Much like independent bookstores, public libraries are struggling to come up with a strategy that will help them stay relevant in todays shifting landscape. I recently blogged about the changes taking place at the college library level but the public libraries are also undergoing a transformation.John Morrison has a post at the Guardian that talks about some of the changes happening to the libraries of Great Britian. On of the most striking tidbits is that some libraries have been remodeled then reopened without the word library in their title! His local library is now referred to as the "Kaleidoscope".Yes, there...
Ducks and the Winter Palace
We end the year with Part 3 of Book Patrol' s celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Guild of Book Workers Exhibition.From the Retrospective Exhibition:Carol J. Blin. Frieda Firzenmeyer, Carol J. Blinn, illustrator, Once Upon a Time Book Six. Warwick Press, 1992. 23 x 15.5 x .5 centimeters. Case binding covered in full Keyari paper with printed paper label on front cover. In this story, Carol’s alter ego, Frieda Fitzenmeyer, immortalizes the flying adventures of a duck named Buddy and her side-kick Percy. Blinn is the proprietor of the Warwick Press.From the Contemporary Juried Exhibit:Susan Collard. Winter Palace. Portland,...
Shakespeare Still Sells
How is Willie doing these days? It has been over 400 years since the bard roamed Stratford. Much has changed since then- film and television have pushed the theater into the backdrop of today's culture and much of the language of his day has been stripped of its glamor.Well, the most money paid at auction for a book in 2006 was for a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio: Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, 1623. It went for $5.2 million at Sotheby's. It was a healthy $700,000 more than the next highest grossing book at auction.From Ron Rosenbaum's book "The Shakespeare Wars:...
The Business of Bookshelves
Anyone who has an appreciation for the books they own must spend some time thinking about bookshelves. Should I build them or buy them, where should I put them and which books should I put where are all questions one asks when trying to house their books.BusinessWeek.com has a story "Beyond the Bookshelf"that talks about some of the do's and dont's when thinking about shelves for your books as well as a slideshow of some of the different types of bookshelves on the market.When thinking about placement for your bookshelves just remember the Three D's - dark, dry and dust...
Book Watch
Historically, the relationship between our eyes and books was a simple one. Our eyes scanned printed pages producing symbols for our brain to work with. We read.Somewhere along the line book design added another visual component to the mix through cover art and dust jacket design. This change was so profound that today most people who are browsing in a bookstore for something to read rate the cover art as the most important factor when purchasing a book.Now we are at the next visual intersection.Videos and books.Lets start with this one from YouTube. A video by lestyoubejudged showing off books...