Barack Obama hits the tarmac in Bozeman, Montana with book in hand.The marketing folks at W.W. Norton where all over this one. I am not sure the New Times slideshow was finished before they blasted the blogwaves alerting us to this biblio treat.The book? Fareed Zakaria's new book The Post-American World published by W.W. Norton.The book begins in pure Barackian fashion -"This is a book not about the decline of America but rather the rise of everyone else."Zakaria is editor of Newsweek International and writes a regular column on foreign affairs for Newsweek. He will also be the host of...
Expand the Public Domain : Release the ‘Orphans’
UPDATE : May 20th - Lawrence Lessing has a must read op-ed on the issue in the New York Times titled "Little Orphan Artworks"**************************************************************************In the copyright world 'orphans' refer to all the books, films, pieces of art etc. that are banished to the storage rooms of museums and libraries across the country because their creators cannot be found.There are literally millions of items that go unprocessed because the places that house the material are afraid of being sued. With potential fines upward of $150,000 per item it is safe to say they will go unprocessed for a long time unless...
The Dark Side of the Bush Presidential Library
In a speech last week President George W. Bush touted the plan for his new Presidential Library at Southern Methodist University calling it "a place where we get the thinkers from around the world to come and write about and articulate the transformative power of freedom, abroad and at home."Bush expects to raise $500 million for the library making it the costliest Presidential Library to date. The half-a-billion dollars is twice the total amount Bush spent on his entire 2004 Presidential campaign! Just think if public libraries had that kind of kind of support while he was in office.Among the...
A New Dawn at the Library of Congress
Tomorrow for the first time in 18 years the bronze doors leading to the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building will open to the public and the Library of Congress Experience will begin.The LOC Experience is the marriage of some of the treasures of the world's largest library with the latest interactive technology. These new technologies "will make the Library of Congress and its collections more dynamic and accessible than ever."The "new exhibitions enhanced by interactive technology will offer a chance to experience rare and unique items, such as the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Gutenberg...
‘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...