Happy Hollydays!!

The days are getting brighter and not just because of the Winter Solstice. I just received word that the latest attempts to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have been defeated. 2005 ends on a good note. Let's hope for a good 2006.

As an attempt to get discussion going, I'd like to offer the various Natural Resources librarians the opportunity to brag. Brag about your library, review a book, talk about how you got into being a Natural Resources Librarian.

I'd also like to start a discussion about why libraries are important in Natural Resources Management and how librarians can better sell these ideas to their managers. We've all forgotten about marketing to funders. Success stories?

May your winter holiday celebrations be merry and bright. May 2006 bring better atmospheres for the work that we do to collect and preserve literature on our collective resources.

Shifting Baselines

Lately there has been some talk that dams should be considered part of the natural environment. After all, they are permanent. I'd say our baseline has made a major shift if dams are to be considered natural.

Dams are manmade structures that interfere with natural streamflows and create major obstructions in the natural order. They are the ultimate imposition of human will on the environment. They should never be considered as natural or permanent. True, they are long-lasting, but they are still removable structures.

I hope that humanity and especially the American public will eventually lose their complacency in regards to energy policy and start making strides in the direction of sustainability.

What has this to do with librarianship in the natural resources? Well, a lot actually. We hold the historical documentation that shows what the natural environment could be if we all started living in harmony with nature rather than trying to impose human 'order' and structure. Sustainability is reflected in our collection development, especially if we are striving to have Zero-Growth Collections. We also need to provide materials to help planners, policy makers and scientists develop better alternatives to our current energy sources.

Keeping Up

Sitting and listening to a presenter from OCLC talk about all the new technologies to create community in our libraries.

Well, technology continues to evolve and it's terribly fast. I'm so far behind, I feel like a skeleton. I don't want to wait for technology to evolve. I want a direct link from my head to the computer. When will my USB port be installed in my head?