label/books

Blood on Paper : Books in the Hand of Artists

"At a time when the notion of the book is challenged by the advent of the screen and computer, this exhibition aims to show the extraordinary ways in which the book has been treated by leading artists of today and the recent past. Blood on Paper will focus on new and contemporary work, and on books where the artist has been the driving force in conception and design." --from the Introduction to the exhibit.Most notable artists of the 20th and 21st century have used the book form as a vehicle. No matter what their primary artistic leaning (painting, sculpture, drawing,...

Continue Reading →

Libraries Resist Google. Is the Tide Turning?

“Scanning the great libraries is a wonderful idea, but if only one corporation controls access to this digital collection, we’ll have handed too much control to a private entity,” Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive and the Open Content Alliance said.Amen.“There are two opposed pathways being mapped out...One is shaped by commercial concerns, the other by a commitment to openness, and which one will win is not clear.” Paul Duguid, an adjunct professor at the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley.Vote For Openness!Book scanning stations at the Internet Archive.Quotes and image above from Katie Hafner's piece...

Continue Reading →

Google, The Big Ten and Digital Escrow

In on fell swoop Google has significantly increased the number of libraries they have under contract and has introduced a new species of digitization; digital escrow.By corralling the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), a consortium of the libraries of the Big Ten and the University of Chicago, Goggle brings the number of partner libraries to 25 and add over 78,000,000 potential items to their digi-mix.Some of terms of the agreement:-The CIC makes at least a 10,000,000 volume commitment.-Google "reserves final discretion over which Available Content it will Digitize."-Google shall own all rights to their copy and can use it at...

Continue Reading →