Librarians, Dance Parties And eBooks

Friday night the Desk Set is throwing QUE(E)RY, their first-ever dance party for queer librarians (and those who love them) this Friday night in Brooklyn. The party is at the Blackout Bar in Greenpoint at 8pm. Proceeds will support The Archives of the Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles and The Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn.

eBookNewser spoke with librarians and Desk Set founders Maria Falgoust and Sarah Murphy to talk in more detail about The Desk Set and eBooks.

EBN: What is The Desk Set?

DS: The Desk Set is a group of New York City area librarians, archivists, bibliophiles and other bookish types who meet informally to explore and enjoy literary resources and raise money for institutions who promote literacy.

In the past year, Desk Set events have included a semi-formal dance party – the Biblioball – in support of Literacy for Incarcerated Teens; a Mardi Gras celebration and Book Drive for the A.P. Tureaud Elementary School in New Orleans; trips to the Frick Art Reference Library and the Costume Institute Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and our recurring party and fundraiser for Books Through Bars, “Dance Dance Library Revolution.”

While most of us are librarians or library science students, we welcome all book lovers to join in our events.

EBN: What is your mission?

DS: Desk Set’s primary objective is provide a fun and productive community for people who share an interest in books, literacy and libraries and raise funds for organizations whose work we admire. This includes organizations like Books Through Bars, the New Orleans Public Library, Behind the Book and Literacy for Incarcerated Teens.

EBN: As librarians, what is your take on eBooks?

DS/Sarah: I am having trouble getting engaged with the current options in eBooks. I think they are vastly superior to the models of a few years ago, but they still do nothing to move me. As long as the Kindle stays black and white, and as long as the iPad (and others) have that harsh to the eyes screen, I can’t see making a large investment in these technologies. Something that loads better (and probably much cheaper) will come along imminently, and I don’t want to be stuck with a lot of out-of-date hardware.

However, in the library I find the concept of instant download really appealing. I am a school librarian, and I serve a small population of boys ages 5 – 18. We have limited shelf space, so I have to be selective about what I purchase. This inevitably leaves holes in the collection, and I hope that eBooks can help fill those holes. If a student asks for a specific book that we don’t own, and I can download it instantly and circulate the eReader, I’ll be thrilled. I am hoping to start with one or two iPads next year, and then wait and see what comes next.

DS/Maria: I didn’t think that I would like to read a book on a Kindle, but I was wrong. The upper-school library that I work at purchased one deluxe Kindle to test out but we have not offered them to students. Many private schools are working on pilot programs trying out various types of e-books, circulating them for students and faculty.

EBN: What role do you think digital publishing will play for libraries in the future?

DS/Sarah: I think digital publishing will transform reference collections, and has already begun to do just that with databases largely replacing printed reference works. I am less certain about digital publishing for trade titles. At this point, regular users of eBooks are still a minority, but that is destined to change, and perhaps quickly. Anything that can increase access to information is good for libraries and good for patrons. Librarians can still aid in the delivery and evaluation of information whether the content is printed or digital.