Springtime, Blogging, Library Storage

It's spring, and I'm looking forward to the return of the Chimney Swifts, and what a delight the daffodils have been gorgeous and the tulips so splendid. And I've decided to return to a bit of blogging. I let several busy months pass, and now I find myself coming back to blogging and to Facebook.

I really like these tools, but I was a bit overwhelmed when learning about them this past summer. Even while "retired' from them I see the value of blogging and other Web 2.0 tools as great opportunities for academic librarians to use for outreach to users -- students, faculty, community users. (Public librarians can address their uses better than I). But maybe it's time to return and say a few words now and again about library issues out there. For instance, here in Kentucky a big issue is the budgets of the universities. There's just not much money this year, and of course that affects the budget for new resources.

Another very interesting theme for Kentucky's academic libraries right now is storage. I recently attended a one-day workshop at the U of Kentucky about storage facilities, and learned about some really interesting ideas on how to approach storage. Funny, the librarians of the 1960s were encouraged to buy the same title for each academic in America, and now the librarians of the early 21st century are having to grapple with what to do with all those books now that library space is at a premium. I wonder what the librarians of the 2050s will do with e-materials? Or will there be new problems on the horizon for library holdings -- however they may be defined?