Dateline Wareham Massachusetts: The Boston Globe reports on a fight between two groups who both presumably love their library…the trustees, and the board of town selectman who fired them all en masse.
August 2007
Google Books and Google Earth
Books and maps collide in Google’s new geoparsing ability within Google Earth. Now, when you search for something like “The Writings of Thomas Jefferson”, a bunch of pinpoints (books) show up referencing places included in that particular work. Click on that book and you’ll get a snippet of text from some of the texts archived in Google Books.
More over at the O’Reilly Radar.
DC Library Sues Contractor In Response to April Fire at Georgetown Branch
The Washington Post reports… “The city is seeking more than $13 million in damages from the Hyattsville contractor that was heading renovation of the Georgetown public library when a fire broke out there in late April.
Officials allege negligence on the part of Dynamic Corp., which was handling exterior improvements at the historic branch. A subcontractor for Dynamic was removing lead-based paint from second-floor windows, and it was workers’ use of electric heat guns that District fire investigators concluded had ignited materials near the roofline on the building’s south side.
Speaking of Obsolescence…Say Goodbye to Audio Wires
From the Circuits section of the NYT, David Pogue reports on how audio wires “are disappearing at an alarming clip.”
For example–” The cord between your home phone handset and the phone body? Gone. The wire between your cellphone and clip-on earpiece? Gone. The cable from your laptop to the network router? Gone. “
What’s the Matter With Kansas? Friends and Foes of Former Children’s Librarian Weigh In
From the El Dorado Times, residents speak out about the firing of the former children’s librarian, Karen Kolavalli, last week. Here’s another article from the Sunday paper with the news of her termination.
LISWiki: Still Going Strong
If you haven’t stopped by LISWiki.com lately you’re missing some good stuff. Have a look at What’s Been Added, or maybe start with The Index, or the LISWiki Categories (even better, categorize A Page yourself).
The LISWiki:Community Portal has some good Article Ideas: Stumped on what to write about? See if you can fill out the Categories some more, develop the shorter entries (some are blank) and stubs, or help fill the needed entries (titles linked to twice or more), or just browse the Recent Changes. Don’t miss the Largest List Of Library Blogs on the web!
Wikis are free and open publishing systems. You, yes you, are encouraged to share information in your areas of interest or expertise. Anyone can edit existing articles or create new ones. New articles are welcome! If it doesn’t already exist, a “create an article with this title” link will appear in a search for your article title.
Will electronic books replace traditional books?
Tony99 writes “Eighteen months after the launch of Sony’s Portable Reader, is it having any effect on the book market?
With sales gradually increasing and its price dropping, is this product (or those like it) going to be serious competitor to the traditional book, and will the book trade follow in the footsteps of the music business?
(Opinions wanted)
Read further at BBC technology“
AP Poll: One in four read no books last year
Bearkat writes “One in four adults say they read no books at all in 2006, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Read the scoop at Yahoo“
A Library For Intellectual Property in Vietnam
Want to learn a bit about business in South East Asia? Here’s a press release from Vietnam News Agency about the country’s first e-library, interestingly enough, financially sponsored by the Japanese Government. By March 2009, the library will hopefully be fully completed.
Ray Bradbury Looks Back on the Future
“I’m surrounded by my metaphors.”–Ray Bradbury, talking with the New York Times about the objects in his study–and several “long-forgotten” works that are being published by Morrow and Gauntlet Press. Mr. Bradbury, who acknowledges that the science in his books is often faulty and serves only as a vehicle for his fiction. He’ll provide the inspiration, he says, and let the scientists worry about the particulars.
“The arts and sciences are connected. Scientists have to have a metaphor. All scientists start with imagination”.
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