One of my big goals to prepare for the Future’s conference was to try to get a better handle on the present – catch up to 2005. Every once in a while I have a mini-panic attack because I don’t feel like I’m really in touch with what’s happening in the world out there. In fact, I’ll confess that one of the reasons I like living in Idaho is it’s perfectly fine to not be as hip as the gals in N.Y. or L.A. We can pick and choose the latest items we want to try (yeah Netflix) and ignore those that aren’t going to meet our needs (like wearing camisoles to work or listening to pod casts while I’m trying to type). I even made a list of “homework” I was going to do before the big event:

Library staff that request copies of magazine and journal articles through Interlibrary Loan need to indicate on their request compliance with copyright laws. They do this by indicating either “CCG” or “CCL” in the request. But what do those letters mean?

CCG indicates compliance with the CONTU Guidelines. CONTU refers to the Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyright Works. The Guidelines can be found at http://www.cni.org/docs/infopols/CONTU.html. The purpose of the guidelines is to “discourage the use of ILL as a substitute for magazine subscriptions.” (Butler, Rebecca P., Copyright for Teachers and Librarians, 2004.) Butler states that under the CONTU Guidelines, “borrowers may not receive more than five copies in one year from a single journal title published within the last five years.” So, if your library is borrowing a journal article and (1) the article is less than 5 years old, and (2) you have not borrowed more than 5 articles from the same journal in the past year; then you would show “CCG” on your request to indicate that your request complies with the CONTU Guidelines.

Thanks to Andrea at the PLA Blog for hunting down a link to Barack Obama’s keynote address. If you missed ALA and U.S. Senator (Illinois) Barack Obama’s speech, you can read it on his website.

Found two extremely interesting articles on the future of library content and delivery. The first is by Clifford Lynch from D-Lib Magazine titled “Where Do We Go From Here? The Next Decade for Digital Libraries. In which Clifford expounds on what the next ten years will be like for digital libraries.

The second took place in ALA’s 2005 annual conference (which I didn’t attend):
OCLC Symposium: Mining the Long Tail: Libraries, Amazoogle and Infinite Availability uses Chris Anderson’s (Wired Magazine) paper The Long Tail to explore the increasing use of content targeting, the future of information resources, and how technology has and will shape how libraries provide services. Of course, Mr. Armstrong is the first speaker but the rest, like John Blossom and Nancy Davenport, also provide great insights into the fluid state of library services.

As most of you are, I am in the midst of preparing my FY 05-06 budget. Earlier this year I wrote a column that appeared in the Moscow Pulman Daily News which addressed the difference between a library and a reading room. The point I was making is that a library provides a full sprectrum of services, not just access to books. I was hoping to inspire the county residents to a higher goal for their libraries. But alas -

As I meet with community groups throughout the county I frequently heard that they want books on the shelves, lots of books - but no apparent concern about the currency and accuracy of the information in the books or the breadth of available information.

As many people know, I have ankle that sometimes gives me a hard time. I slipped a few years back and found myself unable to walk for 6 weeks. With a little care, a fantastic doctor, and a relentless physical therapist I began walking. After 6 months I was walking pretty well, but I still had a limp. I had to struggle to keep up with others who were simply walking at the pace of the world around them and often found myself falling behind.

Things are better now. I can keep up pretty well most of the time. First there was physical therapy. I really disliked it; it’s painful and I had to go 3 times a week for an hour each time. At the end, though, I was walking. Some time later, when I realized I wasn’t seeing much progress, I joined a gym. I’d go at least 3 times a week and do exercises to strengthen my ankle and improve its flexibility. Soon I walking in 5K’s and walking without a limp. I could keep up again.

The future truly is the place where no one has gone before. There seem to be so many trends that we're barely taking advantage of. (And should we?) I feel that especially when I visit Seattle. My family lives on their cell phones - text messages, photos, etc. Meanwhile, like many in northern Idaho, I don't even own a cell phone.

I thought I was the only person who reads Utne! I also read Mother Jones, but perhaps that’s more information about my political persuasion than I should give.

I also went back and read Mike’s post about why we exist, and should we continue to exist? It hasn’t been all that long that libraries have existed for the public (as a public good, as Rich so eloquently points out.) I read a book (I forget the title, but can find it again) that is a primary source about jobs that existed a century ago: jobs such as wheelwright, ironmonger, etc. that largely don’t exist anymore. Many of the chapters dealt with how people coped as their jobs disappeared beneath their feet. Is there anything that guarantees the further existence of libraries? Not everything lasts forever.