Terry Gross, one of the best interviewers in America, recently spoke with Ken Auletta of the New York Times about his new book. The 30 minute interview is a balanced account of the benefits and risks of Google’s ascendance.
◊ Technology ◊
New library services: order tracking & event search
Recent library experiences made me think of two more items for the list of services I’ve proposed as a standard suite of public library offerings. Order tracking. I’ve submitted a few ILL requests to my library in the past 2-3 weeks and have no idea of their status. For all I know, my requests may
Recommended podcasts
(Click on image to open the podcast page in iTunes.) Beat the Press from WGBH Boston offers lively discussion among local journalists “talking back to the press”. (30 mins.) ♦ Check out the BTP blog for daily newsclips and commentary. BackStory with the American History Guys serves up a delightful mix of history &
Library bypass strategies
Last week, publishing consultant Joseph Esposito publicly mused about an ebook strategy in which publishers bypass libraries and create direct-to-reader content packages. Esposito described it not as “another evil visited upon libraries by avaricious publishers” but as “a prudent means to find other ways to derive revenue from publications without imposing a further tax on
What we lose through automation
While training for a new volunteer role at my library, I learned the process for getting an event listed with our public access cable channel. Someone emails me a Word document with program listings. I hand transcribe them onto paper forms and deliver them to the library. Another volunteer picks them up from the library
Disruption everywhere
Kent Anderson of the Scholarly Kitchen appreciates the rejuvenating potential of disruption, which is one of the reasons I follow his work. Kent shared two insightful posts this week on evolution, rejuvenation and inertia. New Pencils, New Crayons, Old Humans and Game Over, Man — Has the Disruption of Publishing Already Occurred? Both merit a
NPL = the National Public Library Corporation
The folks at In the Library with the Lead Pipe have given me an opportunity to spread my wings with a longer piece on public library advocacy. In “An Inflection Point for American Public Libraries“, I propose a means for public libraries to increase funding, use resources more efficiently, and deliver exciting new services to
iGoogle page of library news & blogs
This week, as I read some really interesting news and blog posts, I wondered if folks might be interested in an iGoogle page of library info sources… Simply click on the image to install.
We like books in Boston
Massachusetts has the oldest library system in the nation. It may also be taking the lead to replace the institution. During the summer, a suburban high school ditched its library for a new technology center. On Friday, the Boston Globe reports that a prep school in central Massachusetts is following suit. 457 reader comments have
Multi-modal reading
Folks interested in information & knowledge acquisition will want to listen in on this 15 minute conversation about reading newspapers online versus print. On the lighter side, you might also enjoy a librarian’s speculation about if paper was invented today * Kindle image by iStyles
