New pages on The Surly Librarian

In case you haven't noticed, this blog now has both an About page and a Favorite Rants page, in addition to the Home page.

The introductory text to the Favorite Rants page is important enough that I am reproducing it here:

I take a couple of themes very seriously:

• First, the quality of human interactions between library professionals and their clients is far more important than collections or technology
• Second, the primary mandate of public libraries is to ensure free access to essential information, together with instruction on how to use it effectively, to those who cannot otherwise get or afford it (see Poor Richard Redux: A Manifesto).

These selected rants—and the whole blog, for that matter—are meant to get at the heart of genuine librarianship, which I believe requires authenticity, integrity and compassion.

And a sardonic sense of humor....

Have fun.