This week’s 4cast:
1. Are Libraries Part of the DRM Problem?
A blogger at Wired recently wrote a post complaining about OverDrive audiobooks, which can be checked out from the public library for free, but also come with Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology that prevents the borrower from making their own copies. The post set off a long chain of comments debating the appropriateness of DRM in this context, and numerous responses from the library world.
- Public Libraries, Private DRM (Wired Blogs: Listening Post)
- Wired News article criticizes libraries for using eBooks with DRM (LibrarianInBlack)
- Audio Books and DRM (Daveman’s Tech Tips)
- The DRM conversation continues… (LibraryBytes)
2. Respect the Techies
Is there tension between your library’s IT department and everyone else in the building? Karen Schneider recently wrote an article on how non-techie library staff can work collaboratively and cooperatively with their techies.
- IT and Sympathy (ALA TechSource)
- Have pity on your IT folks… (LibrarianInBlack)
- Free kittens for your IT department? (Librarians Matter)
- iACPL (ACPL’s IT Blog)
3. Google to Librarians: Not the Other Way Around?
Google’s librarian outreach team recently debuted the Librarian Central Blog, which grew out of their quarterly Librarian Newsletter. Reaction from the library community was initially critical because Google did not allow comments on the blog. Comments have since been enabled (an exception to the rule of most Google-run blogs), but that hasn’t eased skepticism about Google’s attitude towards libraries.
- Google Librarian Central: Talking At Librarians (Search Engine Land)
- Google Doesn’t “Get” Librarians… Again. (Library Stuff)
- Google Misses Again on Librarian PR (Vancouver Law Librarian)
- Google Librarian Central Blog (The Information Literacy Land of Confusion)
4. BookSwim Dives Into the Netflix Pool
There has been a lot of discussion in the past year about libraries adopting a Netflix-type delivery model for books. While libraries continue to talk about dipping their toes in the water, a new service called BookSwim is taking the plunge.
- Book Swim beats libraries to the Netflix model for book delivery (LibrarianInBlack)
- Libraries, Netflix & BookSwim (Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology)
- More Competition (Something New Every Day)
- One to watch – Bookswim (Country Librarian)
