A primary purpose of the Code4Lib mailing list is to provide a venue for discussing the writing of software in libraries:

  The purpose of the Code4Lib mailing is to provide a forum for
  discussing the use of computers in libraries, usually in the form
  of writing software. Example topics include but are not limited
  to the strengths and weaknesses of particular protocols or
  computer applications, the use of those protocols or applications
  to address library problems, the sharing of cool (or "kewl")
  hacks, position and conference announcements, etc.

I have been consistently writing software since 1976. I have a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. I earned a master’s degree in information science not necessarily computer science. I have been working as a librarian since 1984 or 1987. Increasingly I do not introduce myself as a librarian but rather as a person who writes software in libraries, even though I do (albeit non-traditional) library work. When I introduced myself as a librarian, the conversation always went down a particular path. When I introduce myself as a person who writes software in libraries, then the conversation is much more interesting and free of stereotypes.

As time has gone on, the Code4Lib “community” has become more about computers in libraries than code in libraries. Such is a natural and inclusive evolution.

—
Eric M.