English booksellers and book collectors used agents on the ground in France, Germany and Italy to buy books from threatened libraries, coerce their owners into sale, or, if everything else failed, simply steal the desired items. They did so secure in the knowledge that the homes of these books would soon be broken up anyhow. The moment popularised the term “bibliomania”, as some of the richest men and women in England competed against each other to pay eye-watering prices for Europe’s oldest and rarest books.
Things not to do at the library – Local news, weather and sports from Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Don’t blast your conversation on speakerphone. It’s loud and disruptive. We don’t really want to listen to one side of your phone conversation, let alone both sides. Don’t be that person who talks on speakerphone in public (libraries).
‘Radical Street Librarian’ Transforms Trolley into Mobile Library for Kids
Today, the self-described “radical street librarian” is bringing books directly to children in neighborhoods with limited access, turning a green-and-gold trolley into a rolling destination for young readers.
We can’t help treating AI like it’s human. But should we? | TechCrunch
“It can create a situation where people don’t feel agency in actually creating their own future — like when you say that AI will replace everyone, people ask, what are we gonna do? And these companies are not really responding ethically or responsibly,” Pataranutaporn said. “How do we have imagination while still being responsible for the impact of that imagination?”
The Archives of Legendary New York Galleries Just Went Online
Gallery websites vanish with alarming frequency when dealers call it quits, and so it’s a relief that the New York Gallery History Project exists. Created by Contemporary Art Library and Independent, it aims to preserve online the archives of esteemed commercial spaces, and it started with a legend, Jay Gorney Modern Art. Now it has released eight more, including Real Fine Arts (I miss it dearly), Murray Guy (the loss endures), and Orchard (mostly before my time). I dipped in, then forced myself to stop: It’s addictive.
Texas senators discuss tightening school library book law – Houston Public Media
Committee chair Sen. Donna Campbell questioned why there is still "smut" in libraries if local parents have control over materials. She said the state might still have to "step in." "I think local control is good until it's ‘loco' control," she said. "The more government steps in, the less freedoms you have. But I believe sometimes government has to step in with guardrails and take a look."
Mobile Epstein files bookmobile makes 4 stops in Pennsylvania
A project of the nonprofit The Institute for Primary Facts, the bookmobile is a free, traveling public reading room — containing all of the released Epstein files in printed copies, according to its website, trumpepsteinreadingroom.com.
Digitization 101: Censorship in Prison/Carceral Settings (and thoughts about copyright education)
Finally, I will note that this censorship can occur with both print and digital materials. While Blumberg doesn't say this, I expect that this censorship will soon be handled by AI, which could review digital materials faster and might even use digital bibliographic information to pass judgement on print items. Hopefully anti-censorship legislation will take the potential impact of AI into account.
Privacy concerns put smart glasses under scrutiny as Norway seeks temporary ban
Norway’s government wants to get a handle on both the promise and peril of AI glasses and is proposing that parliament enact a temporary ban on them in some places.
Libraries pay more for e-books than consumers. State lawmakers are trying to change that
Legislation approved unanimously by the Illinois House in April and awaiting Senate review would prohibit libraries from being treated differently from individual consumers when purchasing digital books.
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