Ok, a quick and dirty search on the Internet tells me that common knowledge says the word 'blog' came from shortening the words 'web log'. (Hey, I really didn't know that!) Hmmm. I don't suppose you wouldn't be surprised to know that in the many blogs I've scanned, very few are interesting or readable. Some are down right strange and weird. I can say that I've enjoyed reading the group of blogs for this Learn & Play exercise. Perhaps because these bloggers are my immediate contemporaries - we've sat through many of the same training workshops and meetings, I suppose. Brothers/Sisters-in-Arms as it where.
I've been reading library-related blogs for quite a while, or at least since it's become such a sensation. I read them mostly to try to stay in touch with the evolution of the library concept, or at least to try and understand where this institution may be going. I've been in the library field for a long time, and I started my career in a small town library under the tutelage of a woman who was a fantastic, dedicated librarian - Marie Knudson. She knew her collection inside-out, upside down and sideways. When the introduction of the Internet created such an explosive impact on traditional library work, I didn't want to be left behind.
I particularly like to read the blogs that don't agree with common thought. The Annoyed Librarian has been entertaining and thought provoking. Not surprising that the AL has been asked by Library Journal to become one of their professional bloggers, and only their lawyers know who s/he may be. The AL promises not to give in to The Man! now that she has become part of the corporation. I regularly follow the Free Range Librarian and the Shifted Librarian, and a handful of others.
But you know, what I find more entertaining and interesting really is PubLib postings. Discussion is more off-the-cuff, and any subject at all can come up and often does. I see how my library stacks up again a lot of others, and I've learned that sometimes I have it really good here. There are honest discussions about the trials and tribulations of adding new technologies, and lots of very helpful advice in adapting to new technologies. And on Fridays, they can get a little silly. A regular PubLib contributor, Joe Schallan, has given some wonderful, laugh out loud types of posts. He says he's going to try to invest more time in his blog, and I hope so.
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