As expected, the first quarter of '08 has seen a whirlwind of activity from the Big 3 of the Book Social Network world. All have added new employees and all have added a host of new functionality to their websites. Here is a recap of some of the goings on:LibraryThing:-started the year off with the unveiling of Thomas Jefferson's library. They have since added nine others, ranging from Marie Antoinette to Tupac Shakur, and have a dozen or so heavyweights in the process of being added.-launched a neighborhood bookstore program which integrates the inventory of participating local bookstores with the...
How To Open a Book
Click image to enlargeFound this little gem in a book recently. The text originally appeared in Modern Bookbinding Practically Considered : A Lecture Read Before the Grolier Club of New York, March 25, 1885 with Additions and New Illustrations by William Matthews and was published by the Grolier Club in a limited edition of 300 copies in 1889. There is no printing or publishing history present on the Notice.The New York Times actually published the excerpt above in the Saturday Review of Books and Art section on December 23, 1899!
‘The Hairy Times’ of Diane Jacobs
The Hairy Times. Handmade paper from the New York Times & Los Angeles Times, human hair, letterpress text, 2005For her Hairy Times installation Diane Jacobs chooses "hair to explore the contradictions and controversies inherent in our current political climate." The installation ranges from the two items featured here to pieces featuring an oil drum, bubble gum machine and coffee grinder.The Hairy Times which was created from shredded New York Times and Los Angeles Times papers, "manifests the media's failure to ask the hard questions and hold the government accountable. The ramifications of this neglect and deceit are made evident in...
The Dark Side of Seattle’s Rise in the Publishing World
Is there a downside to Seattle's anointment as one of the most influential cities in the publishing world?Julie Bick's recent piece in the New York Times Book Lovers Ask, What's Seattle's Secret? paints only a partial picture of the effect the new bookselling triumvirate; Amazon-Starbucks- Costco, has had on the world of publishing and its "increasing influence of what America reads."There is no doubting the merits of Seattle as a literary town, books and book culture have played a significant role in the city's rise from an outpost to a leading 21st century city but there is doubt as to...
Librarians 2.0
The 2008 Naughty Librarians' Convention took place this past weekend at the Ha Rar Club in San Francisco.They convention started at 2pm at the bar and ended at the SF Main Public Library.From the invite:"Librarians are the new nurses and it’s time to break out your bookish booties for the sake of something hot: reading!Dress as a sexy schoolmarm, a libidinous librarian or a prurient professor and meet up at 2 p.m. Saturday for prim and proper cocktails at the Ha Ra club in the Tenderloin.From there we’ll head to the San Francisco Main Public Library to put our libidinous...