37 posts tagged “personal”

(Crossposted from my professional blog, The Gypsy Librarian).

I will be heading out to celebrate Christmas and the holiday season. This is a quick note to let my three readers know that blogging here will pretty much pause until next year. It is also a chance to wish all of you out there a merry and safe holiday season, whatever the holiday you choose to celebrate. Please, I beg of you folks, if you drink, do not drive. If you drive, please put the cellphone down and pay attention to the road. We do not need unnecessary tragedies this season or just a bad situation on the road. In fact, two days ago, we had an 8 car or so pile-up in South Broadway Avenue (the area I live in), and it was basically due to a combination of tailgating and impatience. Please, be careful out there. Have a good time. Peace to all.

In the meantime, I have done my traditional holiday posting. You can find my holiday posts over at The Itinerant Librarian. So go on, stop by, and be amused for a while.

• "The Opening Salvo." Trivia, facts, and things to amuse and entertain you.
  
• "You are still NOT done shopping?" Plenty of ideas and advice on shopping, with a little humor. Of course, if you are not done yet, maybe you should read this later and hop to it.
  
• "The Reader's Edition." Stuff about books and reading. I am a librarian, what did you expect? There had to be something about books and reading.
  
• "Where we look at what the hell happened last year." My version of the obligatory annual end of year summary. I think mine is better.

What’s your favorite movie quote of all time?

There are a few, but I think one of my favorites, and the one that I would include here is this one from the film The Godfather (quote via imdb.com): 

Don Corleone: Tell me, do you spend time with your family?
Johnny Fontane: Sure I do.
Don Corleone: Good. Because a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man. 

To me, that says a strong message to men everywhere. Be man enough to be responsible and care for your family. This is a non-negotiable, and I started appreciating it a bit more when I got married then we had our daughter. Anyhow, there it is, a favorite movie quote.

I recently saw this list of "21 Things That Are Being Killed Off by Digitalisation." In my usual semi-snarky way, I would like to go over the list and see what is dying, what is dead, and what is not quite dead yet. So, here is the list. I will say that it seems the term "digitalisation" seems to be interchangeable with "online" or "Internet" in this context. The comments are all mine:

1. Memory. I would have to say that digitalization may not be killing memory, but it certainly is slowing it in some aspects. For example, phone numbers I used to memorize I now fail to memorize because I can just look them up on my cellphone. This is something I would like to work on, since there are still one or two phone numbers I would prefer to memorize for the moments when I do not have my cell phone. 

2. Privacy. Every time you use some social online network, you are giving up some privacy. As a librarian, I am very aware of the issues with privacy online, and I try to educate patrons. I think a lot of the students in my campus do not realize how much companies know about them based on their Facebook profiles, for example. True, there is a trade-off between privacy and convenience, but that does not mean we should give up all of our privacy nor that we lack privacy rights that need to be protected. I see this as one of the major issues worth fighting for these days.

3. Experts. Yea, pretty much gone. Everyone these days thinks they are an "expert" if they can post something online. And don't even get me started on the wahoos who make it a hobby to comment in places like CNN when Jack Cafferty poses some question. Having an opinion does not an expert make. Writing for Wikipedia does not make you an expert either. I want knowledge. I want credentials. I want some degree of peer editing and evaluation. But maybe my standards are on the high side. It may have to do with being in academia, where we still place some value in vetting expertise (something seriously lacking in most news organizations these days).

4. Concentration. It depends on what it is you are supposed to be concentrating on. For instance, blogging does require a certain degree of concentration. So does playing some online games. And if you read online, say news or other text, that does require some concentration as well. So, I am not so sure on this one.

5. Listening to a whole album. What is this album thing you speak of? Seriously, I can see with the advent of playlists, iPods, so on how the idea of actually listening to one whole album is dying or dead already.

6. Punctuality. I am not sure how this one works. This seems more like a failing. You are either punctual, or you are not. Don't go blaming your lack of punctuality and respect for others on digitalization. Get your act together and learn to be punctual.

