> I went to college, then grad school and tried to have
> a professional career as a librarian.
I've been thinking a lot about the potential of the information commons these days. Texts are dangerous things. They seem so innocent, sitting there peacefully on the library shelf. Until one day someone picks one up, reads it, and of course one good book always deserves another. And another. And another... until one fine day when: KA-BOOOOOM, the Matrix peels away, revealing Sentinels and Zion hovercraft, the sheet lightning of EMP bursts, informatic combat in the Desert of the Real.
The sad irony is that all too many academics regard books as a property- monopoly, to be secured behind walls of jargon and/or security guards. If there's one thing the information commons has taken to heart, it's that freeing the text is the first step to freeing the mind.
-- DRR