This Book is Overdue!

I'm assuming by now you've probably heard of Marilyn Johnson's "This Book is Overdue!" - a new book about librarians, data overload, and why we are the saviors of the future. I've had several tabs open all week to share about this great new book, but intelligent commentary just ain't happening right now - so here's the links and a promise of more to come!

* Wisconsin Public Radio's "To The Best of Our Knowledge" interviewed Johnson on February 14th - "Marilyn Johnson is the author of 'This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All.' She talks with Jim Fleming about how librarians are emerging as heroes of the digital age because of their love for the written word, free speech and open access."

* "Here's to librarians, saviors of the data-weary." Kim Ode at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune gives a really nice review of the book. I also quite like her line "Yahoo doesn't light up with a smile when we log in, but a familiar librarian will." Amen!

* Jed Lipinski over at Salon.Com also interviewed Johnson, in "Hot for Librarian" on February 21st.  "[T]here's bad news for those of you with a shushing fetish; as Marilyn Johnson explains [...] the uptight librarian is a species that's rapidly approaching extinction."

 * And Tommy Wayne Kramer in Ukiah, CA needs to read Johnson's book; he recently stated in an opinion piece for The Ukiah Daily Journal that we should "save the county, close the libraries." For someone who is clearly proud that he hasn't set foot in a library in ages ("But it's easy to go years and years without visiting a library - I haven't had a library card in a quarter century and can't recall a single time I wished I had one.") he certainly has some strong opinions about what should be done with them. I'm astonished at the negativity in this opinion piece, and depressed that a series of book stores provided support for the piece.


My copy of the book is half-read, and I'm sure I'll have my own review and opinion once I'm done. In the meantime, check it out, rejoice in the spirit in which it's offered, and keep fighting the good fight!