Newspapers

I learned about GoogleLab’s ‘Living Stories’ collaboration project with the New York Times and the Washington Post via ResearchBuzz.  I see great potential in this application.  Is this the new RSS Reader?  The new Wikipedia?   To understand ‘Living Stories’ watch the brief video on the page.
Currently, the following TIMELY stories are included:

Health Care Reform

Afghanistan War

Global [...]

Continue Reading Introducing Google’s “Living Stories”

The New York Times had an interesting essay called, ‘Steal These Books’.  To quote:
‘With the recession, shoplifting is on the rise, according to booksellers. At BookPeople in Austin, Tex., the rate of theft has increased to approximately one book per hour.’
You won’t believe what the most frequently stolen book is! 
Read on….http://www.nytimes.com

Continue Reading Bookstore Clerk: ‘Where did that book I recommend often go?’

TheStar.com had a great article on the role of libraries today AND the future of libraries.  The article, ‘A tale of two countries’ libraries’, looked at public libraries in Canada and the U.S.A. to see what is working.  Here is an excerpt:
‘In a 2006 poll, 78 per cent of Americans said if their local library [...]

Continue Reading “Libraries are back big-time, they’re having a renaissance.”

Not surprisingly, KimKomando.com introduced me to another great resource!  Tabbloid.com EASILY lets you create a ‘pdf’ magazine from your favorite RSS feeds and have it delivered whenever and how often you want it.  Check it out!  www.tabbloid.com

Continue Reading “Turn RSS feeds into an e-mail newsletter” Kim Komando

Shelf-Awareness.com says, “Beginning with today’s edition, the bestseller list published every Thursday in USA Today will include Amazon Kindle book sales in its overall rankings…”     Read the post…http://news.shelf-awareness.com
Read the USA Today announcement: http://www.usatoday.com

Continue Reading “USA Today List Kindled”

Shelf-Awareness.com intruduced me to an article in the N.Y. Times, “Target Can Make Sleepy Titles Into Best Sellers“. The post on Shelf-Awareness.com said, “In the last few years, Target has become “a tastemaker for books” through its book club and the Bookmarked Breakout program, both started in 2005, the New York Times wrote. The programs [...]

Continue Reading Selling Books the Target Way

The folks at ZDNet.com do their part in introducing the new Kindle DX.  Read on…http://blogs.zdnet.com

Continue Reading “Live from New York: Amazon’s Kindle press conference”

CNN.com had an interesting article about the transformation of the news business from large newspapers to lots of small online ‘reporters’.Check it out…http://www.cnn.com

Continue Reading “Future of online news may be ‘hyperlocal’ “

The Internet and the news are full of reports of how libraries are meeting the needs of hurting patrons.  Here are a few examples:
Libraries are bustling with job huntersHouston Chronicle - United States
Hard times are boom times for public libraries, experts say, noting
that scanning computerized job banks and filing résumés via the
Internet largely have [...]

Continue Reading Recession and Public Libraries

Ironically one of the best passages about the value of libraries I’ve ever read came from an article about library cutbacks and closings in Pennsylvania:
“In Franklin’s and Carnegie’s times, the library offered access to encyclopedias and books. It gave everyone a chance to educate himself during a time when access to education, especially higher education, [...]

Continue Reading Library Cutbacks in Pennsylvania and Lower Income Citizens