Paul Jones had a lot of interesting things to say about libraries in the digital age last night in Greensboro.

A question about appropriate content in public spaces got him talking about the original Carnegie libraries, which were intended as social and community centers, hubs of intellectual and civic life. Putting internet-connected computers in libraries helps recreate that vision of the institution. And while filtering content doesn't work well, and has some potential legal ramifications, the social norms created by communal use of computers in an open area seems effective in controlling inappropriate internet usage.

I complained about rotted links and lost archives, and said that even though I have physical folders full of old magazine clips from the early part of my career, I don't feel that work really exists because it's not online. Paul said that digital archiving is an emerging specialty, with a focus on just such issues. Here's an article on that subject, and a paper. Obviously an issue that's relevant to businesses, and in which IT has a clear interest.