Tag Archives: library history

William Frederick Poole: pioneering indexer and librarian

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These days, municipalities all over the US have tax-supported public libraries. Public libraries, academic libraries, and others offer patrons indexes to help them find articles in periodicals. We have William Frederick Poole to thank for both. He first became famous for the first index to periodicals and later became a founding member of the American Library Association. For most of his career as a librarian, he advocated for public libraries.

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The Newberry Library: building a great library from nothing

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The Newberry Library in Chicago is one of the world’s great research libraries. Most other libraries have started with a core collection, or at least a plan for developing one. The Newberry Library, founded in 1887, started with a codicil in the will of Walter L. Newberry, who died in 1868. There never would have been a library if either of his daughters had borne children. Since they did not, Newberry bequeathed his money to found a public library. His private book collection, which should have formed its nucleus, burned in the Chicago Fire of 1871. How was anyone supposed to create a library with no books, little instruction, and a big pile of money?

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Artificial intelligence and publishing: promises and threats

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Artificial intelligence is upending all of society. Looking specifically at the publishing industry, artificial intelligence is changing the way people write and how the written word gets to the consumer. I have written a brief overview of AI’s implications for writing anything from student papers to professional works. They run the gamut from improved efficiencies to downright scary social problems. Similarly, AI is upending the publishing business. It offers both promises of improved efficiency and threats of havoc and chaos. I have also written about artificial intelligence in libraries. Artificial intelligence is just the latest in a centuries-long parade of disruptions in publishing. Looking at history can show us the patterns that will likely continue.

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What is the oldest public library in the United States?

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  What is the oldest public library in the United States? That question is not as straightforward as it appears. Several of the earliest libraries have a claim, but, as it turns out, most of them are not actually public libraries. Here are some of the claimants:

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Artificial intelligence for writing: promises and problems

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest in a long series of technological upheavals that have changed society forever. Artificial intelligence for writing has recently become more visible through OpenAI’s introduction of ChatGPT. It is a free software service. (GPT, by the way, stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer.) Anyone can use it by entering a prompt. ChatGPT then produces a piece of writing while you watch. Supposedly, it can write on any subject. It can write prose or poetry. And it can do it much faster than any human can. Not only that, it can translate from one language to another. It has naturally raised fears that artificial intelligence can replace human writers. That seems unlikely, but it also seems unlikely that any writer can avoid it for very long. It will bring new opportunities, but it will also cause problems.

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