Well at least now they can't say they didn't know.ALA President Leslie Berger spent Tuesday morning testifying before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. She was there to let them have it regarding the shady nature of the recent EPA library closings.She went there to talk about two things:-"the vital importance of access to scientific, environmental, legal, and other government information for EPA employees and the American public"- and how the recent closures of several regional libraries is "restricting access to important information about the environment in over 31 states"She was clear and thorough in stating the concerns of...
Book Fountains
Though water is traditionally one of the greatest enemies of books these three fountains show us that water and books can live in harmony.Outside the Cincinnati Public LibraryPublic water fountain in RomeModel for proposed Fountain of Knowledge to be placed outside the University of Idaho Library. I am not sure if it was ever built.
The Grolier Club: An Early American Book Club
The Grolier Club is arguably the most famous book club in our country.Founded in 1884 by book lovers for "the literary study and promotion of the arts pertaining to the production of the book." The club got its name from Jean Grolier de Servières, a bibliophile of the highest order who lived during the Renaissance.The Grolier Club's history is rich. It has always exhibited books from the finest collections and has published over 200 books and exhibition catalogs each produced by the finest bookmakers and typographers of the day. It's renowned library contains almost 100,000 books.The other major contribution from...
More on the Digital Battle for Our Literary Heritage
A follow up to my post of a couple of days ago.The San Francisco Chronicle ran this story last Wednesday. Smithsonian and Corbis Enter Media Deal. "Under the licensing agreement, Corbis will provide hundreds of images from the Smithsonian museums, including archival photos and images of cultural objects, paintings, sculptures, aircraft and space vehicles."The images will then be licensed for a fee.In 1846 President James K. Polk established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust to be administered by a Board of Regents and a Secretary of the Smithsonian The current Board of Regents approved the deal with Corbis last year.Here...
The Digital Battle For Our Literary Heritage: The Internet Archive vs. Google
"Libraries exist to preserve society's cultural artifacts and to provide access to them. If libraries are to continue to foster education and scholarship in this era of digital technology, it's essential for them to extend those functions into the digital world." One of the most important battles in the book world today is the fight for who gets to digitally archive our literary heritage.From the leading university libraries to the great collections housed in our public institutions decisions are being made that could potentially alter access to the treasure trove of material that lies within their walls.It is an idea...