The link below is to an article that reports on a digital public library, BiblioTech library in Bexar County, Texas, USA.
For more visit:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/09/14/222442870/bookless-public-library-opens-in-texas
Tag Archives: public
Article: Assisting the Author to Deal with Rejection
The link below is to an article (which links to further articles) dealing with how authors can deal with rejection, whether it be from critics or the book buying public in general.
For more visit:
http://blog.bookbaby.com/2012/12/how-to-deal-with-rejection-as-a-writer/
Article: Public Library – Philippines Style
The link below is to a truly inspiring story about a man and his public library in Manila, the Philippines.
For more visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19547365
Article: Ebooks Available at the Library
It is becoming increasingly possible to borrow ebooks from libraries. Many people however don’t know this and it is something that library users should ask about at their own public library. The link below is to an article that looks into this matter.
For more visit:
http://mashable.com/2012/06/22/libraries-are-lending-e-books/
Website: Underground New York Public Library
The following link is to a website featuring readers and their books on the New York Subway.
For more visit:
http://undergroundnewyorkpubliclibrary.com/
Article: Beautiful Libraries
The link below is to an article about beautiful public libraries around the world. Some great looking libraries in this lot.
For more visit:
http://flavorwire.com/280318/the-25-most-beautiful-public-libraries-in-the-world
Book Review: Currently Reading – Print is Dead, by Jeff Gomez
I have been reading ‘Print is Dead – Books in our Digital Age,’ by Jeff Gomez and have now reached ‘Readers in a Digital Future.’ In this chapter Gomez begins to expound the possible future of the digital world for book readers. It is a world that abounds with possibility and an experience of reading that bibliophiles of the past could only dream of (if they could look passed the traditional book format). The book reading future will allow the reader to carry an entire library on a personalised device that can be accessed anywhere and at anytime, with the ability to interact with other digital sources of information and other readers from around the globe, to share insights and to communicate via chat and discussion functionality on book-based social networks, web applications and sites. The reader will also be able to store notes within the book that will be able to be edited and shared, to highlight text, search within a document or an entire library and even expand his/her own library seemingly endlessly. The possibilities and richness of the digital future for bibliophiles is incredible to think about and should be within our grasp.
As the digital future approaches I know it is a future I look forward to being able to grasp with both hands as a bibliophile. My traditional book library can expand no further – I have no more space for it to do so. However my digital library has already grown beyond the capability of a home twice my current size to hold and it continues to do so. Will I be able to read them all – probably not. But they will be entertainment, as well as tools, that I can use as I please and they will provide me with experiences as yet untold. The future of reading looks amazing as it continues to appear and unfold on the horizon and as the first rays of the digital era break forth upon us.
Of course, if ebooks are handled poorly by authors and publishers, the rich future of reading that could be, may not be. Many of the possibilities of a digital future could be squandered and Gomez warns us of this possibility. What a wasted opportunity should greed and jealousy stand in the way of a richer reading experience. The reading public also need to understand what it actually costs to produce an ebook and the ebook then needs to be priced fairly and be fairly accessible to the reader across all of their devices.
See also:
http://www.dontcallhome.com/books.html (Website of Jeff Gomez)
Podcast (Excerpts from the Book)
Google Books
Amazon
Book Review: Currently Reading – Print is Dead, by Jeff Gomez
I have been reading ‘Print is Dead – Books in our Digital Age,’ by Jeff Gomez. Having just read chapter two, ‘Us and Them,’ I must say that his point in that chapter is well made. The demise in traditional book sales has not been because ebooks have taken the world by storm – at least not at this stage – but because other areas of the digital world have. Generations of younger people have turned away from books in all their forms and have sought entertainment in other things, such as the Internet and video games, to name just a couple. It is reading itself that is being passed by, so the advent of the ebook is not that which is killing off the traditional book and by extension the bookseller/bookshop, but rather ‘dumber’ forms of entertainment.
