LoomWare

Is it possible to donate an eBook to the library?

More Changes in the Library Landscape

An interesting post from Sue Polanka highlights some of the issues with a bread & butter library process - book donations. [On the other hand I suspect some Collections librarians will be happy to think of a day when they don't have to consider moldy boxes of past bestsellers.] Many libraries rely on the annual spring cleaning ritual for new material, so Sue's thoughts on what happens when they are all digital is an interesting one. As she points out, the challenges with donating eBooks far outweigh the advantages, at least in the current DRM-focused landscape. What struck me with this one was how quickly another long-standing tradition, not to mention way of building a Friends network, suddenly disappears. The other sad thought was how much this highlights the death knell of public lending in the digital age - at least in a way we can fathom. Contrast this with my coming post on ways for public libraries to make use of eBook readers.

Scraped from No Shelf Required

BBC Archive to Open Up

BBC News | Dyke to open up BBC archive

I had posted on this one before, so was happy to see a recent announcement suggesting that the BBC's considerable archive of material will soon be freely available to all: for non-commercial use. I liked this quote:

I believe that we are about to move into a second phase of the digital revolution, a phase which will be more about public than private value; about free, not pay services; about inclusivity, not exclusion.

I can go for that.

$100 laptop could sell to public

More on the OLPC project - I like the idea of having a commercial version that would only be sold to those who pay for 2 - one for them and one for someone in the developing world.

Information Technologies and International Development Journal

MIT Press Move to Open Access

A perfect example of the kind of journal that makes little sense behind a fee wall. ITID "focuses on the intersection of information and communication technologies (ICT) with international development. ITID aims to create a networked community of leading thinkers and strategists to discuss the critical issues of ICT and development, an epistemic community that crosses disciplines (especially technologists and social scientists), national boundaries, and the North and South hemispheres." A quick glance at the TOCs for the last few issues puts this one on my regular read list. Microsoft provided funding for this open access initiative via MIT's Open Access Sponsorship model, which provides an interesting option for funding some open access projects.

Global Text Project

Helping Make Learning Accessible to All

The Global Text Project is another example of the emerging efforts to create open textbooks, of which Wikibooks is the most famous example. Some nice features of this project are the international makeup of the Advisory Board and the proposal to link chapters from the books to journal articles in a complimentary journal called Envision: Journal of Learning and Knowledge Transfer. But what I really like is the fact that they will be offering "scholarships" to students who make particularly significant contributions to the texts: an interesting idea that could add a significant twist to the development of open knowledge.

Scraped from Harold Jarche

Canadian Internet Use Survey

Statscan Releases new Canadian Internet Use Survey

Some interesting results from Statistics Canada's latest Internet Use survey. One that is no surprise to me but would probably be so to some people who think Canada is advanced when it comes to access: 88% of people with over $86,000 annual income used the Internet, but only 61% with an income less than that did. In other words, in low income families and rural areas, Internet access is still not much better than 50%. T@his is also evident in the fact that Ontario, BC and Alberta have the highest usage rates. It was also interesting to see the reasons for going online (e-mail and web browsing being the biggies), especially the high number for news and weather. Don't invest in that traditional newspaper operation just yet... One thing that did surprise me was that almost 60% of people did their banking online. I thought a lot of people were still nervous about that, but obviously not. The obvious offshoot from this is that more and more people will expect to do all their financial transactions online, including library fines :-)

Working "One Laptop Per Child" laptop

Video Demo of the OLPC System

A short video of the 1st OLPC system. This prototype uses a 1GB flash drive to store the OS (Fedora) and a few apps. The USB port will allow external devises like CD/DVD drives. The OLPC initiative has also received its first order (from Nigeria) for 1 million of the systems (vunet.com) so it looks like things are moving quickly with this promising initiative. I also read a post re India's interest in the system and how some people in the Indian government are questioning the wisdom of that country signing on as well. The message cited concerns like it running Linux (a bonus I would say) and having to replace the motherboard when there is a problem. When we are talking about a $100 (and eventually sub-$100) system, I don't see how the 2nd one is an issue and the the lack of Windows is definitely a positive.

Scraped from Silicon Valley Sleuth

First Photos of MIT $100 Laptop

First Photos of MIT $100 Laptop

This is an interesting design - I like the flippers at the top :-) Go direct to the photo show.

Scraped from AlterSlash

RSC Archives for Africa

Building a Strong Science Infrastructure

I have always liked the Royal Society for Chemistry - a model science organization in an area of research that needs them (ahem...ACS, are you listening?). The recent announcement by RSC that they are providing free access to their journal archive to over 50 countries (most in Africa) is a positive one. It also highlights the open access argument that science in many countries suffers when research is behind a fee wall. Also, like many initiatives of this type, it is regular scientists who are lobbying for this kind of positive action - a good reason for academic faculty to get involved in the discussions.

Muni WiFi in Canada Heating Up

Toronto WiFi - Free or Fee

An interesting article from itbusiness.ca re developments in Toronto to provide wireless access. A number of fee-based services are lining up to compete with a local non-profit service that has been offering free WiFi to low-income residents. There is no doubt that some form of fee service will be the norm in many big cities like Toronto, but I don't understand why they can't co-exist with the free services? We are asking similar questions in Winnipeg as we grow our WiMax/WiMesh/WiFi-based wireless network in the downtown core. There has to be a way to provide free service to those that can't afford the monthly fees or our efforts are for naught. Why work to provide wireless access to those that can already well afford existing options? The central philosophy of muni WiFi networks must be to bridge the digital divide (and encourage development in decaying downtown cores), or they have little use. There is no reason why you can't provide the free service to people with a household income below a certain threshold (for example) or make the service free in appropriate areas of the city. We just need to do it.