scav·enge: to take or gather (something usable) from discarded material.There are hundreds of them. They have gangster names like Tommy Books and Leprechaun and roam the streets of New York in the wee hours of the morning looking for books. Nothing is off limits - dumpsters, garbage cans, anyplace that might hold a discarded book is fair game. They gather as many as they can hold and then head to the corner of 12th of Broadway and wait.What are they waiting for?9:30am. For this is the time The Strand bookstore opens and they can turn their found objects into cash!This...
Fore! Amazing Golf Collection Lands at the University of British Columbia
Meat-packing magnet Sam Martz has given his 4,700+ collection of golf books to UBC.It is the greatest collection ever assembled on the sport that will be kept intact and available for public perusal. Martz believes he has put together the third-largest collection of golf books in North America, behind the collection of the United States Golf Association and one that is in private hands.The University of Chicago houses the collection of Arthur W. Schultz which is made up of 1,600 books but according to Ralph Stanton, head of rare books and special collections for UBC, "doesn't come close to the...
Commander in Trouble: Bush Adminstration Mug Shots at the NY Public Library
The exhibit is titled Multiple Interpretations: Contemporary Prints in Portfolio at the New York Public Library and calls for artists "to tell a story, to take a stand on political and social concerns, to consider formal issues, and to explore the creative process."That is exactly what artists Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese, accomplish in their portfolio "Line Up" which features images of members of Bush's cabinet portrayed in mug shots. The work is more than simply images of Bush's cronies in mug shot format. Each photo includes a date that corresponds to a date 'when the “suspects' made 'incriminatory' statements...
Reader To Reader: A True Library Helper
"Books have a singular power to inspire and change people’s lives" and the organization Reader to Reader exists to provide those books to the people who need them most.Here is an alarming stat:60% of underprivileged children do not own a single book.Consequently, Reader to Reader believes that "a well-stocked school library [is] a critical resource hub that is a necessity not a luxury," and by devising an efficient collection and distribution method for the millions of books that are discarded every year they provide the neediest libraries with the material they need most.Their target libraries are school libraries in our...
The Marriott Library Goes Robotic
The University of Utah's main library has installed the largest automated book retrieval center in North America. The new robotic book storage and retrieval system holds 2 million books and frees up 80,000 square feet of prime library space.Machine Details:-Rail-mounted robotic retrieval cranes move up and down four aisles. -Each aisle is 130 feet long, 35 feet tall, and holds 19,181 bins.-Has its own heating and air-conditioning system-Built by HK SystemsBook Details:-"Older and less used materials" are stored in the Automated Retrieval Center (ARC)-The books are stored by size not call number and it takes between 5 to 10 minutes...