In short, it’s time to devote more of my headspace to being daddy. Toward that end, and with a heavy heart, I’m putting the show on hiatus. I’m hesitant to declare it a permanent vacation, as situations change and I’ve been known to change my mind, but that’s a distinct possibility.

Couple of things I should say with regard to this. It’s not a decision I make lightly and it in no way reflects my enthusiasm for what we do here. I love producing this program. I love the conversations. I love the people who’ve joined me on this journey. I know some of them will be genuinely disappointed. For this, I am sorry.

I’m willing to consider alternative arrangements (less frequency, guest hosting, etc.), but this is only the most visible of a number of changes I’m making toward reclamation of my extra-curricular time. Please understand that the problem for me is not so much the hosting of the show, which is only an hour of my time per week. It’s the never-ending involvement: the slave-like attention to my feed reader, the setting up of blog posts, the reading and re-reading of proposed conversation starters. All worthwhile activites that I enjoy, but that require a certain constant level of engagement which forces me to make compromises with the rest of my priorities. I’m making a conscious decision to not make those compromises anymore.

If someone out there in listener land thinks they are up for this kind of engagement and would like to consider taking on the responsibilities of running the show, I’m open to talking about it. Yes, it’s my baby. Yes, I’m protective of it. But I’m capable of letting go, as I ultimately did with the Carnival of the Infosciences, my first LIS child. Just know what you’re getting into before you drop me a line (greg.schwartz at gmail). I find it unlikely that anyone will want to take the reins though, given that I waited a few years for someone to make a show like this happen before I did and it never happened. And even though I tried to make it take as little of my time as possible (so that it might be sustainable), it still takes a not-insignificant amount of time and energy.

Thank you all for listening and participating through 71 awesome, one-of-a-kind episodes.

You can subscribe to the podcast (as well as this blog) via the following feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/uncontrolledvocabulary

Many thanks to Aaron Dobbs for stepping in as the host tonight. It took a few minutes for folks to get talking tonight (please disregard the dead air), but once they got going, the hour flew by as usual.

On the call:

Aaron Dobbs, Shippensburg University
Christa Burns, Nebraska Library Commission
Laura Carscaddon, University of Arizona
Mary Carmen Chimato, North Carolina State University
David Fiander, University of Western Ontario
Laura Harris, Grand Valley State University
Kendra Levine, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley
Michael Sauers, Nebraska Library Commission

Topics:

1. Summary of the Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat® Records (OCLC)
OCLC’s proposed new guidelines for the transfer of bibliographic records (Terry’s Worklog)
OCLC Policy Re-released; Wiki shows changes. (Thing-ology Blog)
Notes on OCLC’s Updated Record Use Policy (Metalogue)

2. Planning Reference Extract
Using crowdsourced librarians to outsmart Google (ars technica)
Google, If Built By Librarians (ReadWriteWeb)
Too Late or Just Right? OCLC, I-Schools Announce Reference Extract Web Search Project (Library Journal)

3. Google Settles Suit Over Book-Scanning (New York Times)

4. Don’t Friend Me! (David Lee King)

5. The Library Student Bill of Rights – A TTW Guest Post by Char Booth (Tame The Web)

Next week is up in the air as well. I’ll be spending most of the week with my library peoples in Monterey. (Being away from my fam all next week was another good reason to not devote my time and energy to the show this week.) We might try to do something next Wednesday from Monterey. I’m going to play that by ear. If you’re going to be at Internet Librarian and would like to get together for a drink or a meal or somesuch, drop me a line.

Topics for tonight’s show will likely include (although subject to change):

• A conversation with the folks from LibGig
• Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?
• Medical Version of Wikipedia, With Universities’ Help, Gets Ready to Go Live
• Do Senior Librarians Have a Moral Obligation to Retire?

And, of course, so much more. To join the conversation:

1. Dial +1 724-444-7444

2. Enter the show ID: 38665

3. Guests: Dial 1#
TalkShoe members: Enter your 10-digit PIN

Don’t forget that you can also call in for free using Gizmo Project.

Participate in the text chat by visiting our TalkShoe show page.

You can subscribe to the podcast (as well as this blog) via the following feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/uncontrolledvocabulary

On the call:

Greg Schwartz, Louisville Free Public Library
Mary Carmen Chimato, North Carolina State University
Laura Crossett, Park County (WY) Library
Robin Hastings, Missouri River Regional Library
Michael Sauers, Nebraska Library Commission

Links to the show topics:

1. City Officials Consider Takeover Of Library System
Lawsuit Over Hartford Library Branches Is Withdrawn (Hartford Courant)

2. Korean Librarian Halts Library of Congress Move on Dokdo (Digital Chosunilbo)

3. Did Tor’s free ebooks affect sales? (Bloggasm)
The new Tor website

4. Lawsuit filed against Clermont Libraries (News Democrat)

5. The 25 Most Modern Libraries in the World (BestCollegesOnline.com – yes, we’re feeding the SEO monkeys)

6. As Newton shuts branches, patron-run library is thriving (Boston Globe)

On the agenda, but not discussed:
Overdue help for the other lending crisis (Boston Globe)
Great minds think (too much) alike (The Economist)
informational book labels (information aesthetics)

You can subscribe to the podcast (as well as this blog) via the following feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/uncontrolledvocabulary

Please note that we will be recording the show live next week on Thursday night next week, as I will be returning from Computers in Libraries at our regularly scheduled time. We may try to do something from D.C., but honestly, I doubt it.

On the call:

Greg Schwartz, Louisville Free Public Library
Christa Burns, Nebraska Library Commission
Laura Carscaddon, University of Arizona
Jeff Humphrey, INCOLSA
David Rothman, Community General Hospital Medical Library
Michael Sauers, Nebraska Library Commission
Courtney Stephens, Belmont University

Links to the show topics:

1. Three to be arraigned in library bribery case (Sacbee.com)

2. Bonaventure donors seek accounting of $2 million gift (Buffalo News)

3. Guarding the borders (Caveat Lector)

4. Getting real: Libraries are missing books (Thingology)

5. Ten Dangerous Ideas (What if libraries…)

Some other submissions we didn’t get to:
Email archive to immortalise Australian life (ABCNews)
On Trying New Things (Pegasus Librarian)
Internet book piracy will drive authors to stop writing (Times Online)

Topics for tonight’s show will likely include (although subject to change):

• Three arrested in kickback scheme involving Sacramento library
• Getting real: Libraries are missing books
• Guarding the borders
• Bonaventure donors seek accounting of $2 million gift

And, of course, so much more. To join the conversation:

1. Dial 1-724-444-7444

2. Enter the show ID: 38665

3. Guests: Dial 1#
TalkShoe members: Enter your 10-digit PIN

Participate in the text chat by visiting our TalkShoe show page.