Sometimes life in a world of strict copyright enforcement can seem like life in a world of crazy health insurance. My doctor doesn’t know what my health care will cost — keeping me from making informed decisions factoring in cost as one data point — and Harvard professors don’t know what their coursepacks will cost students after copyright fees are figured in. Students make illegal copies because they can’t afford a $500 coursepack. Who suffers? What is learned? [stayfree]
Legislation for Librarians
Here’s another great acronym for all librarians to know SPY BLOCK (Software Principles Yielding Better Levels of Consumer Knowledge). It’s an anti-spyware bill which, like most legislation written by people who don’t truly understand technology — or who are willfully ignoring what they know about it — is overbroad. Susan Crawford explains more. [copyfight]
The Librarian, a good book, a realistic librarian
Speaking of reading, I am reading The Librarian by Larry Beinhart the guy who wrote Wag the Dog. It’s got a realistic librarian character who gets mixed up in all sorts of adventures. You can view a few chapters online if your curiosity is piqued.
is how we read changing?
Will the Internet kill the printed book?
Books remain “the best interface for text yet invented. Some of their comparative advantages include: their lightweight, portability, high contrast and relative cheapness. In short, they are far more efficient than the scrolls and oral lore they replacedâ€.
hi – 28mar
Hi. I went to the courthouse today to contest a traffic ticket and my bag was searched. The police officer who went through my bag pulled out one of the DVDs I was returning to the library and eyeballed it “Hijacking Catatrophe, huh?” I told him, truthfully, that I hadn’t even gotten a chance to see it yet but it was due at the library. He put it back, and I went inside. These non-events happen more times than people realize, let’s try to keep that in mind when routine checks do sometimes go sour.