7. Telephone directories. When was the last time you used a phone book? In my case, not that long ago. For some things, it is easier to open the phone book than to boot up the computer to look up a local number (especially for businesses, say, a plumber when you are having an emergency with your pipes). I don't think directories are dead yet, but they may be on the way out. For me, a lot of this depends on how available access to the Internet, and I mean good broadband access, becomes. There is serious digital gap in this nation, and as long as there are parts of this country on dial-up, or with no access at all, things like directories will survive because those folks without Internet access will still need them.

8. Cheap watches. Looks like they are going the way of the dodo. I have a pocket watch myself, but when I forget to carry it, and I have my phone, I have been caught looking at the cell phone to get the time. However, I still prefer my watch. However, most of my students, as I can tell, do use their cell phones to check the time. I don't see many of them wearing watches, cheap or not. So, I would have to say dying on this one.

9. Letter writing. If you mean old fashioned, handwritten letters on actual paper that you would send via snail mail, yes, they are pretty much dead. This is probably a big reason why the U.S. Postal Service is having serious financial difficulties and a hard time surviving against the likes of UPS and FedEx.

10. Spelling. Spelling does seem to be dying. All you need to do is look at any short message service and its users to get a sense that spelling is not a priority. Also on comment boards. Pretty much, a lot of the online experience is rushed, and when people are rushed, they fail to check their spelling. I am not excusing, but that is the observation.

11. Printing photographs. If you mean printing them from actual film that is developed, yes, that is practically dead. However, printing actual photographs is not dead. Now, you can take a nice digital image, edit it yourself, then print it out on good quality photo paper, and even frame it nicely. So, printing photos is not dead. It just evolved.

12. Copyright. This is dying, at least in terms of the archaic rules governing it now. Sure, artists and creators should be compensated for their creations, but new models for that are going to be needed. The Internet is just too open for restrictive copyrights, and fighting that is just a losing battle as the music media moguls are learning. We may well need to simply rewrite all of the rules.

13. Personal re-invention. Can you say anonymity? Digitalization does allow people to create new personas and recreate themselves. However, depending on what you do and how, you do have to be a lot more careful about the image you put out. Even when you think you are anonymous, you can still be tracked pretty much, so you need to be careful in  how you re-invent.

14. Plagiarism. Some people would like to think this, but no. The idea of plagiarism and stealing (because that is what plagiarists do: they steal from others) will not die just yet.

15. Reflection. I think this depends on what you use. If you just use short message items like Twitter, you are probably not very reflective. Services like that encourage more shooting off the hip, so to speak, so I don't see much reflection there. In blogging, it varies. If you happen to be a blogger who does his thing based on timeliness (say, you run a news blog), I don't think you will have much reflection. Reflection is something that takes time and thought, so those bloggers who actually think and develop their ideas when they write, those are more reflective. So, I don't think digitalization is killing reflection. It just depends on the medium you may be using, not to mention your own nature. Some people are more reflective than others anyhow.

16. Paper money. With the advent of debit cards, it seems cash is on the way down. However, there are still moments when paper money may be preferable. And that is not counting moments when you want to "pay under the table." On a serious note, with the economy as is, and credit extremely tight, including people who may be losing their credit cards, cash could make a comeback .

17. Paper statements. For people with online access, yes, the paper statements are pretty much dead. However, see my note above about digital gaps. The same applies here.

18. Airline tickets. Mostly dead, with the caveat of digital gaps I have made before.

19. Concert tickets. Ditto.

20. Landline telephones. If you mean the old "Ma Bell," yea, those are on the way out. However, since digital phones are not always reliable (by this I mean things like a phone via a modem), and you may always need 911, landline phones will put up a fight for a while longer. But as systems improve, I think the old landlines will die. Not yet though.

21. Intimacy. And how are we defining this? If you mean being social in the sense of being in front of people, well, yes, intimacy may be dying. Then again, how intimate do you want to get with some people? If you have a spouse or a significant other, I think the intimacy will live even with digitalization.

