Letter From the Editor...

Greetings, devotees of all things Information!

It’s the first issue of the 2006-2007 school year—where’ve you been keeping yourself?! So many things to highlight…

First, a huge thank you to the extraordinary staff and contributors of this first ‘fish. Many things came together—instead of tragically falling apart—in the last moments. (Stop the presses, etc.) I pray to the book gods that you all return for the next issue! (Bribes can be arranged no matter what they say in ethics class.) And, of course, we’re looking for more of this ilk.

Two Notable Interviews This Issue. iSchool lecturer, librarian, book reviewer, Nancy Pearl, called by The New York Times “the talk of librarian circles,” chats about her new book, subscription service & being a librarian in the era of Google. Also, don’t miss our exclusive preview interview with Peter Morville, IA guru, “The Man behind the Polar Bear Book.” Mark your calendar! Morville appears on campus twice Wednesday, Oct. 11. Unless you have reserved a ticket, you’re probably not going to get into Kane Hall to hear Morville and the iSchool’s own Joe Janes, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Academics, but if you’re a student, you’re invited to chat with Morville from 3-4pm that day in MGH 420. Check out our interview or the ASIS&T site for details: http://students.washington.edu/asis/.

We also offer up tales of summer doings: DFWs (directed field work), the ALA convention, a scholarly journey to Amsterdam, websites to check out, as well as info on a new listserv for small fry and teens, and movie and books reviews, including one by Nancy Pearl. Thanks, Nancy!

The iSchool community student newsletter has been saddled with the name The Silverfish for 10 years, and we’re ready to retire the nasty, nocturnal insect, at least as our namesake. (BTW, I know many liked the ‘fishy title, and it was with the best of intentions, I’m sure, that it was named for the pest that eats paper, hence, the bane of librarians.) We’re kicking around a few ideas here in the ole cyberfish office, but we want yours. They’re probably better. Oh, and we need a logo, too. There’s cash involved, folks! Don’t hesitate—soon you’ll be freaking out over all the work piling up on your desk/Mac/PC.

We want to hear from or about those who helped out with the Hurricane Katrina rebuilding effort, coinciding with or separate from June’s ALA shindig. Take photographs of it? Know someone who did? We’d like to publish your stories and photos. Also, we need an undergraduate voice on the ‘fish staff—someone who’s got complaints or compliments, and can write about it. (Or it could be about movie reviews.)

Send us your transcendent non-empirical concepts or, heck, even your concrete ideas for stories, photos, etc., etc.

Did I mention you can email submissions, gossip, corrections, comments, ideas, letters to the editor, bank account numbers (you get the idea) to thesilverfish@gmail?!

Keep up the good fight. Until next time,
The Staff of the Silverfish
Joyce Hansen
Silverfish Editor

"…librarians are more freedom fighters than shushers."

- Carla Hayden, Ms. Magazine online