Inclusivity

"Libraries are more than lenders of books. They are part of society and community. They should stand for inclusivity. They should do this not only by adding ramps and magnifiers but also through welcoming attitudes, support of adaptive technologies of all types, and lobbying for open formats that reward authors without restricting access and forcing disclosure on those who are invisibly disabled. By looking at inclusion through variations in normalcy, we can address methods that provide access for all library users."

Desjardins, M. (2010). Invisible Disabilities. Feliciter, 56(3), 106-108.

DRM and Disability

"In a day and age where there is almost always a digital version, systemic, bureaucratic or technological barriers are erected to prevent theft, which translates to preventing access for people with print impairments. For example, e-book readers have print functionality disabled -- a requirement for format shifting -- if digital rights management is used. . . . We are coming into an era that will either be revolutionary for people with print disabilities or entrench intellectual property restrictions to the point of forcing disclosure on people with invisible disabilities or, worse, systematically preventing access altogether."

Desjardins, M. (2010). Invisible Disabilities, Feliciter, 56(3), 106-108.

On the cutting of cataloging resources

"Nonlibrarians, no matter how skilled, educated, and experienced, cannot take total responsibility for the library's database no more than competent paralegals could take responsibility for a law practice."

Gorman, M. (1995). The Corruption of Cataloging. Library Journal, 120, 183-199.

Paper won't go away for decades, but it is not the future. Preserve your physical archives, but look toward the rising star of all-digital-mobile, ubiquitous, touch-enriched-publishing.

The future is here, but we are not there yet.

Guseva, I. (201). Touch-Centric, but Paper-Free. Econtent, 34(10), 36.

And so,

I'd like to thank CUA for allowing me into their beautiful library and Shanyun Zhang for spending so much time telling and showing me their library. I gained a new perspective and approach in considering  precisely what an academic library can be.

Thank you.
-Kirsten

The Computer Cycle

Something I was curious about while visiting CUA was the lifetime of their computers and how that factored into upgrade costs, etc. I learned that rather than purchase a new generation of computers every 4-6yrs, they do something that is a little more innovative.

Faculty and staff computers are purchased at the same time, and they're all new, upgraded, and up-to-date. Once they hit about the four year mark they become lab computers, and then similar models are purchased to replace remaining lab computers. Faculty & staff then get new computers, and so it becomes a "hand-me-down" cycle.

The result being that those who use them the most always have new(ish) computers to work on, and the lab ones serve their purpose of training, learning, research, and web browsing. It's wonderfully efficient as costs are reduced but the needs of the community are still met.

The only exception to this that I saw were the public computers which are open to patrons other than CUA students, staff, and faculty. I only took a good look at the Apple computers, which seemed to be about 5-6 years old, 1.66GHz and running OSX 10.4.11. They can technically be upgraded to at least Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6) as they fit the specifications and are Intel Core Duos. They should also be upgraded as they are now considered "Vintage" and unrepairable by Apple-certified technicians, however if they are still functioning and solely used for web browsing, e-mail, and so on... "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."