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I'm not certain if all these are necessary (such as a personal voice in social media) but others are (creating a basic mobile website) and show some of the ideas currently in vogue.

We should do this with Help Desk requests!

An article that covers some open access and peer reviewed projects such as the Public Library of Science (www.plos.org) and ultimately makes the conclusion that research should be free because no part of the process should cost very much, and some of the hold up is academia not considering open access journals "prestigious" enough to merit tenure. I would agree in principle, especially if commercial publishers are removed from the equation. However, a lot of applied science and research relies on funding that may involve copyrighted or trademarked material, so some research will always be restricted.

This is a really great speech. Read it only if you want to feel inspired about being a librarian. I would like to see MOBIUS take the lead on redefining success and redefining libraries. Who's with me!?! 

A somewhat gloomy article tangentially mentioning libraries but focusing more on how the revolution of robots and automation in industry has carried over to software in today's information processing jobs, and that even in recent good economic times jobs continue to be lost.

"The death of the music industry. The death of newspapers. The death of print. The death of Hollywood. The death of books. The death of the Web. The death of RSS. The death of Microsoft. All predicted to be killed - suddenly or gradually or in the library with a candlestick - by some sort of "disruptive innovation."

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.

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 video about the EDUCE project to scan and read the scrolls from the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum. Herculaneum was the second and lesser known city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The scrolls were in what is probably the only library from antiquity to survive "intact," but the volcanic ash carbonized the scrolls so they are essentially charcoal. Some have been "read" by unwrapping the scroll in segments and scanning in ultraviolet light detect the ink, this is the first time the scanning has been done non-invasively to read the scroll without destroying it.

A related concept to T-Pen, but focused more on collecting together references, summary, bibliography, and related information from manuscripts in the Parker Library at Corpus Christi Cambridge. It allows material that ordinarily would have to be handled with care or viewed from a microfilm or facsimile copy to be used with no fear of damage and considerably enhanced by the additional reference material.

The second of four New York Times articles, written by a librarian and therefore supportive, but he made several good points. Most learning centers offer computer skills in only English, but to offer those in four foreign languages is impressive, along with the move to circulating digital media and devices.

The top library headlines for 2012.

"The global electronic marketplace is rapidly depleting authors' income streams. It seems almost every player - publishers, search engines, libraries, pirates and even some scholars - is vying for position at authors' expense."

A hopeful article about the manuscripts in Timbuktu. Many historical manuscripts have been kept in private collections or libraries and never been transcribed, and several have been burned during the ongoing civil war.

In good news for readers and libraries, Macmillan, the last of five major publishers in an anti-trust lawsuit, have settled with the DOJ. This means that retailers can begin discounting digital titles they have for sale. Apple is the only publisher still outstanding in the lawsuit.

A short article about privacy topics, in this case where a library's local privacy policy conflicted with state law regarding the disclosure of of a minor's library records to a custodial parent or legal guardian.

"What words and images do we use internally to articulate why our library exists? What moods, feelings, and energy do we want to project outward?"

Very interesting article!

"The nation's librarians will be recruited to help people get signed up for insurance under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Up to 17,000 U.S. libraries will be part of the effort to get information and crucial computer time to the millions of uninsured Americans who need to get coverage under the law."

This is really big news for the publishing world.