There’s been nothing like it since ancient times. As producer Sean Prpick explains, Google’s computers will soon hold the largest collection of books in history. What will this mean for our culture and the way we get our information?
The Great Library 2.0
Possibly related…
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Your Library Website Stink and it’s Your Fault by Matthew Reidsma
Your library website is frustrating your users and sending them into the warm embrace of Google. Why? Because it’s not made for them, it’s made for librarians. As librarians, instead of adapting our websites to meet evolving user needs, we’ve dug in our heels and spent our energy making arguments about how much better our resources are than Google’s. And now our websites stink, and it’s our fault.
But all is not doom and gloom! I talk about how libraries can turn things around and build useful, usable websites that can adapt to user needs by learning to listen to your users, knowing what your website is for, and getting and using feedback.
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What Would an Evidence-Based Copyright Law Look Like?
Copyright laws are declared to be the underpinnings of creativity, innovation, the knowledge economy, and everything short of curing the sick and feeding the poor. Can copyright laws do all these wonderful things, or are they, in Ian Hargreaves’ words, the result of lobbynomics?
William Patry is senior copyright counsel at Google Inc. He has written far too much about copyright law, including his new book How to Fix Copyright Law and so now spends his time playing bass clarinet.
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David Lankes “The Library as Conversation”
Every librarian has “the story.†That story about linking a patron to a needed social service or helping someone get a job, or simply find the perfect book. These stories lie at the heart of the library. Books, videos, web pages, these are simply artifacts – tools to aid in the libraries true mission of building knowledge. The keynote will outline a vision of libraries as true and participatory knowledge organizations. Organizations that facilitate the conversations of their communities, not simply provide access to a collection.