Daily Thoughts 1/31/2011 (Power Why Some People Have It, WEDC)

Ōta Nampo (大田南畝,1749-1823) was a late Edo period Japanese poet and fiction writer.

Daily Thoughts 1/31/2011

Talked to the Women's Enterprise Development Center in Yonkers about setting up a presentation in February.  I rather like their programs.  I also spent some time weeding in the storage area.

I am also looking at ereader equipment, apps, and ebooks which would part of an ebooks loan.

Today is a quiet, steady day. I put the book, Marshall McLuhan : you know nothing of my work! by Douglas Coupland on hold.  It was in the January 9, 2011 New York Times Book Review.  Our budget is slim these days, so there is not much to order.

I also checked out Power Why Some People Have It-- And Others Don't by Jeffrey Pfeffer.  It is an attention getting title. It is about organizational politics.


Web Bits

Library Posters http://www.flickr.com/photos/philbradley/sets/72157625923493122/

Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley

Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley.




Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley combines the genre of alternate history with thriller writing. The Real is an America where Alan Turing created the theories which led to gates to alternate histories called Turing gates. There are some wonderfully dry thoughts on Schrodinger's Cat in association with the Turing gates.



This is Paul McAuley's best book. I like the main character Adam Stone, an orphan who is recruited into the CIA to change the course of different alternate histories preventing fascism, communism, and rebuillding where there is nuclear war. The descriptions of the visits to alternate America's are wonderful.



Paul McAuley successfully creates a sense of different Americas. There are descriptions of the art of The American Bund where for a short time the "Dear Leader" created monumental art, or the space where an atom bomb fell devastating areas of Manhattan.



I also like that the story starts in the past in 1983 when Carter is elected in the Real. This makes it feel like both a historical novel and an alternate history novel. The novel touches on so many different styles of writing.

Adam Stone is a very hardcore character. He shoots, interrogates, suffers beatings, and keeps on going. He is after a secret plot to change the alternate histories timeline. His actions are extreme, violent, and polemical. This may turn some people off, but I found it interesting.

Most of the technology is todays technology. The money is similar, the guns are similar, the art and culture are different. The differences are often philosophical. Adam Stone describing his past actions as an agent of the "Real" is describing a form of imperialism which can be hard to stomach. He kills for his countries beliefs.

The novel hinges on many philosophical and political ideals. Is it right to create one America under many skies? Is it manifest destiny to push your will in different worlds?

This is a fantastic story. It is full of constant surprises, strongly opposed ideals, and constant tension. It does not end they way you might expect it would. This book will create strong opinions for and against the story.

Daily Thoughts 1/29/2011 (Ebooks, Book Applications)

Teodor Axentowicz (1859–1938), Reading, 1899, Pastel on Paper.

Daily Thoughts 1/29/2011 

There are piles of snow everywhere outside.  I had to dig my car out.  Anyways, back to books.  I have been reading http://www.teleread.com   The site has a section on libraries in the top menu bars.  I am gathering more ideas about how important ebooks are to libraries.  I also read some of No Shelf Required which is about digital content in the library setting. http://www.libraries.wright.edu/noshelfrequired/

What perturbs me sometimes when I read about ebooks is the almost total lack of conversation about digital music.  There are far fewer services for digital music in libraries than bookstores.  I have wondered when the amount of digital music available to libraries will increase.  I see an increase in book applications, but very little movement towards enhanced ebooks with music.  This would be a tremendous combination.  Books on musicians with digital music would be a very good idea.

There are other ideas which have come up.  How would you lend a book application in a library setting.  Libraries already have tremendous problems with lending computer programs.  Book applications are basically computer programs.  I think it would have to become more device focused.  You might want to lend an Ipad with a set of applications on it.  Eventually there will be tablets affordable enough for this. It is something which librarians should be thinking about.  I would like to be able to lend Ipads with book applications on them.  We already have laptops that are used inside our library.

Daily Thoughts 1/28/2011 (Ebooks)

Painting of Russian writer Evgeny Chirikov by Ivan Kulikov, 1904.

Daily Thoughts 1/28/2011

I finished reading Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley this morning.  I would call it an alternate earth thriller.

I checked the displays this morning.  I also spent some time planning for the website for Twitter and the survey on the website.  I am reading more on ebooks to get better grasp of what I will say in the grant we are working on.

I have been thinking on recent reasons I have run into for ebooks in libraries.  Some of the things which come to mind are:

• Transmedia literacy the ability to handle information across a variety of different devices.
• The digital divide does not just apply to computers, it also applies to other electronic devices.
• There is a need for greater information literacy.
• Libraries are not prepared for enhanced ebooks or book applications.
• The Ipad is more than just an ebook platform it has many other functions.
• Children need to be shown ebooks early to prepare them for the digital future.
• Libraries are just starting to build ebook collections. It will take time to match their book collections.
• Libraries need to be renewed so they can be ready for a digital future and not be perceived as obsolete.

Web Bits

DBW Library-Publisher Panel Makes the Case for Ebook Lending
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/888975-264/dbw_library-publisher_panel_makes_the.html.csp

Ebooks and Immediate Gratification from Overdrive's Library Blog
http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/01/24/ebooks-and-immediate-gratification/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+OverdrivesDigitalLibraryBlog+(OverDrive's+Digital+Library+Blog)&utm_content=Google+Reader

Daily Thoughts 01/27/2011 (Web Content, Cowboy Angels)

The Artist's Father, Reading "L'Événement," 1866, Paul Cezanne

Daily Thoughts 01/27/2011

On the way to work, I read some more of Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley.  Some of the alternate Americas are very interesting. 

I got to work a little late because of the snow today.  I spent some time working on a grant for ereaders.  I still have quite a bit to do.  I have been looking at the Sony Reader Program for devices and ebooks.  http://ebookstore.sony.com/library-program/  I also spent some time on the Overdrive site looking at compatible devices for the ebooks which we get from them.

I also took a few minutes to look at the new library survey which we have.  We are going to look at it a little more.  It needs some work. http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/node/111

I put the Web Content Strategists Bible by Richard Sheffield and The Content Management Bible by Bob Boiko on hold through interlibrary loan.  No libraries in our system currently have them.

On the way home, I read some more of Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley.  It has gotten even better, there is now a twist in the turing gates.  The main character adds an element of time travel to the ability to travel to alternate histories.  This makes the reading captivating.