Lorcan

A temporary relocation makes me realize how much there is to like and to say about Ohio, where we have lived for the last 22 years. We moved to Ohio from the UK (and lived in Ireland before that). Here are some observations based on our travels around the State over the years.

As we move from a collections-based to a relational library, storytelling becomes very important. One trend is the emergence of a stronger narrative or storytelling emphasis on websites, which helps position the library, promote its services, and address specific interests.

AI momentum continues to grow, and we are seeing more applications in the scholarly and cultural spaces. Several organizations have been creating specialist large language models based on reservoirs of curated scientific and cultural data.

Typefaces and fonts are functional. However they also contribute in other ways - to brand, to atmosphere, to feeling. This is a brief introduction to aspects of the typeface ecosystem. I combine this with some commentary about how typefaces are used in national libraries to provide context.

I asked HuggingChat about library collections. It is definitely hallucinating in its responses.

Library leaders should be drawn from across the organization. Any idea that technology leaders are overly specialised or too distant from general library work is outmoded and counter-productive.

A brief note about two interesting groups of fonts. Each speaks to gaps in the dominant tradition.

Today is my last day at OCLC. After 21 years. I have been very lucky to have worked with some great people, to have influenced important work, and to have worked with librarians around the world. Here are some brief reflections as I prepare for the next chapter.

The phrase 'workflow is the new content' captures an important insight. In the digital environment we often create, use and share content through workflow applications.

I presented updated versions of a presentation on libraries and pandemic effects and some implications for library collections recently. Each was delivered remotely, one to an event in Ostende, Belgium, and one to Milan, Italy, as unfortunately we have not yet returned to professional travel.