February 2011, Library protests

Library campaigners are to start protests during the month of February 2011. I'll keep you informed if their is anymore news, or better still check the voices of the libraries website.

Voices for the Library gets beyond the echo chamber

After going to the Marketing Libraries Outside the Echo Chamber‏ event, and listening to what both Ned and Jo talked about getting beyond the echo. At the talk Jo discussed that Voices of the library she volunteers on was getting some press coverage. Well, seems this weekend thats proven Without libraries, we will lose a mark of our civilisation in the observer, in which they are quoted.
But then, as Jo knows the only reason an academic librarian tries to keep public libraries open is like, turkeys at christmas, as someone told her once.

Frank Skinner get's busted for Times article

Seems the west bromwich supporting, unfunny comedian Frank Skinner, has been roundly slated for his article in The Times [no link to story due to the times walled garden policy].
The Guardian has an article entitled Frank Skinner's attack on free libraries is a bad joke, which opens with the rebuke :-

Do you believe in a well-funded, free library service? The comedian Frank Skinner doesn't. Writing in the Times last week, he sneered at old black and white images of cloth-capped workers educating themselves for free. He's a working-class lad himself, he reminded readers, and libraries never did anything for him. These dreary hangouts are just a big joke.

Seems there's more people that support libraries I'm afraid Frank.

Kindle thriving

(Found via here). The Guardian today reports that the Amazon Kindle is outstripping hard back sale. Kindle it says is selling 143 ebooks to 100 hardbacks.

Mobile Libraries in the UK

There is an interesting story in The Guardian entitled Is the mobile library dead?. Worth a look if you have time.

Guardian Podcast

The Guardian has a one off podcast dealing with libraries.Looks at how Public Lending Right – how authors are paid for library loans.

The [old] medium is [not] the message......Last Paleographer in Uk cut

With all the 'great news' about Ebooks, Amazon fighting Macmillan's, the Ipad, it seems that the pass may have no relevance in how we read previously. It seems King's announced recently that it was to close the UK's only chair of palaeography. From ­September, the current holder of the chair, Professor David Ganz, will be out of a job, and the subject will no longer exist as a separate academic discipline in British universities.
It seems a shame that the study of ancient writing has now disappeared. I suppose we could always study them via twitter or even show our outrage by starting a facebook page. That will make losing our history and culture so modern and at least we'll feel we have done something modern to show we won't put up with this. Or maybe not.......

Old get cold in Uk and turn to burning books

(Found via here). Seems the freezing weather in UK has caused some People in Swansea to burn there books to keep warm. Seems like a scene from from a Malcolm Bradbury novel. But then if you can't keep warm, you'll burn the first thing at hand I suppose in these arctic conditions.

The German empire strikes back......against Google

Having mentioned Google's problems last week with publishers,librarians and others over its desire to build a massive digital library, German chancellor Angela Merkel has waded into the debate.

The Guardian says:-

In her weekly video podcast, before the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair this week, Merkel appealed for more international co-operation on copyright protection and said her government opposed Google's drive to create online libraries full of scanned books.

"The German government has a clear position: copyrights have to be protected on the Internet," Merkel said, adding that there were "considerable dangers" for copyright protection online.

Guardian poll on the Kindle in the UK

(Found via here) The Guardian yesterday had a poll and discussion on the Kindle coming to the UK. The comments section point out the DRM problems that face Amazon (1, 2 & 3). Worth a read, but I can't see where the Poll is on this though.

Wikipedia.......the rising headaches hitting 3million makes

The Guardian has an article entitled Wikipedia approaches its limits, which looks at the rising problems Wikipedia presently faces, with its editors either being 'Deletionism and inclusionism'. I had read about this previously in Andrew Lih's interesting book The Wikipedia Revolution: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia. Both worth a read.

Ebooks and publishing

The Guardian has an article entitled For digital books, the story's just starting. Worth a look if you wish to see the failures of publishers to take it seriously on board.

Ebooks, reviewed and abused......

It the ubiquity of the ipod touch and iphone. Along with the news of the new Kindle 2, and release of the Sony eReader at Waterstones, there has been some debate about ebooks. Two interseting reviews have been described in some detail by library bloggers. Joeyanne in her review talks about one of applications she has used on apple's products, being Stanza. There is also Classics that has been released free as well. There is also a new one called beam it down. This new one has a few free books as well as some to download you pay for.
These reviews could be added to an interesting podcast I heard on Guardian Technology, which discussed the ereaders and ebooks would take off, in it author and games writer Naomi Alderman discusses her hopes and fears for ebooks as Amazon launch their new gadget - the Kindle 2. There's some interest outlook on the financial repercussion and who would the market be.
Thankfully, there is some criticism about ereaders to.