i was a freshly-minted librarian and very excited to be at the conference (presenting no less!). i was terribly nervous to meet (or “meat” as i like to call it when i finally get to shake hands/hug someone who i have a friendship with online) a lot of attendees, but not Cliff. when i finally met him, it was all easy-peasy lemonsqueezy in our chit chat – as though we bump into each other doing groceries every week.
i couldn’t quite figure out why it was like that, until just this week, when Cliff went and decided that he would raise 20,000$ for Haiti, with 10,000$ from his own pocket. this is the thing about Cliff: he is one of the most caring individuals i have ever met. i wasn’t nervous meeting him because i knew that he genuinely cared about his friends, online and in meatspace, so i didn’t need to worry about impressions, etc.
i’m writing this post for two reasons:
the earthquake in Haiti has devastated a country which has always needed more help from the international community (and i’m not going to get in the discussion about why i am frequently disappointed that it takes a natural disaster to wake folks up). i’ve been trying to figure out how to help, and the best way at the moment seems to be to give to Red Cross or MSF or Partners in Health, because money gets things done quicker. if you are in a position to give some money, please consider that.
everyone should know about Cliff’s generosity and the fact that the man doesn’t sit around wondering what to do, but instead goes ahead and does it.
as a sidenote, if you ever have the chance to meet Cliff at a conference, DO IT.
update
Cliff met his goal of raising 20,000$ in THREE DAYS.
amazing.
given that my new gig at mcgill revolves around scholarly communication, copyright is something i deal with on a daily basis.
for the record, i believe:
copyright is important and artists should have their works protected so they can make a living
[speaking as a scholarly communication chica] university presses help authors make the best of their work, through peer-review, copy-editing, and layout (check out MQUP‘s books – attractive scholarly texts? NOT kookytalk!)
copyright law in canada (and the u.s. since i hear about that regularly as well) is in need of a kick-inna-pants because it is no longer protecting culture but inhibiting it
a lot of scholarly presses are burrowing their heads in the sand in lieu of evaluating their business models
larry lessig (he of creative commons) gave a talk at educause this year, and not only is it one of his best talks, but it looks at the issue of copyright in an academic milieu – something which (i agree) needs re-evaluation.
i love dares. doing scary things (hello battledecks…) is fun.
University of Toronto library students seem to like dares as well – and have taken it to the next level by publicly documenting their dare in order to raise money to fight AIDS in Africa.
the dare? take photos of strangers holding a honkin’ huge “i <3 librarians” sign. the flickr stream is filled with great pix.
guerilla marketing for a good cause.
the past few weeks have been, cover your ears kids cuz i’m about to cuss, batshit crazy in libraryland.
i’m done with it.
all of it.
if you don’t have something constructive to say, something that is looking to FIX problems out there, get out tha way.
personal attacks, anonymous attacks, and, well, attacks in general, just create some serious infighting in a profession with WAY MORE IMPORTANT things to worry about.
to the folks in libraryland who have had a rough coupla weeks, THANK YOU.
haters will always have blogs. drama llamas will always figure out a way to snark.
but please know that many of us think you rock.
(and remember, there’s always PS22 goodness available 24/7 thanks to the intertubes.)
heading to Monterey today to attend Internet Librarian. not only do i get to catch up with my friends, but i get to hear about all the awesome ways libraryland is taking advantage of the web to better meet the needs of library uses.
tomorrow is the first ever LibraryCamp at IL and i’m really looking forward to facilitating that with Jenica Rogers.
i’m also giving a talk on cloud computing with Kendra K Levine and Laura Harris.
finally, i am participating in BattleDecks on tuesday night with folks who are wicked fun.
this is gonna rock.
This will be an interactive discussion about people, technology, and libraries. Bring your war stories and your questions and be prepared to share as this is definitely NOT a “sage on the stage” event. (PowerPoints are forbidden!) This unstructured conversation may range from web development to info commons to everything in between, in all types of libraries.
Head over to the wiki to add your name and any topics that you’d like to discuss.
i totally forgot to blog yesterday for the LFPL blogathon.
but that doesn’t mean it’s not too late for you guys to contribute to the LSW goal of raising 5000$ to send to the LFPL to help them restore the library to pre-flood wonderfulness.
head over to steve lawson‘s site to paypal some cashola and you’ll be in the drawing for some fun prizes.
libraries rock
grow your mind, your imagination, and your heart with one visit.
the lovely Cecily Walker has proposed a panel at SXSWi and i think you should vote for it.
not just because i’m part of it and really want to visit Austin.
and not just because i’m part of it and really want to geek out in Austin.
you should vote for it because Cecily and i want to talk about tech in libraries to techies, and to tell techies how awesome it is to work in a library and maybe, just maybe, they might like to give it a go.
the panel is called “can i reserve this book with my iphone” and you have to create a free account to vote for it. once you’ve created the account, there are tons of other cool panels which you can vote on – touching on a bajillion different aspects of technology. get your vote on!
this past tuesday Louisville Free Public Library was hit by a flash flood. the estimates on the damage are still being tallied, but let’s just say it’s going to take more than a few bake sales to recoup their losses.
the wonderful steve lawson came up with the idea to have the LSW raise 5000$ by Sept 1 to send to the LFPL. for details on how to donate, visit steve’s post. [and for the record - steve is hella trustworthy.]
following in the lovely abigail‘s steps, i’ve decided to have a giveaway too. all those that make a donation to the LSW fund, and then shoot me an email to let me know they have done so, will be put in raffle for one item of their choosing from the libpunk store.
i should also note that this is the library where greg schwartz works. if you listened to uncontrolled vocabulary (which you should have – go listen to the archives now!) then consider a donation to LFPL as your way of thanking greg for his awesomeness.
