Here are the notes for the pre-conference conversation between Liza Barry-Kessler and David Weinberger. <\/p>\n
Liza Barry-Kessler
\nPh.D. Student
\nSchool of Information Studies
\nUniversity of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
\nbarryke2@uwm.edu<\/p>\n
David’s Answers:
\n1. Why are you going to this conference?<\/p>\n
David writes about the Internet. In 2007, he wrote a book called
\nEverything is Miscellaneous, about the way that online technology is
\nchanging the way we organize information; that pulled him into the
\nlibrary world, and he is currently co-director of the Harvard Library
\nInnovation Lab. He’s also had a long-term interest in what hyperlinks
\nare doing to the structure of writing; his latest book (“Too Big to
\nKnow,” which comes out this Fall) includes a chapter about the future
\nof long-form writing. He’s also been a freelance features writer since
\nthe 1970s, and has a practical interest in what the Net is doing to
\njournalistic forms.<\/p>\n
2. An experience about the intersection of journalism and libraries:<\/p>\n
Books and news articles have historically been disconnective media — they endeavor to provide all of the information the reader needs within the document, so that the reader doesn’t need to go out of the story. But the Internet makes it incredibly easy to go outside of the story. This challenges the fundamental form of both libraries and news media.<\/p>\n
4. A question you hope will be answered at this conference:<\/p>\n
In the past, both librarians and journalists have shared values such as the goal of enabling informed democracy, and protecting freedom of speech and opinion. However, as the medium changes, commonality of purpose may no longer be enough to maintain a commonality of practice. Information has become more disintermediated — people have more direct access to information. The role of curation is rapidly changing, and may leave librarians and journalists with less and less in common.<\/p>\n
Liza’s Answers<\/p>\n
1. Why are you going to this conference?<\/p>\n
Liza is a first-year grad student in information policy, with a
\nconcentration in law, ethics, and public policy. In her former life,
\nshe was an attorney who did some work with libraries. She’s not a
\nlibrarian but has always been interested in their role as info
\nproviders and protectors of intellectual freedom. Liza is funded
\nthrough a fabulous grant that U of Wisc Milwaukee was awarded, and
\nthe opportunity came up go to this conference, also funded in part through
\nthe IMLS Barriers to Access grant, she jumped at the chance.<\/p>\n
2. An experience about the intersection of journalism and libraries:<\/p>\n
Liza is most interested in looking at the intersection of the two
\nfields in terms of public access. Libraries value intellectual freedom
\nand free speech, but are also required by policies and legislation to
\ninstall filters on content. Inevitably, the filters catch
\ncontroversial topics that are interesting within a public policy
\ncontext — not just porn, but LGBT topics, sexual assault, etc. The
\nrestrictions aren’t going away any time soon. How can they be gotten
\naround? There’s a role for journalists and libraries in that endeavor.<\/p>\n
3. Some values and challenges shared by libraries and journalists
\nhave surfaced. How can the relationship between the two serve the
\npublic good?<\/p>\n
Journalists and librarians generally have entered their fields with a
\ntraditional idea of how to serve the public good. But the way our
\ntechnology and media universes have changed has transformed how both
\njournalism and librarianship are practiced. Liza doesn’t know how how
\nthose two professional communities will transform themselves, but
\nthere’s still a hunger for access to the information that people need
\nto govern themselves wisely. Remaining engaged in conversations about
\nhow to achieve those missions is essential to serving the public good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here are the notes for the pre-conference conversation between Liza Barry-Kessler and David Weinberger. Liza Barry-Kessler Ph.D. Student School of Information Studies University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee barryke2@uwm.edu David’s Answers: 1. Why are you going to this conference? David writes … Continue reading