[LISNews] The LISNews For December 6th 2010
The LISNews Librarian News By Email
lisnews at lishost.net
Mon Dec 6 12:30:23 CST 2010
Happy Monday! It's the LISNews for December 6th, 2010...
On Monday we start with the most popular headlines from the weekend:
-[1] - A Lesser View of Public Libraries
http://lisnews.org/node/38188/
-[2] - Crossbow Killing InToronto Library
http://lisnews.org/node/38193/
-[3] - Library of Congress Blocks Wikileaks
http://lisnews.org/node/38192/
-[4] - The Live-In Librarian
http://lisnews.org/node/38199/
-[5] - Pirate Central
http://lisnews.org/node/38198/
And here's the latest from LISNews:
--Google Opens Doors to E-Bookstore
- http://lisnews.org/node/38208/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Monday December 6th at 11:22 AM
-Read 144 times - 0 Comments
Google Opens Doors to E-Bookstore After years of planning and months of delays, the search giant Google started its e-book
venture on Monday, creating a potentially robust competitor in the digital book market to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple.
http://books.google.com/ebooks
--Librarian's Passive Approach Lets The Market Run Against Our Interests
- http://lisnews.org/node/38207/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Monday December 6th at 10:27 AM
-Read 127 times - 0 Comments
Librarian's Passive Approach Lets The Market Run Against Our Interests - We didn’t clearly scope and demand our interests
in metadata management, leaving these subscription agencies with valuable metadata that we pay them to ‘manage’ so that they
can in turn sell it back to us via A-Z, link-resolver and related add-ons. - This situation is reinforced by our bungling
of the ILS space, namely, allowing the market to move towards extreme vendor lock-in, and overly segmented product offerings
(where functionality has been doled out in a dysfunctional ‘pay per use’ model, rather than more organically). -We’ve
missed opportunities to be better organized on consortial purchasing, pricing activism, and stronger leadership towards open
access.
--The Library: Three Jeremiads
- http://lisnews.org/node/38206/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Monday December 6th at 6:56 AM
-Read 142 times - 0 Comments
The Library: Three Jeremiads When I look back at the plight of American research libraries in 2010, I feel inclined to
break into a jeremiad. In fact, I want to deliver three jeremiads, because research libraries are facing crises on three
fronts; but instead of prophesying doom, I hope to arrive at a happy ending. I can even begin happily, at least in
describing the state of the university library at Harvard.
--Analyzing Literature by Words and Numbers
- http://lisnews.org/node/38205/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Monday December 6th at 6:55 AM
-Read 128 times - 0 Comments
Analyzing Literature by Words and Numbers Dan Cohen and Fred Gibbs, the two historians of science at George Mason
University who have created the project, have so far charted how frequently more than two dozen words — among them “God,”
“love,” “work,” “science” and “industrial” — appear in British book titles from the French Revolution in 1789 to the
beginning of World War I in 1914. To Mr. Cohen, the sharply jagged lines that dance across his graphs can be used to test
some of the most deeply entrenched beliefs about the Victorians, like their faith in progress and science: “We can finally
and truly test these and other fundamental claims that have been at the heart of Victorian studies for generations.”
--LISTen: An LISNews.org Podcast -- Episode #132
- http://lisnews.org/node/38204/
-Blog Entry by StephenK Posted Sunday December 5th at 11:44 PM
-Read 173 times - 0 Comments
A key line this week: "Content remains content regardless of the form it is fixed in." You'll hear more in this week's
episode. Related links: Yahoo News bringing word on WikiLeaks John Perry Barlow on the first infowar John Perry Barlow
equating Julian Assange with Salman Rushdie How to nuke your Amazon account WikiLeaks moving to Elastic Compute Cloud
Wikileaks getting kicked off the Elastic Compute Cloud Dave Winer on WikiLeaks Reporters Without Borders on WikiLeaks Julian
Assange And The Potential Case of a Very Nasty Assassination Related links to materials posted since the recording session
concluded: WikiLeaks releases US listing of critical infrastructure across the planet RedState.com: Wikileaks now
comic-opera Bond Villian group. The Guardian: WikiLeaks cables claim al-Jazeera changed coverage to suit Qatari foreign
policy Meitar Moscovitz on running a cablegate mirror Twitter versus WikiLeaks
--The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time
- http://lisnews.org/node/38203/
-Blog Entry by Bibliofuture Posted Sunday December 5th at 3:12 PM
-Read 77 times - 0 Comments
The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time Reading is a revolutionary act, an act of engagement in a
culture that wants us to disengage. In The Lost Art of Reading, David L. Ulin asks a number of timely questions — why is
literature important? What does it offer, especially now? Blending commentary with memoir, Ulin addresses the importance of
the simple act of reading in an increasingly digital culture. Reading a book, flipping through hard pages, or shuffling them
on screen — it doesn’t matter. The key is the act of reading, the seriousness and depth. Ulin emphasizes the importance of
reflection and pause allowed by stopping to read a book, and the focus required to let the mind run free in a world that is
not one's own. Far from preaching to the choir, The Lost Art of Reading is a call to arms, or rather, pages.
