GH there used to be a radio show on 3KZ that always finished with "and so it goes". That is were I learned all about nom de plumes. Your comment fortunately says much about the bean counters who run our society today. No need for me to mention what is happening with the world's largest sporting library at the "G". The new librarian , yes she is called LIBRARIAN , Kyleigh is full of enthusiasm and ideas. Let us hope she is ALLOWED to bring them to fruition . I would not have been able write my book on Chris Kiernan (died 100 years ago today) if it had not been the enthusiasm of the Yarra City research Librarian Lina who helped inspire me! Thank you for filling me in in what is a national disgrace. Long Live Librarians.
These abacus flickers are insipid. While working in the commercial department of Qantas Regional Airlines, an executive shiny arse visitor from Mascot HQ announced his desire to “get to know the business”.
He was a recent appointment having been headhunted (apparently) from the Mars Corporation. Thrilled at the opportunity to impart knowledge to our esteemed guest the department pulled out all the stops. We rolled out the red carpet, and in our boardroom gave him an insightful understanding of the importance of Australian regional aviation, and the responsibility and custodianship Qantas has.
He made a few grunting sounds during the various presentations. At the end circling back to the section on individual route profitability, he ran his ruler down the lines and asked “so why do we fly to Longreach?”
It's a horrible decision. I have signed the petition.
Your 125 mentions in the catalogue prompted me to search myself (I know, I know...). I didn't count the mentions (it won't be 125), but I did notice that my brother's treatise on "antisemitism in the German theatre from the enlightenment to Nazism" is there, as is his book on German "social democracy and culture 1890-1914" (you may detect a theme). Remarkably, the SLV also holds "Twenty-five years of finesse", the history of the Warwick Bridge Club from 1985 to 2010, a book that I never even realised that my father wrote.
Nevertheless, it's a great library. Or it was. Why do bean counters need to wreck good things?
I use this library a lot as well. It’s an amazing resource for us all. I’ll be in the Heritage Collections Reading room again this Friday. I don’t know if it’s related, but I have been waiting to have 3 culturally sensitive photos approved for use since July and they will not respond to my requests for an update. These photos relate to Aboriginal cricketers and they already appear in published works, which makes it even more bizarre. The State Library of NSW had no such process either. Very frustrating!
I visited the SLV whilst visiting Melbourne in June to look at the Ned Kelly exhibition (whilst my wife went shopping), I was finished 10 minutes later! Took the opportunity to read a cricket magazine from England though with an article by Gideon Haigh (about cricket grounds from memory)
Thanks Gideon, 'enshitification' is now my favorite word. It's actually quite depressing to read that article and the following comments. You can't help but ask why and for what benefit are such decisions made, however it's impossible to come up with a meaningful answer to either.
I got myself stuck in a letter writing campaign a few years ago when similar things were happening at the Barr Smith Library at Adelaide Uni. For all the talk about the "UX" of the library nothing has reduced its usability more than the reduction of full time proffessional staff. I assume of course this is what they want. Fewer users, increased book culls, and more room made for shit, soon to be soiled furniture more befitting of a food court.
So Gideon, who is the Minister in the State Government responsible for this travesty?
It's high time a campaign started, beyond signing petitions, to call the government and minister to account. I don't normally demonstrate as I'm repelled by the ideologically pure who misuse these events, but on this occasion I'm prepared to demonstrate and campaign vociferously.
Have you approached the Greens, Opposition and independents to mount a rear guard action to stop this madness.
I will write to my local member, the Minister, once you tell me who it is, and the Premier.
I have been a Labor voter all my life, grown up in the western suburbs of working class Melbourne and benefited from Labor governments' education policies, particularly free tertiary education in the 1970s, to pull me up the social ladder. Libraries played no small part in my enlightenment and opening worlds beyond my ken.
This is cultural vandalism executed by money grubbing philistines. It's time to call a halt to it.
Let's not waste our time on the Servant, so called CEO, as his primary purpose is to please his master, lets focus our ire on the political masters.
Used the SLV eons ago,and have used other libraries extensively when looking for THE TRUTH. They are essential - in the format established by people who knew, and know, what the purpose of a library is. This ‘modernisation ’, or shitification, is happening far too often in far too many places. We seem to be happy lemmings rushing to our doom, overseen by bureaucrats with no imagination, knowledge, or awareness of their pitiful uselessness. I’m only regretful that I cannot do anything- will the younger lemmings/seekers of real knowledge/true journalists do anything? Good libraries store our history and nourish our literary needs - just for starters.
GH there used to be a radio show on 3KZ that always finished with "and so it goes". That is were I learned all about nom de plumes. Your comment fortunately says much about the bean counters who run our society today. No need for me to mention what is happening with the world's largest sporting library at the "G". The new librarian , yes she is called LIBRARIAN , Kyleigh is full of enthusiasm and ideas. Let us hope she is ALLOWED to bring them to fruition . I would not have been able write my book on Chris Kiernan (died 100 years ago today) if it had not been the enthusiasm of the Yarra City research Librarian Lina who helped inspire me! Thank you for filling me in in what is a national disgrace. Long Live Librarians.
