The Golden Ratio and Community

The latest issue of Collaborative Librarianship is out along with my Technology Matters column entitled "The Golden Ratio and Community."  

My column begins like this....

"I recently read The Secret Code: The Mysterious Formula that Rules Art, Nature, and Science by Priya Hemenway. It is a book about the Divine Proportion or the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ra-tio is roughly five to eight (more precisely the square root of five). It turns up in nature in nu-merous ways and you see these proportions over and over again in art and architecture be-cause it resonates with us in some mystical way.

It came to mind as I was pondering the relation-ship between using Open Source software and being actively involved in an Open Source community. I developed the theory that the more one actively participates in their Open Source community, the more satisfied they are with their Open Source choice. Could the Gold-en Ratio apply here as well? We may not be able to divine the exact relationship, but I do know that the success of any Open Source pro-ject relies on an active, engaged user and devel-oper community, and that there is something mystical involved...."[read the whole article]

Other goodies from this issue include:

• "Co-Teaching Relationships among Librarians and Other Information Professionals" by Ann Medaille and Amy W. Shannon
• "Team-Based Ingenuity Supporting 21st Century Learners" by Sarah C. Hutton, Robert C. Davis, and Carol Will
• "By and For Us: The Development of a Program for Peer Review of Teaching by and for Pre-Tenure Librarians" by Jaena Alabi, et al
• "Extending Access to Electronic Resources of a Merged Community College and University Library" by Angela Dresselhaus
• "Innovation & Leadership Through Collaboration – The Orbis Cascade Alliance Experience: An Interview with John Helmer"
• "Tribute to a Cooperative Pioneer: Bill DeJohn" by Cecelia N. Boone
• Review of "Social Networking Tools for Academic Libraries" by Alison Hicks