…and 7 things that aren’t

1. Public libraries. On the contrary, due to the same digital gaps I keep noting, public libraries will be around. They may not be in the same shape or form that we traditionally conceive of them, but they will not die. For my one or two non-librarian readers, the debate of what form public libraries (and libraries in general) will take in the future is a constant debate in our profession. For me, that is a whole other post.

2. Vinyl record shops. I don't have enough of a grasp on this to say. I think based on what has not been digitized, which is a lot, the vinyl shops will be around for a while longer.

3. Newspapers (look at the data globally). Depends as well. As we know them, they will barely survive in areas with low to none online access. As soon as those areas get good broadband, the traditional paper will probably be toast. As is, this is pretty generational. Older folks cling to print newspapers, but ask the average youth today when was the last time they actually read a newspaper. Not news, but a newspaper. I think the answer will speak by itself.

4. Physical banks. Well, I have direct deposit, so I don't have to go deposit my paycheck. I pay my bills online, so don't have to write checks.  I have a debit card that works as an ATM card, so I can do a few transactions on the machine (as long as I use one affiliated to my bank). However, there are still some things you just have to do at the actual bank. The day they figure out how to automate those, the building as we know it goes. But for now, there are still a few things you need (or prefer) to have a human deal with at the bank.

5. Meetings. A sad reality. Meetings are not going away. If anything, it seems that meetings are multiplying, since now we can also have "virtual" meetings in addition to the usual meetings in person.

6. Paper. Not yet. Ask my daughter. She is an artist, and she still draws on paper for one. Anyhow, with so much bureaucracy, no matter how hard they try, paper is just not going away, whether is paper documents they make or people printing out things that started out as electronic documents. Paper will be around for a good long time.

7. Church. I suppose for now, church (whatever the denomination or belief system) will be around. And I get the feeling that, even if the buildings vanish, that "churches" will just move online or become virtual. Is that really so farfetched, or am I reading a bit too much science fiction lately?

What about you folks out there? Do you agree? Disagree? Have other ideas? Feel free to comment and let me know.

(Crossposted from my professional blog, The Gypsy Librarian).

I bet my four readers at The Gypsy Librarian were expecting the next installment in my small series on blogging mistakes and library blogs (first installment here). I am taking a break today to highlight a very important issue as well as let my four readers know about some of the good work going on in my campus. Ok, this is kind of to let people know where I was last night too. The series will resume next Friday.

* * * * * * * * *

October domestic violence purple_ribbon

 

October has a few observances associated with it. One of those observances is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (link to President Obama's proclamation). Last night I attended a candlelight vigil held on our campus to recognize the issue of domestic violence and to educate people. The event took place at 7:00pm last night in the fourth floor meeting room of the library. They were going to do it outdoors, but the weather did not cooperate. Nevertheless the event was successful, and from a quick glance, I think we had about 50 people or so. We did get some representatives from our campus police, a very strong Greek presence (ladies and gents), and some students. I was the only representative of the library present. The room's lights were down, and the room was lit with candles. At the entrance, there was a display with educational materials.

The event started with an opening statement by Ms. Samantha Dwight, who among her many hats has done work for the Campus Assault Response Effort (CARE) and is an educator/facilitator/presenter extraordinaire on this and other gender issues. She does a bit of everything, so if she reads this I apologize in advance if I can't quite "put her in a slot." At any rate, she read a statement, including a recognition of the important role that law enforcement officers have in domestic violence prevention. Those men and women in uniform when they get a call never know what they may be walking into. So our thanks go to them.

Next, the ladies of Alpha Chi Omega took the stage and did a dramatic reading. Members of the sorority took turns reading statistics and facts related to domestic violence in the nation. This had a moving effect on the crowd, and we learned a thing or two in the process. The last member on stage sang a song.

The activity would come to an end as a prayer was said for the victims as well as those involved in caring for them as well as for us all. And silently the event closed.

Whenever possible, I think it is important for me to attend events like this. In my role as outreach librarian, this is another way for me to reach out to our campus community, another way for the library to say present and that we support the cause. Personally, I just think this is important and needs to be supported. We have a long way to go in educating people, and events like this are a way to do it.