--Getting Over the Horror of the Crossbow Slaying
- http://lisnews.org/node/38202/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Sunday December 5th at 11:59 AM
-Read 287 times - 0 Comments
Following up on our earlier story about the crossbow murder at Toronto's Main Street Branch Library, library staff and
patrons are spending the weekend in counselling and the library remains closed. Toronto Star reports: It was the busiest
time of day on the busiest day of the week — as toddlers learned new words, students surfed the web, librarians checked-out
books — when a crossbow fired a bolt through Si Cheng’s back. The 52-year-old died, right there, the Main St. public
library on Thursday, just after 4 p.m. His 24-year-old son, Zhou Fang is charged with pulling the trigger. “This is a very
unusual incident,” said Anne Marie Aikins, communications manager for Toronto Public Library. “So we’re trying to make sure
anyone affected by it gets their needs met.” Several after-school programs were underway when Cheng was murdered, including
Ready for Reading — a program for kids 5 and under. Teenagers were arriving post class. Librarians were switching shifts.
“It was a bustling place at the time,” said Aikins. In their panic, many people left knapsacks and books behind. Many are
still logged into computers. And the library has a record of members signed up for the several programs going on at the
time. Library officials will be allowed back into the Main St. branch on Sunday. From the information and items left
behind, patrons will be contacted and offered support, Aikins said.
--Ryerson librarian will keep his job
- http://lisnews.org/node/38201/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Sunday December 5th at 2:49 AM
-Read 224 times - 0 Comments
A Ryerson University librarian who took photos of strippers from his campus office will not be fired. “If you read the laws
of the land it is very, very clear that you can take a photograph,” Ryerson President Sheldon Levy told the Eyeopener. “If
people don’t like it, too bad.” Full article Previous article: Secret shots of dancers upset strip club owner Excerpt:
"There's a big wall between us and Ryerson that's got to be about 25-feet high, so if you're a waitress or dancer on the
roof, you don't believe you're being watched by a librarian who's pointing some telescopic lens down at you," he said. "To
me, it's almost like the guy is a Peeping Tom." The owner of the strip bar said he will caution his dancers to cover up.
The fact that women's faces are clearly shown gets Cooper hot under the collar — and not in a good way. "The (women) don't
mind doing what they do for a living inside the bar, but they don't publicize it outside," he said. "Everyone has parents.
It's not something I think is ethical behaviour by the librarian."
--Philip Larkin: Poet, Librarian and Ladies Man
- http://lisnews.org/node/38200/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Saturday December 4th at 8:51 PM
-Read 266 times - 0 Comments
When Philip Larkin asked his long-time secretary Betty, at the end of an evening out, if he could come in for a cup of
coffee, she initially thought that was all he wanted. Until that point, the poet and his colleague had enjoyed a classic
working relationship. Larkin's day job was librarian at Hull University and Betty took his dictation, organised his work
and stayed resolutely positive when he was feeling down. He, in turn, appreciated her loyalty, efficiency, typing skills and
pragmatism. But that warm night in 1975 marked the start of a different sort of intimacy between them, one that lasted well
over five years. More amour from the Daily Mail UK.
--The Live-In Librarian
- http://lisnews.org/node/38199/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Saturday December 4th at 1:28 PM
-Read 352 times - 0 Comments
When Dave Sheppard helped out in the Warren (IL) High School library as a teenager, he didn’t know he would one day live in
a library. However, on Saturday, Sheppard will be introduced to the community as the new librarian at Oneida’s (IL) Greig
Memorial Library, and the first male in a lengthening list of live-in librarians. Local taxes and other funding add up to a
small library budget, so the library board’s solution continues to be an offer of living quarters plus a small salary.
