Recent Comments
- Amazon’s book city #1, Alexandria, VA, may cut library hours: Time for a digital-era national endowment to help ease U.S. libraries’ financial woes? | The Travelin' Librarian { [...] Read the full article @ LibraryCity.org. [...] }
- Promising DPLA debut—but please don’t confuse special-collection items, exhibits and APIs with a full-fledged ‘public library’ demo | The Travelin' Librarian { [...] Read the full article @ librarycity.org. [...] }
- Tom Peters { Excellent review of the nascent D(P)LA e-resource. I agree with all your major points. Tis a pity that the usual suspects (Twain, Fitzgerald, Cather, et... } – Apr 19, 11:28 AM
- Online la Digital Public Library of America, che vuole superare Google e Wikipedia | Tropico del Libro { [...] di questo ambizioso progetto. Non sono mancate, in questo senso, le polemiche di chi ha vivamente esortato i creatori della DPLA a preoccuparsi anche... }
- David Rothman { Thanks for such a prompt and classy reply, Dan---you're indeed giving #dpla its due! I truly truly hope that the DPLA succeeds, and meanwhile the... } – Mar 31, 11:58 AM
- Dan Cohen { Thanks for the great and helpful post, David. To be clear on #2, I'm very interested (as I know others are within DPLA) and plan... } – Mar 31, 10:40 AM
- David Rothman { Hi, Don. Nice to see such enthusiasm from a veteran school librarian. I appreciate your thoughtfulness, agree with your priorities, and will have more to... } – Mar 26, 4:57 AM
- Don Smith { If I might, I would like to propose a statement of purpose for the National Digital Library. Often times during my forty year career as... } – Mar 25, 8:54 PM
- David Rothman { Hey, Ralph, here's a belated but heartfelt reply to one of your points. Around here we love both libraries and librarians and are interested in... } – Mar 13, 9:58 AM
- Some news from LibraryLand | not so quiet { [...] this opinion piece, David Rothman makes a case for folks in the Warren Buffet and Bill Gates income bracket to support [...] }
- Bibliotecas públicas sin libros en EE.UU. ¿A la de tres? | Bibliotecas 2029 { [...] comunicada, tuvo una contestación pública demoledora. No sólo los profesionales de todo el país se escandalizaron por este proyecto sino que los propios usuarios... }
- A National Digital Library Endowment { [...] An interesting concept from blogger David Rothman, founder of TeleRead. He suggests that those who have signed The Giving Pledge (though he doesn’t mention... }
- David Rothman { Hi, Robert. Some quick replies… 1. I envision a variety of business models in use, but if nothing else, libraries could buy multiple e-copies (or... } – Feb 20, 2:05 PM
- Robert Nagle { Generally, a great proposal, but here are some practical issues which pop up in my mind. First, if everything is centralized, when I put a... } – Feb 20, 12:56 PM
- ATG Article of the Week: Need Library E-Books to Feed Your New Gadget? Here’s the Answer | Against-the-Grain.com { [...] Need Library E-Books to Feed Your New Gadget? Here’s the Answer, is an thought provoking article by David Rothman posted in TeleRead a few... }
- Reading about eReading this week 2/18/2013 « Allegany County Library System Director's Notes { [...] A national digital library endowment: How America’s billionaires could be modern Carnegies for rea... [...] }
- Reading about eReading this week 1/28/2013 « Allegany County Library System Director's Notes { [...] Dwarf-sized public e-libraries vs. abundance: Listen to veteran publishing guru Brian O’Leary and ... [...] }
- David Rothman { You're welcome, Anthony. Keep us posted if you can Amy-ize your new Fire without installing a full-strength version of Android. David } – Jan 19, 5:46 PM
- Anthony { Thanks Dave! } – Jan 19, 4:47 PM
- David Rothman { Hi, Anthony. Some possibilities: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/where-to-get-more-help-with-your-kindle.html Happy Kindling, David } – Jan 19, 4:00 AM
Topics
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Recent Posts
- On Jullian the Tiger Cub, a national digital library endowment, and the power of the American ego
- E-book usability news: Adjustable line spacing now on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9” and perhaps other Fire HDs—although I still can’t narrow the spaces sufficiently
- Voice Dream e-reading app: Stellar for text to speech—and promising as a general reader
- Amazon’s book city #1 avoids cuts in library hours but still might reduce its library book budget—already below the U.S. per-capita average
- Cut in Alexandria, VA, library hours not needed, says city staff memo. Also: Councilman Justin Wilson endorses LibraryCity’s national digital library endowment plan
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- Harvard's Robert Darnton
- Library Journal
- LISNews
- Mike Shatzkin
- NDPL discussion forum
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Tag Archives: Harvard
Bill Maher hates public libraries: One more reason why the DPLA should drop the P from its name and not preempt the founding of a true ‘public’ digital system
No one using a public library since 1998? Oh, that Maher! What an in-touch guy! If anyone ought to be pro-public library, it’s the comedian Bill Maher, the scourge of know-nothing politicians. Maher favors social mobility, smarter voting, and the rest, correct? And aren’t public libraries a path to mass enlightenment, especially for people long [...]
