National Library Week 2011: April 10 - 16, 2011

Honor the contributions librarians and librarians make every day by celebrating with us this week.
National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use.
This year, bestselling author John Grisham serves as the Honorary Chair of National Library Week.

There's always something new going on at the Corona Public Library. This week on Sat. April 16, 2011 we have author Dan Koeppel stopping by to discuss his thoughtful take on "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that changed the World" as part of our popular Written By Author Event Series,  and a celebration of National Library Week with our own "Night at the Library". More details on the Friends' website.
Even if you're not in Corona be sure to visit your own library today! :)
"A Library is more than just books!" 

The Future of Libraries: how will e-books impact

Reprinted from npr April 4, 2011:
You can listen to the audio from  NPR's All Things Considered broadcast of this story here...

A lot of attention has been focused on the way bookstores and publishing companies are managing the e-book revolution. The role of libraries has often been overlooked. But when HarperCollins Publishing Co. recently announced a new policy that would limit the number of times its e-books can be borrowed, it sparked a larger conversation about the future of libraries in the digital age.

These days, you don't have to go anywhere near a library to check out an e-book. You can download one to your digital device in a matter of seconds. And there's no more pesky overdue notices — the e-book simply disappears from your device when your time is up.

"The fact is that with a digital item, if you give it to somebody you still have it. It doesn't have to come back," says Eli Neiburger, the director for IT and production at the Ann Arbor District library in Michigan.

E-books, says Neiburger, are really digital files, but libraries and publishers are still trying to deal with them as if they are just like print books. In other words, they're trying to do business the way they have always done business

"Part of the models we've seen so far are still trying to force 20th century business models onto digital content," Neiburger says. "And any digital native says, 'You mean I have to wait to download an e-book? What sense does that make?' And they're off to the Kindle store to spend $3.99 or $4.99 or $9.99 to get that same book."

In the current climate, libraries worry they'll become obsolete. Publishers are afraid they won't be able to make any money. That's why HarperCollins came up with a new e-book policy that says an e-book can be checked out 26 times, after which it has to be repurchased. Leslie Hulse, a senior vice president at HarperCollins, says publishers have to place some limitations on the way libraries lend e-books.
More...

Sounds like fun : NY Library launches overnight Scavenger Hunt for 500 lucky invitees

The New York Public Library, which became the first public library to launch a Foursquare badge this week, is going one step further in mobile innovation by inviting 500 people to compete in a smartphone-based challenge for a library game night.

“Find the Future: The Game,” devised by renowned game designer Jane McGonigal, is a series of “quests” delivered via an app on players’ mobile devices that can be completed at the Library’s 42nd Street location. A group of 500 players will be invited to play the game for the first time at 8 p.m. on May 20 to tackle a list of 100 overnight challenges.

The challenges are designed to encourage players to explore and reflect upon the objects from the library’s collections. A player might be tasked, for instance, to scan a QR code located at the Declaration of Independence, and then respond to a creative essay prompt. Once enough quests have been completed, they will be “unlocked” for the public, who can begin playing the game online May 21.

“There is something to be said for being in the presence of rare, historic objects,” says Caro Llewellyn, producer of the Library’s Centennial celebration. “Wikipedia and Google are fantastic, but to see objects like these in the flesh has enormous power and can truly inspire creativity.”

To sign up to become one of the first 500 participants, interested parties are asked to go to nypl.org/game to complete a “top secret” quest for entry. Judges will invite the authors of the 500 most “innovative and creative” entries to the event.

More here on how to play: http://game.nypl.org/#/menu