Also: 99% of all paper books are out of print. They can be published as iBooks with full fidelity and the number of books we will have access to will soar. That is a second way digital lasts longer.

The Mike Daisey story was false. Assembling iPhones is not an easy job, but neither is Pennsylvania coal miner. Assembling iPhones is a legitimate factory job, not a hellhole. And there are many hellholes worldwide. But they don’t make sexy iPhones, so they don’t get as much coverage. Apple is a leader in every aspect of their supply chain, including working conditions. All the other stuff you own from China — that, we don’t know about. Could be prison labor. Especially the disposable Wal-Mart stuff. That is not a long-term stable business like iPhone, with factories that run for years at a time.

Americans who are concerned about poor working conditions can do something to improve working conditions in their own country. If you raise the ceiling for workers in your own country, that is like a dare for other countries to meet that standard in their own labor laws. But the problem is, many US workers don’t have health care, while Chinese workers do. Many US workers have no infrastructure under them at all — for example, many farm workers. The US also has prison labor, as well as the world’s largest population of prisoners, by far, which started in the 1980′s. So the US is not a leader in working conditions and labor rights. We are not even on the right side of Amnesty International.

So basically, the solution to guilt that you might have due to the working conditions of factory workers who made all your stuff (not just your iPad) is to use your iPad to improve working conditions in your country and that will improve them abroad. At least, find out who you can vote for who is working on behalf of working people. Any iPad user can write and blog and even create a short documentary with no other tools. You can use it to change the world for the better.

Also, don’t forget up the genXers when you are considering emerging leader just b/c we have plugging away for a couple of years doesn’t mean that we can still be leaders with a little help!

I do have one objection to IKEA. Yes, they lead you through, but they, like the Connecticut-based supermarket Stew Leonards, don’t let you deviate from THEIR chosen path. If you want something in the middle of the store, you have a huge winding way to get there. At the same time, most libraries can do a much, much better job of helping our users with “wayfinding.”

As a library student and public library worker, one of my concerns is how my peers talk about ALA. In spite of everything the organization has done / is doing to be more dynamic and meet the needs of a changing workforce (ALA Connect, Young Librarians Working Group, etc.), the overall perception still seems really negative. Council Members can make a huge difference just by being open to input (thank you for this post!), but there will always be people who would rather complain – and eventually throw up their hands – than offer constructive criticism. I don’t necessarily think that spending time on an internal image campaign when people are so concerned about our image outside of the library world. Still, I can’t help but think some ALA pride would ultimately reflect outward.

Mostly I agree with your previous commenter: you GET IT, and I’m really glad you’re back on Council!