Another Lady Saves Us All From Filthy Library Books

Can a man please pull something like this sometime soon? A judge in Lewiston, Maine, has ordered a woman to return two library books or go to jail. This woman at least sent cheques to cover the costs of the books she is not returning, which I guess is somehow better.

Why is it up to the ladies to protect us from pornographic sex-ed books and The Black Dossier? I'm starting to be concerned about the lack of men in the library. Where are the self-righteous grandpas?

Who Has the Rights to Old Books?

More continuing e-book drama! William Styron's family believes they own the rights to his books since they were first published before e-books existed. Random House, Styron's publisher, disagrees and intends to get some more cash off those e-books.

Is this being handled like a regular copyright? If a book goes out of print, does the owner of copyright change? Is Random House being legitimate here? My gut feeling says no.

And now, because I have an exam on Tuesday, here is a list of who can hold copyright:

• the creator
• the employer
• the commissioner
  
• someone else the rights have been transferred to

And here are some things that are not protected by copyright:

• slogans
• themes
• ideas
• names

In Canada, copyright generally expires after 50 years. The copyright offices are located in the Library of Congress.

New Words?

While the concept of 60 Second Science podcasts sounds neat, I wish there was maybe a longer version that explains things more thoroughly. While this item about a metaphorical 'fingerprint' of an author using 'new words' sounds interesting, they neglect to mention what constitutes a new word. A word they haven't used yet, a word that's only just come into common usage by the public, a word they made up themselves?

Library Flash Mobs

Courtesy of another student in my class, some libraries at academic institutions have been the surprise hosts of dance parties. Students show up and dance. One place had a 'silent dance', where people listened to the music through headphones started at a certain time. That just sounds cool. I can't help but feel bad for the people trying to use the library for library things during the impromptu parties, but I still think it's interesting. Beyond that:

Edwins found the students' antics amusing, though also recognized that stress-relief strategies can play in important role during finals time. She said library staffers felt strongly that it was important to offer additional services to students during the period leading up to exams. The library has developed stress-relief programs, serving cocoa, bagels, and even sponsoring study-break massage sessions.

Massage sessions? Really? Wow.

F#@K Yeah!

A librarian decided to get some swearing in as part of a lesson in the First Amendment curriculum. He (she?) apparently taught the kids about more than a dozen curse words. (I liked the note by the LISNews editor on the article - 'I bet the kids could have taught her a few more.') I'm with the LISNews editor on this one. Those kids already knew those words, and they got treated to a lesson they'll remember for the rest of their lives.

RoboLibrary

So maybe 'RoboLibrary' is an exaggeration, but a library in West Yorkshire has a whole lot of automated machinery. It cost about 26 million pounds, which compares to about 45 million Canadian dollars. Ouch. On the other hand, it's good for old periodicals like newspapers. Those things are very heavy and hard on librarians, who often have problems with injuries caused by repetitive motions. Is that worth 45 million, though? It's not like they'll be building eighteen more like it, so maybe. In any case, all those robotics are pretty cool. (Link stolen from last night's class.)

12 Books to Get a Teen Started on Journaling

Stolen directly from the bibliography of a class assignment, here are twelve journal books a kid 14-16 might find interesting.

• Alexie, Sherman - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
• Cabot, Meg - The Princess Diaries
• Filipovic, Zlata - Zlata's Diary
• Flinn, Alex - Breathing Underwater
• Frank, Anne - The Diary of a Young Girl
• Juby, Susan - Alice, I Think
• Pfeffer, Susan Beth - Life as We Knew It
• Rennison, Louise - Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging
• Runyon, Brent - The Burn Journals
• Stewart, Sean, and Jordan Weisman - Cathy's Book: If Found Call 650-266-8233
• Stoker, Bram, and Maurice Hindle - Dracula
• Townsend, Sue - Adrian Mole, From Minor to Major