LibraryCity starts up to promote idea of well-stocked national digital library system for all Americans, not just the elite

The “L” word was “Library,” and the place where I’ve been blogging lately is the new LibraryCity site, promoting the idea of a well-stocked national digital library system for the entire country, not just the elite. The site was in beta, but now librarian Tom Peters and I have officially unveiled it, aided by an announcement in Gary Price’s well-regarded ResourcesShelf blog.

Tonight President Obama is expected to mention education and job training in his State of the Union address, and there may well be the usual talk of teacher evaluations and test scores and the like. But how much can happen without good content—whether books or multimedia tutorials? Do we really want American students learning science from textbooks a decade or two old? And what about the needs of other library users, whatever their ages? The related Twitter feed is @librarycity.

Here’s a chance to speak out. The site not only explains in detail why we need the library system, it also encourages visitors to give their own reasons, which LibraryCity will share with the media and policymakers. This is a good time. Expressing his individual opinion, an Associated Press tech writer seems be on the same wavelength.