Books will always be around in one form or another (at least I believe that), whether they remain as prolific as they now are is quite another thing, it is the habit of reading that may fall away dramatically and cause books to be cast aside – at least in the wider community. I think there will always be a group or community of diehard book readers, who eventually will have ebooks as their primary source of books and reading material. There are those who will not be lost entirely to less intellectual forms of entertainment, though perhaps some of these other forms of entertainment may play a role in the ‘reading’ of the future in the digital world (linked to videos, etc). Reading is a great skill that is being lost and the medium for ideas through the ages faces its greatest threat from a lack of it.
The next chapter, ‘newspapers are no longer news,’ deals with newspapers as a source of news and book reviews, or rather, how they are rapidly loosing their ascendency to online applications and tools. In a world that is rapidly changing and access to news as it happens online, newspapers are becoming a too infrequently updated source of news and information. Online access to news and events as they happen are so readily accessible, that the traditional source of news is fading away. As for book reviews, the avenues of discussion about books on the web via social networking, Blogs and the like, opens the opportunity for all to join the discussion. Book reviews in newspapers, like movie reviews, are opportunities for the reviewers to pontificate and/or push their own views onto a public unable to respond – online however the avenues of discussion are legion and varied. All may be involved – or not at all. The decision as to how one may be involved is left to the individual, which also translates to news stories in a similar manner. Interaction with the news and books has never been so simple and as rich an experience.
See also:
http://www.dontcallhome.com/books.html (Website of Jeff Gomez)
Podcast (Excerpts from the Book)
Google Books
Amazon
The Life of William Farel
By Melchior Kirchhoffer
This book by Melchior Kirchhoffer seems to be an honest dealing with the life of the sometimes volatile Reformer. William Farel was a man greatly used of God in his own right, but his greatest contribution to the Reformation within the Providence of God, was to convince John Calvin to go to Geneva and head the work of reformation in that city. Through this meeting with Calvin, Farel brought the greatest of the Reformers out of relative isolation and into far greater public usefulness.
Kirchhoffer follows Farel from his early days in the Roman communion, to his days as a faithful servant of God used tremendously in the work of reformation in and about Switzerland.
This is a very easy book to read and gives a very good account of Farel’s life and work. It does not gloss over the weaknesses of the Reformer, clearly detailing what they were and the impact they had upon his ministry. Neither does it gloss over the contribution that Farel made to the progress of the Reformation.
To follow my progress in getting this work online and to read the book itself, visit:
BOOK REVIEW: The Noticer, by Andy Andrews
The first book I will be reviewing for Thomas Nelson is called ‘The Noticer,’ by New York Times bestselling author Andy Andrews. It is actually an ebook that I have.
The hardcopy book is available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785229213/thomasnelsoni-20
There is an online web site associated with the book called ‘The Noticer Project’ at:
http://www.thenoticerproject.com/
I haven’t started to read the book yet, but will be doing so today. Certainly the web site looks interesting. The site encourages visitors to think of 1 to 5 people who have played an important role in their lives. You then post a message sharing your thoughts about these people on the site and an email is also sent to those people. The message is meant to be an inspiration and encouragement to others who visit the site.
A quote from the site will perhaps help:
"The Noticer Project is a worldwide movement to "notice" the five most influential people in your life! Noticing those five people can be as private (just a letter or email) or as public (posting to your Facebook page or joining The Noticer Project Facebook group) as you choose, but the movement is meant to encourage us to step outside our busy schedules and avoid waiting until a wedding, graduation or even a funeral to take notice of the special, influential people in our lives. By noticing those who have made a difference for you, you not only acknowledge their contribution, but you may gain a new perspective on your own journey. If you are noticed, you are encouraged to continue the movement by ‘noticing’ five people in your life!"
There is also a Facebook Group that can be joined and ‘The Noticer’ can be followed on Twitter.
The web site has a number of suggestions as to how you can ‘notice’ that important person in your life, be it from writing a private letter, making a donation to a charity in the name of that person, etc.
The site encourages you to notice a person before a birthday or funeral.
Overall, I quite like the concept of noticing others. It certainly has you thinking in a more ‘other-centred’ manner and encourages you to not be so ‘self-centred.’ I wouldn’t try and blend what is a secular concept into a Christian one, but the project does warrant comparisons with many Christian virtues.
Visit the web site by clicking on the banner below:
At the BookShelf 