The Top 40
February 26th, 2005The Gorman piece is currently number 11 on the Daypop Top 40. It is being mentioned all over the place.
To clarify a point. I have no issues with those who don’t understand blogs. That’s what education is for. Gorman has a right to his views on bloggers. What ticked me off was that he called us stupid (again, my words, but it was definitely implied), to which I took personal offense. Here’s the quote again:
“Given the quality of the writing in the blogs I have seen, I doubt that many of the Blog People are in the habit of sustained reading of complex texts. It is entirely possible that their intellectual needs are met by an accumulation of random facts and paragraphs.”
Gorman need not issue an apology for his misunderstanding of blogs or his views on the Google digitization project, but he should retract the above comments. They are mean-spirited, wrong, and prejudiced.
One last point: I have had only positive experiences with ALA and its divisions (especially PLA) in the past and will continue to do so in the future. I write for Public Libraries, had a book published by ALA Editions that sold very well, and took part in the PLA Blog (which will be starting up again – we promise). Gorman’s comments will not reflect on my work with ALA or its divisions. In fact, my (our) work will only prove him wrong.
