EDITOR'S NOTE:
Cover to Cover
by Barbara Brynko
If the climate at the SIIA Information Industry Summit in late January was any forecast about the state of the information industry in 2011, we’re off to a good start. The 2-day conference offered a few key indicators signaling better times ahead: Networking was brisk, innovation robust, and the overall mood uplifting. Better yet, no one mentioned the “e” word (aka, the “economy”). Check out Dick Kaser’s Behind the Lens on this page and the Report From the Field on page 18 for more details on the conference.
Likewise, the comprehensive report titled “Funding and Priorities: The Library Resource Guide Benchmark Study on 2011 Spending Plans” by Joseph McKendrick, released by Information Today, Inc. in early February confirmed this positive shift in sentiment. The 6-month study was de signed to get an accurate reading on how libraries responded to the economic impact of the downturn in 2009–2010. The bottom line is: Although all types of libraries (public, academic, government, and special) endured budget cuts in the past 2 years, many of the survey respondents believe the worst is over. Check out the article on page 12. It’s the first of several that we’re working on. In fact, there’s more news about libraries and librarians in this issue, from the Embedded Librarian on page 1 to the Viewpoint about one librarian’s journey from Egypt’s social revolution on page 9.
This month’s Blog Buzz on page 21 covers just a hint of the commentary in the blogosphere about Richard Poynder’s interview with Derk Haank, CEO of Springer Science+Business Media, in the January issue of IT. Haank’s comments about “The Big Deal” generated plenty of debate from librarians on both sides of the issue, so we collected two well worth reading.
We hope you’ll enjoy reading the issue from cover to cover, and let us know about your forecast for 2011.
— Barbara Brynko |
