Daily Thoughts 01/30/2012

Daily Thoughts 01/30/2012

I updated the library Twitter and Facebook accounts today.  I had some time to look up a few things on the library and environment and 3D printing in libraries.

I also put the book Fab : the coming revolution on your desktop--from personal computers to personal fabrication by Neil A. Gershenfeld.

I went to my local library and read a few magazines.  The Bloomberg Business Week had an issue on 10/31/2011 with an article called Who's Behind The Mask on P.64 about Occupy Wall Street.  Part of the article was about David Graeber who wrote Debt The First 5,000 Years which I am reading right now.   David Graeber was one of the main starters of the Occupy Wall Street movement.  Reading Debt The First 5,000 Years helps me understand why so much of the occupy movement is focused on banking, student loans, forclosures, mortgages, and other forms of financial inequity.

I also spent some time reading Consumer Reports.  I am thinking about buying a new computer.  The Inspiron i620 desktop from Dell has one of the highest ratings. Consumer Reports also confirmed that the iPad is still the best tablet.  Buying both a tablet and a new computer is expensive.  I am thinking about how to get it in the most affordable way possible.  I just bought a smart phone and a Kindle Touch.


Libraries and the Environment

The Social Responsibility Roundtable has a Taskforce on the Environment inside the American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/srrt/tfoe/lbsc/librariesbuildsustainablecommunitiesthree.cfm


A number of libraries have been recently built on green principles.
http://www.greenlibraries.org/

This is a farily recent article on Green libraries
http://escholarship.org/uc/item/39d3v236#page-11

Linked In Recently Listed Sustainable Libraries as a group.
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Sustainability-Librarians-3928605?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

The Sustainable Libraries Group on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/SustainableLibraries

Australian Librarian and Information Association Sustainability Group
http://www.alia.org.au/groups/sustain/ 

3D Printing and Libraries

Public Libraries, 3D Printing, Fab Labs, and Hackerspaces
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCXlJ36x-q0


Bre Pettis Talks Libraries and Makerbots
http://jasongriffey.net/wp/2012/01/22/bre-pettis-libraries-and-3d-printing/
The Maker Movement has slowly began to try and create alliances with libraries.  I am thinking about visiting NYC Resistor to just see a little bit more about what it is about.

Fayettville Free Library Fab Lab
http://www.fayettevillefreelibrary.org/about-us/services/fablab


Web Bits

How Libraries and Bookstores Became The New Community Centers
http://www.newgeography.com/content/002629-how-libraries-and-bookstores-became-new-community-centers
This is quite interesting.  In some ways it is controversial.  The question becomes what kind of community center?  A center for culture, the arts, literature, and learning is fine in my book, but there are other ideas where things become a little more fuzzy.

Why Goodreads Gave Up On Amazon
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_goodreads_gave_up_on_amazon.php
You will notice that my Goodreads Widget is not working correctly.  None of the covers are showing.