June 29, 2011 · 11:00 pm

Story

I have been thinking a lot about story.  Not the stories that are contained in our books, but the stories that are contained in our lives.

What makes a story great?

Is the life that we (librarians) are living a page-turning story?  Or is it a story we would get bored reading?

Humans naturally seek comfort and stability.  Without an inciting incident that disrupts their comfort, they won’t enter into a story.  They have to get fired from their job or be forced to sign up for a marathon.  A ring has to be purchased.  A home has to be sold.  The character has to jump into the story, into the discomfort and the fear, otherwise the story will never happen.

-Robert McKee

Or

You don’t know a story is happening to you when you’re in it.  You slide into the flow of it like a current in the ocean; you look back at the beach and can’t see the umbrella, and your hotel is a quarter mile behind you.

-Donald Miller

What makes a great story?

Fear?

Conflict?

Hard work?

Adversity?

As part of my reflective journey, I want to make sure that I live out an intentional page-turning story.  I also want to make sure that my story intersects with your story.  So I want to thank you for being part of my story.

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June 18, 2011 · 1:21 am

Information Deserts

The other day I posted a brief snippet of an article that I penned on Information Deserts over at Libraries and Transliteracy.  Well, I ran across this TedXWindycity video on food deserts.  See how it relates:

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June 7, 2011 · 4:28 am

The Internet is Now a Human Right

According to the UN, the Internet is now a human right.  As an observer of issues related to the digital divide and network neutrality, I am overjoyed by this proclamation.

“There should be as little restriction as possible to the flow of information via the Internet, except in a few, very exceptional, and limited circumstances prescribed by international human rights law,” Mr. La Rue stressed. [and librarians agree]

“In recent months, we have seen a growing movement of people around the world who are advocating for change – for justice, equality, accountability of the powerful and better respect for human rights,” Mr. La Rue said while presenting his new report* on the right to freedom of opinion and expression on the Internet to the UN Human Rights Council.

This is true, and yet we know of bloggers who are jailed in certain countries because of what or how they express themselves.  This is a step in the right direction, and hopefully a wake up call for American politicians.

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Filed under digital divide, human rights, net neutrality