Hopefully I will have some pictures that illustrate place and show the nature of interests in this community.  Lately I have been reading Frank Waters' People of the Valley and it reflects some of what intrigues me about PLACE as does Under the Banner of Heaven and Tony Hillerman and James Doss and Leslie Marmon Silko and Sandra Cisnernos.  In any case the chiles are roasting, the hay is almost in, the ristras are hanging on doors and the first smells of the pinon burning fireplaces in the early morning waft on the morning breeze.  All the aspen are firey yellow and the soft sage against them and the dark green of the junipers are painting the landscape. 

Last night I came across an 18 page journal article from the Journal of Academic Librarianship and it made me consider the rush libraries are making to take up the "business model".  I would like to take a poll of whether you call your members customers or patrons or.......

The title of the article is: "The importance of books, free access, and libraries as places -- and the dangerous inadequacy of the information science paradigm."

It was written in 2001 and seems still relevant to me.  What is curious is that there is so much concern that books are on their way out and Mann stands in the river of this opinion and offers a differing view.  It is an interesting and deep consideration of the matter and includes copyright issues.

A phenomenon that backs up his view is that in the past ten years in this area new libraries have sprung up in nearly every community.....and yes, the computers are being used, but books ARE being checked out and there is no paucity of books.

How about your rural library--disappearing? or rebirthing?

Mann, Thomas.  "The importance of books, free access, and libraries as places -- and the dangerous inadequacy of the information scienc paradigm."  The Journal of Academic Librarianship, v. 27 no.4 (July 2001) p. 268-81.