Freebase, a structured wiki-like database, should be of interest to anyone with an interest in web architecture and the quest for a semantic digital order. It uses a system of user-extensible types that allow contributors to build logical relations between topics rather than just linking and tagging them. Sounds simple? Freebase’s structure seems to introduce [...]

Here’s a reference for a good old-fashioned print resource that I urge librarians to get hold of. Buschman comes from a ‘critical theory’ perspective, so is putting libraries in the context of: ‘information capitalism’ New Managerialism/New Public Management/the New Public Philosophy the commodification of information private-sector models of public service provision encroachments on the progressive, [...]

Apologies to those who linked and networked to http://del.icio.us/actplreference. It’s now been taken down, as administrators in my library were concerned about things being put up in its name without departmental approval. Most of the same links are available on http://del.icio.us/frightfullynew. This got me thinking about all of the trust issues for librarians in Library2.0. [...]

My sense of popular mood about global warming is that the mass of private citizens is desperate for any organisation or individual to speak up and lead in some way. Librarians are used to being a source, not a voice. Any policy statement directed at governments, whether from ALIA or libraries, would have little impact [...]

I wanted to expand on Peta Hopkins’ post about the dependence of Librarians on power and telecoms infrastructure. Not many people realise how much power computers require, and how much of a strain the internet puts on real-world resources. I recently heard a lecture series (podcast from UC Berkeley) called ‘Foundations of American Cyberculture’, where [...]