The Well and the Cathedral

I’m spending the weekend in Chicago at the American Library Association annual conference. This is my second time attending and I’m still overwhelmed. There are so many people here, so many exhibitors and so much information. But I’m learning plenty about the many facets of this profession. And I’m working hard at a big idea I’m trying to implement. I’m also midway through composing another blog post tying a work of fiction to an information management issue. This time, however, I finished reading a historical novel about Nicola Tesla, and I’m tying Tesla’s work and the ways it was used to open source ideas. Cheers!

Gov. Strickland announced budget changes Friday and Ohio libraries are seriously at risk. This is important to the health of the city in general, we only have a few days and it’s super important to contact people about this. Please please consider making a phone call for the future of Ohio libraries in general and the existence of 20 local branches at risk. This is separate from the recently announced local levy campaign; the levy would not fix this $6 million budget cut.

I want to emphasize that I have seen tons of people come in the library who have been laid off or fired, all escalating in numbers since December. Without the computers and programs we offer it would be impossible for these folks to file for unemployment or search and apply for jobs. I help people with this process literally several times a day. This is the wrong service to get rid of in a time like this.

If you read the text below you’ll understand why it’s such a big deal. Thank you!!!

Call for Action from the library’s website

Further Library Funding Cuts Proposed

The Governor’s proposed state budget is considering a 50% cut to the Public Library Fund, a $6 million FURTHER cut to our Library funding—our primary funding source—resulting in a 42% funding slash since 2000!

ACT NOW! Time is of the essence. Let your legislators know that these cuts will do unacceptable damage to our communities. We cannot afford to lose half of our Libraries at a time when people need them most.

Because Library funding is a percentage of the state’s general revenue fund, as the economy has faltered, the Library’s funding has already been reduced 25% since 2000.

Cuts already made since 2000 because of reduced funding:

* More than 100 Library positions have been eliminated
* Hours have been cut by 241 per week
* Services have been reduced
* Capital projects have been canceled and capital renovation postponed

If this proposed funding cut is enacted, consequences would be DEVASTATING regardless if a 1 mill levy on the November 3rd ballot is passed. This is what you would see in September 2009:

* 250 additional Library jobs will be lost
* 20 branch libraries will be PERMANENTLY closed
* Main Library hours will be dramatically cut
* Computer access will be reduced by more than 30%
* Fewer new books, CDs, DVDs and other materials will be available
* Diminished quality of service and less qualified staff to help

What can you do to ensure that Library services will be there when you need them?
Contact your legislators NOW to voice your strong opposition to further cutting Library funding!!!

The Governor’s proposed funding cuts come at a time when Ohio’s public libraries are experiencing unprecedented increases in demands for services. In every community throughout the state, Ohioans are turning to their public library for free high speed Internet to access information on employment opportunities, children and teens are beginning summer reading programs, and people of all ages are turning to the library for information and entertainment.

Ohio’s public libraries offer CRITICAL services to those looking for jobs and operating small businesses. Public libraries are an integral part of education, which Governor Strickland says is critical to the state’s economic recovery. But it is unlikely that many of Ohio’s public library systems, especially those without local levies, can remain open with these proposed cuts.

During the next nine days, the Ohio General Assembly will decide whether or not to accept the Governor’s proposal. We cannot allow that to happen, we cannot wait. Email or phone the Governor and our state legislators to voice your strong opposition to further cutting Library funding by moving money out of the general revenue fund. There is no time for letters. This is a drastic measure proposed by the Governor and it will require a dramatic and immediate response from library supporters. Contact information for legislators is available on our website.

http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/features/statelegislators.html

One term on the tips of peoples’ tounges these days is “cloud computing.” It’s a nebulous idea (pun intended) and it was covered in an informative class by Glen Horton, . As a web designer and employee at a large organization, I’m used to thinking of server space. It gets a bit confusing because it’s such a simple concept: is cloud storage like the server space I buy from DreamHost? Or like the intranet server at work? I was poking around Twitter when I found Jessamyn West’s blog post entitled “what is the cloud, please?” and from there found a great article that explains more about cloud computing. The idea is that computing resources are concentrated and the costs are shared among many users. Most people have been using cloud computing for years, including server space and workplace intranet. Not only have I treated server space this way (and passed the savings on to clients as well!), but my gmail account and any number of other services I use employ this technology.

Also at TechConnections last week I listened to Ed Liddle talk about free tools to image machines. My personal nerdism does not cover this subject area so much, but I do have a limited understanding about running machines off an image. We do that at the library where I work. During his talk he mentioned that most computers manufactured today have much more power than they will ever need as a public workstation. This is important information when considering partitioning a hard drive, but something else about this statement caught my attention. I thought about all of the public terminals with so many gigs of hard drive and processor space going unused (not to mention the electricity at night). And thought about how slow some of the servers can get around here during a busy afternoon. I’m really curious what kind of solution these public terminals can provide. Knitting a system together could be a big pain and might take a huge initial resource investment, but could really save an institution a great deal of money in the long run. Perhaps someone has already developed a method for using this untapped resource. I’m interested to find out.