What's wrong with libraries becoming more welcoming and less intimidating to students? And what's wrong with treating students as customers when their parents are shelling out $45K per year? Ellen
-----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list on behalf of Michael Perelman Sent: Mon 10/23/2006 6:27 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Libraries in a Corporatized University excellent point about Barnes & Noble. What percentage of the books concern subjects of little educational value -- celebrity bios, how to get rich & other self-help books, trashy novels, and even economics? On Mon, Oct 23, 2006 at 05:23:23PM -0400, Jeffrey Fisher wrote: > > the customer language represents precisely the ethos where i teach, > and it is pernicious in many ways, but the employee part is also key > -- a new student employment program is essentially mandating that > students have some job on campus. you know, to teach them the value of > work. our library has been merged with IT, and the former director of > IT, who is now director of the "[named] center for library and > information technologies" [sic], has opined to me openly about how the > library needs to be more of a social center: "it's a great open space. > why don't kids hang out there more?" he compares it to barnes and > noble, where there are books just lying about and people pick them up > and read them, or where they just come and hang out. > > thanks for the heads-up on this article, michael. i'm going to go take > advantage of my academic access to lexi-nexis and grab the whole > thing. :) > -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com