I would like to wrap this up by offering some links and resources that I hope people will find useful. Please, if you happen to be a victim, or you know someone who is, know that there is help out there. Some of the links will include phone numbers and contacts. On our campus here, the folks at C.A.R.E. are one such resource. Need more information, and you are local, you can contact them, or you can contact me, and I will refer you to the right place or find you the information you may need.

The resources then:

• The Domestic Violence Awareness Project. These are the folks who promote and maintain activities for the observance, which started as an awareness "Day of Unity" back in October of 1981. The Project is coordinated by the National Center on Domestic Violence. You can learn about campaigns, find educational materials, and get links, and phone numbers if you need help. Of course, if you are in imminent danger, dial 911.
  
• The National Coalition on Against Domestic Violence. Among the things this organization does, "the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), in conjunction with Ms. Magazine, started the Remember My Name project in 1994 to create a national registry of names of those who have lost their lives to domestic violence. Since then, NCADV has continued to collect information on incidents of people who have been killed by an intimate partner and produces a poster each year for Domestic Violence Awareness Month listing the names of those submitted to the project. To date, over 7,753 people have been memorialized through the project." Names are added daily to the list, which you can view on the website.
  
• The U.S. Department of Justice has an Office on Violence Against Women. In addition to listing national hotlines, the site contains a lot of good information, including statistics.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a handbook on domestic violence awareness. This seems geared to employers so they can be supportive in the workplace. Provides some good information.
• The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The number is 1−800−799−SAFE (7233) or TTY 1−800−787−3224. Their contact form can also be used to get assistance if you prefer, though they encourage calling more. You can also find some information on the site.
  
• The National Youth Violence Prevention Center also has resources related to the observance here. Yes, it is not just spouses or significant others; children and youths in families where an abusive situation exists suffer too.
• The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) is also a good resource.
• In Texas, the Attorney General has some resources here. A bit more geared to sexual assault, but still good information.
• There is also a Texas Council on Family Violence.
• Locally, you have the good folks of the East Texas Crisis Center. If you need help locally, this is a place to go.
  

This small list is certainly not comprehensive. I have tried to put out some resources that I have looked over and seem to provide good information. Readers are invited to comment, respond, and if they have other suggestions for links, add in the comments as well.

And yes, I tagged the post under "celebrations and holidays." It is not because I think domestic violence is to be celebrated; it is not. But this is also about a monthly observance, which is what I use the tag for. Just to be clear.

The title may be a bit misleading; we may need to think about this a bit more often. But I find myself noticing these stories now because Pride Month is celebrated in June. Some of these links are things I would not mind adding to posts at the library's blog, but we do need to maintain a certain decorum over there. And since I don't quite have enough for a well-thought out piece on my main blogs, I am posting the links over here. So this is kind of like additional notes to go with some of the work I have done already on the topic.

• First, I found this essay about being gay in academia. This is definitely a must read. If you are gay and going into an academic career (read becoming a professor), there are some good points to consider. This may also be something that administrators need to read as well. Found via Inside Higher Ed. Also via Inside Higher Ed, a note on a recent study about sexual orientation and the college experience. The article is by Christopher Carpenter, and it is published in the journal Economics of Education Review (2009). Title: "Sexual Orientation and Outcomes in College." I am not linking since it is an Elsevier journal, but I am sure you can get it via your library.
  
• Pharyngula, one of my favorite irreverent blogs, has a couple of things. One, he makes a brief response to clerics who think there is such a thing as Moral DNA. He also points to the recent ridiculous advertisements against same-sex marriage by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). He has the clip over here. Why the hell some people feel a need to use religion to justify their bigotry and ignorance is beyond me. It's an issue of basic civil and human rights.
  
