[youtube]http://youtu.be/tUR3mEp26eE[/youtube] Welcome to the Book Hive, a large-scale interactive sculpture created by Rusty Squid to celebrate 400 years of public libraries in Bristol, UK. The Hive is a swarm of animated books within hexagonal cells that open and close. The Hive will continue to expand until it contains 400 books, one for each year. The project was funded by Arts Council England, whose regional director Phil Gibby states: We believe that everyone, particularly children and young people, should have the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts, museums and libraries, and by supporting excellent projects like Book Hive, we can bring together the...
The Worst is Over and The Book is Not Dead
infographic created by LicenseDirect h/t Ebook Friendly
A Drone in the Library
[youtube]http://youtu.be/r9FMlv5a_FI[/youtube] We waited until the library closed—we didn't want to scare the pants off our patrons—and at twilight we set forth on our mission: to document the main branch on video from angles rarely seen by our visitors. Lucy IV is a DJI Phantom quadcopter drone, and when loaded up with the camera equipment—in this case alternating between a GoPro and an iPhone—she weighs just around 2 lbs. Finally, the use of a drone for the public good. Three cheers for the NYPL! Flying a Drone Around the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building | The New York Public Library.
Book Light. A Shining Example from Grathio Labs
Here's some DIY magic from Grathio Labs. Now you too can learn how to turn a old book into a bedside lamp. "It turns off when its closed and gives off a variable amount of light depending on how far you open it, up to about a 40W light equivalent. It gives a nice warm, soft light and it looks right at home on my bedside table." says Steve Hoefer, the man behind Garthio Labs. The real skill you will need, aside from "some basic soldering and some rudimentary wood cutting," will be the ability to "scalp a book" without breaking into...
Bartell to mix Books with Drugs
Last week word came that the Seattle independent drug store chain Bartell will introduce the Espresso Book Machine at one of its locations. It will be the first appearance of the print on demand contraption at a drug store. "Consumers can now print high quality, personalized self-published books or purchase books from On Demand Books' catalog of more than 7 million titles in just minutes" says the press release. When was the last time you heard an independent bookshop refer to one of their customers as consumers. Just two different animals. And I can see it now - once they outfit all 61...