Daily Thoughts 06/16/2014
This morning, I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library. I also spent some time on the Westchester Library System staff section looking over circulation statistics for books and ebooks.
In addition, I am looking at a list of our higher circulation items to see what we might need to order more of and if there are any authors or subjects which stand out.
I read some more of Capital in the Twenty First Century by Thomas Piketty. This is a book of ideas drawn from statistics meant to challenge the status quo. It does not just challenge the right, it also challenges the left. Thomas Piketty describes Karl Marx's writings as anecdotal and unsupported by statistics. There is a lot in this book to make people uncomfortable.
I am reading about income inequality. Thomas Piketty is describing how when an economy is not growing, money tends to rise to the top income earners leaving the middle class and poor with little buying power. This lack of buying power hurts the economy. A growing economy with opportunity tends to help all classes of people. It is challenging reading.
I also read some more of The Island of the Center of the World by Russell Shorto. I am reading about how Manhattan in the 1630s was mainly a trading port for beaver and otter skins. It was also a center for Dutch privateering against the Spanish and had a very international clientele. The port was run by the Dutch West Indies company.
Web Bits
Libraries Are at the Root of Democracy
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/14/4176809/libraries-are-at-the-root-of-democracy.html
10 Vintage Library Infographics from the 30s and 40s
http://ebookfriendly.com/vintage-library-infographics/?utm_source=Ebook+Friendly+Email+Updates&utm_campaign=92776f6e23-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2c599ef1d2-92776f6e23-80048085
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