Reading ALL the things

(If you're not aware of the "ALL the things" meme, check out Hyperbole and a Half)

So besides the "Museum Effect" book I already wrote about, I've been reading all sorts of other things, books and articles on libraries and museums and the digital age and audiences and....

Instead of subjecting you to a play-by-play analysis, I'm just going to share some of the highlights, starting with two books on the same subject of the change in institutions (libaries and museums, respectively) in the "digital turn," or the digital age, or whatever the kids are calling it these days. Since some folks are prone to acting a bit like Chicken Little when it comes to technology and cultural institutions, it was intriguing to read more about how exactly all of these newfangled technological things which are now often a part of everyday life.

In "Biblio Tech: Why Libraries Matter More than Ever in the Age of Google," author John Palfrey makes the argument that librarie's value (no matter what era) in increasing equality of access. Palifrey does suggest that libraries pivot from primarily analog to a greater emphasis on the digital, but not at the expense of the non-digital access so essential to libraries' missions. "We need for libraries to invest in their people and in common technological infrastructure, but not at the expense of quiet reading rooms, services for new immigrants and job seekers, and public learning spaces for children in our cities and towns" (pg 225). In short, libraries need to move with the times but not throw out the baby with the bathwater, to innovate but not eliminate the non-new which still works well for the library's communities.

One of the opportunities provided by the digital turn in "Museums and the Digital Age: Changing Meanings of Place, Community, and Culture," by Susana Smith Bautista, is to make it more possible for a museum to be able to adapt and innovate with its community. "If museums are to remain relevant, vital, and meaningful, then they must adapt to a changing society, which means not only recognizing and incorporating new digital tools for communication, but more importantly, recognizing the changing needs and aspirations of society as reflected in their communities of physical and virtual visitors" (pg 225). While it can take longer for the physical structure and space of a museum to innovate, the digital can more quickly receive, respond, incorporate, and innovate with the needs and wants of its communities. The author further explores four major constructs (place, community, culture, and technology) with case studies to delve further into recent and ongoing changes and attitudes in museology.

While it's interesting to compare readings for museums, libraries, and other cultural heritage institutions respectively, it's also intriguing to discover a rising trend of convergence or cross-pollination between these institutions. I had barely heard of this trend when I first started, only a few conversations, but since I've begun looking around I've found a bibliography's worth of sources looking into it.

While I will probably continue to keep reading all sorts of different sources on these topics, I hope to now continue my independent study through oral histories, talking with professionals in the field to explore their perspectives.