Let's hope we can figure out a better way to deal with this issue.Someone told me the other day that they went to the library to get a recent bestseller. It was checked out. They were told there were something like 200 people already on the list for the book when it comes back in! Clearly an unacceptable situation. If that many people in your community are waiting for the book then the community is not being properly served by their library system. This is where POD (print on demand) technology can do the most good.I touched on this in...
BiblioDog
Photograph by Kenneth Josephson from his History of Photography series. It appeared on the cover of exposure 21:4, the quarterly journal of the Society for Photographic Education, in 1983.Josephson studied under Aaron Siskind, Harry Callaghan and Minor White and taught at Art Institute of Chicago for over 35 years before retiring in 1997. He is probably best known for his 'pictures within pictures' . The Art Institute had a retrospective of his work in late 1999.There is also a nice set of book imagery in Josephson's later series titled Chicago (88-4-246), 1988-2003.
Another New-Century Modern Architectural High Spot: The Free University Library in Berlin
Here in Seattle we are still basking in the glow of our new Rem Koolhaas designed Central Library. We are, in some ways, still in shock over this instant Modernist classic and its effect on our city and library system. For a book lover with an appreciation of architecture and design taking the elevator up to the tenth floor and walking all the way down is pretty much a religious experience.Our friends in Berlin are lucky enough to share this privilege. The Free University Library in Berlin designed by Foster and Partners is "a smart building that employs a range...
The Bright Side of Digitization
We all know where I stand on the issue of who should be digitizing what parts of our literary and cultural heritage. The issue is a heated one and remains at the forefront of the open access debate.Here are some fruits of digitization.I hope the beauty of these images and the significance of their historical content will contribute to the debate on why a digital archive of this type of material must be undertaken by the public, not for profit sector.lThe Library of Congress has just posted the complete contents of 6 items from the Jay I. Kislak collection. The...
Underwater Book Art
Part 4 of Book Patrol's salute to the Guild of Book Workers' 100th Anniversary Exhibit goes underwater.From the Retrospective Exhibit:Marblefish by Iris Nevins.Marblefish. 28 x 23 centimeters, 1989. Traditional watercolor marbling, on a carragheenan bath; design completed in the ancient manner of using stencils and resists to create an image by repeatedly dipping and drying; pen and ink were used later to outline the details.From the Contemporary Juried Exhibit:Priscilla Spitler's spectacular binding for The Conversant Sea.The Conversant Sea 32 x 20 x 2 centimeters, 2006. One of a Kind. Boards binding, covered in green goat skin and decorated with back...