A blue-skinned wizard and the library on the bowels of a spaceship
The Librarian worrying about his library in episode 11, "Ragnabook: Part One"
In the past, I reviewed the Australian animated series, Prisoner Zero, mentioning an old, frail character, named the librarian (voiced by Gary Martin) has a library buried deep inside of a spaceship called the Rogue, how he has magical powers, and his interactions with the story's protagonists, even though his appearance fulfills usual librarian stereotypes, although he once was younger. I am glad to report that apart from his appearance in the episode "Librarian" (the show's sixth episode) the library first appears as a flashback in the episode "Schism" (episode 8) and there are two other episodes specifically focused on the library: "Ragnabook: Part One" and "Ragnabook: Part Two." Unfortunately, while the Librarian becomes a main character, the library does not appear in episode 9, nor in episodes 12-26, almost half the show! So, that's a damn shame. Anyway, I'd still like to highlight the three episodes I didn't focus on in my last post and talk about the value of libraries, and librarians, which are emphasized in the episodes.
Let's start with the episode "Schism." Tag and Prisoner Zero go through the library on the ship in hopes of changing time back to its usual course. The librarian helps him (Prisoner Zero) regain his memory. There is then a final scene in the library at the end of the episode. This serves as a major part of the episode. I would include the images in this post from that episode, but I don't want to make this post too image-heavy, as I used to do in some of my early posts on this blog, so I'm trying to be mindful of that. Instead, I'll probably add the images to my newsletter. With that, I'd like to focus on the episodes "Ragnabook: Part One" and "Ragnabook: Part Two." The thing that made me so sad about this was the piles of books we see here (and in other episodes in the series). Those books should be properly organized, rather than just be in piles. How can anyone find the books or access them when they are in these piles? That is never answered, of course.
We then get to the episode "Ragnabook: Part One." A monster escapes from the "forbidden section" of the library; they (Zero, Tag, and Jem) all go down to the library and find it in a bad shape, with every room a dangerous place with the monster on the loose; the librarian tells Tag that libraries aren't just for storing books but for retaining information in all its forms (artifacts, public records, images, living creatures). The monster attacks them all and only has one purpose: to rewrite history and to know all knowledge; Tag and Jem travel into the forbidden section to help defeat the monster. Zero fights off books with a book insider the monster which wants to destroy the universe. It turns out that the monster is a living, thinking book from the "dark times" which documented the achievements of victors. The librarian is exhausted by caring for his library for thousands of years, fighting off people/intruders in the process. Later, the books try to attack Tag and Jem and eat them, like cookbooks. The fact that the Librarian is exhausted by his duties (as he says explicitly) is the first time I've seen librarian burnout in a show, whether live-action or animation. As Jade Geary and Brittany Hickey wrote, in the publication In The Library with the Lead Pipe, "librarians need to be able to openly discuss burnout and know that they are not alone in dealing with it" and noted that even with the "overwhelming number of librarians who have experienced burnout, it is not a topic...mentioned in lectures or assigned readings in library school" even though the profession is "rife with burnout."
Jem in the library in the episode "Ragnabook: Part One," worrying about the monster. Tag, Zero, and the Librarian are in the background. This is NOT a way to organize books. Librarians are bound to organize books correctly and in an accessible way, not in literal book piles. Lazy choice by animators here.
In the episode "Ragnabook: Part Two," the Librarian continues to fight the monster with Zero, while Tag and Jem try another way, going through different rooms of the library. The Librarian says there is power in knowledge and that it should not be destroyed. He also tells how he became the librarian, started his life, and wanted to make his "mark on history." He built the library from his mind, apparently. Zero says that the library was even more incredible back in its heyday but the Librarian got old. Zero notes that a library is not redundant with all these stories, plays, and so on. Zero says that he just needs new visitors, noting that members of his crew are patrons who go to the library to explore "endless possibilities" in the books. Zero later pleads with the librarian to remember his past, who recorded the truth in his books; he shared stories of the library across the cosmos, leaving it open to everyone! Jenn says the best thing in libraries is books, although this implies that libraries are only books, which is wrong. Sadly, the whole library is destroyed so the librarian has to start over. That sucks. For some reason, the producers of this show never feature an episode where he rebuilds the library. BOO!
Let's analyze this librarian. He is definitely providing "the highest level of service" to library users, along with "appropriate and usefully organized resources," as mentioned in the ALA Code of Ethics. He is also providing access to information, supporting people in their information sharing (by making the library open to everyone in the cosmos) per the short version of the IFLA Code of Ethics. This is despite the fact that he considered ownership over the library, which is why I called it a personal library. He, and Zero, make clear what Moya M. Mason pointed out in a 1990s article: "Libraries are repositories for humanity's knowledge; they are our past, our present, and our future. They are much more than storehouses for books, and include many other forms of data." That is something that animation should make more clear in the future. I'm not sure he has to endure any ethical dilemmas, however. Even so, the library is shown as an important institution and its value is emphasized.
In 2017, Sadie Trombetta, a freelance writer and book reviewer, of Bustle listed seven reasons why she believed that libraries are essential:
They offer free educational resources to everyone.
