Daily Thoughts 11/19/2013

Still Life with Blue Trim, Felix Vallotton, 1922

Daily Thoughts 11/19/2013

This morning, I read some more of The Everything Store. The story of Amazon is also the story of many other internet based companies. There are bits on Ebay, Dell, and Google for example. It is also the story of a company with a clear set of values: innovation, customer obsession, frugality, bias for action, ownership, and high bar for talent. This is a story of how a company moves into new markets and expands continuously.

I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library. I also checked the displays this morning. I put in an order for bestselling fiction and nonfiction this morning as well. I also ordered some more holiday books. We recently put out the holiday music for circulation as well.

I checked out the book, Building Your Own Electronics Lab, A Guide to Setting up Your Own Gadget Workshop by Dale Wheat.

The computer lab was open from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. today. There are also two computer classes tonight; Your Tablet from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Fundamentals of Computers from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.. Some people have been asking about Microsoft Excel classes.

I spent a little time looking at the description of the Digital Media which we offer at the Mount Vernon Public Library.

On the way home, I read some more of Zero To Maker. David Lang touches on a few concepts and practices which I find interesting. The first is that of a tool lending library where people share tools. The second concept is the fab lab or a fabrication facility designed to remake everything that already exists in the laboratory. A kind of replicating laboratory that grows continuously.

Web Bits

Are Digital Libraries A Winner Takes All Market Overdrive Hopes So http://www.forbes.com/sites/avaseave/2013/11/18/are-digital-libraries-a-winner-takes-all-market-overdrive-hopes-so/

Overdrive Launches Streaming Video Service Pilot Program http://goodereader.com/blog/digital-library-news/overdrive-launches-streaming-video-service-pilot-program?et_mid=648714&rid=240836703

Hoopla Announces Agreements with Universal Pictures, MGM, National Geographic, BBC America http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2013/11/media/hoopla-announces-agreements-universal-pictures-mgm-national-geographic-bbc-america/

You'll Need a Ph.D. to Make Sense of the Pricing Schemes Publishers Impose On Libraries http://www.forbes.com/sites/avaseave/2013/11/19/youll-need-a-phd-to-make-sense-of-the-pricing-schemes-publishers-impose-on-libraries/