Reading Random Books Is Mind Expanding

Greta Rainbow argues for serendipity in reading choices .

-DD

Cleaning Old Books

Danielle Calma suggests how to clean old books .

-DD

Popular Books in 2022

Cuyahoga County Public Library generated a list of the most borrowed materials in 2022.

-DD

Largest Medieval Book

The National Library of Sweden has the largest Medieval book , called the Codex Gigas.

Another curious devotional book from this library has six books within one cover:

This variation of a dos-à-dos binding format allows the resulting volume to be opened in six different ways. Each of the six books in this binding can thus be read separately. The volume is from the late 16th century and comes from the Rogge Library in Strängnäs.

-DD

Source: National Library of Sweden
Sixfold dos-à-dos binding: Book #6

Photo: István Borbás/National Library of Sweden

Book Curses

Sarah Laskow describes the history of medieval book curses .

-DD

Ancient Books

Sarah Laskow searched for the oldest books in major libraries - and their stories .

-DD

Recommended Readings

Oliver Staley reports on recommended readings suggested by industry leaders.

-DD

Print Book Usage Highest in Rural Areas

Kathryn Zickuhr summarized the 2014 Pew Internet report on differences in public library engagement . Those living a rural areas are more print oriented than urban or suburban residents - my thought is that rural areas tend to have spotty Internet service, making rural residents more reliant on books.

For more information on rural libaries and their unique service population, check out the Association of Rural and Small Libraries website.

-DD

The Future of Academic Libraries

Jeffrey R. Young interviews American Library Association President Sari Feldman about the future of campus print collections .

-DD

Home Libraries and Their Owners

Australian Clem Bastow muses on what home libraries say about their owners .

-DD

Why Old Books Smell

Andy Brunning maintains a chemistry blog, and in a June 1 post suggested why books smell.

-DD

Future of the Book

Ilan Stevens muses on the future of the printed book as a means of distributing knowledge.

-DD

Tablet Adoption and the Reading of Physical Books

A Computerworld headline on July 3rd proclaimed Tablet Adoption Lowers Reading of Physical Books, Newspapers, Survey Shows. A Gartner press release on this survey of 510 "early adopters" of tablet technology found that purchasers primarily used their tablets for email, news, weather forecasts, social networking, and gaming.

The press release provides information about the reading habits of the 510 tablet owners who were sampled, but does not clearly indicate whether print reading declined over time with the acquisition of a tablet. According to Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner,

The survey found that more than 50 per cent of media tablet owners prefer to read news, magazines and books on screen, rather than on paper. On average, one in three respondents used their media tablets to read a book, compared with 13 per cent for mobile PCs, and 7 per cent for mobile phones.

-DD

The End of Academic Library Circulation?

"The End of Academic Library Circulation" is a provocative article about the decline of the book as a research tool. If Will Kurt's predictions in ACRL Tech Connect are accurate, loans of physical books from academic libraries will approach zero by 2020, a mere eight years away.

I sheperd a small library outlet with perhaps 400 books and 15 computers. Students and faculty have learned that they can conveniently get "enough" information to supplement their undergraduate textbooks by querying the university databases and various websites. The small reference collection is rarely tapped by students for weekly assignments. But students and faculty do borrow self-help and devotional books, items they want to read over several weeks.

-DD

The Joy of Books

Paul McNamara shared some video clips celebrating books in his January 10 article "'The Joy of Books' Tap Dances Over Your Kindle."
-DD