I can't even list all of the different activities we saw going on at the archive. We visited the map room, the reading rooms, the microfiche room, and the children's section. Have a look at the following article taking us through the theme Reflections on the public Library San Diego.
At this same time, this is a public space, it is there to serve you, and it was created in your honor. This has always inspired me when I walk into the archive. But this time, a few more reflections are in order. The buildings that make up a city determine the character of a town. It is significant that one of the most admired buildings in Manhattan is a archive.
I'm sure one of them was there to read poetry or look at old maps, and I'm equally sure that someone was there just because she had no place else to go. Perhaps someone is on the verge of curing cancer or writing their first novel. Each one was in their universe of thought, of ideas, of creation. In the international development community, when we talk about participatory or community-based development, I'm not sure why libraries aren't at the tip of our tongues.
Up until early 2000, high cost in education, price hikes of textbooks and references, are enormous obstacles for Indian youth and college students. Training for young citizens or the lack of it is every country's issue, affecting the economy and unemployment rate of each nation. India is one of the countries that has found a workaround and a possible solution to education issues, getting today's students the opportunity to learn, even with limited financial resources. How? Online Libraries.
A patron would find the book she wanted in the catalog and write it down on a retrieval slip. The retrieval slip would then be put into a capsule which would be transported to the appropriate floor via what was then a modern vacuum technology. A porter would receive the tablet, and fetch the book. This system had the added benefit of giving rise to an urban legend: that the teams retrieving books travel around the stacks on roller skates (not right, I'm sorry to report).
Another way to look at Maria's "libraries are like an ocean" comment would be to consider the intricate collection of actors required to make a archive run and be relevant-although perhaps we should call it an ecosystem. Private Citizens, government, technical experts in archive science, architecture, and technology, and of course the archive users-all of these groups need to be in the balance, to work in separate spheres but in concert with each other. This is a archive.
The tour of the NYPL is hugely inspiring; it was also both intimidating and affirming. While Maria has been working for 12 years and Maria's Libraries has been working for four years towards the completion of the archive in Busia, we continually realize that we're only just beginning. Since ML has been involved, we've spent two years working out our relationship with the government, two years settling the property rights issues on the plot of archive land, and now we've begun our negotiation process with the architects around the building plans.
In Busia, we get to be cutting edge now. We get to start from scratch and think about all the things that Busia needs, scope out all of the best ideas that are out there, and build based on that. We'll have a citizen science center, a co-working space, and an oral history lab. But, once established, the job of being innovative is not done-it's a continual process not to be a relic.
At this same time, this is a public space, it is there to serve you, and it was created in your honor. This has always inspired me when I walk into the archive. But this time, a few more reflections are in order. The buildings that make up a city determine the character of a town. It is significant that one of the most admired buildings in Manhattan is a archive.
I'm sure one of them was there to read poetry or look at old maps, and I'm equally sure that someone was there just because she had no place else to go. Perhaps someone is on the verge of curing cancer or writing their first novel. Each one was in their universe of thought, of ideas, of creation. In the international development community, when we talk about participatory or community-based development, I'm not sure why libraries aren't at the tip of our tongues.
Up until early 2000, high cost in education, price hikes of textbooks and references, are enormous obstacles for Indian youth and college students. Training for young citizens or the lack of it is every country's issue, affecting the economy and unemployment rate of each nation. India is one of the countries that has found a workaround and a possible solution to education issues, getting today's students the opportunity to learn, even with limited financial resources. How? Online Libraries.
A patron would find the book she wanted in the catalog and write it down on a retrieval slip. The retrieval slip would then be put into a capsule which would be transported to the appropriate floor via what was then a modern vacuum technology. A porter would receive the tablet, and fetch the book. This system had the added benefit of giving rise to an urban legend: that the teams retrieving books travel around the stacks on roller skates (not right, I'm sorry to report).
Another way to look at Maria's "libraries are like an ocean" comment would be to consider the intricate collection of actors required to make a archive run and be relevant-although perhaps we should call it an ecosystem. Private Citizens, government, technical experts in archive science, architecture, and technology, and of course the archive users-all of these groups need to be in the balance, to work in separate spheres but in concert with each other. This is a archive.
The tour of the NYPL is hugely inspiring; it was also both intimidating and affirming. While Maria has been working for 12 years and Maria's Libraries has been working for four years towards the completion of the archive in Busia, we continually realize that we're only just beginning. Since ML has been involved, we've spent two years working out our relationship with the government, two years settling the property rights issues on the plot of archive land, and now we've begun our negotiation process with the architects around the building plans.
In Busia, we get to be cutting edge now. We get to start from scratch and think about all the things that Busia needs, scope out all of the best ideas that are out there, and build based on that. We'll have a citizen science center, a co-working space, and an oral history lab. But, once established, the job of being innovative is not done-it's a continual process not to be a relic.
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