(Originally posted elsewhere on July 20th.)We just wrapped up our first day of IST 511, and we covered a great deal of information. We looked at the history of libraries – something that interests me because of my passion for history. We also talked a great deal about issues in the future of librarianship – what problems we will face when we graduate and go into libraries all over the country. It was a great day, and a wonderful – if a bit overwhelming – way to get started in this wonderful program. I want to say that the quality of the presentations, as well as the professors here at Syracuse, have been consistently very informative and very high quality.
I think my best “pearl” I took from the sea of knowledge given to us today would be the idea proposed by Dr. Nicholson that libraries should look at casinos. I laughed when he suggested it, along with the rest of the class, but he really does have a great point. Both spaces are designed to provide a variety of highly engaging activities for people who come in through the door. Of course, the end result of that engagement is very different, but studying casinos as a model for libraries would be helpful. The casino provides a place where its users want to stay for long periods of time, engaged in the services that the casino provides. The library provides a “fix” for the information addiction people have – and in whatever form people have it. I cannot point to any specific research or ideas, but the overall thought has been mulling around in my head all day, and will continue to do so.
- Jason Dean
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