Folger Shakespeare Library

First of all, what does digitization in a museum context means? The Smithsonian Museum gives an accurate definition of it: “a set of processes that convert physical resources to a digital form or that create materials […] in a digital format. […] They form a new type of collection — a digital collection — that requires special care and preservation” (Smithsonian Institution, 2010, p. 3). Processes of digitization started with the appearance of CD-ROM invented by Philips in 1979, when technology…

I chose Belk Library of Appalachian State University for my ethnography project. The reason that I pick library for this project was that I knew everyday men, women, children, elder, and people of different nation came to this place for studying, relaxing, or for some other reasons. Therefore, I thought by choosing library, I would have an opportunity to observe the behaviors of people of different genders, ages, and nation of this culture. It was a great experience working as a cultural…

We have learned that an idealistic library is the place where you go when you want to learn something new, use its free resources and when in need of silence. On most college campuses a library is known for being a place for independent academic study and not an environment in which you should talk to others. College students that are found inside libraries participating in their own independent studies are usually there because they want to be there, not because they are highly persuaded to be…

Libraries play an important role in getting information into the hands of the population. Today, librarians must use the basic concepts and principles related to the selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation of physical and digital information items. These information items have grown to include not only books, but many kinds of printed material, and vast electronic resources. Librarians must understand all aspects of the management of these collections, including their selection,…

at a rapid rate to keep up with the times or risk extinction. It started slowly in the nineteen eighties and nineties with the eradication of card catalogs and the implementation of the the computer database as a means of finding items within the library. It has been snowballing ever since with the advent of the internet and information accessibility.…

arbara Percival In Preparation of an AFL-CIO Exhibit This past semester, I conducted my field study within the setting of an academic library working with the university archivists at the Hornbake Library at the University of Maryland (UMD). Due to unforeseen circumstances, my field study had to be cobbled together rather quickly and therefore consists of a patchwork. For example, there have been two projects in my field study with two different supervisors in two different departments.…

personal library collections typically were curated and and managed to some degree by men. Considering that the form of public libraries that gave rise to the ones we have today, did not come into existence until the mid to late 19th century, it is surprising that women were allowed into these institutions. However, even from the birth of the field of librarianship, women had to assert their right to be there. In order to turn the spotlight and focus on women’s achievements in the library field,…

cliché I honestly have to say that this book found me, rather than me finding it. I was having difficult time picking the right book. As I’m sure many of you are aware, a title on a list isn’t really much to go off of. One day I found myself in the library after school reading Catch-22. The book is probably good in its own right, but I might have been crushed under the weight of its 453 pages. Then, Mrs. Maynard the librarian taps me on the shoulder and hands me a copy of One flew over the…

of the US. v. American Library Association occurred in a time when the internet was becoming a widespread, yet widely unadulterated medium. In 2000, Congress introduced the Child Internet Protection act (CIPA), which required public libraries that received funding from the federal government to install a software on their computers that blocked obscene websites. The purpose of this paper is to defend the Supreme Court’s decision to allow CIPA’s software in public libraries by, demonstrating why…

Howard Rheingold’s book, Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution is a commentary concerning the emerging effects wireless technology and mobile devices might have on society. This is not a new topic for Rheingold, he has written other works about trends in computing, communications, and culture, including the book, Virtual Community, a term he also coined. In Smart Mobs, Rheingold explores the groups of friends, colleagues, and/or strangers, who come together in what he calls smart mobs.…