Ron Force writes \”From the Washington Post:
Wisdom From Across the Pond
The British coverage of President Bush\’s visit to London last week could have been better. Here\’s the London Daily Mirror on Friday: \”On a visit to the British Museum he was asked by one of 30 pupils gathered what the White House was like, to which he replied: \’It is white.\’
\”Then he went on to tell the audience the importance of a good education. He said: \’Sometimes boys and girls would rather watch TV than read. When your teachers say read, they are giving you pretty damn good advice.\’ \”
July 2001
Another dangerous library
Theresa Westrup passed along This Wild Story on a man who got car jacked while leaving the library in Mankato, MN.
Two hours later the car jacker dropped his pellet gun and gave him self up.
No word on the books.
First map to use the name America heads for the US
Charles Davis writes \”The first map to use the name America is heading for the
Library of Congress.
It is buying the 394-year-old chart for $10 million.
It\’s the only known copy of a map that historians say caused
the hemisphere to be named after explorer Amerigo
Vespucci instead of Columbus.
James H Billington, the librarian of Congress, commented:
\”This map, giving our hemisphere its name for the first time,
will be the crown jewel of the library\’s already unparalleled
collection of maps an atlases.\”
he map is often referred to as America\’s birth certificate.
Full story. \”
Digital Content Vendors and Academic Libraries
Despite its lazy title, this article (from the latest issue of University Business) appears to be an intelligent survey of the companies seeking to sell digital content to academic libraries:
If there is one institution on a college campus that has never faced outside competition, it is the library. Cafeterias and snack bars lose customers to local pizza joints, and the bookstore continually fights various off-campus and online rivals. Even the classroom has commercial competitors. But the great book depository in the center of campus has always rested easy. When students needed to research and write term papers—or when faculty members planned reading lists and put books on reserve—the library was the only game in town. Until now. A half-dozen companies would like to undermine the library\’s monopoly. Styling themselves as digital libraries, course-pack providers, content aggregators, and research guides, they offer a variety of products aimed at students at all levels. None intend to replace the library, of course, but the firms are positioning themselves as purveyors of supplemental services of digital content that libraries do not provide.
There is also an interesting sidebar on the African Digital Library
Anti-Adobe Protestors Take to the Streets
\”Free Dmitri Sklyarov!\” was the rallying cry at protests held around the U.S. today. FreeSklyarov.org has information on the protests and the condition of the jailed Russian programmer.
![protests](\"http://umklaydet.com/nyc/2/MVC-001F.JPG\"){kind=link}
The Adobe/Elcomsoft battle is receiving a huge amount of attention in programming and copyright law circles. The New York Times suggests it is catalyzing resistance to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act:
The arrest last week of a Russian programmer accused of violating an American digital copyright law has stirred an opposition, both against the law itself and Adobe Systems, the software company that initiated the case against the programmer. The Russian, Dmitri Sklyarov, was arrested last Monday at a computer hacker convention in Las Vegas, where he made a presentation about the security flaws in the encryption software, like Adobe\’s, used to prevent the piracy of electronic books. Mr. Sklyarov, who is being held in a Las Vegas jail, was detained under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which makes it a crime to traffic in devices, like software, that circumvent digital encryption. Violations are punishable by as much as five years in prison and a $500,000 fine. (More)
ALA Speaks Out Against Sale of .us Domain
The ALA has joined the howl of protest against the National Telecommunications and Information Administration\’s plan to sell off the .us domain to the highest bidder:
Libraries, in particular, are worried about the repercussions. Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association\’s Washington office, is concerned about restrictions a private company might place on the sites. She fears they might face problems with sharing copyrighted information provided through databases or get into costly legal battles over providing library users electronic-books. \’\’They have to answer to their stockholders,\’\’ she said of the bidders. \’\’They\’re going to make a decision that makes business sense to them.\’\’ (More from the Boston Globe.)
OK, I was wrong . . .
. . .Planet eBook
isn\’t the last word in E-Book news – As of Sunday, they hadn\’t posted anything about THIS interesting development in the Elcomsoft/Adobe case:
An interview on the Elcomsoft site in Russian has revealed a close relationship between the firm whose employee was put in jail Monday and the FBI.
According to the Russian language interview with Alexander Katalov, president of Elcomsoft and an ex-KGB operative himself, his firm had performed work for the FBI itself. . .
(More from The Inquirer.)
Elcomsoft appears to think these connections may help them spring Dmitry Sklyarov. You can find the full interview in Russian here, and keep an eye on the Electronic Frontier Foundation site for up-to-the-minute news. Thanks to Slashdot.
Attack of the Masked Cyberdudes
Melba Tomeo writes \”New York Times Magazine cover story \”Attack of the Masked Cyberdudes\” on 15-year old, who posed as a legal expert at Askme.com and gained a #3 rating. He gained his legal \”knowledge\” by watching Court TV and Judge Judy. A very provocative and well-written story, with some fascinating insight on the internet phenomenon. The NY Times requires registration but, this is the link I have
The story was in the July 15, 2001 NY Times Magazine. \”
There\’s also a Panel Discussion: \’Faking It\’
Libraries Are Getting Dangerous
Yesterday it was reported that a library worker was badly burned at the Detroit Public Library. Today, it\’s being reported that a worker was killed after being electrocuted at the Culver-Union Public Library in Culver, IN. [more…]
Librarians, Others On Strike in CA
For The LA Times, Tina Dirmann writes…
\”Chanting \”scabs go home!\” to fellow workers who remained on the job, striking Ventura County government employees continued to disrupt public services Thursday and announced that their initial two-day walkout would continue into early next week. Meanwhile, county officials braced for an extended strike that is already taking a toll on child protective services, public libraries, building permitting and agricultural inspections.\” [more…] If you thought that one was fun and informative, here\’s another one. from The Daily News.
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