Francie Helm

Will reading from ink on paper bring the same odd glances that those who still type (if any) on a typewriter now receive? There is something mystical about the experience of settling in with a newspaper. A park bench, a library couch, a kitchen table is transformed into a sacred place when holding the golden pages of stories. There is a thrill to seeing the rolled up print on the doorstep or a flat version on a bookstore shelf. My fear is that my sacred simple pleasure of reading a newspaper in print will be replaced by digital devices. Is this nightmare keeping you up at night too? I cannot bond with a cold device delivering downloaded words on a screen; not to mention the loss of the religious ritual associated with the printed page. But it looks like I may have to mour... (more)

Digital Libraries: History Meets Technological Change

As someone who worked for a historical society during the time of its initial transition into digital formatting, I have first-hand knowledge of the complexities involved. When this major change first began, we were in a small building where almost all of our records were cataloged and accessioned in the old fashioned way. That meant card catalog indices housed in wooden cases with drawe... (more)

The Phenomenon Called Facebook

Are you old enough to remember the 1982-1993 TV show Cheers and its theme song lyrics by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo? “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came; you want to be where you can see, our troubles are all the same; you want to be where everybody knows your name.” Now imagine the creation of that same kind of community feel, but i... (more)