Well probably not an ode, but certainly an interesting discussion of the merits of print journals, particularly for some fields. Written by Karen Schneider (diva of Librarians’ Index to the Internet) she suggests faculty create their own mini-libraries if their librarians won’t keep the journals… also some interesting comments about journals as a mechanism of community.
Her commentary is on the National Book Critics Circle board blog.
FYI - Library Journal has a news item on LibraryFind in the March 15 issue - Oregon Debuts LibraryFind
I’m breaking my own rule here–and I will put this on the LFA blog too–but this article that Sara Jameson forwarded is too good not to bring your attention to:
Digital Breadcrumbs: Case Studies of Online Research in a recent issue of Kairos http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/11.2/ comes complete with audio and visual files. Really fascinating ethnographic investigation of evolving search strategies among undergrads and grads with some insightful recommendations for where libraries need to go. Similar to many things said elsewhere (e.g., Jeremy’s article; Webster, et al article about Library Find, etc.) but in somewhat more accessible (less technical) language for those of us who need that. Some provocative material to spur discussions of library instruction, information literacy, etc. What exactly should we be teaching in the future?
Interesting interview that talks about his efforts to work with libraries, how he framed the algorithm for LT tag clouds, etc.
Educause has posted a podcast of Jeremy talking about LibraryFind and other library technology issues at the recent CNI 2006 Fall Task Force Meeting. The interview is about 18 minutes long.
A final report from the University of California Libraries Bibliographic Services Task Force provides a somewhat daunting list of goals for better serving library patrons. Some things we are already well on our way to doing. Read the executive summary to get an overview.