Sheppard, who also works full time at Walmart, and his wife, Lois, will move into the library sometime after the holidays. A
Gerlaw native, Sheppard and his wife have lived all over the Midwest, but currently live in his parents’ former home, a
130-year-old house in Gerlaw. They previously owned a paperback exchange bookstore in Monmouth which was behind the Warren
County Public Library. As he provided a tour of the six rooms on the upper level of Greig Memorial Library on Wednesday,
Sheppard seemed comfortable with the concept of living in a library, an option that had not occurred to him before his
response to the ad for his new position.
--Pirate Central
- http://lisnews.org/node/38198/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Saturday December 4th at 3:48 AM
-Read 349 times - 0 Comments
Pirate Central is at the ereads.com website. Some recent Pirate Central posts: We have seen the pirates and they are us
Would you work 3000 hours for nothing? This pirated artist did. When pornsters attack file swappers, watch out
--The Book in the Renaissance
- http://lisnews.org/node/38197/
-Blog Entry by Bibliofuture Posted Saturday December 4th at 3:38 AM
-Read 80 times - 0 Comments
The Book in the Renaissance The dawn of print was a major turning point in the early modern world. It rescued ancient
learning from obscurity, transformed knowledge of the natural and physical world, and brought the thrill of book ownership
to the masses. But, as Andrew Pettegree reveals in this work of great historical merit, the story of the post-Gutenberg
world was rather more complicated than we have often come to believe. The Book in the Renaissance reconstructs the first
150 years of the world of print, exploring the complex web of religious, economic, and cultural concerns surrounding the
printed word. From its very beginnings, the printed book had to straddle financial and religious imperatives, as well as the
very different requirements and constraints of the many countries who embraced it, and, as Pettegree argues, the process was
far from a runaway success. More than ideas, the success or failure of books depended upon patrons and markets, precarious
strategies and the thwarting of piracy, and the ebb and flow of popular demand. Owing to his state-of-the-art and highly
detailed research, Pettegree crafts an authoritative, lucid, and truly pioneering work of cultural history about a major
development in the evolution of European society. Book is mentioned in the 100 Notable Books of 2010 in the NYT Starred
review in Publisher's Weekly
--Bookstore Turns Kids and Parents into Self-Publishers
- http://lisnews.org/node/38196/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Saturday December 4th at 3:31 AM
-Read 349 times - 0 Comments
At the Charlotte, N.C. children's bookstore Author Squad, kids and parents don't just buy books, they make books—as in
writing, illustrating, laying out, and hand-binding hardcover volumes, at the store's own publishing center. Owner Lauren
Garber has gotten the process so kid-friendly, in fact, that even two-year-olds can get in on constructing their own books.
Full article at Publisher's Weekly Maybe something for the right library to try?
--Analyzing Literature by Words and Numbers
- http://lisnews.org/node/38195/
-Blog Entry by Bibliofuture Posted Saturday December 4th at 3:22 AM
-Read 75 times - 0 Comments
A new computer-generated process is giving scholars a prism into Victorian thought. Victorians were enamored of the new
science of statistics, so it seems fitting that these pioneering data hounds are now the subject of an unusual experiment in
statistical analysis. The titles of every British book published in English in and around the 19th century — 1,681,161, to
be exact — are being electronically scoured for key words and phrases that might offer fresh insight into the minds of the
Victorians. Full article
--A Book Lover’s San Francisco
- http://lisnews.org/node/38194/
-Blog Entry by Bibliofuture Posted Saturday December 4th at 2:43 AM
-Read 62 times - 0 Comments
Article in the Travel section of the NYT ON a balmy fall evening in the Mission District of San Francisco, hundreds of
people spilled onto Valencia Street, where they chatted happily for a few minutes before pouring back into bookstores, cafes
and theaters. It was a giddy, animated crowd, but most of all bookish — a collection of fans and believers, here to listen
to the written word. Full article
--Crossbow Killing InToronto Library
- http://lisnews.org/node/38193/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Friday December 3rd at 9:21 PM
-Read 463 times - 0 Comments
>From the Toronto Sun: The city’s first ever crossbow killing is an alleged case of patricide. The 52-year-old man who was
shot in the back in a crowded library Thursday is the alleged killer’s father, Toronto Police confirmed Friday. Si Cheng,
also known as William, was inside a public library on Main St., just south of Gerrard St. E., when he was hit in the back by
a bolt from a crossbow shortly after 4 p.m., police said. It’s alleged that Zhou Fang, 24, also known as Peter, fired the
fatal shot as women and children in the library watched in horror. Police have not said anything about what may have
motivated the city’s 59th murder of the year. However there is a history of violence involving the accused killer’s
estranged mother and father. And at least one source, who knew the couple when they were still living together as a family
in 2006 on Mintwood Dr. near Steeles Ave. E. and Leslie in 2006, said “Nora” Cheng Mei Fang “lived in fear” of her former
spouse. “I don’t know what the relationship was like between the father and son, but I know she was terrified of her
ex-husband,” said the source, who asked not to be named. The mother and son have been living in Ottawa. The father
remained in the family home until recently, even though it was owned by his ex-wife. The North York house was sold for
$443,000 in mid-November, according to court records. The closing date was Dec. 1, the day before the killing.
