Library Stuff

Google Partners Say Its China Stance Is Putting Them at Risk

Steven — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:00:26 +0000

Bloomberg – “Google Inc.’s partners in China said they have received no information from the company since it announced it may exit the country, putting their businesses at risk.”

Judiciary Approves PACER Innovations To Enhance Public Access

Steven — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:30:01 +0000

US Courts – “The Judicial Conference of the United States today approved key steps to improve public access to federal courts by increasing the availability of court opinions and expanding the services and reducing the costs for many users of the Public Access to Electronic Court Records (PACER)”

More here

Psychology of the bookplate

Steven — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:00:23 +0000

Yale Alumni Magazine – ““This book belongs to me.” For over five centuries, that has been the message conveyed by every bookplate, whether printed and hand-tinted for Hildebrand Brandenburg in 1480 or mass-produced for Barnes & Noble or Amazon. (Yes, they sell bookplates.) Think of a bookplate as a wedding ring binding the reader to the book, and vice versa. The symbolism isn’t so far apart: ownership, possession, desire.”

China to Google: Please Exit In An Orderly Fashion

Steven — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:30:00 +0000

All Things D – “If Google’s (GOOG) talks with the Chinese government end at an impasse and the company shutters Google.cn and ramps down its operations in the country, it best do so properly and according to law. That’s the latest from Beijing, which continues to threaten and posture amid reports that the search giant is on the brink of closing its Chinese search engine.”

Google’s book project may change copyright law

Steven — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:00:33 +0000

San Jose Mercury News – “Sometime in the near future, a federal judge will decide whether Google can proceed with its plan to create a digital library and bookstore out of millions of old books scanned from libraries around the world. Google Book Search has already spawned a class-action lawsuit, and now, a surge of opposition from scholars, consumer advocates and business competitors who contend the plan gives Google too much control over a priceless store of information. The legal issues are complex. But the impact and implications of the plan, which would create a copyright framework for old books that would persist into the 22nd century, could be huge, some say.”

London Jewish Museum reopens after major facelift

Steven — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:30:16 +0000

AP – “A museum tracing the history of Britain’s 300,000-strong Jewish community is reopening after a 10 million pound ($15 million) expansion. The Jewish Museum calls itself the only such gallery in London dedicated to a minority group. It includes a large collection of Jewish ceremonial art as well as interactive displays tracing the history of Jews in Britain from the 11th century until the present day.

Two Library Magazines Sold

Steven — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:30:04 +0000

Publishers Weekly – “Two weeks after Library Journal and School Library Journal were acquired by Media Source, two other publications serving the library market have been sold. VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates), which is aimed at librarians serving young adults, and Teacher Librarian, the journal for school library professionals, have been acquired by E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC, a new company formed by publishing and library veteran Edward Kurdyla.”

John Grisham joins e-book parade

Steven — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:00:33 +0000

USA Today – “He had been one of publishing’s major holdouts. But best-selling author John Grisham is finally joining the e-book bandwagon. Random House announced today that all 23 Grisham titles are now available for purchase in the U.S, and Canada, “wherever e-books are sold.” That includes Amazon’s Kindle Store, the Sony Reader store and Barnes & Noble.com.”

HPU Libraries Utilize Social Media And Late Night Hours To Help Students Stay In Touch

Steven — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:00:21 +0000

High Point University News – ” In the old days, a card catalog and a microfilm reader were considered high-tech in terms of tools in the library, but students today need much, much more – and thanks to ever-growing services in the High Point University libraries, students have everything they need and more. Case in point? The library is on Facebook, and students can literally be in touch with the library all day, every day – a feature that’s new this semester.”

Break the law and your new ‘friend’ may be the FBI

Steven — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:30:13 +0000

AP – “The Feds are on Facebook. And MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, too. U.S. law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that offers a tantalizing glimpse of issues related to privacy and crime-fighting.”