Katie Couric has a series underway at CBS called "Primary Questions: Character, Leadership, and the Candidates" where she asks the presidential candidates questions "designed to go beyond politics and show what really makes them tick."Her current question:If you were elected president, what is the one book other than the bible you would think is essential to have along?The question was asked prior to the recent thinning of the field so Giuliani and Edwards are included.Here are their books of choice:McCain: "Wealth of Nations" by Adam SmithObama: Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Lincoln "Team of Rivals."Romney: "John Adams" by David McCullough.Huckabee:...
The Presidential Book Debate
As the presidential debate process marches on and the issues seem to get less and less attention lets attempt to get some book energy in the mix.I propose the great Presidential Book Debate of 2008.All the candidates are positioned in front of shelves filled with books from their library. The moderators can be drawn from the deep pool of writers, reviewers, bloggers and librarians whose world revolves around the printed (or digital) word.Potential questions:What is your favorite book? (Republicans must give a back up when choosing the Bible)What has the been the most influential book on politics that you have...
Bancroft puts ‘Loyalty Oath’ archive online
The 'Loyalty Oath' controversy was the McCarthy-era communist witch-hunt that took place on the Berkeley campus in the late 1940's. It began when "hundreds of University employees refused to sign a special anti-communist oath mandated by the Regents."Dozens of tenured faculty and staff were fired and the ensuing protests eventually spread to every campus and garnered international attention.The California Supreme Court struck down the 'loyalty oath' in 1952 and all the the terminated employees were reinstated.The collection includes 3,500 pages of searchable text, 20 images and 15 audio clipsThe book on the subject is The California Loyalty Oath Controversy by...
Feds Drop Subpoena. Amazon Does Not Have to Reveal Names of Used Book Buyers
Finally there is some good news coming from the government about our First Amendment rights.U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker has ruled that Amazon does not have to reveal the identities of thousands of people who purchased used books through Amazon Marketplace.At Amazon's request the court documents from Crocker's June ruling have just been unsealed. "The subpoena is troubling because it permits the government to peek into the reading habits of specific individuals without their knowledge or permission," Crocker wrote. "It is an unsettling and un-American scenario to envision federal agents nosing through the reading lists of law-abiding citizens while hunting...
City Council Does the Right Thing: Increases Library Funding by $2 Million
It seems everywhere you turn library budgets are getting slashed. In some cases the budgetary reality it's so ugly that the management of public library services is being outsourced to private companies.But here in Seattle things are a bit different.The Seattle City Council has adopted a $2 million increase for The Seattle Public Library’s 2008 materials budget.They already know that libraries matter. In 1998 the citizens of Seattle voted overwhelmingly for the "Libraries for All" bond measure, a $196.4 million infusion to build new, and remodel existing, branches citywide. This is where the money for the Rem Koolhauss designed Central...