--Library of Congress Blocks Wikileaks
- http://lisnews.org/node/38192/
-Front Page Story by Great Western Dragon Posted Friday December 3rd at 5:54 PM
-Read 363 times - 3 Comments
>From The Guardian: The Library of Congress tonight joined the education department, the commerce department and other
government agencies in confirming that the ban is in place. Although thousands of leaked cables are freely available on the
Guardian, New York Times and other newspaper websites, as well as the WikiLeaks site, the Obama administration insists they
are still classified and, as such, have to be protected.
--The Library: Three Jeremiads by Robert Darnton
- http://lisnews.org/node/38191/
-Blog Entry by Anonymous Patron Posted Friday December 3rd at 5:15 PM
-Read 210 times - 0 Comments
Robert Darnton, Harvard University professor and director of the Harvard University Library, outlines three problems facing
the modern American research library and university: the decline of an economically viable market for most scholarly
monographs published by university presses; the escalating prices of scientific journals and the role of open access
journals; and the role of Google in a world of digital books and libraries.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/dec/23/library-three-jeremiads/
--Netflix and Movies a Good Metaphor for Book Business
- http://lisnews.org/node/38190/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Friday December 3rd at 3:39 PM
-Read 286 times - 0 Comments
Blog entry at ereads.com that draws parallels between digital distribution of books and digital distribution of movies.
Full entry here
--Wasted Data
- http://lisnews.org/node/38189/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Friday December 3rd at 3:18 PM
-Read 341 times - 0 Comments
Why not use the information collected on our buying habits to help us get rid of stuff? Full article in the NYT
--A Lesser View of Public Libraries
- http://lisnews.org/node/38188/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Friday December 3rd at 3:09 PM
-Read 585 times - 4 Comments
A letter to the editor of the Port Orchard (WA) Independent : Are libraries really needed anymore? If so, why aren’t
people who use them willing to pay for that service? Libraries aren’t a vital service and therefore library cardholders and
the “Friends of the Library” should be more than willing to donate money and pay user fees for the luxury of having a
library. I guess I don’t quite understand why the public needs so many libraries. We have libraries in most public
schools, colleges and universities. How many libraries do the public and the students really need? Most every American has
a desktop or laptop computer that can access websites to find the information needed in today’s complex world. You can also
read most books online at college and university websites. Providing computers at public libraries is a huge cost to
taxpayers. I even know poor people who have computers. In this day and age, anyone who needs to use the library to access a
computer is simply too cheap to buy their own.
--anonymity, libraries, and websites
- http://lisnews.org/node/38187/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Friday December 3rd at 2:47 PM
-Read 315 times - 0 Comments
anonymity, libraries, and websites libraries can’t really base policy decisions or day-to-day practice decisions on
one-time events or on worse case scenarios. We have to base those policies on a library’s strategic plans and on current
best practices in order to best serve our communities. And then deal with the exceptions and single instances as they crop
up.
--Your Baby Can Read? That's Nice, But It's Not What Toddler Story Time Should Be About
- http://lisnews.org/node/38186/
-Blog Entry by Anonymous Patron Posted Friday December 3rd at 1:38 PM
-Read 296 times - 0 Comments
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-new-york-public-library/your-baby-can-read-thats_b_791605.html
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