Dissent? Controversy?

I read an article by a well-known librarian this morning in the Inside Higher Education enewsletter to which I subscribe in which he was lamenting the lack of engagement over controversy in the library world. http://insidehighered.com/views/2007/04/27/bell
And I can see why he feels that way... there does seem to be a lot of patting on the back as opposed to down-and-at-'em discussion over controversial topics.

Well, I can tell you why I don't engage in it. And it's not because I have no opinions of my own that disagree with others in my profession, or because I wouldn't enjoy some of that activity.

Quite frankly, I don't have the TIME I need to spend in such pursuits. I do not read other library-related blogs or articles in order to converse over the topics discussed. For me that would be a luxury. I read those items to get ideas to help me improve my skills and performance.

I have been making a list of all the things that have changed and are changing in the Fleece Library, and the list is a fairly sizeable one as it turns out. And every item on the list represents time I had to spend to consider the change then work with staff to make that change happen.

I envy the librarian whose position gives him/her the time to write and research as much as some do. But as long as I have to be the Library Director and the Acquisitions Librarian and the representative to two faculties and the public relations director for the library and the policy-writer and the enabler of new library initiatives, I guess I'll stick to just reading the research and let others deal with controversy.

And I'll add my list to the Book Cover next week.