An interesting article about the rise of "altmetrics" or alternative metrics for some researchers to show the use and relevance of their work. While it doesn't hurt, some questions are raised such as how many people visiting a website or tweeting a pictures really grasp and use the research and also gives an edge to researchers who's work may be newsworthy as opposed to relevant but difficult for the layperson to understand.

An article that references the closure of the University of Missouri last year, and mainly emphasizes that university presses need to focus on fund raising, advocacy, building alliances, and maintaining relevance in a changing publishing landscape.

A sort article about how some web users are going to anonymous web search engines after the revelations about the widespread snooping of the NSA.

The Pacific Branch, one of two branch buildings the Brooklyn Public Library intended to sell, has been given a temporary reprieve. However, the future is murky as the building is old and in need of repairs, while the money raised selling on what has become valuable property could be used for other branches in the system.

A new DRM feature called "SiDiM" intends to watermark eBooks by slightly changing the punctuation and text for each copy, this making them unique. Some concerns is how it may changes things for the reader or from what the author intended. A similar technique is used for some music files.

Mali has been engaged in a civil war for over a year; a unique aspect of that country is the many collections of historical texts dating back to the middle ages, often held in private hands, which have now been threatened by the conflict. Libraries in Exile is attempting to save some of these works by raising money via the CrowdSourcing site IndieGoGo.

This was of interest considering my visit to the Wolfner Library during the conference. The issue seems to center around loosening copyright restrictions so blind readers can have more easy access to materials that have be converted into a format accessible to them, and the resistance of the entertainment and publishing industries even though it would be beneficial.

A CBS video about how items from the National Archives are being targeted by thieves--in this case by a noted historian who used his access to steal material.

An interesting perspective on the unfolding NSA scandals, regarding how much of the massive surveillance is actually legal.

Some relevant questions are asked about the recently unveiled PRISM Internet monitoring program of the NSA.

An interestingly philosophical article about burning books--namely books that no longer serve a purpose or have nay worth, but also questioning the purpose of the Encyclopedia, both when they were new but also today.

An interesting but more or less "Feel Good" talk about how books can change a person's life.

A useful website for finding the discography of a band, what groups someone has performed with, popular musicians in particular genres, and so on.

An interesting topic but not one that necessarily reflects what people are thinking. First is the purpose of highlighting--often for research as in a paper or in self help books, and second is how many people make highlights in the first place. Still, it is an interesting insight into what readers find notable.

This was an app I initially gave the benefit of the doubt to, but decided it falls more into gimmick territory. Essentially it tracks a person's movements and phone use, and from there decides if a person is facing health problems. I see too many false positives or deductions that would have to be made--a person could be using their phone less from both not feeling well but also from working out and not having it with them. However the general concept is sound--especially if it becomes connected to a device that monitors and reports a patient's vital signs.

A somewhat limited article about "ethnic cleansing" on the Internet. What I can agree with is the prospect of countries making their own versions of popular websites such as Youtube, the larger question that has been debated since the beginning of the Internet is who should decide about material outside the borders of a country that it may still try to control.

An interesting re-purposing of a card catalog into a collectoin called "Artists in the Archives: A Collection of Card Catalogs." Card catalogs have been redone so they include artwork that is either contributions from other artists or the public, or visual representations of what the cards originally described.

In an ongoing court case that was filed by the DOJ last year Apple is alleged to have been a "ringmaster" in price fixing for eBooks, including an e-mail from Steve Jobs to Harper Collins, as part of an attempt to move Apple off of it's standard rate of $9.99 a book.

An article covering the online legacy we leave behind once we've passed away, and who or how it is managed. Companies are gradually becoming more aware and making some concessions towards "digital estate planning" but there are still legal concerns or grey areas, such as a surviving parent using an accessing the social media account of a child who had died.

Much like the recent lawsuit by Edwin Mellen Press against a librarian who was critical of the company on a blog, OMICS in based in India has also sued a librarian, in this case Jeffrey Beall who runs the Scholarly Open Access blog. I remember seeing and reading his comments on OMICS. What is notable is the extent of the lawsuit, threatening not only civil but criminal charges in India and the US, and demanding from Beall $1 billion dollars, plus $10,000 just for sending the notice of the lawsuit out.