What Can I Say? A Bunch Happened. LIKE NEWS!

The Upper St. Clair Library is offering classes on healthier eating.  The Lower St. Clair Library is offering classes on stealing candy from blind old people.

Puffin unveils a Doctor Who themed book series.  When asked, the Doctor replied, "I'm a fictional character, I don't give a shit."

A winter pruning class is being offered by the Woodland Library Rose Club.  Who knew you needed a class to get dried out and wrinkly?

Greenville librarian said in an announcement the decision to ban Alan Moore's graphic novel Neonomicon was not made lightly but instead while standing on their heads and then getting up until they felt that "whoa" feeling.

The Hillsborough Library will host a program about the Titanic with actual artifacts and involving guest speaker Ishmael "The Iceman" Iceberg.

Books donated by St. Paul's Episcopal Church to School 6 in Buffalo, NY will be blessed before the donation happens.  Students commented this is not the first time they have received books with shit on them.

Redding, CA must allow leafleting in "free speech" areas, including public libraries, a judge decides.  Steve "The Hobo" no last name given has already started turning out his leaflet, "Why I'm Standing Outside the Library Instead of Showing You My Junk Inside the Library: A Hobo Story. By the Way, Look Down, That's My Junk."

Read this article to make your Google Play ebooks not sound like shit.

Google Plus Plus Library Minus Trouble

So your library is all about the social networks.  Your staff twitters, they blog, they tumbr...ize... they got it all down.  Well, now the great and mighty Google has opened the curtain on Google+ and the Page feature behind it is a nice guy looking to give you circles and connectivity.  We at the Banned Library (if you add us to your circles, we will come... eww, sorry) have played around with it for a day or so and have come up with a couple of great ways to use it in the library.  Most of them can be replicated with a variety of tools and other social networks, but Google+ puts them all in one nice, if not clinical looking, package.

The entire reason to use social networks with your library is to connect to your patrons.  Google Plus does this great, allowing the same wall posts (called stream), photos, and other uploadables that you used on that blue network.  Sharing content and reader advisory is easy as a cut and paste link.  This leads to the best thing that Google+ can do better than the other networks: Circles.

Circles are an enhancement of the "share with your friends" feature.  By dividing your fan base into groups, you can give each of them the news or information they are most interested in.  We started by creating several circles, such as "Friends of the Library" and "Bookclub" that we knew would need specialty information every once in a while.  If everyone needs to know, simply throw it out as "public."

Hangouts are another cool feature in Google+.  Back to the bookclub option, if a member can not make it, they can still be around via voice chat.  Since they got the same information as everyone else through circle updates, everyone is on the same page (pun intended).

Now this might seem like a Google fanboy rant, and that is because I kind of am.  Google+ Pages do have their  problems, though.  Some, like only one admin account at a time, may be fixed in the future.  Others, like having to wait for people to add you to their circles before you can interact with them, are understandable if not frustrating design features.  The major complaint I have is I could not find integration with Google Books as of this writing, which would really help create content for readers advisory.

The most problematic element of Google+ Pages is that its new.  Early adopters will be right on it but it may take some time for the network to take ground.  Do not worry, though, simply create content just like you would for the Blue Network and people will come.

Google Plus Books and Games Equals A Bad Blog Title

Who the hell wrote this?

Google+ announced this week that not only can you beg your friends to join the new social network service, but you can play games and share books with them while they are not there (yet). 

Kinda like a GoodReads, Google+ now allows you to integrate the Google Books ebooks you are reading with members of your circles.  Add in the Huddle feature and bookclubs are sure to get even more awkward as I always forget to read the book until the night before.

Zynga Poker, Dragon Age Legends and other games are soon/now to be available on Google+.  Match scores and stuff with your friends, or something.  I honestly can't imagine gaming like this but then I just got my Steam account and it rocks.  If Google goes more Steam and less Farmville then you can count me in like Flynn.

ITProPortal     LATimes     G4Feed     NECN

Google Books to Deal with Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys

French publisher Hachette Libre has agreed to allow Google Books to scan tens of thousands of their french language books. The deal comes after years of work by Google to get U.S. publishers to scan their materials since 2005.

Hachette said it will make these e-books available to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France as well as other libraries to "contribute to the advancement of French culture." PCMag

 So, Google, could not get what you wanted here in America so you saunter off to be with your French hussy, huh?  I get it.  Good for you.  All the best things are French.  Maids.  Kissing.  Fries.  But when I think technological revolutions of the modern age, I don't think France.  This is a place that will not allow new words to be created without Frenching them up.  That in itself is backwards, having to use old rules on new things.  Hell, Google, don't worry with the scanning.  Just hit the translate button and go about your day.

I have to point out that I have been to Paris and greatly enjoyed my time there.  The people were kind and supportive of the goofy American kid on holiday and I hope no one is offended by the whole "cheese-eating surrender monkey" thing.  The title of this post is a gentle jab because, quite honestly, that is one of the best phrases in the English language.  Just say it out loud without smiling.  I dare you.

Apple Overlords Change App Policy, Kill In-App Bookstores

What do Google Books, Amazon Kindle and other eBook services have in common?  They have all been affected by Apple's policy about in-app stores.  Apple states that all apps have to be directed through their marketplace, taking a hefty 30% of anything sold.  The above apps (and many more) have been updated, removing consumer options and strengthening my happiness that I finally moved on to the Android system.

[Zdnet]

Harry Potter eBooks Pick Google over Amazon

Google Books has confirmed that they will be an ebook hub for the Harry Potter books through the Harry Potter reading website Pottermore.  Customers will be able to buy copies of the ebooks and then read them on any Google Book device, such as the Nook, Story HD and the Google Book internet platform.  This is big news for the search engine giant as it gives them a major lead over their competition, including Amazon.

Oooo, Amazon got burned!  They were all like, "J.K. Rowling, let's light the eliterary world on fire with your $15 billion dollar empire.  Light it with a Kindle." And J.K. was all, "Eh, you sell weird stuff and are all groady and old.  I like Google now.  He's hot and has a big search engine and is all about not being evil." And Amazon was like, "Rowling, why are you doing this to me! You are tearing me apart!"  And then Amazon shot itself and a kid o.d.'d or something.

[ZDNet]