Libraries are safe refuges for the homeless and underserved populations.
They help boost local economies
They play an important role in English language learning.
Libraries make communities healthier.
They preserve history, and more importantly, truth.
Libraries help connect communities.
In this animation, since the library is on I'd say that #1, #6, and #7 are most relevant, but so is, perhaps, #5. I'd like to end this post with one of my favorite parts, from the episode "Ragnabook: Part Two" which shows patrons from the cosmos in the library on the Rogue:
The IFLA Journal special issue on Indigenous Librarianship strives to position libraries and librarianship through an indigenous worldview and ways of knowing. Each article takes is own perspective on the topic, exploring issues such as colonization, reconciliation, representation and imagery, digital access, and resource management. The issue is the result of collaboration with IFLA Journal and the Indigenous Matters Section of IFLA. Led by guest editors Stephen Stratton and Camille Callison, this issue was supported by a committee that include Rashidah Bolhassan, Mohit Garg, Raj K. Bhardwaj, Martha Attridge Bufton, and Rebecca Bateman.
Fake news, post-verità, bufale e il difficile ruolo delle biblioteche.
“La rapidità con cui una notizia viene fornita dà l'illusione di vivere al centro degli avvenimenti, ma significa soltanto che siamo sottoposti a una propaganda ancora più intensa. Quando gli avvenimenti sono istantanei e appassionanti, ci lasciamo trascinare dal loro flusso. Secondo me la superficialità, non la rapidità, incide sulla percezione del presente. Ma si fa di tutto per cancellare ogni memoria.”
Noam Chomsky
Questo post potrebbe concludersi dopo la citazione, vecchia di più di quaranta anni di Chomsky, che con grande efficacia descrive la situazione odierna. In fondo le notizie false esistono da quando l’essere umano ha sviluppato la capacità di comunicare: singole persone e organizzazioni avendone potere ed opportunità hanno per secoli presentato come vere storie completamente o parzialmente inventate. Quindi perché oggi poniamo tanta enfasi su questo fenomeno?
Forse perché mai come oggi grazie alla rete, social e device i singoli cittadini hanno la possibilità di accedere ad una massa potenzialmente infinita di “informazioni” e grazie a profilazioni di ogni tipo una massa potenzialmente infinita di “notizie” può raggiungerci in ogni momento. Notizie che sempre più necessitano di essere soppesate prima di essere recepite come vere e soprattutto divulgate. Alla grande quantità di tempo che serve a queste operazioni, aggiungiamo l’indebolimento dell’autorevolezza delle fonti informative tradizionali e la ricetta è completa.
In questo contesto le biblioteche che possono fare? Ovviamente non possono e non devono dare risposte, ma fornire strumenti e indicazioni che porteranno i cittadini a meglio orientarsi nel mare informativo. Per esempio l’ IFLA “Federazione Internazionale delle Biblioteche”, per sostenere il pensiero critico del lettore ha realizzato questa infografica (sulla base di un articolo pubblicato su FactCheck.org del 2016 "How to Spot Fake News" ) con otto semplici passaggi da compiere per verificare l'attendibilità di una notizia.
Per qualche cosa di più operativo vi consigliamo una visita a biblioverifica.altervista.org, un progetto di interazione tra cittadini e bibliotecari/archivisti volontari, che ha come scopo principale la condivisione di strategie di ricerca e la diffusione di fonti e strumenti utili a tutti per praticare in autonomia il fact checking.
Le risposte ai quesiti, che vengono posti dagli utenti attraverso la compilazione di un form, si basano esclusivamente su: open data, small data e fonti istituzionali che possono essere verificati in modo autonomo, libero e gratuito.
In ambito internazionale le esperienze di questo tipo sono molteplici, tra le meglio strutturate e con un alto grado di usabilità abbiamo le pagine delle “risorse” organizzate dalla Biblioteca Universitaria dell’Indiana.
Ai ragazzi delle scuole superiori si rivolge principalmente l’associazione factcheckers.it. Con filmati, quiz, giochi di carte, fumetti, ma anche lezioni frontali organizzate direttamente nelle scuole, cerca di sensibilizzare gli adolescenti alla buona pratica della verifica informativa. Prendetevi un po’ di tempo per guardare la lezione organizzata da Gabriela Jacomella (presidente di Factcheckers) alla Normale di Pisa.
Prima di lasciarvi augurando a tutti buone vacanze, tre consigli per una estate dubbiosa: "Fake news" di Enrica Perucchietti, "Il falso e il vero" di Gabriela Jacomella e per finire "Sarà vero. La menzogna al potere" di Errico Bonanno.
How to Spot Fake News! Fake News is most often used to describe completely fabricated stories. Many news outlets will exhibit some form of explicit or implicit bias while not falling into the fake news category. Assessing the quality of the content is crucial to understanding whether what you are viewing is true or not. Follow this infographic to assess the credibility of news items.
Honored to join the Sociedad de Arquitectos Paisajistas de México (SAPmx) — an institution with over fifty years of leadership in promoting, implementing, and protecting landscape architecture in Mexico, and an affiliate of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).
A meaningful step toward deeper engagement with the study and care of the Mexican landscape.
