January 2003

At the local megacorporatebookretailer I flipped passively though an issue of 2600, something that I rarely do. I was glad I did becasue I came across an article titled \”Breaking Down the Dynix Door.\” Written in a non-malicious tone, the article detailed how to get into library Circ systems. The suggested use of this info was erasing fines from overdue (or stolen, I suppose) DVDs. The author was pro libraries in his own way, asking people to get into Dynix systems and then warn the sysadmin. The author claimed that many Circ systems aren\’t password protected. I\’m not so sure I believe this.

A story on NPR\’s Morning Edition this morning profiled the world\’s largest comic book convention*, just wrapping up today in the city of Angouleme, France. Reporter Frank Browning says that schoolchildren are let out for the festival, and mentions that many librarians visit the show as well. He even says that, on some days, the only books checked out at Angouleme libraries are comic books! The public library system there has a special collection of comic book materials, a partner to the Musèe de la Bande Dessinée* (Comic Book Museum) run by the French government\’s Centre National de la Bande Dessinée et de l\’Illustration (National Center of Comic Books and Illustration).

Somehow I doubt that this kind of recognition will be hitting the comics world Stateside anytime soon.

*These links are entirely in French. If you have unfiltered Internet access, you can see roughly translated versions using Google\’s language tools.

As previously mentioned on LISNews, the Bookworm Game offers hours of pleasure to those with a gift for word games. It\’s popularity was not lost on Microsoft, which has produced Bespelled, an almost exact knockoff. In both cases, the stated goal is to protect your library from fire.

To be fair, I have no evidence that MS didn\’t just buy the rights to the game, but I don\’t know why they replaced the bookworm with the little wizard, other than the obvious Harry Potter tie-in.

The Economist has a great series of stories that take a long look at everything internet.

A look at things to come, Digital dilemmas

The protection of privacy, No hiding place

A taste of life in 2033, Only disconnect

Copyright protection, A fine balance

Direct democracy, Power to the people

The net as a tool of social control, Caught in the net

The human side of the net, Through a glass darkly

An audio interview with David Manasian, the author, Author interview

And they even include a long list of Sources

Bob Cox sent over This One from NPR\’s Weekend Edition on Book Stumpers from Loganberry Books, a small store in Cleveland.

Book Stumpers acts as a sort of clearinghouse for shreds of information about old books. Participants pay a $2 fee to have their information posted. Logan also tries to find new or used copies of the books if the customers want to buy a piece of their childhoods. And if things work out, she deducts the fee from the sales price.

A strongly worded Editorial From Hawai\’i on USA Patriot and Homeland Security acts.

They say it\’s time for the Hawai\’i Legislature to think about joining the resistance to the federal government\’s unconstitutional excursions into our basic liberties. The cover the growing number of other state and local governments doing the same.

\”This modest rebellion, in the form of publicly expressed aloha for our Bill of Rights, would gain national attention. It would bring others into the discussion. It would educate. In the larger scheme of things, it could be one of the most important of 3,000 or so bills and resolutions the Legislature will consider this year.\”

Gary Price\’s ResourceShelf.com pointed the way to This Press Release that says RoweCom [aka axon or divine Information Services] signed a non-binding letter of intent with EBSCO Industries for the proposed purchase of the RoweCom worldwide subscription agent business.

Gary Deane submitted This Macleans.ca Story on Abebooks of Victoria which bills itself as \”the world\’s largest marketplace for second-hand, rare and out-of-print books.\”

They say Abebooks has built itself into a world power by turning the Internet into a global book bazaar. Some one million customers have used Abebooks, annually spending $75 million to $100 million. Computers have yet to kill the printed word, but they\’ve profoundly changed how those words are sold.

There are things computers can\’t replicate: the purr of a bookstore cat, the heft of a volume, the thrill of an unexpected find, the whiff of mildew and age, as though the books themselves are breathing. John West isn\’t one to blame Abebooks for the disappearance of such shops. \”They\’re not a cause,\” he says, \”they\’re a symptom, I suppose, of the way people like to shop these days.\” The method of sale may change, he says, \”but books are here forever.\”

SomeOne writes \”A librarian well-known and respected throughout Ohio has written a book about his addiction to pornography. Can\’t believe the newspaper didn\’t take advantage of this and include information on filtering. BTW, for 30 years he was the director of FLESH Public Library.
He also did work with Grace United Methodist Church and theater reviews for the Piqua Daily Call.
Here\’s The Full Story.\”

Now a Quaker and a pastor at Valleyview Evangelical Friends Church in Delaware, White is kicking off a national publicity campaign to bring his book and accompanying ministry to the public\’s attention. \”Freedom From Lust\” was printed in October, but White decided to wait until after the holidays to begin promoting it.

This Chicago Tribune article (free registration may be required) says that EBSCO is close to reaching a deal to buy RoweCom (formerly Faxon). The publishers that RoweCom didn\’t pay with the money libraries paid to RoweCom are apparently in separate discussions with EBSCO regarding this deal. Swets Blackwell pulled out of its talks to buy RoweCom, citing liability issues.