Category Archives: people

Not by accident, but by action

Posted on March 2, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I didn’t mean to create a sexist library collection when I set out to build one. But in 1994, when I showed Mary the catalog of online books I’d started the previous year, one of her first questions was “Where … Continue reading →

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Some important library values

Posted on February 11, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

In challenging times, it’s good for organizations to remember what they exist to do, and what values drive what they do. They may be expressed in a variety of ways, but there are often common threads going through them. There … Continue reading →

Posted in libraries, people | 1 Comment

Readings for people working for the government

Posted on January 21, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

A key reason I got involved in digital libraries years ago was the promise of reliable information empowering people to be more knowledgeable and responsible in their actions. One of the oldest digital library sites on the Web is Cornell’s … Continue reading →

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July 4 and the power of words

Posted on July 4, 2024 by John Mark Ockerbloom

The history of online books is intertwined with the history of Independence Day. It was on July 4, 1971 that Michael Hart, the founder of Project Gutenberg, was inspired to enter into a computer a copy of the Declaration of … Continue reading →

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My thanks to all sharing books online

Posted on July 4, 2023 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Two score and twelve years ago, Michael Hart sat down at a terminal at the University of Illinois and typed in the text of the Declaration of Independence. He shared the file he created with other users of the computer … Continue reading →

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Categorizing people without marginalizing them

Posted on April 29, 2013 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Libraries and bookstores have perennially faced the problem of how to organize books on their shelves.  There’s a tension between making certain books easy to find for readers with one set of interests, and making them more difficult to find … Continue reading →

Posted in discovery, libraries, metadata, online books, people, subjects | 2 Comments

Persistence

Posted on December 30, 2012 by John Mark Ockerbloom

The week between Christmas and New Years is mostly time off for me– I’ve added no new listings to The Online Books Page this past week, for instance– but even on vacation, as long as I have a working Internet … Continue reading →

Posted in failure, online books, people, preservation | Comments Off on Persistence

My mother’s orphan

Posted on October 7, 2011 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Before my mother was pregnant with me, she was working on a book. The book had begun its gestation at least a year before. She had been teaching math in Massachusetts, and was involved with the Madison Project, one of … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, findingada, online books, open access, people, preservation, sharing, teaching | 4 Comments

Libraries: Be careful what your web sites “Like”

Posted on September 27, 2011 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Imagine you’re working in a library, and someone with a suit and a buzz cut comes up to you, gestures towards a patron who’s leaving the building, and says “That guy you were just helping out; can you tell me … Continue reading →

Posted in crimes and misdemeanors, data, libraries, people, privacy | 2 Comments

A digital public library we still need, and could build now

Posted on June 15, 2011 by John Mark Ockerbloom

It’s been more than half a year since the Digital Public Library of America project was formally launched, and I’m still trying to figure out what the project organizers really want it to be.  The idea of “a digital library … Continue reading →

Posted in citizen librarians, copyright, libraries, people, sharing | 11 Comments