I don't live in Victoria. But this is painful to read.
Public libraries are one of the last signs that humans are really capable of doing something for the greater common good.
These abacus flickers are insipid. While working in the commercial department of Qantas Regional Airlines, an executive shiny arse visitor from Mascot HQ announced his desire to “get to know the business”.
He was a recent appointment having been headhunted (apparently) from the Mars Corporation. Thrilled at the opportunity to impart knowledge to our esteemed guest the department pulled out all the stops. We rolled out the red carpet, and in our boardroom gave him an insightful understanding of the importance of Australian regional aviation, and the responsibility and custodianship Qantas has.
He made a few grunting sounds during the various presentations. At the end circling back to the section on individual route profitability, he ran his ruler down the lines and asked “so why do we fly to Longreach?”
Needless to say you could have heard a pin drop.
It's a horrible decision. I have signed the petition.
Your 125 mentions in the catalogue prompted me to search myself (I know, I know...). I didn't count the mentions (it won't be 125), but I did notice that my brother's treatise on "antisemitism in the German theatre from the enlightenment to Nazism" is there, as is his book on German "social democracy and culture 1890-1914" (you may detect a theme). Remarkably, the SLV also holds "Twenty-five years of finesse", the history of the Warwick Bridge Club from 1985 to 2010, a book that I never even realised that my father wrote.
Nevertheless, it's a great library. Or it was. Why do bean counters need to wreck good things?
I use this library a lot as well. It’s an amazing resource for us all. I’ll be in the Heritage Collections Reading room again this Friday. I don’t know if it’s related, but I have been waiting to have 3 culturally sensitive photos approved for use since July and they will not respond to my requests for an update. These photos relate to Aboriginal cricketers and they already appear in published works, which makes it even more bizarre. The State Library of NSW had no such process either. Very frustrating!
I visited the SLV whilst visiting Melbourne in June to look at the Ned Kelly exhibition (whilst my wife went shopping), I was finished 10 minutes later! Took the opportunity to read a cricket magazine from England though with an article by Gideon Haigh (about cricket grounds from memory)
Thank you GCJDH.
Yes, I'm aware of two petitions.
One at Change.org and one at Megaphone, which seems to have been set up by the Community and Public Sector Union.
Change: https://www.change.org/p/save-the-state-library-of-victoria
Megaphone: https://www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/hands-off-our-state-library
I'm reminded of something happening in the UK with the BBCs written archives centre, which has been integral to the research of many books I've read over the years, and what's being done there is quite bizarre and short-sighted, too: https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/historians-dismayed-scandal-bbc-cutting-access-written-archives
Thanks Gideon, 'enshitification' is now my favorite word. It's actually quite depressing to read that article and the following comments. You can't help but ask why and for what benefit are such decisions made, however it's impossible to come up with a meaningful answer to either.
I got myself stuck in a letter writing campaign a few years ago when similar things were happening at the Barr Smith Library at Adelaide Uni. For all the talk about the "UX" of the library nothing has reduced its usability more than the reduction of full time proffessional staff. I assume of course this is what they want. Fewer users, increased book culls, and more room made for shit, soon to be soiled furniture more befitting of a food court.
Libraries are safeguarding our future.
Can that phrase be workshopped into some sort of corporate wank speak that will attract funding to reverse this enshittification.
This sort of crap is happening everywhere. Public libraries are the last bastion of community, in what is becoming an increasingly isolating world.
So Gideon, who is the Minister in the State Government responsible for this travesty?
It's high time a campaign started, beyond signing petitions, to call the government and minister to account. I don't normally demonstrate as I'm repelled by the ideologically pure who misuse these events, but on this occasion I'm prepared to demonstrate and campaign vociferously.
Have you approached the Greens, Opposition and independents to mount a rear guard action to stop this madness.
I will write to my local member, the Minister, once you tell me who it is, and the Premier.
I have been a Labor voter all my life, grown up in the western suburbs of working class Melbourne and benefited from Labor governments' education policies, particularly free tertiary education in the 1970s, to pull me up the social ladder. Libraries played no small part in my enlightenment and opening worlds beyond my ken.
This is cultural vandalism executed by money grubbing philistines. It's time to call a halt to it.
Let's not waste our time on the Servant, so called CEO, as his primary purpose is to please his master, lets focus our ire on the political masters.
FYA, the petition is at
https://www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/hands-off-our-state-library
To slightly misquote Oscar Wilde, these people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Used the SLV eons ago,and have used other libraries extensively when looking for THE TRUTH. They are essential - in the format established by people who knew, and know, what the purpose of a library is. This ‘modernisation ’, or shitification, is happening far too often in far too many places. We seem to be happy lemmings rushing to our doom, overseen by bureaucrats with no imagination, knowledge, or awareness of their pitiful uselessness. I’m only regretful that I cannot do anything- will the younger lemmings/seekers of real knowledge/true journalists do anything? Good libraries store our history and nourish our literary needs - just for starters.