For a couple of years, speculation has been rampant about the future of Google’s plans for it’s Google Books service. Due to Google’s involvement in litigation over the issue of copyright infringement, all bets have been off as to how the service would actually develop to ensure that authors and publishers get compensated for their work. Today, the New York Times reported that the lawsuits concerning Google have now been settled. The article includes some vague details about a service that Google intends to offer to libraries, that should be of particular interest to the members of ALABI.
The Googlized Future of Libraries?
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Proposed Constitution Changes
At the recent meeting in Macon, ALABI members were presented with the proposed changes to the constitution. Those changes are now available for download at the links below. The members of ALABI will vote concerning the changes at the 2009 meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.
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The Future of Libraries
Some of you may be interested to read Robert Darnton’s thoughts on libraries from the latest New York Review of Books. Dr. Darnton is Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and Director of the University Library at Harvard.
Also, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, blogged about Dr. Darnton’s article today.
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Books for Sale!
Laura Botts of Mercer University asked that we remind everyone that the Georgia Baptist Historical Society and the Special Collections of Mercer University have books available for purchase. More information can be obtained at the links below.
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Retirement of Kathy Sylvest
All of the members of ALABI are undoubtedly familiar with Kathy Sylvest. Over the years, she has been a friend to many of us, and she played an integral part in the development of both SBLA and ALABI. Taffey Hall of SBHLA asked that we post the following notice of Kathy’s retirement.
Kathy Sylvest retired at the end of April as Librarian for the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives. SBHLA staff honored her with a reception on Tuesday, April 29 in the Parlor of the Southern Baptist Convention Building. Kathy has worked with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and the SBHLA. She had a fall at home in late February and spent several weeks in the hospital and rehab. The SBHLA staff wishes Kathy well in this new chapter of her life.
If anyone would like to drop Kathy a line, please email Bill Sumners to obtain her contact information.
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Open Source Descriptive Tools Presentation
I realize that I did not print out contact sheets for my presentation from the Tuesday afternoon session, so I have included the presentation below. It contained several links, and I wanted to make those available in case some of you would like to examine them. I have also tried to link to definitions for all of the acronyms used in the presentation. If anyone has any questions about anything I presented, feel free to email me.
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Macon in the Rearview
ALABI 2008 at Mercer University is now in the books. I sincerely enjoyed spending time with everyone who attended. I am always encouraged by the camaraderie and collegiality that exists at our meetings, and this year was no different. Every year I walk away from this meeting thinking, “I love being an archivist. I love this field. I love serving Baptists. I love spending time with my colleagues in other Baptist institutions.” This year was no different.
All of those who worked towards bringing ALABI together this year are to be heartily commended. The officers arranged a wonderful meeting, and Laura Botts of Mercer University deserves a special thanks for being such a capable and welcoming host. The hospitality everyone received at Mercer was exceptional.
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The New Look
As you may notice, the ALABI website now has a new look. During the 2007 ALABI meeting, the members voted to take the website in a different direction, and with that decision came a site redesign. This version of the ALABI website is built upon WordPress, a popular blogging and content management platform.
As you examine this new environment, we hope you will reflect on why exactly the new site looks the way it does. ALABI is an association of librarians and archivists who work for or with Baptist institutions. Many of the elements in the design were selected because of this fact. The design looks rather like a book. The image at the top of the site contains a Library of Congress call number for a book about archives. The date in the call number, 2005, represents the year that the association was organized. The header and sidebar contain images of marbled paper, a leather border, and yellowed paper. All of these were scanned from a well-preserved copy of a Baptist book, James P. Boyce’s Three Changes in Theological Institutions. The new design is intended to be a tribute to all the librarians and archivists who labor to ensure that the material remains of the Baptist heritage are preserved for future generations of Baptists.
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