Monday, May 06, 2013

ACRL 2013 Conference Notes: Henry Rollins Keynote

ACRL Keynote
Speaker: Henry Rollins (links: his official website; his Wikipedia entry).
Date: Thursday, April 11, 2013, 4:20pm.

(My notes are short on this one, but it is because Mr. Rollins is a force to reckon with, and how can you take notes from someone who moves with the force of a hurricane? Anyhow, I did manage to catch some thoughts of this excellent lecture. Down the road, I will be hunting down some of his books to read).
  • Get angry about something every day, then channel your energy to do something. 
  • He asks us to listen without cynicism, for he holds librarians in good esteem. 
  • Describes himself as a "work slut" who will try anything. 
  • Every single person you meet, on some level, are worthy of respect and have a story. 
    • In punk rock, you do not blow people off. 
  • Young people can be very eclectic if you give them the right material. 
  • Harvesters, organizers, and protectors of information: this is what librarians are. Not everyone gets the information they need to make choices in life. 
    • Punk became his soundtrack, and as his life, he worked to preserve it as it was persecuted music. Well, it was persecuted until many punks got famous. Bands themselves never thought of preserving their records, flyers, so on. So, he is building the "Henry Rollins Library" for "the next guy" to preserve the history of punk. 
  • In 2013, we still experience suffocation of information, yet we are awash in information. We are facing active efforts to suppress information.
  • It is our job to right wrongs in this century, and it has to be done by people willing to stand up, not waiting for someone to get elected.

No comments: