TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics » digital public library of america http://www.teleread.com News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Tue, 21 May 2013 20:36:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 E-Book Usability News: Adjustable line spacing now available on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9” http://www.teleread.com/kindle/e-book-usability-news-adjustable-line-spacing-now-available-on-the-kindle-fire-hd-8-9/ http://www.teleread.com/kindle/e-book-usability-news-adjustable-line-spacing-now-available-on-the-kindle-fire-hd-8-9/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 15:30:55 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=84970 LibraryCity knocked Amazon for not letting users of the Kindle Fire HDs adjust their line spacing. But guess what I noticed just now within the font-related submenu of my Kindle HD 8.9” model running version 8.3.1 firmware? Alas, on my several files tested, I still couldn’t narrow the spaces sufficiently on the HD even though the Kindle app [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/kindle/e-book-usability-news-adjustable-line-spacing-now-available-on-the-kindle-fire-hd-8-9/feed/ 0 Morning Links — The Digital Public Library of America has arrived http://www.teleread.com/morning-roundup/morning-links-the-digital-public-library-of-america-has-arrived/ http://www.teleread.com/morning-roundup/morning-links-the-digital-public-library-of-america-has-arrived/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:11:31 +0000 Joanna Cabot http://www.teleread.com/?p=83811 The Digital Public Library of America has Arrived (Scholarly Kitchen) Debate Continues Over Enhanced, Interactive eBooks (Good e-Reader) Span Admits New Copyright Law is Designed to Keep it Off US Naughty List (Techdirt) Should Indie Authors Reach Out to Bookstores? (GalleyCat) Kindle Daily Deals: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard (and 3 others)  

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/morning-roundup/morning-links-the-digital-public-library-of-america-has-arrived/feed/ 1 Promising DPLA debut—but please don’t confuse special-collection items, exhibits and APIs with a full-fledged ‘public library’ demo http://www.teleread.com/library/promising-dpla-debut-but-please-dont-confuse-special-collection-items-exhibits-and-apis-with-a-full-fledged-public-library-demo/ http://www.teleread.com/library/promising-dpla-debut-but-please-dont-confuse-special-collection-items-exhibits-and-apis-with-a-full-fledged-public-library-demo/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:00:51 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=83591 A caveat first. The Digital Public Library of America is evolving. What’s more, I’m a booster of the organization and of the people behind it, including the new executive director, Dan Cohen, who so decently reacted after the Boston Marathon bombings. But for now, the academic-and-hacker mindset is prevailing at the DPLA over the traditional [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/library/promising-dpla-debut-but-please-dont-confuse-special-collection-items-exhibits-and-apis-with-a-full-fledged-public-library-demo/feed/ 3 LibraryCity’s take on K-12 libraries and the DPLA http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/librarycitys-take-on-k-12-libraries-and-the-digital-public-library-of-america/ http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/librarycitys-take-on-k-12-libraries-and-the-digital-public-library-of-america/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:42:29 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=83043 Yes, LibraryCity has been on an S. R. Ranganathan kick lately (here and here). Still ahead is a DPLA-related essay on his Five Laws of Library Science as applied to K-12, including school libraries—a follow-up to the LibraryCity post by Apple Distinguished Educator Donald R. Smith, a teacher-librarian with 40 years of experience. If you want to share any relevant thoughts for the next Ranganathan-inspired essay, just e-mail [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/librarycitys-take-on-k-12-libraries-and-the-digital-public-library-of-america/feed/ 0 Beyond a Digital Attic: How the DPLA can honor the Five Laws of Library Science http://www.teleread.com/library/beyond-a-digital-attic-how-the-dpla-can-honor-the-five-laws-of-library-science/ http://www.teleread.com/library/beyond-a-digital-attic-how-the-dpla-can-honor-the-five-laws-of-library-science/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:48:20 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=82385 This is the era of bits and bytes and multimedia and 3D printing, not just books and other texts. But Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science would still apply today in spirit even after more than eighty years. Educated originally as a mathematician, S.R. Ranganathan was a library-science genius who studied librarianship in Great Britain and worked as the librarian [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/library/beyond-a-digital-attic-how-the-dpla-can-honor-the-five-laws-of-library-science/feed/ 1 Dwarf-Sized Public E-Libraries vs. Abundance http://www.teleread.com/library/dwarf-sized-public-e-libraries-vs-abundance-listen-to-veteran-publishing-guru-brian-oleary-and-librarian-sarah-houghton/ http://www.teleread.com/library/dwarf-sized-public-e-libraries-vs-abundance-listen-to-veteran-publishing-guru-brian-oleary-and-librarian-sarah-houghton/#comments Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:00:28 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=77169 People in Bexar County, Texas, should be excited about the 10,000-e-book “BiblioTech” library system that the country is starting from scratch—without paper books. This is reportedly the first U.S. public library system to shun paper, cardboard and ink, except for computer printouts. Any books are better than none, and besides, the 10K figure encompasses only copyrighted books, not the tens of thousands of free [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/library/dwarf-sized-public-e-libraries-vs-abundance-listen-to-veteran-publishing-guru-brian-oleary-and-librarian-sarah-houghton/feed/ 4 Need Library E-Books to Feed Your New Gadget? Here’s the Answer http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/not-enough-library-e-books-to-feed-your-new-gadget-properly-well-stocked-national-digital-library-systems-could-help/ http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/not-enough-library-e-books-to-feed-your-new-gadget-properly-well-stocked-national-digital-library-systems-could-help/#comments Tue, 01 Jan 2013 14:15:01 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=76236 If you can’t find the right library e-books for your new Kindle, Nook, iPad or other gizmo, you’re not alone. More than 100 patrons of the District of Columbia Public Library were lined up electronically today for 10 e-book copies of The Racketeer, John Grisham’s new novel about the murder of a federal judge. Some 400+ D.C. library [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/not-enough-library-e-books-to-feed-your-new-gadget-properly-well-stocked-national-digital-library-systems-could-help/feed/ 10 Southern librarian’s thoughtful criticism of Gates Foundation survey unwittingly shows need for TWO national digital library systems—one public, one academic http://www.teleread.com/library/southern-librarians-thoughtful-criticism-of-gates-foundation-survey-unwittingly-shows-need-for-two-national-digital-library-systems-one-public-one-academic/ http://www.teleread.com/library/southern-librarians-thoughtful-criticism-of-gates-foundation-survey-unwittingly-shows-need-for-two-national-digital-library-systems-one-public-one-academic/#comments Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:30:19 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=75293 Mindful of the record number of poor Americans, a thoughtful “Front Line Librarian” in a Southern state is asking an essential question in effect: Why care so much about library e-books and the rest when millions of low-income people lack computers or at least the skills to use them? Front Line says more reliance on the Net will make [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/library/southern-librarians-thoughtful-criticism-of-gates-foundation-survey-unwittingly-shows-need-for-two-national-digital-library-systems-one-public-one-academic/feed/ 5 Hurricane Sandy and the national digital library issue: With smartened-up journalists and voters, could we have stopped or slowed down global warming? http://www.teleread.com/library/hurricane-sandy-and-the-national-digital-library-issue-with-smartened-up-journalists-and-voters-could-we-have-stopped-or-slowed-down-global-warming/ http://www.teleread.com/library/hurricane-sandy-and-the-national-digital-library-issue-with-smartened-up-journalists-and-voters-could-we-have-stopped-or-slowed-down-global-warming/#comments Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:30:59 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=74467 Canned and dried foods, flashlights, radios, cellphones and good UPSes aren’t the only essentials that the wired might buy in an anticipation of the growing number of weather-related exigencies like Hurricane Sandy. I’ve also purchased a $99 battery-powered portable hotspot through which my iPad and other Wi-Fi-equipped devices  can stay in touch with the rest of the world [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/library/hurricane-sandy-and-the-national-digital-library-issue-with-smartened-up-journalists-and-voters-could-we-have-stopped-or-slowed-down-global-warming/feed/ 2 New easy-to-use iOS app works with library-owned e-books and eliminates need for browser-based downloads http://www.teleread.com/library/new-easy-to-use-ios-app-works-with-library-owned-e-books-and-eliminates-need-for-browser-based-downloads/ http://www.teleread.com/library/new-easy-to-use-ios-app-works-with-library-owned-e-books-and-eliminates-need-for-browser-based-downloads/#comments Tue, 09 Oct 2012 13:48:36 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=72630 The innovative Douglas County Libraries system in Colorado has done it again—with the release of a new iOS app for iPads, iPhones and presumably Touches and the forthcoming iPad Mini. Significantly, the app makes it a snap to check out library books, without forcing you to download through a Web browser. Talk about the path to Kindle-simple! DCL’s [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/library/new-easy-to-use-ios-app-works-with-library-owned-e-books-and-eliminates-need-for-browser-based-downloads/feed/ 2 ALA’s gripes to publishers dance around the e-library world’s Problem #1—not enough money for e-books http://www.teleread.com/library/ala%e2%80%99s-gripes-to-publishers-dance-around-the-e-library-world%e2%80%99s-problem-1%e2%80%94not-enough-money-for-e-books/ http://www.teleread.com/library/ala%e2%80%99s-gripes-to-publishers-dance-around-the-e-library-world%e2%80%99s-problem-1%e2%80%94not-enough-money-for-e-books/#comments Tue, 25 Sep 2012 10:48:32 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=71679 I’m still borrowing e-books from public libraries. I loved the digital edition of the late Louis Auchincloss’s memoirs that popped up when I was browsing the electronic stacks of a library system near me here in Northern Virginia. Public libraries at their best can be Serendipity Central. But I rely much less these days on library books than before. Too [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/library/ala%e2%80%99s-gripes-to-publishers-dance-around-the-e-library-world%e2%80%99s-problem-1%e2%80%94not-enough-money-for-e-books/feed/ 8 Two websites illustrate the need for separate national digital library systems—public and academic http://www.teleread.com/digital-libraries/two-websites-illustrate-the-need-for-separate-national-digital-library-systems%e2%80%94public-and-academic/ http://www.teleread.com/digital-libraries/two-websites-illustrate-the-need-for-separate-national-digital-library-systems%e2%80%94public-and-academic/#comments Mon, 13 Aug 2012 03:24:31 +0000 David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/?p=68345 Two good websites on learning disabilities show the need for separate but tightly intertwined national digital library systems. One system public, one academic. Neither site is a library’s. Friends of Quinn is a grassroots nonprofit featuring Quinn Bradlee, son of Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee—the legendary society columnist and the Watergate editor. LD OnLine is from WETA, a public broadcasting station in the [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/digital-libraries/two-websites-illustrate-the-need-for-separate-national-digital-library-systems%e2%80%94public-and-academic/feed/ 0 Digital Public Library of America faces uncertainty over functions, copyright http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/digital-public-library-of-america-faces-uncertainty-over-functions-copyright/ http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/digital-public-library-of-america-faces-uncertainty-over-functions-copyright/#comments Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:49:35 +0000 Chris Meadows http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/digital-public-library-of-america-faces-uncertainty-over-functions-copyright/ On MIT’s Technology Review, Nicholas Carr takes an in-depth look at the creation of the Digital Public Library of America, an attempt at a non-commercial universal electronic library (which I also mentioned last month) that hopes to provide universal access to as much of human knowledge as it can. Carr first looks at Google’s attempt [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/digital-public-library-of-america-faces-uncertainty-over-functions-copyright/feed/ 2 “Many Libraries: As the world’s books go online, we must resist centralization” Technology Review, published by MIT http://www.teleread.com/library/%e2%80%9cmany-libraries-as-the-world%e2%80%99s-books-go-online-we-must-resist-centralization%e2%80%9d-technology-review-published-by-mit/ http://www.teleread.com/library/%e2%80%9cmany-libraries-as-the-world%e2%80%99s-books-go-online-we-must-resist-centralization%e2%80%9d-technology-review-published-by-mit/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 13:17:20 +0000 Paul Biba http://www.teleread.com/?p=65796 From the Internet Archive blog: The Internet has put universal access to knowledge within our grasp. Now we need to put all of the world’s literature online. This is easier to do than it might seem, if we resist the impulse to centralize and build only a few monolithic libraries. Centralization can lead to price [...]

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]]> http://www.teleread.com/library/%e2%80%9cmany-libraries-as-the-world%e2%80%99s-books-go-online-we-must-resist-centralization%e2%80%9d-technology-review-published-by-mit/feed/ 1 Digital Public Library of America faces challenges, but is off to promising start http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/digital-public-library-of-america-faces-challenges-but-is-off-to-promising-start/ http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/digital-public-library-of-america-faces-challenges-but-is-off-to-promising-start/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 04:16:26 +0000 Chris Meadows http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/digital-public-library-of-america-faces-challenges-but-is-off-to-promising-start/ Ars Technica has a report on the Digital Public Library of America West conference from April 27th that seems to be a bit more informative than the Publishers Weekly summary we linked a week ago. Ars’s Megan Geuss reports on the challenge facing the organization, and some of the ideas presented at the event. The [...]

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