Precautionary Principle

As I drive by "Cancer Center's of America" their flashing sign really makes me consider the medical industrial complex. Advertisements for such places make cancer treatment sound like a blue light special at the Kmart. With all the marketing that goes on cancer treatment must be big business and therefore why would anyone in that industry want to prevent cancer. Most corporations big and small in the United States focus solely on the bottom-line and frankly the business of cancer prevention just does not pay as well as cancer treatment. Other parts of the world embrace the Precautionary Principle, which promotes the idea of proving something is safe prior to its release in the world. This means manufacturing processes and resulting end products are conducted in manners proven safe to humans rather than waiting until millions are diagnosed with incurable cancer. If we in the United States embraced this idea, cancer treatment would not be a growth industry but rather a last resort measure for the few unfortunate in which cancer was not preventable.

A good movie highlighting the harmful effects of the chemical industry is Blue Vinyl

Glance at Oklahoma from the Past

Here is a great quote from one of the first field guides on Oklahoma, Washington Irving's Prairie Sketches.

In the often vaunted regions of the Far West, several hundred miles
beyond the Mississippi, extends a vast tract of uninhabited country, where
there is neither to be seen the log house of the white man, nor the
wigwam of the Indian. It consists of great grassy plains, interspersed with
forests and groves, and clumps of trees, and watered by the Arkansas,
the grand Canadian, the Red River, and all their tributary streams. Over
these fertile and verdant wastes still roam the Elk, the Buffalo, and wild
horse, in all their native freedom. (Irving, 1835)

Information Broker

My experience with reference assistance in a community college setting has led me to consider the task of information broker. Many students find struggle to successfully find information via library resources and will turn to Google options instead. Fortunately many do seek assistance from library professionals who typically guide the student in use of information retrieval systems. At times it seems more appropriate to asses what sort of information package the student is seeking and do the majority of searching for them. Providing them with several options so as to best approximate their needs. This enhances the valued-added services provided by librarians, and aligns with expectations of digital natives. While enabling lazy tendencies among searchers many not be desirable, providing it as an alternative when students feel they have exhausted their skills is not a bad thing. Acting as an information broker just might be the answer for an information overloaded society.

Responsibilities of librarians concerning access and diversity

Friday I attended the Community of Oklahoma Instruction Librarians (COIL) unConference at NSU, Muskogee where the focus was upon "Participatory learning in the age of the unengaged." One workshop was very thought provoking as the presenter described the use of controversial topics to promote information literacy. He began by explaining how not being from Oklahoma he found many of the laws and attitudes narrow minded and discriminatory. Specifically he spoke of the concealed weapons law which keeps making an appearance in the Oklahoma Legislature. The use of a "hot topic" immediately engaged the students but also brought to bare the place of bias teaching. He suggested librarians should not be afraid to show their views as attempting to be neutral may backfire. Of course overall he emphasized the need to instruct students on the use of legitimate sources, such that it did not matter which side you took so long as you could back it up. His presentation engaged the participants and created its own controversy. Interestingly he broke us up into pros/cons and we had to develop points. One of the women in my group stated, "I'm so pro on this I can't even think of a con." I felt that discouraging since being information literate means being able to consider all sides. At one point in his presentation she turned to me and said, "if he doesn't like it here, why doesn't he just leave." paraphrasing..."those of us born here like it this way." To which I replied, "well I was born here and I agree with him." She pretty much said I needed to find my way out too then! She did suggest that in her own teaching she discourages "redneck papers" and while she may let it be known her view she leaves it up to the students to make their own judgments by instructing on valid sources. My blood pressure was rising this entire time but also made me realize the need to speak peacefully about controversial views and how being intolerant towards intolerance is just as bad. Bringing this back to my responsibilities/obligations this experience reminded me of the need to assist students in finding a wide array of legitimate information sources regardless of their views. If I were in a position of collection development I must also ensure I included books like "Glen Beck's Common Sense" right along with "A People's History of the United States." In the words of John Swan (1986),“The knowledge of truth and the knowledge of untruth, like the knowledge of good and evil, are indissolubly joined. Our cause, professionally and politically, is with both of them”

Waiting

Waiting always fretting. Thinking there should be more when alas there is none. Hearing explicitness, nullifying wonderment. Believing specialness to be applied only to the gilded when in fact the bark of the tree is more special and free. Only once the drizzle of rain upon the window becomes the focus will waiting be content.

Chicago Manual of Style...you're not that special.

Got to love small town Oklahoma.