Library Stuff

Are Law Librarians Who Accept Vendor Swag Committing Ethically Questionable Acts?

Steven — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:18:27 +0000

Law Librarian Blog – “When Sarah Glassmeyer announced she was going to auction the proceeds of her unsolicited WestlawNext iPod Nano, I thought and wrote “good for Sarah.” At the same time, I thought it was fine by me if anyone accepted similar vendor swag, noting with tongue firmly planted in cheek, that I was holding out for a WestlawNext iPad.”

From Wisdom to Wi-Fi

Steven — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:13:21 +0000

Book review from the WSJ – “There are many unsung heroes of ordinary life—nurses, trash collectors, accountants—whose job it is to take care of things that the rest of us take for granted. So too the librarian, that iconic figure who long presided over a sanctuary of books and guided readers, young and old, to the treasures of a vast print culture. But the profession has undergone a dramatic transformation of late because libraries themselves are not what they used to be. Today they have less to do with books per se than with computers, films, community events and children’s activities. They are, above all, public portals to the world of “information,” especially the online version. In “This Book Is Overdue!,” Marilyn Johnson, a former staff writer for Life magazine, takes us on a tour of the modern library and introduces us to the men and women who call it their professional home.”

Lots of librarian blogs mentioned in the book.

Publishers Win a Bout in E-Book Price Fight

Steven — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:00:39 +0000

NYT – “Could book publishers suddenly be in the position of telling Google what to do?”

British Library to offer free ebook downloads

Steven — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:36:53 +0000

Times Online – “MORE than 65,000 19th-century works of fiction from the British Library’s collection are to be made available for free downloads by the public from this spring. Owners of the Amazon Kindle, an ebook reader device, will be able to view well known works by writers such as Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy, as well as works by thousands of less famous authors.”

In Tough Times, a Library Branch Reopens

Steven — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:34:19 +0000

NYT – “In the midst of a budget cut that is forcing it to cut back hours at two-thirds of its locations, the New York Public Library has found something to celebrate: the reopening of the St. Agnes branch on Amsterdam Avenue and 81st Street. The long-languishing three-story stone building with the arched windows has been restored to its former glory, thanks to a $9.8 million makeover.”

Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ to be republished in Germany

Steven — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:32:29 +0000

Telegraph – “Under the post-1945 German constitution, the dissemination of Nazi philosophy has been a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. But the copyright, held by the state of Bavaria where the Nazi movement began life in the 1920s, expires in 2015, 70 years after the death of its author in his Berlin bunker.”

Parents get power to turn off web games

Steven — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:22:40 +0000

China Daily – “Parents in China can pull the plug on their kids’ online gaming by asking game operators to end services for minors, according to a program launched over the weekend by the culture ministry and six major online gaming companies.”

Site streamlines book hunting on the go in Boulder, Louisville, Broomfield

Steven — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:28:10 +0000

Daily Camera – “Book lovers on the go now have an easier way to find out if titles are available at Boulder- and Broomfield-area libraries, which have launched a redesigned Web site especially for mobile phones. Card catalogs are the way of the past, according to Matthew Hamilton, the manager for Boulder’s library innovation and technology. “We have been seeing increased use of our Web site on mobile devices,” Hamilton said.”

Congrats Matt!!

Cambodia blasts Google map of disputed Thai border

Steven — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:02:51 +0000

Reuters – “Cambodia has hit out at Google over what it called a “radically misleading” map of the disputed Thai-Cambodia border, accusing the world’s biggest search engine of being “professionally irresponsible”

More here, from Bloomberg

Tenn State librarian retiring

Steven — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:38:55 +0000

AP – “Jeanne Sugg’s long career spent safeguarding the history, treasures and sheer oddities of Tennessee has come to a close.”