• And John Aravosis at AmericaBlog points to his friend David Lee ". . .On the need to stand up to religious bigots." I think this is certainly well written, and it is something I agree with. It is time we stop giving religion a free pass when it comes to bigoted and ignorant behavior. And we certainly need to stop giving a free pass to so-called "moderates" who defend their bigoted brethren, or worse, stay silent thus giving the bigots tacit approval. 
• And on the military front, it seems conservatives may be shifting to favor openly gay service members, according to Gallup. This would be in the U.S. Other nations in the world have no problem with the idea. 

I do know by now that trying to discuss anything with anyone who is tied to a certain belief system, and likely fundamentalist, is pretty much a waste of time. They are not going to change their minds no matter what facts and evidence you present, and more often than not, you end up upset. And yet, to be perfectly honest there are moments when you just have to confront, or at least say something, to people who pretty much espouse evil. Allow me to expand a little on the matter.

In some other social network that I use, a friend of mine posted a link to the recent story that President Obama was going to sign the United Nations' gay rights document. It is a good step, but as we all know, a lot of people would not agree with the notion of gay marriage. My friend ended up getting a long comment stream, which basically became a fiery debate on the issue of gay marriage. I am saying "fiery," but it was more like some people with certain religious values who feel they can pretty much repress anyone else who does not agree with them. I did say my peace, so to speak at one point, but at times I wonder if one is better off not saying anything.

Then I came across this story as I was doing my feeds scan. AmericaBlog pointed to a story about an Anglican bishop in Nigeria who is advocating prison terms for gay people (among other not so nice measures). If you follow the link, you can find the actual document from the bishop. The interesting for me is, if you replace "Africa" and "Nigeria" in the right places with "United States" and "America(n)," it could read like the screed of any fundamentalist, right winger in the United States. But what made me think was what John Aravosis wrote in his post for AmericaBlog,

"At some point, the leadership of the normal wing of the Anglican church had better wake up and realize that by appeasing evil, and bigotry, and hate, they are no better. Jesus said to turn the other cheek, he didn't say to stand idly, repeatedly giving your blessing to the evil in your midst. The leaders of the progressive wing of the Anglican church have enabled this nut from Nigeria, and now his hate and bigotry, his evil, is theirs."

At some point, the "normal" people of this nation (and most other nations) better be waking up to the evil in their midst. Bigotry and discrimination, whether justified by politics or religion, are evils, and as such do need to be fought and confronted. For me, this tends to guide my thinking: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." By the way, a lot of people attribute the quote to Edmund Burke, but it is not found in his works; it is likely a paraphrase, albeit a good one. When one of the other commenters in my friend's post was all about taking away rights of gay people because his religious views said it was fine, it irked me to say the least. When he pulls the classic rhetoric of "it's not in the Constitution," well, I just want to laugh because at that point I just know the guy is not doing his homework, let alone read not only the Constitution but also other very relevant documents and history as well. Personally, to me, it is a matter of basic human rights and one of common decency. There is a reason there is a separation of church and state, and unlike that fellow's "it's a liberal myth" view (the church-state separation), the reality is that it is there precisely to protect everyone, the majority and the minority. If one takes the time to read the works of the writers of the Constitution, reading past the First Amendment (basis for the idea of separation), one sees that they did indeed intend for said separation. For example:

• Thomas Jefferson, working on the then new Virginia Constitution, around the same time the U.S. one was getting done: "All persons shall have full and free liberty of religious opinion; nor shall any be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious institution": freedom for religion, but also freedom from religion." Ooh, did I just see that "freedom from religion" idea that certain person denied existed?
  
• Jefferson, further writing in his "Notes on the State of Virginia:" "The legitimate powers of government," he wrote, "extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
• Jefferson writing to his nephew Peter Carr, in 1787: "Question with boldness even the existence of a god because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear" This may be worth reading in full.
  
• A little something on the dangers of the majority oppressing the minority, here is James Madison writing to Thomas Jefferson in a letter of October 1788 as they were working on the Constitution: "Wherever the real power in a Government lies, there is the danger of oppression. In our Governments, the real power lies in the majority of the Community, and the invasion of private rights is chiefly to be apprehended, not from the acts of Government contrary to the sense of its constituents, but from acts in which the Government is the mere instrument of the major number of the constituents."
  