Ingenious beta catalog interface—good for academics and other serious users—in newest Beta Sprint video from DPLA
Via the Berkman Center In this video from the Harvard-based Digital Public Library of America, you can see an ingenious catalog interface that should please many an academic. ShelfLife lives up to the visual metaphor, even though I’d hope that DPLA Beta Sprinters would offer another, even simpler option for casual users at both academic [...]
How e-libraries and other tech could fit in with literacy efforts: Stellar local priorities from DPLA’s newest steering committee member
Sometime in the next few weeks I’ll review Saving Our Public Libraries: Why We Should. How We Can, by Janet Jai—“must” reading for participants in the Digital Public Library of America. Literacy, lifelong learning for the masses, patrons’ economic advancement, and promotion of democracy are foremost on her mind. Culture and heritage would fall within [...]
Newest DPLA steering committee member is small-town librarian in rural South Carolina: Smart appointment by Harvard-based digital library initiative
A small-town public librarian has been missing from the steering committee of the Digital Public Library of America—a troubling omission we’ve noted several times since the DPLA’s founding last year. But now the Harvard-based DPLA has filled in the gap with the appointment of Dwight McInvaill, director of the Georgetown County Library in a rural [...]
DPLA steering committee still secretive, as shown by LibraryCity’s survey of SC members of Harvard-hosted digital library initiative
Secrecy begets secrecy and perhaps worse. Only two of the steering committee members of the so-called Digital “Public” Library of America replied to my questions about closed committee meetings and other governance issues. One was DPLA Chair John Palfrey; and I thank him, even if I’d still like to know, for example, his personal opinion [...]
LibraryCity
Also tagged Amy E. Ryan, Amy Ryan, Boston Public Library, Carla Hayden, digital libraries, Digital Public Library of America, DPLA, Enoch Pratt Free Library, government secrecy, Harvard University, John Palfrey, librarianship, libraries, Luis Herrera, public libraries, San Francisco Public Library
2 Comments
Q. & A. with DPLA leader John Palfrey on closed meetings, the controversial P Word and other governance issues
We’re indebted to the Digital Public Library of America, hosted by Harvard’s Berkman Center, for raising interest in the national digital library issue. At the same time, questions persist on topics ranging from the DPLA’s closed steering committee meetings to the “Public” in the organization’s name. Ahead are replies from DPLA Chair John Palfrey. Thanks, [...]
Public questions for Digital Public Library of America Chair John Palfrey and other steering committee members: Doesn’t governance matter?
Harvard Law Prof. John Palfrey, chair of the Digital Public Library of America, still has not, to my knowledge, released minutes from the organization’s June 13 steering committee meeting in Washington—closed to the public. The DPLA committee kept me out even though I had been an invited participant in the DPLA’s March workshop at the [...]
Hacking a secretive ‘public’ library group: Let’s ask DPLA steering committee members how they voted—and about open meetings vs. a Porcellian Club approach
Update, Oct. 20, 2012: I’m pleased to report that the DPLA is now far more open than before, especially in regard to remote participation. Should the Harvard-hosted Digital “Public” Library of America drop the “P” word from its name? COSLA, short for the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, fears that this branding competition could [...]
LibraryCity
Also tagged American libraries, Berkman Center, copyright, Deanna Marcum, Digital Public Library of America, DPLA, e-books, ebooks, elitist, Harvard University, John Palfrey, librarians, librarianship, library of congress, national digital libraries, oligarchies, public librarians, public libraries, Steering Committee
2 Comments
Flaws of Harvard-hosted Digital ‘Public’ Library of America: Too secretive, too oligarchical and not responsive enough to U.S. library needs—especially for modern e-books
Update, Oct. 20, 2012: The DPLA is now much more open than in the past, and I can now strongly recommend the group to prospective funders. A fashionable line in the media these days is, “Elections have consequences.” So does governance, whether of the local Rotary Club, the United States of America, or a Harvard-hosted group [...]
“Newport Beach may close Balboa branch, open ‘electronic’ library”: Many are shunning books. How to restore their popularity—and protect the public library model?
Is this the future or nonfuture of many public library branches in the United States? Newport Beach, California, might shut down its 35,000-item Balboa branch, one of just four. So reports the Daily Pilot. The replacement would be Net connections and other technology in the “Internet library” room of a community center. Gone would be [...]