Blake

The value of books is not restricted to price

The best way to pass along books for future generations to value is give them today. They do this better in Iceland than anywhere. An online article by Giulia Trentacosti described Iceland’s Jolabokaflod, or “Christmas book flood,” festival. The majority of Iceland’s books are published around Christmastime when it’s traditional to exchange new and used books. The flood comes from the fact Iceland is so literate. 

“With around 330,000 inhabitants, Iceland is certainly one of the smallest book markets in the world. Nevertheless, it boasts one of the highest rates of books per capita.” They also each read an average of eight books annually, and “an impressive 98 percent read at least one.” Giving and reading books in a national pastime.

From The value of books is not restricted to price | At The Library Column | newsminer.com

December 29, 2015 by Books Internet Libraries

Just How Gross Are Library Books, Exactly?

But here’s the thing: Unless you’re stuck in some sort of weird literary torture chamber, nobody is ever going to inject you with library book juice. And modern scientists say that just curling up with a book is not enough to make you sick.

“I have never heard of anyone catching anything from a library book,” infectious disease specialist Michael Z. David told the Wall Street Journal. David says that viruses and bacteria can indeed live on the pages of library books, but that the risk of actual infection is very, very low.

From Just How Gross Are Library Books, Exactly? | Mental Floss

December 29, 2015 by Books Librarians Libraries

New LibraryBox Release! v2.1

Updates

This release brings with it some long-needed upgrades, including:

Multi-language support for the user interface and a dozen languages built-in
New CSS-styled file directory listings, including responsive design for tablets and smartphones
Even more hardware is now supported, including our least-expensive hardware ever, the GL-iNet router that lets you build a LibraryBox for less than $25.
DLNA support for playing media from your LibraryBox on your TV or other DLNA compatible device
An improved upgrade process for future code releases that means no more need to SSH into your LibraryBox to upgrade it
General stability and speed improvements that make using LibraryBox even better for everyone

From LibraryBox v2.1 | Pattern Recognition

December 29, 2015 by Librarians Libraries

Tested by budget battle and funding cuts, Pa. libraries buckle

But even if a deal is struck or funding released, Drury said the cutbacks could continue at the library if that state funding is reduced.  

“Depending on what the budget number is we may have to make these reductions permanent instead of reinstating them,” Drury added.  

Penny Talbert, executive director of the Ephrata Public Library, also in Lancaster County, said state funding for programs like hers has decreased heavily in recent years.  

From Tested by budget battle and funding cuts, Pa. libraries buckle | PennLive.com

December 29, 2015 by Libraries

Adult Coloring Books Test Grown-Ups’ Ability to Stay Inside the Lines

Eight of the top 20 selling books on Amazon currently are coloring books designed for adults. These books tend to be much more finely detailed than those for children. Popular topics include animals, fish, flowers and mandala spiritual symbols.

Michael O’Mara Books Ltd., a British publisher, says it got the ball rolling. “A staffer said how embarrassed she was to see her mother coloring and getting enormous enjoyment,” says Michael O’Mara, founder and chairman. “We thought, ‘Why not have a stab producing a coloring book aimed at adults?’ ”

From Adult Coloring Books Test Grown-Ups’ Ability to Stay Inside the Lines – WSJ

December 28, 2015 by Books

New Conservation Effort Aims To Protect Hemingway’s Papers

It’s been a year since the U.S. and Cuba began normalizing relations. Tourism, business and cultural exchanges are booming. And there is another curious benefactor of those warmer ties — Ernest Hemingway, or at least, his legacy. The writer lived just outside of Havana for 20 years, and that house, called the Finca Vigia, has long been a national museum.

But years of hot, humid Caribbean weather has taken a toll on the author’s thousands of papers and books. A Boston-based foundation is helping restore those weathered treasures, and who better to lead that effort than the original dean of home repairs: Bob Vila, of public television’s This Old House. He tells NPR’s Carrie Kahn that he has a personal connection to Cuba. “I’m American-born Cuban,” he says. “My Havana-born parents emigrated during the latter part of World War II, and I was born in Miami, raised there and partially in Havana up until the revolution in 1959.”

From New Conservation Effort Aims To Protect Papa’s Papers : NPR

December 28, 2015 by Uncategorized

In the age of Amazon, used bookstores are making an unlikely comeback

Riverby Books D.C., a used-bookstore on Capitol Hill, closed last year after owner Steve Cymrot was hit by a truck and killed. His son Paul reopened the store in the fall — and didn’t hesitate. “The business side of it never gave us a moment’s pause,” he said. “We’ve never had better business.”

And it’s a business with good economics. Used bookstores can beat Amazon and other online booksellers on price, offering shoppers both a browsing experience and a money-saving one. Also, profit margins on used books are better than new ones — so good that many indies are adding used sections.

Sensing a good deal, entrepreneurs are jumping in.

From In the age of Amazon, used bookstores are making an unlikely comeback – The Washington Post

December 28, 2015 by Amazon Books Internet

Zuckerberg compares free internet services to public libraries and hospitals

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has written a forceful defense of the company’s plans to offer limited, free internet access in India, comparing Facebook’s Free Basics service with libraries and public hospitals. In an op-ed written for The Times of India, Zuckerberg says that although libraries don’t offer every book to read and hospitals can’t cure every illness, they still provide a “world of good,” suggesting that just because free internet services like Free Basics only offer access to a limited number of sites — which third-parties can apply to join but that Facebook ultimately controls — they’re still an essential public service.

From Zuckerberg compares free internet services to public libraries and hospitals | The Verge

December 28, 2015 by EBooks Internet Libraries

When will the librarians start to throw offline literature away?

Libraries cost money.  Do we need large buildings, heavily staffed, full of paper, if “everything of importance” is online, in databases, collections, and so forth?  For a university accountant, the answer is self-evidently not.  A generation may be needed, but those volumes will be sold, the staff dismissed, and the building repurposed.

Such changes in information technology have happened before.

From When will the librarians start to throw offline literature away? at Roger Pearse

December 28, 2015 by Internet Librarians Libraries

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