National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson minced few words in a recent assessment of the future of the IRS and its current interactions with taxpayers: The agency’s growing disconnect from the people it serves will lead to its failure.
Library jobs, and the librarians who do them, have been evolving along with the needs of their communities and customer for decades. Librarians have often been first adopters of technology, from using listservs to share information, creating sites on the nascent world wide web, creating and sharing online catalogs and metadata, managing tools, services, teaching and outreach, all the while preserving access to books, computers, ensuring privacy and promoting civil liberties. The old techniques, the new tools and state of the art maker spaces are all part of the great range of proactive outreach and value that librarians provide their users, often under pressure from budget and personnel cut backs juxtaposed to expanding needs for services from diverse user communities in small towns and large cities. Please support the work of your librarians in all sectors, We participate in a fundamental way to preserve democracy, maintain opportunities for education otherwise not available, and yes, we read, often aloud, to anyone interested in listening
“From neighborhood handymen to freelance computer programmers, Americans have long taken on piecemeal work in lieu of (or in addition to) traditional salaried employment. But today a variety of apps and online platforms are making it easier than ever for people to connect with customers who might like to hire them to do any number of jobs – from
performing various types of online tasks to driving for ride-hailing services or cleaning someone’s home. These platforms also allow users to earn money in a range of other ways, such as sharing their possessions with others or selling their used goods or personal creations.”
