February 2011

Kindle e-book piracy accelerates

How much will price play into all this? Well, you already have plenty of folks out there who think it’s outrageous for publishers to price an e-book at $12.99 or $14.99 when the hardcover is first released. And some of those folks may feel justified in downloading pirated versions of books in protest–or just because they say they don’t like getting ripped off. And while some pricing decisions by publishers are clearly bad, pricing may be a smaller part of the piracy equation than you might think. What a surprising number of people have told me is that they pirate stuff for the same reason that a lot of people like the Kindle: it’s all about instant gratification.

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Book Lovers Fear Dim Future for Notes in the Margins
“People will always find a way to annotate electronically,” said G. Thomas Tanselle, a former vice president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and an adjunct professor of English at Columbia University. “But there is the question of how it is going to be preserved. And that is a problem now facing collections libraries.”

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation and Washington University in St. Louis announced the discovery by Monticello scholars that a collection of books, long held in the libraries at Washington University in St. Louis, originally were part of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library.

Full story

Blogs were once the outlet of choice, but now sites like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr are favored.

Full article

I have read in other sources that youth are not big users of Twitter. Notice how this article mentions Twitter in the title but the kid being interviewed only talks about Facebook. In fact no one in the article mentions using Twitter.

Perry Moore, a co-producer of The Chronicles of Narnia film franchise and the author of a novel about a gay superhero, has died aged 39. His 2007 book Hero
won a Lambda Literary Award best novel prize.

Full story at BBC.com

New Hacking Tools Pose Bigger Threats to Wi-Fi Users
You may think the only people capable of snooping on your Internet activity are government intelligence agents or possibly a talented teenage hacker holed up in his parents’ basement. But some simple software lets just about anyone sitting next to you at your local coffee shop watch you browse the Web and even assume your identity online.

“Like it or not, we are now living in a cyberpunk novel,” said Darren Kitchen, a systems administrator for an aerospace company in Richmond, Calif., and the host of Hak5, a video podcast about computer hacking and security. “When people find out how trivial and easy it is to see and even modify what you do online, they are shocked.”

Continuing our discussion of the book – The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

Carr refers to the advent of the typewriter and how Friedrich Nietzsche and friends noticed “a change in the style of his writing … tighter … there was a new forcefulness to it, too” (18).

Carr provides some lengthy discussion about neuroscience, psychology, and concepts of the nature of the brain. The brain is not entirely fixed but not entirely plastic (malleable) either. Our brains have the advantage of adaptability but once connections are made and utilized frequently, as in how multiple areas of the brain are stimulated and utilized during Internet use, it is difficult to revert to previous settings, so to speak. In summary Carr points out that as much as we would like to think otherwise, the brain is not just a monitor of experience but is significantly, perhaps permanently, changed by experience (38).

It is probably obvious from the title but Carr seems to be setting the case that changes which occur to the brain may be irreversible and that the Internet active brain may not be able to create or reestablish the previous connections favored for books.

Continuing our discussion of the book – The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

Carr refers to the advent of the typewriter and how Friedrich Nietzsche and friends noticed “a change in the style of his writing … tighter … there was a new forcefulness to it, too” (18).

Carr provides some lengthy discussion about neuroscience, psychology, and concepts of the nature of the brain. The brain is not entirely fixed but not entirely plastic (malleable) either. Our brains have the advantage of adaptability but once connections are made and utilized frequently, as in how multiple areas of the brain are stimulated and utilized during Internet use, it is difficult to revert to previous settings, so to speak. In summary Carr points out that as much as we would like to think otherwise, the brain is not just a monitor of experience but is significantly, perhaps permanently, changed by experience (38).

It is probably obvious from the title but Carr seems to be setting the case that changes which occur to the brain may be irreversible and that the Internet active brain may not be able to create or reestablish the previous connections favored for books.

Question: Has your reading of texts changed, e.g., do you feel that you can’t read as much or dense of material as you did in the past? If so, is a matter of concentration or not enough time, i.e., too much time spent on the Internet?

This is Gary Price and Shirl Kennedy saying hello from Washington, DC and St. Petersburg, FL.
We have some news and a few URLs to share.

