Summary: I'm pleased to post Show #217, July 16, my interview with Alex Wright, author of Cataloging the World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age. Alex, who was previously on the show back in 2008 discussing his terrific book Glut, has written a fascinating biography of the heretofore forgotten information utopian named Paul Otlet. Otlet's vision for a catalog of all of the world's information is both inspiring and admirable, given his efforts spanned the first half of the twentieth century. In our interview, we discussed Otlet and his relevance to today's issues involving information access, filtering and systems. As before, I greatly enjoyed our discussion and Alex's work. {Hearsay Culture is a talk show on KZSU-FM, Stanford, 90.1 FM, hosted by Center for Internet & Society Resident Fellow David S. Levine. The show includes guests and focuses on the intersection of technology and society. How is our world impacted by the great technological changes taking place? Each week, a different sphere is explored. For more information, please go to http://hearsayculture.com.}
