Comments on: ALA Begging

By: George Soros

George Soros — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:54:25 +0000

HEY guys, I’m here! Everything said here about me is true, muahahahahaha.

And now that this comment is public record, please link to it! It is now a FACT!!!!

signed,
“Notorious” George Soros

By: Anon

Anon — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:57:23 +0000

I wonder why there’s anyone would think that ALA conferences are nothing but booze/drug/sex fests?

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/03/people/movers-shakers/jp-porcaro-movers-shakers-2012-community-builders/

By: Joneser

Joneser — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:11:35 +0000

OFGS. George Soros escaped from Communist Hugary. The Open Society is being extremely transparent in all of the activities mentioned above.

Quite unlike many other institutes and foundations I could name.

By: Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries

Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries — Tue, 08 May 2012 02:55:44 +0000

@Way Barra, @Tired Librarian, this is an AL/LJ blog post on the ALA going begging. I commented here that the ALA ought to extract more money from a billionaire to remove the money hurdle for some librarians. That’s a LegitimateAndEvenCompelling comment, since you brought that up. This is not an ad hominem attack post on me having nothing to do with the topic at all, as both of you have done. Go to my own blog if you want to spread your venom there, but it won’t change the past behavior of certain ALA leadership that may be unethical or defamatory in nature.

And look at the comments here about how awful are ALA meetings. I’ll bet if the ALA concentrated on library and librarian issues, that right there would result in improved image and work product. The latest subject of ALA attention, for example, is promoting the open borders and immigration agitprop of, what a coincidence, George Soros, CAIR, and the ACLU: http://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=3729 Open borders and immigration has nothing to do with librarianship. If the ALA doesn’t want to go begging, maybe it could concentrate on library/librarian issues that are relevant to librarians and motivate them to find a way to attend the meetings.

By: Way Barra

Way Barra — Tue, 08 May 2012 01:45:37 +0000

That sure was some top-notch investigative journalism, Mr. Kleinman. Too bad those ALA sleeper agents got you banned from Wikipedia for exposing the truth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:LegitimateAndEvenCompelling

By: Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries

Dan Kleinman of SafeLibraries — Mon, 07 May 2012 23:19:39 +0000

@Tired Librarian, I do not make statements I do not and/or cannot back up with reliable evidence. The evidence is not in my possession–it is a matter of public record, namely, edits made on Wikipedia that anyone can see. I had previously disclosed the universe of relevant edits in another context: http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2010/12/ala-pushes-net-neutrality-on-wikipedia.html

I did not tease out in that post about the matter of the MLB player, but if you look at what I previously linked and you have familiarity with Wikipedia, you should be able to put two and two together. It’s really sad to see all the George Soros pushes for “privacy” using the ALA and its OIF while the OIF’s deputy director, or was she acting director then, revealed the private life of a married man in a manner that may have violated defamation laws and/or the ethical rules of her legal profession. But I digress.

That’s it for now–this post is about something else.

By: Tired Librarian

Tired Librarian — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:49:59 +0000

Wow! there’s a whole world, nay, universe of things a conspiracy theorist can obsess about, and this Dan Kleinman has decided to obsess on the ALA.

He’s claiming that the ALA (how can he know that?) is writing on some baseball players website that he’s fooling around on his wife. Yeah, because librarian types are sooooo sporty. Most of us probably couldn’t NAME a current baseball player.

Kinda sad, isn’t it? Even the ALA doesn’t deserve this (or maybe it does, I don’t know or care).

By: Mlisa

Mlisa — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:00:50 +0000

I agree. I went to Annual once and found it to be overwhelmingly large, a little disorganized and far from being “essential”. The programs I attended were mostly dull and I didn’t feel like I learned much at all. Since then, I have attended smaller regional and/or niche interest library conferences. From those, I’ve actually taken ideas home to use at my library and received interesting publications.

By: Randal Powell

Randal Powell — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:11:45 +0000

I was a member of ALA for 1 year as well and didn’t benefit from it either. A hundred dollars or more is a lot of money for no benefit. The best professional development for forward-looking information professionals is probably concerned with increased technological competence, but there are better places to get those skills than through the ALA. The ALA also strikes me as being way more political, bureaucratic, and conservative (small c) an organization than I will spend my money to support.

The highest ideal of libraries should be to help people become better (actualized even). I don’t think the ALA is currently structured to do that. The leaders of the ALA need to ask themselves what their value proposition to a librarian, or information professional, or anyone, really is. Can they win over hearts and minds? Unless they can come up with a convincing value proposition for today’s world, they will just continue to stumble along for the foreseeable future, getting ever smaller and less effective as time passes.

By: elena schneider

elena schneider — Sun, 06 May 2012 20:30:20 +0000

I was an ALA member for 1 year. I got a free subscription to the magazine which I never read and basically could indicate on my resume that I was a ‘member’. THAT was the only benefit I got out of dishing 100 bucks out for membership. I get most professional development within state at a much cheaper rate and can read the raggy magazine at work if I really want to. As far as parties? yea, can make my own for 1/2 the money and effort. Gonna call this one a no-brainer. Will take the money I saved and go shopping or go see Madonna in concert…