Lowrider Librarian

Diversity and the Library Industry Diversifying the library industry will bring new ideas into the homogeneous industry of library science. In my brief tenure in Library Science graduate school it has become apparent to me that there is a definite lack of diversity in thinking. I say this because I constantly encounter a lack of critical thinking and logic when it comes to dealing with non-Western, or different cultures and languages. This is a direct reflection of the lack of cultural diversity in the library field. With the challenges presented to the relevancy of libraries by the advent of the internet and the Web, libraries have to learn new methods of conducting business. Libraries must be creative, innovative and dynamic. They must serve a diverse community that has varied information needs. Many of these communities have traditionally been underserved. These information needs are based on a mixture of outlooks, cultures, educational, p...

The communication infrastructure is advancing quickly. I now have the ability to talk to people I admire, and to reach others through self-publishing and the web. I have a Facebook account that ties my blog, my Flickr account, my musical playlists , etc… it is a place where I can consolidate my web presences. It is also a place where I can communicate with others who have similar interests. It is place where I can get up to date (sometimes up to the minute) reports from conferences as well as notes by presenters and audience members, links to presentations and other presentation materials. Facebook’s API allows developers to create applications which can be used by Facebook users. This leads to a proliferation of applications. Some of these applications are good, while others are not. The sheer number of applications assures that there will be some things you will like. Face book itself is doing a decent job of building itself and seems ...

Collaboration between Facebook blog and chat Evolution of networks [Write back and lets collaborate!]

Facebook Chat is what facebook has been missing. I mean the platform has always been a good networking tool, but now it is a KILLER networking tool. I've had a chance to speak to many library luminaries this week and I am thoroughly stoked on the possibilities. the ability to communicate with others immediately will increase the formation of new ideas, concepts and collaborations. We all know its about collaboration and freedom. I can get feedback from people who are the top in their fields. This is the networking information seeking tool I've been looking for. Sure myspace has had chat--but their chat utility shut down my poor 56k machine. I never used it. Communication, collaboration, and the creation of new information structures and networking avenues is in its infancy. Businesses need to learn from Facebook's API. Sure there are many ANNOYING applications, but there are also some really fun apps that let people play, get to know each other a bit, and learn. Th...

White-supremacist scum like this are the reason we are experiencing so many attacks right now. It is NOT just "illegal immigrants," Who happen to be indenenous peoples--who have a right to be ANYWHERE on this continent--its also a general attack on Mexicans and other people's from the south. Video of the anti-American congressman. http://tinyurl.com/3ksgb2 We have a racist bill attacking us in AZ, kids have been sodomized , there have been hate crimes committed at my place of employment , there is a full and sustained attack going on. We won't put up with this. What have we done? We are here to work, to improve our lives and to live. History has shown, no matter how "white (What I mean by this is trying to uphold the ideology of the Anglo-American--which is fundamentally white-supremacist as it is based on Western civilization)" we try to become--we will NEVER be accepted. What to do? Organize, get together with your people and educate them. Participat...

[This is an email I received at school yesterday. I work in "progresssive" segregated Portland, Oregon. I routinely find racist messages in the library bathroom and in other areas of the school. PCC is a great place and is doing much to improve the quality of EVERYONES lives in the Portland area. This is so sad that this happens here] FWD The world won't change if people don't change it! RISE UP Last week, a letter went out to our campus community about the theft and degradation of the Semana de la Raza banner. As a community, we need to RISE UP, PULL TOGETHER, SPEAK OUT , and SUPPORT THE VICTIMS of this hate crime. Please show your support by gathering in the courtyard TOMORROW, April 22nd at 12:45 p.m. to SPEAK OUT against hate and bias on our campus. Also, it is important for all of us to SUPPORT the students and staff who have worked to put the event together. Let's show them and the rest of the community that we are not a campus that toler...

An attack from AZ I received an email from a list I belong to this morning. It described a bill in Arizona (SB1108) that is sponsored by the White-supremacist Russell Pearce. I say he is a White-supremacist because his bill will ban the teaching of Mexican-American/Chicano/a studies! This bill would have a severe impact on what people will recognize as legitimate scholarly work, and what people will write off as opinion. Mecha, and Chicano/a studies has had a positive impact by teaching people about the history of what is called the US . http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/114048 Classes in Arizona which "denigrate American values and the teachings of Western civilization" could lose funding under this legislation. This bill actively targets dissent. Teachers and schools would have to surrender classic works such as Dr. Rodolfo Acuna's "Occupied America - A History of Chicanos." Lets look at s...