[LISNews] The LISNews For February 19th 2009

Thu Feb 19 10:47:29 CST 2009

Let's see what the most popular stories have been for the past 30 days:

-[1] - Iowa woman arrested for keeping library book
   http://lisnews.org/node/32529/
-[2] - Jean Srnecz Dies in Plane Crash 
   http://lisnews.org/node/32777/
-[3] - Remembering Librarians Kathy Krasniewicz and Kate McClelland
   http://lisnews.org/node/32591/
-[4] - Hoboken Tot Denied a Library Card Because of Illegible Signature
   http://lisnews.org/node/32473/
-[5] - Amazon’s Kindle 2 Will Debut Feb. 9
   http://lisnews.org/node/32570/

And here's the latest from LISNews:

--Scanning Project Digitizes 25,000 US Library of Congress Books 
- http://lisnews.org/node/32823/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Thursday February 19th at 11:45 AM
-Read 2 times - 0 Comments
The Library of Congress is the world's largest library, with tens of millions of items that attract scholars from all over
the world to do research. But soon, those scholars may not have to travel far to do their research. Some of the library's
treasures are starting to appear online.   Like many other great research libraries, the Library of Congress has been moving
into the digital world. 

--Survey: More homeowners want a home library
- http://lisnews.org/node/32822/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Thursday February 19th at 11:44 AM
-Read 6 times - 0 Comments
Do you ever wonder where  books go after they are sold? How many houses of intelligent folks have you visited without
seeing a book? For book lovers, there's good news from the National Association of Home Builders. We may think folks are
reading less, but 63 percent of homeowners surveyed said they have a library or want one in their homes. That's a 9 percent
increase from 2002. 

--The wired president: Obama creates an e-mail trail
- http://lisnews.org/node/32821/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Thursday February 19th at 11:41 AM
-Read 7 times - 0 Comments
Barack Obama is the first wired president, ready to exchange e-mail with close friends and advisers. When do the rest of us
get to read them?  We may have to wait until as late as 2028, depending on when Obama leaves office as president. That's
according to leading presidential historians who make their living hunting through records at the National Archives and
Records Administration.  

--Are There Drawbacks to Law Libraries Going Digital?
- http://lisnews.org/node/32820/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Thursday February 19th at 8:03 AM
-Read 94 times - 1 Comments
Are There Drawbacks to Law Libraries Going Digital? It's good that people can get access to materials much more easily. But
our concern is that the government or a court agency, publishing online, might run out of space on its hard drive, and
decide on its own what to delete. Then, all of a sudden you don't have it online and you don't have it in print, either. 

--University librarian wins more than $20,000 on Jeopardy! show
- http://lisnews.org/node/32819/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Thursday February 19th at 7:57 AM
-Read 173 times - 1 Comments
LISNews: your #1 source for Librarians On Jeopardy! News. Kamikaze Casserole.  On national television Friday night,
University librarian Diane Trap explained to Alex Trebek what exactly this phrase entails. The reference librarian and
graphic artist from Grand Haven, Mich. scored a spot on Jeopardy! back in November and took home "a little over $22,000." 

--Hate Speech?
- http://lisnews.org/node/32818/
-Blog Entry by StephenK Posted Thursday February 19th at 1:51 AM
-Read 25 times - 0 Comments
UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, a scholar focusing heavily on freedom of speech matters, posted an interesting matter to
his group blog.  The post is entitled "Hate Speech".  I commend the post for the review and consideration of those
interested.

--Booksellers Discuss the Value of E-books and Print Books
- http://lisnews.org/node/32817/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Wednesday February 18th at 9:42 AM
-Read 552 times - 5 Comments
>From Shelf-Awareness, a discussion of e-books and print books from booksellers.  From Rachel Whang of Atomic Books,
Baltimore, MD: I don't understand why anyone would go to a bookstore to download e-books, as some have proposed. Do people
go to record stores to download music? No. People don't go to places to download anything. That's why they like it. And
that's why music-selling stores are going away.  From Jodi Kaplan who runs Squidoo lens: For print and bookstores to
survive, they have to add value. Bring authors in, host book groups, have authors blog on their sites (or connect to the
authors' blogs). Send e-mails to loyal customers informing them of new books they might like to read. Invite people into the
store to form connections with the store, the authors and other readers.  Michael Herrmann of Gibson's Bookstore, Concord,
NH:  As not only a bookseller but a booklover, I can see why e-books would be priced lower than real books. Not only do you
not have printing, storing and distribution costs at the producer's end, but you also do not have a permanent artifact at
the consumer's end. That is to say, e-books are not collectible. They are ephemeral. There is no guarantee that they will be
readable or retrievable in two, 10, 50 years. They have less value than a real book. So perhaps they should cost less.   On
the issue of Amazon dictating price, Amazon is not releasing sales figures for the Kindle or for downloads. They are
bullying suppliers into accepting ridiculously low prices in the name of a consumer demand that they are trying to invent
out of the whole cloth. It is more of a religious phenomenon than a business discussion. 

--Koran and Bible Moved To the Top Shelves in U.K.
- http://lisnews.org/node/32816/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Wednesday February 18th at 8:47 AM
-Read 429 times - 7 Comments
In this instance, Dewey's system is not part of the equation.  It seems that officials at UK libraries have recommended
keeping all holy books, including the Bible and the Koran on the top shelves in the interests of equality.     Leicester's
librarians consulted the Federation of Muslim Organisations and were advised that all religious texts should be kept on the
top shelf to ensure equality.   But there are critics of the new requirements; Robert Whelan of the Civitas think-tank told
The Daily Mail: "Libraries and museums are not places of worship. They should not be run in accordance with particular
religious beliefs.   Christian.org UK argues that Christians do not apply such beliefs to the Bible, which they say should
be easily accessible for everyone.     More from Telegraph UK and opinion (unorthodox to say the least) from Damian Thompson
of the Telegraph.

--Southworth Library sells Lincoln manuscript for $3 million
- http://lisnews.org/node/32815/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Wednesday February 18th at 12:58 AM
-Read 214 times - 0 Comments
Southworth Library sells Lincoln manuscript for $3 million  It was a bittersweet moment for library trustees when the gavel
came down on the auction of a rare manuscript written by Abraham Lincoln in 1864. The Southworth Library in Dryden sold the
papers for $3.4 million, the most an American historical document has ever brought in at an auction. Dryden congressman John
Dwight received the papers from Lincoln's son in 1916. Dwight's widow later donated the script to the library. The library
has held the handwritten document for eighty years, but as our Tamara Lindstrom tells us, trustees say it was time to let it
go.  Full story here.

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