• John Adams spoke of equality (granted, it was mostly for white landowners, but we have, thankfully, moved on the broaden the definition of equality) writing to a Dr. Price: "We should begin by setting conscience free. When all men of all religions ... shall enjoy equal liberty, property, and an equal chance for honors and power ... we may expect that improvements will be made in the human character and the state of society."
  
• And this one is pretty clear. It comes from Isaac Backus, "An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty," 1773: "Religious matters are to be separated from the jurisdiction of the state not because they are beneath the interests of the state, but, quite to the contrary, because they are too high and holy and thus are beyond the competence of the state."
  

I could go on with this for longer, but I think we can safely show that the Founding Fathers did intend for there to be a separation of church and state. They just figured that people would be smart enough to know it from things like that First Amendment. When some less well read people say, "we don't know what they intended," a little reading counters that right away. And that is just one example.

So why does this even make me wonder? Well besides the fact that I have no tolerance for bigots who use their beliefs to justify all sorts of atrocious behavior, being a librarian means I am an educator. And I am someone who takes the role of educating others seriously. Quotes like the one found in Boston's Public Library,

"THE COMMONWEALTH REQUIRES THE EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE AS THE SAFEGUARD OF ORDER AND LIBERTY".

Maybe I am wondering due to my recent readings on library neutrality. Or maybe sometimes people of reason do have to say something. Sure, people may hold different opinions, and they have the right to express them. But at the end of the day, when they try to pass their opinion as facts, and they try to use them justify their bigotry, then that has to be confronted. If you tolerate it and accomodate it, it is just going along with something that is wrong. It is easy to simply go along on the false logic that, if you go along now, they may be nice to you next time. The hard act, and the just one, is to speak up and shoot down the bigotry.

Anyhow, food for thought.

I often describe myself as someone with a "live and let live" attitude. If there is something I can't tolerate it is oppressive and pushy people who think their rights, and only their rights and views, are the only valid ones and are more than happy to trample on everybody else. I am looking at a lot of you religious fundamentalist nuts out there and their enabling brethren for example. I honestly do not care what it is you practice or preach as long as you keep it to yourself and don't try to convert me, or worse, to give up my rights and freedoms because your big fairy in the sky tells you to. Guess what? I don't have a big fairy in the sky telling me to do it, so please, keep it to yourself. I will be happy to mind my own business in the meantime. Is it really that hard to respect the rights of others and get others to respect mine? I don't have all the answers, but J.D. Tucille considers it in his post on "you respect my rights and I will respect yours." From the post:

"It comes down to the same thing: When liberty is under attack, everybody is at risk. But that's not what the politicians and inspectors and tax collectors and police officers say, of course. No, they're all too happy to tell you that the queers next door are a threat to your way of life, or that the gun nuts are a public danger, or that the tax dodgers are greedy and not doing their fair share, or the store keepers are running amuck without entangling red tape, or that the pot heads are lazy parasites who will corrupt your kids.

But once the politicians and inspectors and tax collectors and police officers are done with the queers, they'll happily shift their sights to the gun nuts, then to the tax dodgers, the store keepers, and then the pot heads, and ...

Where were you planning to hide? Forget about it. Because you're some kind of menace, too, and you'll be fresh out of allies if you don't realize that the freedom of people you don't care very much about is just as important as your own."

This is what a lot of people do not get, and it is the reason that I believe quite firmly in defending the rights of others. Because in the long run, if you do not, when the oppressors come after me, there will be no one left to help defend me. In a way, it is a matter of self-interest to me. You help me out, and I will help you out. And I may not agree with a lot of stuff, but I do agree with their right to express it (again, as long as you are not trying to impose it on me, go wild). At one point, my father and I were talking, and he wondered out loud how come his boys turned away from the religion they were raised with. For the record, I was raised Roman Catholic, and I am no longer practicing. In fact, I am happily going along as a spiritual but not religious person. He was fairly mellow, saying he was not going to ask me why, that it was my thing, but it made me think. And at the end of the day, this is certainly one of the issues that convinced me to get away from religion and seek my own path: that more often than not religion is more interested in suppressing the rights of others in order to carry out whatever their agenda is; in extreme cases, they do things like what the Catholic Church recently did in Brazil in relation to a young 9 year old girl getting raped. Pharyngula has been following the story, and I have to say, it is definitely a fine illustration of what I have been saying. What they don't get is that they will be a threat to someone as well down the road, and then who will they be allied with when the oppressors come around for them?

