nproud (2697) 9 years ago

What "references to BLM documents that were accessible on the internet." are you referring to?

In any case you do support books as social movements so thats something.

bab steps wicky. baby steps

[-] 0 points by wickerman (62) 9 years ago

I wish that I still had the references, during the early days of that event, I was trying hard to figure out what was really going on. There was a lot of information, and much of it was being disproved as fast as it was being put up. There were references to documents from the BLM where in the Bundy grazing lands were somehow tied up with a solar project. Those documents were apparently removed. Or so it was stated on another forum. Like I said above, I stayed out of that one, there was just too much misinformation out to make any sense of the issue.

[-] 1 points by 99nproud (2697) 9 years ago

Oh well, proof not required, huh? But in the spirit of the topic and in an attempt to discuss the Bundy issue you brought up.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/13/1298962/-Cliven-Bundy-Klan-Calls-for-Action-Wednesday-in-Salt-Lake-City

Not the library social movement I was thinkin.

Entertaining though.

[-] 0 points by wickerman (62) 9 years ago

Proof of what? That the internet can be manipulated, and that books are much harder to. You seem to be looking for a fight, I;m not biting. As a matter of fact I have zero opinion of the Bundy incident because I have not been able to find the facts concerning it.I wish that it were a clear cut case of a mega corp using public land for profit, and the BLM doing harm to a private citizen on their behalf, I don't really see it that way though.

[-] 1 points by 99nproud (2697) 9 years ago

You brought up the welfare cowboy, not me.

You mentioned "references to BLM docs" I wanted to see the backup.

Really, I don't give a shit about the racist, anti gov wackjob or his extremist militia friends/army.

I am interested in social movements that push policies that benefit the 99%.

This topic thread is not about Bundy. That was 'y'our (edited) distraction right?

[-] 1 points by wickerman (62) 9 years ago

Sorry about that, I had forgotten that I had to agree with you 100% or none of my ideas count.

[-] 1 points by 99nproud (2697) 9 years ago

Why do you think your ideas dont count? Which ideas? ALL your ideas?

I say, your ideas count man, and darn it people like you!!!

(correction: previous comment should have read 'Y'our distraction, not "our". Will edit)

[-] 0 points by 99nproud (2697) 9 years ago

Social movement @ library

News books to take of the Library.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/apr/28/thomas-piketty-capital-surprise-bestseller

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/22/pccc-elizabeth-warren_n_5188934.html

And a Progressive book club too.!! Can't beat that.

[-] 0 points by 99nproud (2697) 9 years ago

And why do you think you have to agree with me? or anyone at all?

Was this comment sent accidentally.?

[-] 2 points by wickerman (62) 9 years ago

We've written a term paper about the BLM mess, and never once have I given my opinion on it. It seems that the very mention of it is contentious. I was trying to agree with you, books and libraries are important, I for one hate the internet as a source of information because it is so easily manipulated. I don't have links for most of my opinions, they are mine. I talk more than I surf, so a lot of what I say is first or second hand. As for the BLM documents, I will try again on Monday, I am not a member of the forum where it was posted, one of my coworkers is, he tried to show us the link at work, and it had been removed, now it looks like the whole post is gone.

[-] 0 points by 99nproud (2697) 9 years ago

Don't you dare give it a second thought. There is so much evidence out there you don't have to knock yourself out.

I just disregard unproven comments anyway. It's already forgotten.

Check this out.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/14/how-cliven-bundy-and-the-land-rights-movement-are-screwing-native-americans.html

Whattayathink?

BTW, I of course support Libraries, books, & the internet.

We need it all. ALL non violent approaches, strategies, etc.

Right?

[-] 0 points by wickerman (62) 9 years ago

I am an optimist, I think it shows how fed up people are, like the American spring thing. So many people don't see the whole picture they know they are fed up, and are lashing out. If there were a way to show them the real power behind the government their activism could be a positive instead of a negative. I just can't see a way to show them that. Imagine the dedication that these people show to stand against the BLM instead directed at the 1% elitist. They are picking their battle poorly to say the least.

[-] 0 points by 99nproud (2697) 9 years ago

Do you believe the people (Bundy..etc) in this "rancher land movement" are being manipulated by the corp/oligarchs to have fed land xfer to state cntrl (using anti gov libertarian populist rhetoric) so it easier to get the land for resource exploitation.?

IIf so aren't these bundy people actually doing the bidding ofthe very forces who would destroy the land they claim to love (and just wanna evade taxes)?

[-] 1 points by wickerman (62) 9 years ago

Yes, you are starting to get my point. The people have the right idea, they are being mislead into doing exactly what the corporations they oppose (they actually oppose the government in their own minds, which to the enlightened is actually the corporations) want them to do. It is a trap that many people fall into, and one that we have to be very careful about ourselves. There are a lot of posts on here about public ownership of land or resources or production, these can be dangerous if they lead to government(corporate) ownership rather than public ownership. I'm not saying that public ownership is bad, just that we have to be very careful to make sure that it doesn't become something we don't intend for it to be.

[Removed]

[-] 1 points by 99nproud (2697) 9 years ago

wresting control of the peoples (public) government from the corp oligarchs would of course then make "the government" a public force for the people (not the corps).

So this social movement is fighting forthe policies that benefit the 99%

fight the power!

[-] 0 points by wickerman (62) 9 years ago

For clarification the references were in posts on another forum, that have been deleted. The forum has a no politics rule, and the whole Bundy BLM mess got pretty out of control so the the mods shut it down.