Two library blogs that deserve your attention

I judge the value of a blog by the number of "stars" its posts get in my GoogleReader. The star means "Dang, I gotta save that post to read a little more closely."

Two library-focused blogs have been getting a lot of stars from me lately and they deserve wide-readership.

Jeri Hurd's Bib2.0 is a fine combination of new tools, commentary and personal reflections. As Jeri writes in her post celebrating the blog's third anniversary:

It has been a remarkable tool for exploring my own thoughts on the changing landscape that is education and technology, and a marvelous opportunity to share those and ideas with the wider community.  What a marvel it is, eh--a chance to publish and build an audience, without having to hazard the rigors of the usual editorial process.  That may not always be a good thing, but it does change the very nature of the game.

Miranda-like, sometimes I can only stand in awe and murmur, "O, brave, new world..."

Jeri is about to undertake a new adventure to Ulan Bator, Mongolia, as a teacher-librarian in an international school there.

Leigh Ann Jones's Shelf Consumed. Leigh Ann, a library supervisor for Frisco (TX) ISD, has been posting great stuff. Just check Leigh Ann's recent post Things I believe....

1. Nobody knows the future of reading and libraries.
2. There will always be people predicting doom and gloom.
3. Budget woes come and go.
4. Libraries date back to hundreds of years BC and will likely be around many more centuries.
5. Reading is more important than the format of the book.  If printed books eventually get squeezed out in favor of digital formats, we'll still be reading.
6. Education is slow moving and school library budgets are slim.  So while school libraries may move toward online and digital formats, especially for reference and nonfiction, traditional printed books will be around a long time.
7. There's a difference in libraries merely surviving and libraries being vital.
8. Librarians are that difference.
9. A few critical things to vibrant libraries:  relationships, service, willingness to share knowlege, meeting students and staff where they are, and keeping current.
10. If we hold on to the 20th century model, we'll be alone in our quiet libraries!

Put these in your RSS Readers and go back and review the archives. You'll find both Jeri and Leigh Ann valuable members of your PLN.