Comments on: Corrupting Young Minds (with Books) in the Library

By: Genevieve Williams

Genevieve Williams — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:09:42 +0000

I remember my mother telling me that when she was growing up in Northampton, MA, certain books were kept behind the circulation desk and you had to be above a certain age (16 or 18, I can’t remember exactly) to check them out. And that was just in the 1950s, not that long ago at all. I think sometimes we forget how recent the professional commitment to no– or low-restriction access to information really is.

By: Leann

Leann — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:56:51 +0000

I enjoyed your post on the New Yorker article and am glad those “good old days” are long gone. I believe libraries should offer services and activities that will draw patrons in, and providing books is just one of those services. I’m a high-school librarian and, in my library, we open in the morning before school and sell hot chocolate so that students can socialize, read the newspaper and work on homework. We have contests, offer tech lessons for teachers and students, sponsor clubs, provide a website, offer college info. — you name it. And, we are always looking for ways to improve and new services to offer. As a result, our circulation stats have increased dramatically and we have received many positive comments on the changes the library has undergone. It’s a fun place to be!

By: Library & Literary Miscellany Links of the Week » Library & Literary Miscellany

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:07:01 +0000

[…] and The Monkey Speaks: Where modern children’s literature (and librarianship) came from and The Shifted Librarian: Corrupting Young Minds (with Books) in the Library (these discussions point to and discuss an article in the New Yorker article The Lion and the […]

By: Terri Bonow

Terri Bonow — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:55:19 +0000

Thanks for the contrasting discussion between now and then in libraries: gaming versus early children’s literature. I enjoyed the link to the New Yorker article which was well researched and written. It inspired me to go to New York Public Library and shift through the rich history there.

Having been a Librarian for years I am not surprised and know I must embrace the electronic changes including the thought of gaming as an educational, cultural influence to be accepted in the library world. However, the rate of changes in libraries with blogs, articles, 2.0 variations, gaming, and discussions are overwhelming at times. Information has exploded!

By: Dale

Dale — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:14:28 +0000

Indeed it is important to figure which "good old days" we're talking about--generally, in my experience, to figure out which mythical "good old days" is in question. I love knowing what came before me and I'm a rather old fashioned person in many ways. But gaming in libraries just makes a lot of sense right now. It may easily be a passing thing; it may easily become a vital part of libraries. That doesn't matter a bit to those who are enjoying gaming right now. My grandmother and I used to speak about sex education from time to time. She was one of those people who was wildly liberal on some issues, wildly conservative on others, and right in middle when it suited her. Still, many people were surprised that this very religious woman in the South was all for sex education. Why? Because she had certainly known about sex as a young woman (she was born in 1923). There wasn't any way to avoid it, as she lived in the same room with her parents and her brothers and sisters. The house was a little room, about 12 feet by 12 feet with a detached kitchen. So, how could you not know about sex? Somehow, that's not the image that most people have of growing up in the 1930s. And, of course, many people didn't grow up that way. But I think we, in libraries, often forget the very real limitations of our past, just as we often for get to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of libraries in the last 100 or so years.

By: Wikis, Teil 1 - und anderes « Kawa13’s Weblog

Wikis, Teil 1 - und anderes « Kawa13’s Weblog — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:01:43 +0000

[…] der Art von Artikel 2 einsetzen könnte: Wie verändern neue Medien das Leben und die Bibliotheken? Corrupting young minds with books in the library (gefunden bei The Shifted Librarian). […]

By: mgmason

mgmason — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:17:23 +0000

Good post. Nice perspective.