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> http://eric.clst.org/C4L/FirstLook Alas, I tried to post a comment to your First Look but I got an error upon submission. My comment is below: I believe your assessment is right on target. Code4Lib is mostly about community -- a community with a shared purpose of making computers more useful tools in the field of librarianship. [1] The community is a lot like an open source software community, and while open source software is held in high esteem, the community does not negate "closed" source software. In Code4Lib authority is often times based on the concept of metreocity... something or like that. Oh, I forget the word, but it means your worth is based on the quality of your output. Yes, there are a lot of inside jokes. Yes, there are a lot of personalities. But again, that is what you get when you have a community. Code4Lib has a website, a wiki, a journal, a mailing list of about 1000 members from all over the world, an RSS "planet", a conference, an IRC channel and in that channel we even have a robot who participates in the conversation. [2] These things did not happen over night. Like an organism, they grew over time. Instead of starting out saying, "We need this and that and the other thing", new venues for discussion and collaboration evolved as they were needed. They do not define the success of the organization but rather its maturity. One funny thing about the decision-making process -- we vote. Discuss. Discuss. Discuss. Vote. This happens regularly regarding conference decisions, but it also happens in the refereeing of journal articles (at least when I was an editor). Code4Lib is a sign of the times. It exploits the networked environment and yet understands that face-to-face communications are necessary. It is not about the organization itself or about keeping the organization alive and well. Instead it is about solving real problems -- about "scratching itches". It is practical, visceral, and at the same time cutting edge. [1] Code4Lib community - http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/71 [2] All of these things are linked from http://code4lib.org/ Eric, use it in whatever way you see fit. -- Eric Lease Morgan Head, Digital Access and Information Architecture Department Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame (574) 631-8604