We’re moving new shelves into our library today, with lots of drilling and concrete dust and trundling book carts. I’m hovering, hoping my collection shift plan will actually work the way I planned it to–i.e., all the books in all the right places, no huge gaps or crunches. I have new and overwhelming respect for everyone who’s ever moved a library.
It’s also the Friday before the long weekend, so a little inspiration seems in order. Here’s a terrific example of a higher-ed/library-type project making a difference in the real world: Architecture for Humanity is proposing to build weaving cooperatives in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and India. The centers would help pull women (and families) out of poverty and provide a viable economic alternative to human trafficking.
The connection to higher ed and libraries? The plan for the centers will be a Creative Commons Developing Nations License. If you follow that link you’ll see that this license has since been retired. To which I say, I hope it’s been replaced by a new one that will foster sharing of plans, policies, and solutions in developing nations. It’s a great idea and clearly (see above) a lot of good can come from it.
