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But I Want To Hold It In My Hand! Print Resources
Roberto, Katia and Jessamyn West, eds. Revolting Librarians Redux: Radical Librarians Speak Out. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003. $35. ISBN 0-7864-1608-4. Purchase from Amazon.com.
Blog addicts and radical librarians who have followed the press surrounding Revolting Librarians Redux know this title as the sequel to the 1972 Revolting Librarians anthology on alternative librarianship. Those who have not yet gotten their hands on this new collection - and anyone interested in exploring some the diverse viewpoints that comprise contemporary alternative librarianship - should invest in a copy posthaste. Successful librarianship requires a willingness to challenge the status quo, which here can be found in abundance. Whether you agree with all of the viewpoints presented (which do not in fact even come to agreement with each other), these essays, personal stories, comics, poems and arguments challenge us to think and to expand our horizons, activities which should be dear to the heart of every librarian and library worker. The only caveat refers, not to content, but to the less-than-optimal physical quality of the paper, type, and binding of this $35 volume; the opportunity to read something radically different than the usual library literature more than compensates. Of special interest are new reflections written by contributors to the original volume and an essay on "what I really learned in library school," as well as a somewhat odd but amusing discussion of astrology and library job correlation. Topics range from the value of the degree to accreditation to collecting alternative literature to the omnipresent issue of salaries - and much more. Read with an expectation of the unevenness inherent to any title of this type, but with an equal openness to being surprised by unexpected ideas.