On the idea of library catalogs built on social networking platforms: It will be approximately five minutes before the same people who haunt and poison our patron comment blog arrive to poison the catalog as well. Every book about Obama will have a nasty comment attached from people who haven’t even cracked the cover. (Every time Obama’s face appears on the cover of a book or magazine at my branch, I repeatedly find it turned face-in, as though the patron just couldn’t bear his image. The same happened to Hillary’s image when she was campaigning.) Twelve year old boys will hang out in the virtual sex shelves, and fifty year old perverts will follow. 15,000 different titles will all have the same review: “I returned that book, and you’re charging me for it!” I’m just sayin’….
Guitar Hero: So that’s what passes for fun in the twenty first century.
Poorly phrased thought of the day: “We [the library] already have those people [book readers], so we can ignore them.” I’m sure the speaker didn’t mean that literally, but it’s frequently the vibe I get when Digital Types talk.
Phrase from a breakout session that made me giggle: “Information pusher.” Hey, little girl, I’ve got some primo info here.
To be continued, as most of my notes are still in the car.
