Re: GEN: Summer reading for ourselves

[Joe Ward <joeward@NBN.COM>]

Pam Gelbmann wrote:

 I'll also plug one more time "Silicon Snake Oil" by Stoll. I don't know
that I necessarily agree with
every thing he says but his tribute to libraries and librarians makes me
want to send this book to every administrator in the district as required
reading.
Pam Gelbmann
gelbmann@anoka.k12.mn.us

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I liked "Silicon Snake Oil" very much but I found "Future Libraries: Dreams,
Madness & Reality" by Walt Crawford and Michael Gorman to be a much better
treatment of this timely subject.  The depth on the library issues missing
in Stoll's book can be found in "Future Libraries".

A few teaser quotes from "Future Libraries":

"Print is neither dying nor ailing.  Books, magazines, and newspapers
represent large and growing industries in the United States and abroad."
(page 34)

"The world's total data may double every five years, but no evidence
suggests such increases for the world's information or knowledge".  (page 85)

"As long as people prefer to read from the printed page, electronic
distribution with on-demand printing will be ecologically and economically
disastrous as a replacement for circulating print collections and print
publishing." (page 103)

"Future Libraries" is a must read for anyone interested in the future of
libraries.  While school libraries are only briefly mentioned in the book,
the general themes that are discussed by Crawford and Gorman also apply to
school libraries.

ISBN 0-8389-0647-8    $25   Published in 1995 by ALA   to order call:
1-800-545-2433

Joe Ward

joeward@nbn.com