MOBIUS Libraries

An article that addresses a problem which has come up before, namely "junk" books made from electronic files, in this case physical copies as opposed to eBooks, but with the same problems. Material in the text is missing, as well as the publisher and print date, edition, the notation about original language or any information about the author. Such information, separated from the original work, means that the context and in some cases documentation for the book are lost, which could harm research and preservation in the long run.

Newer 3D printers coming on the market are much larger in size, able to "print" objects 2-3 feet in dimension, or about the size of a bicycle frame. Printers of these size would be something to consider for a Maker Space as they would unlikely be affordable to an individual and would require a community use to justify the cost.

A different concept that is part of a concept (and Facebook app) called a "Social Book," Thomas More's "Utopia" is put online with all the versions, notes, and commentary, and users are encouraged to write--whether to add commentary, notes, or rewrite the book in portions. I see this being a good utility for "deep thinking" or classic works (War and Peace, The Republic, etc.) but I note there doesn't seem to be a versioning system or method to track edits, and ultimately no way to lead a discussion or system of debate, and in some ways it's like a repackaged wiki. Lastly, outside of scholarly works I could imagine it devolving into a sort of fan fiction or endless rewriting to suit people's tastes.

Stephen Duncombe, a professor at New York University, has created a free, online version of Thomas More's Utopia that anyone can browse and annotate. The project is called Open Utopia (http://theopenutopia.org/).

"Depending on your point of view, the now contentious guidelines prescribe a healthy - or lethal - dose of nonfiction."

The FBI raided the Detroit Public Library over allegations a library official had ties to a contractor hired to update the library's computer systems and personally benefited from the contracts--which were in the $2 million dollar range. Interestingly the president of the Detroit Library Commission says the the issues were longstanding the raid was overdue in happening.

An interesting organization but sounds ultimately like a variation of the LOCKKS concept, namely preserving a digital archive by means of multiple copies on data nodes, so if one fails others step in to replace it.

Not really breaking new ground but an interest piece about the St. Louis County Library after county residents improved a tax increase for the system and some details about Vartan Gregorian, the current president of the Carnegie Corporation and the past president of the New York Public Library.

Kind of like a Facebook poke for education-except nudging sounds useful and not annoying.

This is not the first time Barnes & Noble has done this sort of "banning" as the author calls it. Last spring they pulled DC Comics because DC was making a deal to only work with Amazon. The comics eventually came back, but it made a pretty big statement. I don't think we've heard the end of this.

The Library of Congress is featuring selected pages of Gresham's little-known diary as part of an extensive display of its voluminous Civil War material to mark the sesquicentennial of the war years.

Great way to combat voter ID laws.

This teen space was too cool not to share! They have a green screen and a recording space!

This article was an interesting I didn't agree with a lot of it, but some of it was pretty accurate. Here's a hipster test : "Look around your living space. Do you surround yourself with things you really like or things you like only because they are absurd? Listen to your own speech. Ask yourself: Do I communicate primarily through inside jokes and pop culture references? What percentage of my speech is meaningful? How much hyperbolic language do I use? Do I feign indifference? Look at your clothes. What parts of your wardrobe could be described as costume-like, derivative or reminiscent of some specific style archetype (the secretary, the hobo, the flapper, yourself as a child)? In other words, do your clothes refer to something else or only to themselves? Do you attempt to look intentionally nerdy, awkward or ugly? In other words, is your style an anti-style? The most important question: How would it feel to change yourself quietly, offline, without public display, from within?"

One of those titles that forces you to read the blog.

Motion control: Startup company GestSure uses Kinect for Windows to allow surgeons to look through medical images without having to touch unsterile equipment. While most of the headlines about Microsoft this fall will concern its new operating system, Windows 8, and its new Surface tablet, the company is also working hard on a long-term effort to reinvent the way we interact with existing computers. *I knew my Just Dance skills would pay off!

A slight man with a stethoscope and black medical bag regularly walks through Tucson's downtown public library, helping patrons with issues that have nothing to do with books. Daniel Lopez is not a librarian, but one of the nation's first library nurses.

A generally positive article, notable that reading is a prominent part of the 16-29 age groups lives. Further, over half have used a library in the past year and consider eBooks not as a replacement for print but a supplement to their general reading habits.

Literary neuroscience, anyone?

Researchers found a nearly linear relationship between time of sharing of the resource and the percentage lost, with a slightly less linear relationship between time of sharing and archiving coverage of the resource. From this model we conclude that after the first year of publishing, nearly 11% of shared resources will be lost and after that we will continue to lose 0.02% per day.