Just one of the things I keep in mind now and then. 

Oh, and by the way, that Examiner site where the article comes from looks interesting. I may have to take a look around.

Steven Bell had an interesting post over at the DBL Blog asking "Does UX Still Matter in Tough Economic Times." He looks at Starbucks as an example. I have to wonder about that example because, if one looks at the company, at the end of the day Starbucks is simply the case of a company that got away from their user experience. They tried to be a lot of different things to different people, and they lost their way. That, at least based on studies and tests, their coffee gets beaten by the likes of McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts certainly sends the wrong message. Starbucks, as I understand it, grew on the basis of providing a unique exclusive coffee experience where baristas would actually make your luxurious coffee right then and there. Once the company started doing things like using a push button machine instead of a more traditional espresso machine, it was down hill from there. I mean, the kid at Mickey D's can push a button just as well as the guy at Starbucks. I mean, there is a reason why no Starbucks barista has ever won at the barista world competitions, as this story from the NYT points out.Then came the breakfast sandwiches to compete with Dunkin Donuts, sandwiches which were pretty much panned and then Starbucks got rid of them to stem the bleeding. The point is not to slam Starbucks. The point is that their woes, while partially due to the economy, are mostly due because they got away from their core user experience. Once their cheaper competition was able to offer something comparable, Starbucks lost what made them unique. Why would I pay $4-$6 for a decent cup of coffee when I can get it for less at the Dunkin Donuts or Mickey D's? In the interest of disclosure, I will say that I don't get my coffee at either Starbucks or the fast food joints. I prefer to make my own at home. If I buy coffee to drink then and there, I prefer to go to some local place where I know an actual barista will put some work on making a special drink.

The point eventually is to ask if UX (user experience, for those who may wonder) is relevant to libraries. I would say the answer is yes, and I would say we can very easily fall victim to the mistakes Starbucks has made that they are now paying for dearly. And given the tight economy, and the fact that funding for libraries is shrinking at abysmal rates at a time when we need libraries the most, a good service experience will probably make some difference. Notice I say some difference. You can have the greatest service experience, but if you still lack materials and resources inside your pretty building with the very helpful staff, you will end up on the losing end. Yes, you have to provide a good experience, but you also need to have a good product. For libraries, that is pretty much the dual need: good service and items people want. We can leave the "want or need" debate for another time. The reason I say that is because news are often filled with the feel-good stories about libraries providing free books, A/V, computers, etc. for their patrons, like this story out of the Boston Globe or this one from MSNBC (via Libraries and Life). That is all nice and dandy but you have to have the products (good books in good condition, A/V that people actually want to check out and watch, so on. This could be a separate rant, but I will restrain myself). So, is UX relevant? Yes, but being nice alone is not going to do it. Much like Starbucks now trying to sell instant coffee. Instant? Really? Maybe they need to get back to basics and concentrate on what they once did well: creating a good experience around a good cup of coffee. And maybe some libraries need to get back to basics as well instead of worrying over the frills. Just a thought.  

Marc Fisher, of the Washington Post's Raw Fisher blog, asks "What if they built new libraries and couldn't afford to let folks use them?" in his post about D.C. Libraries' new 25 million dollar construction. Mr. Fisher is looking at how the DC libraries can afford to build a big new building, but they have to cut back hours and staff due to, you guessed it, lack of funds. Mr Fisher explains this apparent contradiction: "Welcome to the wonderful world of government spending, where capital budgets exist in a separate universe from operating dollars, meaning that you can build a building and then find yourself barely capable of using that building."

