Starred Items

It's a busy week for me as I am heading to Seattle but there are a few things I've starred in my Google Reader that I'd love to share and hear comments on.

--This story about Vivek Kundra is certainly interesting and important. Who is this guy? And where was coverage in the major news media? Or in the library blogosphere? The Chief Information Officer has a huge role to play in the digital world and especially in an administration that is touting itself as digital. What is it that we want to see IT look like in the US? In government? These are questions I am posing in my Seminar in Contemporary World Issues but I pose them here as well.

--I love this post on the ACRLog, partly because there is so much to read from it. But also because ssmith (I wish I knew their real name!) shared experiences that are particularly familiar to me. As she said, it is refreshing to know you are not alone. Which leads to my next star...

--K.G. Schneider wrote this marvelous post about the impact the world situation is having on her in her efforts to write. I am so grateful for her sincerity and openness. It is difficult to process all that is going on in the world and it is also difficult to articulate its effect on us. It's hard to even realize that it has an effect. Admittedly, I am having a bit of an opposite experience. I am finding it easier to eek out time for writing and for myself, perhaps because I am not spending as much time in my Reader or surfing the news. Or perhaps because it is one of the only things I do have control over in these crazy times. But the important thing I take away from this is that the influx of information effects us all in different ways. The same is true for our students or our colleagues. I so much appreciated this reminder.

--Finally, I grabbed this post last week from the Chronicle on Wikipedia and the future of expertise. We are thinking about restructuring our first year, first semester IL session to talk with students more about Wikipedia and this might be an interesting way to do it since this piece really addresses questions about authority and credibility. I haven't delved into this as much as I would like yet but I will.

And that's it, I think. I am off to print my plane ticket. Hope to see you in Seattle.