Another dinosaur bellows

Yesterday, I called the editors in the MSM who sneer at citizen journalism 'dinosaurs.' I have just discovered that the term is more widely applicable than I first thought. It seems that librarians, or at least the president-elect of the American Library Association, also fall into that category.

As evidence, let me present a poorly written and illogical 'essay' recently scrawled by said president-elect, one Michael Gorman. It has got to be one of the most arrogant, condescending, and wrong-headed bits of scribbled flotsam I have ever had the displeasure of reading.

I tried to pick out a few quotes to illustrate the inanity of the piece, but the whole thing reeks of holier-than-thouness. Lest you doubt my analysis, here's one tidbit:

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.

To borrow a phrase from Monty Python, say no more, say no more.

Here's what really bothers me about Mr. Gorman. He seems to believe that anyone who does not have a degree in Library Science is incapable of conducting any sort of research on their own. He seems to see librarians as the keepers of all knowledge who need to protect the rest of the world from their own ignorance. Sound like anyone else you know?

What really frightens me is that, his protests to the contrary, I think Mr. Gorman would really like to see Web access restricted to an info-priestly class for the good of humanity. Thankfully, he doesn't have much say in the matter.