Librarian Ire

A Joker, Smoker, or Midnight Toker?

The purpose of listservs is to provide communication between those employed in like positions or who need access to a shared font of information. Is there juicy information bandied about on these listservs others in the library world might like to get their eyes on? Sure. Is it top secret? No. Does everyone then, need to be in on the listserv? Uh, no. Discussions are happening, thoughts are being formulated, insider info lingo is being used. You put an outsider on the listserv because "they need to know what's going on in circulation" and what do you get? You get emails from them telling you how all the circulation people should be doing their jobs, because Hey! You sit in an office somewhere and don't deal with a single book or patron all day - you damn well know how things should be run in other people's departments! You know, here's a great idea, why don't - in addition to these lovely missives telling all of us who head up circulation how to run our departments - you also send us junk mail! That'd be great! We'd love to hear about interesting talks at the public library, or some cataloging conference in Chicago, and damn if we don't appreciate a forwarded article link from the New York Times just as much as the next guy. I mean, its not like this listserv is for specific discussions. Its there for you to annoy people en masse. Go ahead, make our day. That'd be super.

posted by Loki at 7:42 AM