Last updated on April 11, 2007
This week’s 4cast:
1. Check the Tags
According to a recent report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, more and more Internet users are using tags to describe online content, and in general, tagging is becoming increasingly integral to the organization of the Web.
- Reports: Online Activities & Pursuits (Pew Internet & American Life Project)
- Tagging ‘takes off for web users’ (BBC News)
- Pew Project Internet Tagging Report – Implications for Librarians (Library Boy)
- Survey: American Tagging (ResourceShelf)
2. One Librarian Laments, Others Wonder Why
A librarian recently wrote a piece for the Washington Post about how difficult it is to convince younger readers to read actual books, and fears that the library world’s increasing focus on electronic resources and information literacy is partially to blame.
- Info Literacy vs. Literacy (Z Words)
- What are we selling (and should we buy it?) (Thus Spoke Pragmatic Librarian)
- What’s In a Name? (It’s All Good)
- P-books, e-books, kids and libraries: If glue won’t work, try peanut butter (TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home)
3. Google’s Library Keeps Getting Bigger
Prominent libraries continue to open their collections to the Google Book Search Library Project, but not without controversy and opposition from other libraries, authors, publishers, and of course, the lawyers. Many people are wondering if Google is gearing up to jump into the e-book market.
- Google’s Moon Shot: The quest for the universal library. (The New Yorker)
- Book Searching: OCA/GBS Update (Cites & Insights: Crawford at Large)
- Google Book Search: Buy your books by the chapter (Ars Technica)
- Google Download: No iTunes for Books (BusinessWeek)
4. The Big Screen Keeps Getting Smaller
Netflix, Blockbuster, and now Wal-Mart are all scrambling to dominate the burgeoning digital movie downloads industry. Some libraries are taking tentative steps in this area with products like MyLibraryTV.
- Netflix, I Was Just Kidding About Breaking Up With You (TechCrunch)
- Blockbuster Marries Stores to Internet (New York Times)
- Wal-Mart launches movie download store (Yahoo! News)
- Online video to be worth $6.3 billion in 2012 (Ars Technica)