I was going to leave a small comment on his blog, but it is one of those blogs that require registration to comment, something I personally find annoying. And please, don't bother pointing out the irony of the fact Vox does the same registration b.s. for commenting. I did not make the rules on that one, and it does annoy me. Anyhow I am digressing.

What I was going to say is that Mr. Fisher may want to take a look at academia. My current workplace is a pretty good example of the same apparent contradiction he describes. My library is getting a very nice garden and water monument in front of the building. However, we lack funds for basics like buying books. And while we are hiring, we are only doing so because of accreditation issues. If it was up to us, we would not be hiring since the state system did put a hiring freeze in place. So, how come we are getting a million dollar or so aesthetic piece in front of our building when we can barely keep the inside? Welcome to the wonderful of world of university (and nonprofit) wealthy donors. In essence, the university got some anonymous donor. By the way, it seems most of the time these people do want to remain anonymous. Maybe a little shame they may be asked about their vanity? I mean, we could certainly use money for books, scholarships, etc. instead of a big fountain or a big phallic clock tower (yep, we got one of those too). So, that is how it works. And that is not just here. This is the second college I have worked at where some anonymous donor wanted to give money for a big phallic tower clock. Yes, they are pretty much phallic time pieces because they are designed to stand out straight and proud and to be seen from miles away. In academia, the hope often is that, if we sweet talk one of those donors to give money for something vain, like a fountain, they may be moved later to give money for something practical like books. To be honest, I would love to see some study done where we can find out if that glimmer of hope works or not. In the end, the situation in academia, especially in small colleges like mine, is a reflection of states basically abdicating their role to properly fund public higher education. We have to find the money any way we can. I am not saying it's right, but that's the way it is.
 

There were a few things that I would have liked to try out as part of the September Project, but there is only so much time in the day. These are kind of ideas that I jotted down, but I never took far. One or two I may try to do next year.

• I would have liked to have a speaker for Constitution Day. Either a speaker, or maybe some kind of debate around issues of civil rights. I wonder if I could take advantage of the fact we have student organizations for the Democrats and the Republicans on campus. Maybe they would be interested in providing debaters and partner with us. If I could get a professor in political science (or a related area) to moderate, could be a nice idea.
  
• A program or speaker on a topic addressing post 9/11. One sample topic: Democracy/Democratic Governance in the U.S. Another sample topic: "Why I blog and why you should blog." This could be supplementary. We did get a speaker for our film showing, so we now have a start.
  
• Exhibits: We did get some exhibits, but I always have other ideas. One big idea, and this we can consider for next year, was trying to get the "Eyes Wide Open and the Cost of War" exhibit for our campus. I think this could be a powerful exhibit and encourage conversations on campus. This is definitely something to inquire about.
  
• Exhibit on the topic of the "The Othe September 11." This would be September 11, 1973, which is when Pinochet's coup, backed by the CIA, happened in Chile.
  
• Continue showing other films related to the month and events. Showing "Good Night and Good Luck" worked well, even with the small crowd. I am thinking we can show other films. We have available "Fahrenheit 9/11," "World Trade Center," and "United 93" for instance.
  
• I wanted to create a pretty good pathfinder on 9/11 and Terrorism (or something similar in terms of topic). It would incorporate books, resources, and websites. While I have been posting the book lists for books in our displays, making the pathfinder itself was something I just ran out of time on. On the positive, I do have pathfinders I have created on this topic on file. So, modifying one or two to meet needs here would be possible. Again, time was a big obstacle. That, and I am not sure about interest level. We could put it in a new LibGuide (I have seen other campuses do it that way). We'll see. Right now, LibGuides has been a bit of an object of contention locally that I would rather not deal with now.
  
• For the films, have some popcorn, or at least some cookies and soda, or something to munch on.
  
• Serving as voting registration site would have been a good idea. I may have to give this some thought, but not as much of a rush since next year is not an election year. 

These are just some ideas. The September Project website always has many others. Anyhow, this year went pretty well considering it was our first time. I am already looking forward to next year.