About Andrew K. Pace
Hereby Resolved
Posted On Jul 18 2006When you see a lot of library technology (or read a lot of press releases about library technology), you tend to get slightly jaded about the next great new thing. One of the phrases that makes me cringe (and I hear it nearly every day) is “Do you wanna see something cool?” Worse yet, if one is a so-called “trend-spotter,” then there is no time to linger on the day’s coolness before looking for new technological pastures to mow down. I think I have earned a reputation for lingering. Maybe it’’ my Type ‘A’ personality or twisted practicality, but I …
Good E-books Done Well
Posted On Jul 12 2006So the pace has not been exactly hectic, yet. Apologies. My plan is to post to this blog once per week, but after four straight weeks of travel in June, the best-laid plans… Anyway, enough excuses. What’s up in the library business? In the past, I have bristled at publishers putting up their own e-book storefronts. After all, even Elsevier would not open a brick and mortar store next to Barnes & Noble. My main complaint has been the unduly hydrophobic manner in which publishers have dipped their toes in the e-book pool: proprietary formats, proprietary hardware and software, online …
Size Matters
Posted On Jun 27 2006It’s hard for me to truly believe (sometimes) that Google thinks of libraries and librarians as anything other than quaint. Bringing this feeling home to me was the size of Google’s ostentatiously humongous booth at the 2006 ALA Annual conference in New Orleans (thanks, Roy, for the photo!). Maybe they thought we were in Texas again. Don’t get me wrong, I love, envy, resent, fear, and try to emulate Google as much as the next guy (or gal), but there’s just something about that ALA booth that says “if we really had our way, we’d have the whole floor.” Maybe …