URL: http://INFOdocket.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/INFOdocket
RSS: http://infodocket.com/feed/

When we began ResourceShelf (just about a decade ago) and DocuTicker (two years later) our goal was, and has always been, to share info industry news, happenings in the library world, and supply a non-stop stream of new web-based resources to our loyal readers. Since we began, we’ve been very fortunate that so many of you have found what we do to be useful.

We would like to say thank you very much for your interest and support. We’ve also been happy to see that our websites are of interest to a wide variety of readers outside of the library community, including journalists and educators.

Today, we have a bit of news to share.

We (Gary and Shirl) are NO LONGER affiliated with ResourceShelf and DocuTicker. However, that doesn’t mean it’s time to say goodbye. Hardly. In fact, the same spirit that has compelled us to scour the Internet for interesting resources is also what’s motivating us to jump right back in again. That’s right – as of today, we’re back online.

While we’re still taking baby steps, and both sites are in the process of development, we thought it was best to begin posting the types of materials you’ve come to expect from us during the past decade as we construct our new sites. We also feel comfortable saying that we have several new features in the works.

This is Gary Price and Shirl Kennedy saying hello from Washington, DC and St. Petersburg, FL.
We have some news and a few URLs to share.

URL: http://INFOdocket.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/INFOdocket
RSS: http://infodocket.com/feed/

When we began ResourceShelf (just about a decade ago) and DocuTicker (two years later) our goal was, and has always been, to share info industry news, happenings in the library world, and supply a non-stop stream of new web-based resources to our loyal readers. Since we began, we’ve been very fortunate that so many of you have found what we do to be useful.

We would like to say thank you very much for your interest and support. We’ve also been happy to see that our websites are of interest to a wide variety of readers outside of the library community, including journalists and educators.

Today, we have a bit of news to share.

We (Gary and Shirl) are NO LONGER affiliated with ResourceShelf and DocuTicker. However, that doesn’t mean it’s time to say goodbye. Hardly. In fact, the same spirit that has compelled us to scour the Internet for interesting resources is also what’s motivating us to jump right back in again. That’s right – as of today, we’re back online.

While we’re still taking baby steps, and both sites are in the process of development, we thought it was best to begin posting the types of materials you’ve come to expect from us during the past decade as we construct our new sites. We also feel comfortable saying that we have several new features in the works.

So, where can you find us these days?

+ INFOdocket will be our home for new or newly-discovered web resources; reference material we find interesting (lists, rankings, infographics, and factbooks, and other materials); web search tips; relevant news items from the information industry and library community; and some occasional commentary.

URL: http://INFOdocket.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/INFOdocket

RSS: http://infodocket.com/feed/

+ FullTextReports is the home for a hand-picked selection of new full-text reports on various topics from a wide variety of sources including government agencies, think tanks, non-profits, academia, and
industry analysts.

URL: http://fulltextreports.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/fulltextreports/

RSS: http://fulltextreports.com/feed/

If you have a spare moment or two, we would be most appreciative if you would let others know about both sites — or share your ideas with us about our big news!

INFODocket: [email protected]

FullTextReports: [email protected]

You can also reach us using our personal email addresses.

Notes:

+ At the moment (as we build both sites), we will not be offering an email newsletter. However, we plan to offer several newsletters in the near future.

+ We plan to update INFOdocket and FullTextReports several times a day, seven days a week.

+ Mobile Access? No problem. Just head to the regular URLs and you’ll be redirected to our mobile sites.

So, that’s the latest! We (Gary and Shirl) hope you will join us as soon as possible.

The best way to let us know you’re out there is to follow one or both sites with Twitter or RSS.

If that’s not an option, just stop by the web sites and browse.

Finally, we’re very happy to be moving forward and glad you will be coming along.

Thank you.

