Balanced Libraries: Overall comments

Stub post for comments on Balanced Libraries: Thoughts on Continuity and Change as a whole.

Update 5/31/07: The individual-chapter stub comments have been deleted as being silly.

8 Responses to “Balanced Libraries: Overall comments”

  1. Pete says:

    Well, I’ve taken the plunge and ordered the book. I’m in accord with the idea of balance and library as community, both physically and virtually. Both are hard ideas to actually put into practice, but we need to try.

  2. walt says:

    One more note on rules for comments on this set of BL entries: If a comment includes a URL that’s a spam or ad linkpage or splog, I’ll either delete the comment itself (if there are any hints of spam) or simply delete the URL.

  3. Pete says:

    I don’t recall breaking any of those rules. Apologies if I did so inadvertently. I’m looking forward to reading the book- it’s a while since I’ve read a library ‘polemic’- and that was W.H. Wisner…

  4. walt says:

    You didn’t, which is why I left the comment up–but the URL points to what appears to be a splog, a page of ad links. I don’t know that the book’s a polemic (I’d say less polemic than Future Libraries: Dreams, Madness & Reality), but I’m not sure I’m a good judge.

  5. Pete says:

    Oh I see. I left my blog (not a splog 😉 )link out of the second comment.
    Polemic shmolemic- I’m looking forward to reading a balanced (ho ho) look at libraries. Too much of what is said and written these days is all light and no heat.

  6. walt says:

    Good. Hope you enjoy the book. (Maybe you mistyped the blog’s URL. The link took me to a GoDaddy “parking page” that was full of ad links and no other content–a classic splog by the definitions I’ve seen.)

    Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting any comments here until at least March 31, since I think that’s the earliest anyone will have actually received the book (barring rush orders), and this is primarily a place to comment on the book…but hey, I’m flexible.

  7. Pete Smith says:

    Well, I’ve read it now 🙂 A very nice book, in both the old and new senses of that word. I find mysefl thinking, ‘damn, Walt has just written most of my future blog entries’ 😉 Good to see a reasoned approach.
    Balance is very difficult; I think many people assume it’s easy, as they mistake it for standing still. So it’s encouraging to see you arguing that balance is always about moving forward.
    And kudos to Lulu for a well-produced book; some small typos, but nothing that distracted. And the delivery time was good too!

  8. Pete – Thanks. The typos are entirely my own fault. The way Lulu works, I uploaded the PDF for the book itself and a separate PDF for the cover. Lulu plays no editorial or layout role at all.