"Ms. Lansing has never shown any interest in a greater corporate role. But the movie business is changing, and she may not want to change with it. 'Her career has been based on content,' Mr. Rudin said. 'Now it is more of a marketing business, and that may have less appeal for her.'" - New York Times, June 30The TeleRead take: And don't think that book biz is any different from show biz. Time for more focus on a library model? ...

"'When kids read during the summer, they do better in school,' said Carol Rasco, president and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental Inc. 'But just as importantly, summer reading should be fun and help kids discover that books can take them on great adventures.' It's in those moments looking through the library stacks, choosing a page-turning mystery or a sports biography -- with no test or book report looming beyond the final page--that kids learn the true entertainment value of a book." - Miami Herald, June 29, via Library StuffThe TeleRead take: But what about the rest of the year?...

Pirate radio on the Net--which the RIAA can't trace? That's the claim discussed in Slashdot.The TeleRead take: Another example of the ingenuity of bootleggers--and the need for sustainable and user-friendly business models, whether for music or books....

"Unfortunately, the bulk of resources in most libraries is still available only in conventional printed form: bound, numbered and arranged on shelves. You can try doing all your research electronically but at some point, you will have to hunt down a book on one of those shelves, sit down and thumb through its pages. In libraries of the future, researchers at Johns Hopkins University say, that kind of grunt work could be handled by robotic systems linked to the Internet." - New York Times, June 27The TeleRead take: Mixed feelings here. This would be a great transitional technology and...

Practical how-to guidance from Mary Minow, a library law consultant for LibraryLaw.com. Carried by LLX.com....

National Public Radio has leveled with us in offering one reason why it fears unfettered linking. Horror of horrors, what if people criticize NPR on their own sites and use too many NPR links? Why, they might even charge subscription fees. I myself am an NPR booster but relish the prospect of this nightmare unfolding. Gadflies are an essential part of media ecology, particularly when they're right. I was curious to see what NPR critics might actually be out there, right or wrong. The possibilities intrigued me. I already knew of media watchers such as ChronWatch. And earlier today...

For the perspective of NPR's ombudsman, check out Jeffrey Dvorkin's page. He is open-minded enough to quote some of the network's critics, and he even includes a link to this TeleBlog. While I still dislike NPR's linking policies, I myself favor the gentle approach and would oppose the withholding of contributions to public radio stations. It isn't as if NPR is stonewalling us. A dialogue is still possible on such issues as linking by advocacy groups and businesses. What's more, as shown by a sympathetic segment that a Minnesota affiliate did with Cory Doctorow, a boycott would indirectly...

We don't know and won't speculate. But author-columnist Robert X. Cringely is having some fun with the possibilities and even suggesting that Microsoft has deliberately left security holes in its products to stir up discontent with the existing Net. What we can say is that the telecom thieves completely justified Cringely's paranoia about them....

Has NPR itself done a story on the linking controversy? Not that I know of so far. When I called the office of Nina Totenberg, the legal corresondent, I was told she didn't have time. But presumably NPR has other good, qualified reporters. The topic is important enough to be covered. If it isn't covered, then either (1) NPR will provide yet other evidence of cluelessness or (2) we'll know that NPR refuses to cover itself. Time for the NPR ombudsman to go into the air? Meanwhile, Jenny Levine, the Shifted Librarian, warns NPR not to "waste their own...

"Consumers may think they are successfully burning a CD protected by Smarte Solutions, but may discover otherwise when they try to play it... Privately held Smarte Solutions is working with software publishers to incorporate its SmarteCD technology into their wares. Unlike existing copy-protection schemes, which prevent CD burners from copying a disk, SmarteCD allows the user to burn a copy of the disc, explained company president Bala Vishwanath. The software can be installed from the bootleg disc and will appear to run normally, until the program reaches a point determined by the software publisher. Then the application will halt...

So how helpful will circulation software be when G-men come to visit? LibraryPlanet.com gives one librarian's perspective. Interesting fact: Some forgetful patrons actually wanted their reading habits recorded over the long run so they'd know if they were reading the same book again. But at least one library software maker never enabled that feature, presumably with privacy concerns in mind. The TeleRead take: Yes, TeleRead could be designed with privacy protections. At same time I can also see the FBI's side on the need to track down cyberterrorists before they grow too smart about dams and air-traffic control routines. If the...

A good update on the NPR link controversy appears in Wired News with quotes from Cory Doctorow and me, two of the uppity linkers who believe that even NPR's revised policies threaten freedom of expression. Meanwhile a decision is expected July 5 in a deep-link-related case in Denmark....