Gary Price and Shirl Kennedy

INFOdocket.com
Tweets by infodocket

FullTextReports
Tweets by fulltextreports

If you’re like me (and you know you want to be) you’ll find this year’s list surprisingly unterrible when compared to the vast majority of librarian blogs. I started the “10 Blogs To Read This Year” way back in 2006 to help highlight the wide range of people writing in the many different areas of librarianship. Each year we’ve attempted to point out a group of librarians whose writing helps increase our understanding of the profession and its place in our rapidly changing world. Again this year we tried to choose 10 writers who cover very different aspects of our profession, 10 sites that inform, educate and maybe amuse. By following these blogs I think you’ll frequently find something new and interesting to read, and a place to gain better understanding of parts of librarianship that are outside of your area. We all have much to learn from each other, and these bloggers are working hard to share their knowledge and experiences with you. The lists from 2006, 2007, 2008,2009 and 2010. See also: How The List Is Made and Why This List Matters.

1. All These Birds With Teeth [Feed]
2. Forgotten Bookmarks [Feed]
3. Hack Library School. [Feed]
4. InkDroid [Feed]
5. The LSW Friendfeed Room [Feed]
6. Musings about librarianship [Feed]
7. Pegasus Librarian [Feed]
8. SearchReSearch [Feed]
9. Screwy Decimal [Feed]
10. The Undergraduate Science Librarian [Feed]

All These Birds With Teeth [Feed] is by Joe Grobelny, a reference librarian who does a great job spicing up his general interest posts with snazzy images. His posts are smart and engaging with interesting articles from a wide variety of places.

Hack Library School: by, for and about library school students. This is their challenge to you; participate or come up with a better idea. How would you hack library school? Originally inspired by an article over on In The Library With The Leadpipe Hack Library School is a group blog with a great style and interesting ideas. [Feed]

Every year we do our best to make the list interesting and fun. Not every blog on the list needs to be full of world changing expertly written essays. This year’s fun site is Forgotten Bookmarks [Feed], something I hadn’t seen until the last minute. The author works at a used and rare bookstore. These are what is found in all the books. It’s not as much bacon as you might think!

The Library Society Of The World may just be the most subversive bunch of librarians you know. The LSW describes themselves as “world-spanning group of library professionals and library advocates, dedicated to furthering the role of librarians, archivists, information professionals, and information educators through communication and collaboration.” They have a Web Site but the real action happens over in the LSW Friendfeed Room [Feed]

InkDroid [Feed]. Ed Summers is an Information Technology Specialist at the Library of Congress. Ed writes heavy on the geek side of things… XML, hardware, software, code, you name it, if technology is your thing, this is a great blog to follow.

Musings about librarianship [Feed]. The in depth posts keep track of interesting and cool ideas that might be used by libraries for benefit of users. Aaron Tay is a librarian at the National University of Singapore and his posts cover a wide range of issues in librarianship.

Pegasus Librarian: Learning in Libraries and Loving It. [Feed] Iris is a Reference and Instruction Librarian and writes about life in an academic library, teaching, and classroom ideas. Here you’ll find smart writing from the academic side of the profession.

SearchReSearch [Feed] is a blog about search, search skills, teaching search, learning how to search, learning how to use Google effectively, learning how to do research. It also covers a good deal of sensemaking and information foraging. The author, Daniel M. Russell, works at Google. His “Search Challenges” will help you refine your search skills.

Screwy Decimal [Feed] Tales from an Urban Librarian. (Absolutely also worth following on Twitter!) You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wish you worked with kids all day! Rita Meade is a public childrens librarian in Brooklyn. As she says she experiences “strange and wonderful things in my line of work. I like to share them.” Kids say the darndest things!

If you’re like me (and you really should be), you just love science librarians. Bonnie Swoger is a Science and Technology Librarian. She says she is interested in science communication and teaching undergraduate students about how scientists share information. She blogs at undergraduatesciencelibrarian.wordpress.com as the Undergraduate Science Librarian. She covers an interesting range of science topics. [Feed]

Who Wins As Bookselling Suffers?
Does the search for volume sales drive publishers into doing more high discount deals, or what is often termed as ‘special sales’ with supermarkets? As these retailers have demonstrated they will drive down the price narrow the range and will only entertain books if they make their square footage contribution.

It is difficult to envisage the Independents being able to take up the slack. If fewer inventory is going through the traditional channel, will this impact the economics of the current supply chain?