Comments on: Errata

By: David Weinberger

David Weinberger — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:25:19 +0000

Thanks, Eric. I did indeed miss Otlet. I didn't hear about him until I read Alex Wright's book, Glut, which I did after writing EiM. (I blogged about it here and here.)

By: Eric VH

Eric VH — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:47:03 +0000

David,
You could have mentioned Paul Otlet. Paul Otlet serves as an example of those encyclopedists, who feel the urge to let no piece of knowledge slip. He devised a kind of scholar’s workstation years before Vannevar Bush appealed to men of science to make the store of knowledge accessible and decades before Ted Nelson invented the term hypertext. In 1934, Paul Otlet imagined the day when users would access a database of world knowledge from great distances through an “electric telescope” connected with a telephone line, retrieving a facsimile image to be projected on a flat screen [Levie, F. (2006). L'homme qui voulait classer le monde. Brussels (BE): Les Impressions Nouvelles]. In Otlet’s time, no word existed to describe the notion of networked documents, until he invented one: links [Rayward, B. W. (1997). The Origins of Information Science and the International Institute of Bibliography. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 48, 289-300]. See: http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/forgotten_forefather_paul_otlet

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:54:52 +0000

Hi David,

Interesting book, but I feel that a couple of spots could use some clarification:

p. 199 “Because [a catalog card is] not very large, catalogers have to make tough decisions about what information to include”.

As a former catalog librarian at New York Public Library, I can assure you that catalogers do not enter information onto 3 x 5 in. cards. Using the present tense “have to” rather than “had to” perpetuates the stereotype that the digital age has left librarians behind, which is unfair and untrue.

p. 58 “Every one of those [New York Public Library] branches … has [The Little House Cookbook] listed under its call number: 641.59 W. That translates to: Technology and Applied Sciences > Home economics and family living > Food and drink. That’s one logical place for it. But just one”.

A description of the book’s catalog record would be appropriate here (link below). Here you’ll find not only the call number, but also Library of Congress Subject Headings, a brief summary of the book, first chapter excerpts, links to Google & Yahoo, etc. Granted none of these items are part of a classification scheme, but from a user’s perspective, a keyword search in the library catalog will not only lead them to the book, but take them on a path outside of the library’s walls, if they so wish.

I understand that your point is to compare the second order world of libraries to the third order digital world, but what about the third order world of libraries? To gloss over the fact that libraries are in the digital age (and that the Encyclopaedia Britannica is available online!) is a disservice to all information management professionals.

Best regards.

Link to The Little House Cookbook: http://leopac4.nypl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=HY24U68259343.44712&profile=dial–3&source=~!dial&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=1100001~!847241~!0&ri=1&aspect=basic&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=little+house+cookbook&index=GW&uindex=&aspect=basic&menu=search&ri=1

By: Giulia

Giulia — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:30:59 +0000

P. 210: “In the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza (the Institute and Museum of the History of Science), just a few blocks away from the river Arno in Florence”.

There isn’t *any* block between the Museum and the river. It’s a very clear and simple notion everyone could get, even if living in Boston, from any map of the center of the city, even from actual maps, from the static, partial, no-interactive ones currently available on printed paper. No Google maps or similar devices required.

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:02:49 +0000

David,

Just finished reading the book and am glad I did. A couple of web links need correcting:
- p. 120 – LibraryLookup.com takes you to a parking site. Perhaps http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/stories/2002/12/11/librarylookup.html would be better
- p. 127 – ThingLinks.org – same story. The correct URL is ThingLink.org (singular)

Be well. Thanks for the thinking and the work.

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 13:49:38 +0000

Dear David Weinberger-

As a librarian I am really enjoying your book. I’m laughing at your tales of Melvil Dewey and your book has even inspired my 15-year-old daughter to work on redesigning the periodic table after I told her about chapter 2. I do have to point out one misstatement though. While I am a little embarrassed by Michael Gorman’s anti-blog rant you write about on page 131, you should know that Library Journal is not affiliated with the American Library Association. ALA publishes American Libraries. Library Journal is an independent trade magazine. For more information, see http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/aboutal/aboutamerican.cfm and http://www.libraryjournal.com/info/CA6424872.html

By: Arliss

Arliss — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 06:00:59 +0000

I believe there are five questions asked of citizens for the 1790 census: numbers of free white males 16 and over; free whte males under 16; free white females; other free persons; and slaves.

By: David Weinberger

David Weinberger — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 15:48:07 +0000

Bob, Thanks for checking, but the 2002 citation in Wikipedia is not to a use of the term “folksonomy” but to an early instance of that to which the term refers. The term doesn’t show up in the cited article.

Nope, I didn’t teach at Gahanna HS. There are a bunch of us David Weinbergers roaming at will.

I don’t know the current status of segregating students by learning styles. Sorry.

By: bob

bob — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:11:24 +0000

Hey Dave,
I finished your book a few weeks ago. I think you indicated that the folksomony originated in 2005. I just did a quick check at wiki and it indicates that the word originated in 2002 (with citation). I was in library school at the time and remembered the word being used then, but didn’t have time to check it. Also, did you teach at Gahanna High School? Time does fly.
Anyway, I enjoyed the book and found many interesting ideas, but I had expected a more academic work. One thing that I wonder about is how instructional approaches will change. Awareness of various learning styles has grown over the years, but I haven’t heard of instruction actually utilizing alternative instructional methods in public schools beyond an occasional group project or exercise that makes students aware of various learning styles. I remember “slow” students being segregated by classroom from regular or accelerated students. Do you know of any public schools that have similar segregation by learning style. As a square peg that was forced into a round hole, I want to believe that if more students were given an opportunity to have a whole year of education tailored to their learning style more students (considered to be marginal or less) would learn and be less inclined to be disruptive.
my two cents

By: Joanna, CKO » links for 2007-07-31

Joanna, CKO » links for 2007-07-31 — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:20:41 +0000

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