Day Three

Never, not once, have I had to call a helpdesk about my address book (you know the little black thing that exists and has paper in it). Never have I required technical assistance from overseas upon opening my World Book Encyclopedias.

Oh, there's a great book if you're interested: The Myth of the Paperless Office.

I may rename this, Blogging for Luddites. If this sounds like you, feel less alone in the world.

Day Two

Recently a librarian acquaintance of mine said she didn't know how much longer the public library model would be around, due to chronic cuts to their materials budgets, and that all anybody comes in wanting is computers anyhow.

She said there should be no computers in public libraries.

Even just quoting her I feel as though the (academic library) computer in front of me right now might blow up from the blasphemy of that opinion.

Whether I agree or not is irrelevant in the face of how totally riveting it is to consider a library model that privileges material experience over screen culture. Remember that?

Whether you agree or not, stay open to imagining and remembering vivid, hands-on reality.

Day One

Today I begin this blog, a venue in which I do not believe. I say I don't believe in something whenever

a) I don't know how to do it

b) It scares me

c) It forces me to change a long-standing belief or way of doing something

d) It means that material reality is eclipsed by screen culture

The irony will be – I can see it clearly already – that my blog (dear God, already I’m saying “My blog”) will begin to obsess me in a matter of minutes. Possibly this is why I’ve avoided one for so long. Just like I’m not on Facebook, and do not have the Internet in my house – because once you’ve invited these things in, just like cars and cellular phones, there is no going back; in a week you cannot remember what your life was like before.

This blog is an assignment for a course in Information Technology. A required course. A required course that daunts me, even while I've held such job titles as IT Prject Coordinator. When I don’t know what I’m doing I procrastinate. This has harmed me over the years, as you might imagine. So, I’m here now, nearly the 11th hour, and I’m open – honest.