This Book Is Overdue!: 09/25/11

I am currently a library and information science student. I read This Book is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson as part of my research for my Patron 2.0 paper. Even if I weren't a library student right now I would have read the book as I'm such a fan of libraries, especially public ones.

For me, therefore, Chapter 4: "The Blog People" was of the most interest. It looks at the history of blogging and especially blogging by librarians. Library blogs can be divided into three main groups: blogs run by libraries (usually a group effort), blogs run by library organizations (such as the ALA) and blogs run by librarians. They are written for one of two main audiences: individuals (typically library patrons) or as a method of peer to peer communication (blogs are becoming more commonplace as a method for long distance communication during conferences).

The other chapter that really piqued my interest was Chapter 1: "The Frontier." It describes how librarianship has evolved in the last hundred years and how it's now spreading into Second Life. Before I started working on my MLIS I had never tried Second Life. I had done the text-based equivalent in the 1990s when I was an undergrad and I felt like I had gotten it out of my system. Since Second Life's inception, librarians have been setting up virtual libraries and colleges have been setting up virtual campuses. My own school has a virtual campus, which for school I've had to visit more times than I have the actual campus (my coursework is completely done on the computer). That said, I still find Second Life something I don't think I'd use beyond what I may end up having to do for my work as a librarian (when that time comes).

Three stars.

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