Andrew kicked off on the theme of control with Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control. Play the track and read on… And she gave away the secrets of her past… Andrew argues for and against copyright in the case of researchers accessing special collections. Control measures by some libraries are put in place preventing digital copies of donor material being made without donor permission. Should libraries take a risk, like some do, and place the onus or control back in the hands of the user to do the right thing, making digital copies for reference but trusting users not to break copyright?
Phillipa, a PhD student, took time off from her PhD to care for her daughter who was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphatic cancer. “I am outwardly an organised student, but library books were the last thing on my mind as I struggled to appear normal and in control”. The tale of 23 Overdue Books is about feeling out of control, receiving a $1000 library fine, and ultimately the compassion of a librarian who waived the fine.
Michelle’s blog Controlling your online data and privacy gives some fantastic tips about how to protect your privacy online. “You don’t need these companies to control all your data for you…”
Control your files, Niamh states: “Control over your files does take a little time to set up, but the benefits are that your information will be searchable, backed up, restorable and reusable.” “Try to leave your files in a state that the future version of you can use.” Walk the talk.
Hugh is the technical genius behind newCardigan’s systems. In his blog Building our own house Hugh describes the journey to setup systems protecting the privacy of our members and participants. “We’re not quite running our own servers in the spare room, but I’m pretty happy with how far we’ve managed to move towards running our own systems so we don’t force members and participants to hand over data to third parties just so they can socialise with other GLAM people. As much as possible, it’s newCardigan members, or at worst, newCardigan as an organisation, in control.”
Control those tabs, Kathryn gives a guide on how to setup preferences with Chrome for websites that you access daily.
Sam’s blog Getting to “good enough”: thoughts on perfectionism is an honest analysis and reflection on the negative aspects of perfectionism in the workplace.
Libraries becoming the new park, Melly argues for the need for librarians and library technicians to continue to manage public libraries, arguing against the trend in public libraries for using library spaces for other purposes and understaffing with the notion that customers can serve their own needs within the library. “If public parks cannot control human behaviour, what about libraries without staff?”
Amy challenges us to control our present, future, environment, thoughts, voice and relationships in her blog Taking control of the small things.
Want to be a happier librarian? You’re in control! Anne believes that happiness is something we control: “It doesn’t help to get upset or anxious about things you can’t control so focus on the things that you can.”
Sarah’s Control of GLAMR information … in my inbox is all about taking control of the subscriptions that overload us with information in our inbox, in this case GLAMR information! What is still relevant, and what is information Sarah receives in other ways.
GLAM Blog Club – Control Kara acknowledges that control of her career is difficult to attain, but perhaps it’s important to celebrate the small wins. I think most people often feel out of control of their career, but joining the conversation here is definitely a win! Thanks Kara.
My blog Democratisation in action, I argue that: “Although it’s important that archivists maintain control of the systems that ensure items are trackable and findable, it is also important that archivists enable access. Raising the profile of archival collections and awareness of the content available within collections provides more opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds to interpret archival material in new and interesting ways. This is democratisation in action.”
Matthew’s Custodial Control of Digital Assets makes a compelling argument for case by case consideration in collecting born digital items: “…you cannot always control what you receive when it comes to digital collections. Standards are there for guidance and sometimes decisions need to be made on whether to allow something into the collection that does not meet them. The intrinsic value of the object, its uniqueness and rarity may very well trump the technical requirements for digital collecting. When dealing with born-digital photographs for example, where some institutions prefer a Camera Raw or uncompressed TIFF file format, a low resolution JPEG would also be accepted under the right circumstances.”
The terror and value of asking for feedback, Stacey gives advice that feedback is valuable, so it’s worth giving up control by: “Putting things out there and asking for feedback…”
Queerying the catalogue: Control, classification, chaos, curiosity, care and communities, Clare is “reflecting on the problematic histories of classification in librarianship and in psychology, particularly in relation to LGBTIQA+ communities, my complicated relationship with labels, and the power of play to help librarians become more comfortable with letting go of at least some of our control and authority, find courage in chaos, embrace fluidity, and change the system.”
Associate, collocate, disambiguate, infuriate, Alissa on her thoughts on “…relinquishing some of my control over the form and display of titles within a catalogue.”
GLAM Blog Club – Control, Rebecca questions: “So what happens when you put a control freak into the world of museums?” Weekly goal lists, problem solving skills and throwing yourself into the deep end, will help you no end.
Authority Control – Can I haz it? Clare on the world of cataloguing and control vocabs, putting theory into practice.
Thank you for your blogs on control, it proved to be a popular theme!
Have you ever walked into a gallery and cried at the sight of a painting? Felt waves of emotion reading a letter in the archives? Have you reacted passionately about something you care deeply about in a meeting at work?
Passion is our theme for GLAM Blog Club this month.
Some might argue that passion is the opposite of control. We anticipate a lovely contrast between last month and this month’s blogs.
Please don’t forget to use the tag GLAM Blog Club in your post, and #GLAMBlogClub for any social media posts linking to it. If you haven’t done so yet, remember to register your blog at Aus GLAM Blogs. Happy blogging!
