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Only in Silicon Valley does a robot return your library books: “Residents in downtown Mountain View have gotten their first peek at the future with the debut of BookBot, the library’s newest non-human helper. A creation of Google’s Area 120 — an experimental division of the technology juggernaut — the bot is the company’s first …
SPIEGEL Interview with Umberto Eco ‘We Like Lists Because We Don’t Want to Die’ – “Italian novelist and semiotician Umberto Eco, who is curating a new exhibition at the Louvre in Paris, talks to SPIEGEL about the place lists hold in the history of culture, the ways we try to avoid thinking about death and …
“Americans are spreading their book consumption across several formats, and the use of audiobooks is rising. About three-quarters (74%) of Americans have read a book in the past 12 months in any format, a figure that has remained largely unchanged since 2012, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in January. Print books remain …
Blockchain Reaction – How library professionals are approaching blockchain technology and its potential impact. “American Libraries talked with five librarians and information professionals who are at the forefront of blockchain technology about what library workers need to know about blockchain, the role libraries can play in educating the public, and the ways this emerging technology …
TorrentFreak: “The University of California (UC) is the latest institution to cancel its subscription to leading academic publisher Elsevier. UC cites high costs and the lack of open access research among the reasons. This likely means an increase in traffic for Sci-Hub, the site that’s often referred to referred to as ‘The Pirate Bay for …
“OCLC, a leading library technology and research organization, has published The Library 100: Top Novels of All Time, a list of the novels most widely available in libraries today. The list is based on data in WorldCat, the world’s most comprehensive database of information about library collections. Produced and maintained by OCLC and individual member …
Now I Know: “The main branch of the New York Public Library, officially the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, is located in midtown Manhattan — and it’s enormous. The building runs from 40th Street to 42nd across 5th Avenue, stretching about a third of the way toward Sixth. It contains an estimated 2.5 million volumes of books …
BookRiot: “You might have seen bookmarks advertising their existence stacked neatly on the circulation desk at the library. Maybe they were included in the acknowledgements of a local literary event’s brochure. Perhaps their name was noted as a supporter of a float in the town’s parade. Or, it’s possible you even attended one of their …
The New York Times – Every book has to earn its spot in one of the world’s leading public library collections. Here’s what it takes: “…Every book is handpicked by a seasoned corps of 16 selectors and helpers who are the gatekeepers to the library’s circulating collection of nearly 5 million books, 1.7 million e-books …
Gizmodo: “When it comes to their stuff, people often have a hard time letting go. When the object of their obsession are rooms full of old clothes or newspapers, it can be unhealthy—even dangerous. But what about a stash that fits on 10 5-inch hard drives? Online, you’ll find people who use hashtags like “#digitalhoarder” …
Oxford University Press Blog: “This March we celebrate Women’s History Month, commemorating the lives, legacies, and contributions of women around the world. Since the inception of the women’s suffrage movement at Seneca Falls in 1848, we have seen a significant increase in women’s involvement in politics and the fight for women’s rights. It is important …
UC Office of the President: “As a leader in the global movement toward open access to publicly funded research, the University of California is taking a firm stand by deciding not to renew its subscriptions with Elsevier. Despite months of contract negotiations, Elsevier was unwilling to meet UC’s key goal: securing universal open access to …
