As I trolled the Web the other day looking for interesting ideas for upcoming Suite articles, I visited one of my more frequent stops -- Marylaine Block's Ex Libris: an E-Zine for Librarians and Information Junkies. That I visited there is not unusual -- like I said, it's one of the sites I visit frequently for library-related information -- but that I spent literally hours there was! In this article I will highlight some of the excellent aspects of this resource and hope to convert those of you who aren't already, into avid Ex Libris readers and users.
What got me spending so much time at the site this last visit was the subject index -- leave it to a librarian to create a great subject index. And I must admit, I've never accessed the site this way before. The subject index is a great way to peruse Ex Libris, especially if you're new to the site. And even if you're a longtime visitor and user like me, I encourage a visit to the subject index if you haven't been lately. Plan to spend some time there. It's a great way to get an overview of the wealth of information there -- articles, interviews, opinion pieces, book reviews, etc. And beware, you might just find yourself caught up and spending hours as I did.
What strikes me first about Ex Libris is the breadth of the information available. There are articles on every subject from libraries and the revitalization of downtown, concerns about copyright, and women on the Internet to Marylaine's rules of information, librarianship and creativity, and archiving Zine content. I like that she also features guest articles, like Jessamyn West's Progressive and Radical Librarians, Tim Wojcik's Comparing Bookstores and Libraries, and Steven Cohen's Career Change: From Public Library to Law Library. And there is a fabulous collection of interviews with those who've made valuable contributions to our field, including: Reva Basch, Jessamyn West, Tara Calashain, Gary Price, Greg Notess, Barbara Quint, Rory Litwin, and many others. Book reviews of Internet-related books comprise another prominent section of the site. At last count, the subject index listed 29 reviews under the heading "book reviews".
And don't forget to check out Marylaine's other useful sites:
Book Bytes - annotated reading lists, her various columns about books, book recommendations
What got me spending so much time at the site this last visit was the subject index -- leave it to a librarian to create a great subject index. And I must admit, I've never accessed the site this way before. The subject index is a great way to peruse Ex Libris, especially if you're new to the site. And even if you're a longtime visitor and user like me, I encourage a visit to the subject index if you haven't been lately. Plan to spend some time there. It's a great way to get an overview of the wealth of information there -- articles, interviews, opinion pieces, book reviews, etc. And beware, you might just find yourself caught up and spending hours as I did.
What strikes me first about Ex Libris is the breadth of the information available. There are articles on every subject from libraries and the revitalization of downtown, concerns about copyright, and women on the Internet to Marylaine's rules of information, librarianship and creativity, and archiving Zine content. I like that she also features guest articles, like Jessamyn West's Progressive and Radical Librarians, Tim Wojcik's Comparing Bookstores and Libraries, and Steven Cohen's Career Change: From Public Library to Law Library. And there is a fabulous collection of interviews with those who've made valuable contributions to our field, including: Reva Basch, Jessamyn West, Tara Calashain, Gary Price, Greg Notess, Barbara Quint, Rory Litwin, and many others. Book reviews of Internet-related books comprise another prominent section of the site. At last count, the subject index listed 29 reviews under the heading "book reviews".
And don't forget to check out Marylaine's other useful sites:
Book Bytes - annotated reading lists, her various columns about books, book recommendations
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