Kindle power

Having continually pointed out I have a Kindle, I thought I'd mention how its going using it. I now some articles have said :-

Books as I grew up with them — books with jackets and covers and paper and spines — have stories that reach beyond what's written inside, and those stories are mine. There's the paperback copy of "Fahrenheit 451," signed by Ray Bradbury when he came to my hometown bookstore (and which I consequently never returned to the library).

But I find the kindle more convenient etc. I don't want an autograph book (why would I want to bow before the alter of celebrity fandom?) I really don't have space in an expensive London flat. I can arange the books into my own categories. I can take 2000 books with me. I can start reading without fear of losing my book marker. I can sell my books to pay for my Kindle. I never thought I would say it, but I prefer my kindle.

Death of the book, birth of the E-reader is upon us.....

The Guardian had a interesting story entitled Are real books nearing the end of their shelf life? Some gave it a good review saying:-

Another executive from Penguin Books, a company that has issued Sony Readers to all its editors, described hers as a godsend. "I now download virtually all my submissions on to my eReader. In some cases, it means the script is never printed out. The agent emails it and I download it."

Whilst one said :-

"I can't say I enjoy it very much. Using it at home feels too much like looking at a computer screen."

With ereaders, iphones and kindles filling this area, its an interesting topic of discussion (1,2,3).

BL books go digital

Via the bbc it seems that the British Library is All books are public domain and often dating back from the nineteenth century. The British library is working in conjunction with Microsoft on the project by utilising its Microsoft's Live Search Books.
The article says:-

Digitised publications will be accessible in two ways -initially through Microsoft's Live Search Books and then via the Library's website.

The books will be fully text searchable, meaning users will be able to look for keywords within a publication, making research easier and enhancing interaction with the material.

The week that was.........

Another week and another three blogs to add.

1. Wired interviewed to Helene Blowers and Michael Stephens. Good to see them getting the attention they deserve.
2. Walking Paper pointed me in the direction of an Economist article Not bound by anything dealing with the digitising of books and there impact. Ok, Kevin Kelly perhaps discussed it last year in the new york times, but as ever walking paper has an interesting spin on the story.
3. Pete over on Library too has a piece on why we qualify as librarians. I totally agree when he says:-
I also studied for a Masters in Information and Library Management. My goal- a professional post. One with some strategic responsibility, some chance to develop collections.
And here I am doing those things, working alongside library assistants. I hope I don’t come across as arrogant or elitist. I never had that feeling about the librarians I worked with when I was a library assistant. I just recognised that there were different tasks to be done, by different people, working to different expectations. As I still do.