Amazon Working on a Subscription Library?

Amazon is reportedly in talks with major publishers to offer a subscription-based ebook service to their Kindle and app ereaders sort of like their audio book service Audible or their Amazon Prime movie service.  Customers would pay an annual fee to access a library of materials, but publishers have not been responsive.  Huffpost 

It seems we are going back in time folks.  When libraries first started, you would bring a chicken to the building, offer it up to the monks, priests or guys in powdered wigs and get to read some stuff.  Make no mistake, kids, these libraries still exist (such as the Library Company of Philadelphia and the New York Society Library) and have for a while.  Here's what I want to know:  If this library service takes off, do you see a privatization of libraries on the way?  This has already happened in some libraries, so don't tut-tut me that it can not happen.  If online companies such as Amazon offer to staff and fill your library, tell me your city council would not bend their ears for just a moment.  Seems a subscription based library on the cheap cheap, even in ebook form, could have libraries going down an interesting road.

Never Forget, Always Remember, Be Kind

I have written a few things about people profiting from 9/11 and my anger at such practice.  Goofy coloring books and random books meant to cash in on this world tragedy are just the tip of the iceberg when it  comes to the avalanche of crap that you will see sold for "Patriot Day."  That name alone is a great marketing tool and the moment I heard it I honestly thought, "Hell, I might get a day off because of this."  I felt bad about thinking it, but there you go.

All that garbage is not what I want to talk about today.  I had plans to say a lot.  I was going to write about my own experiences of that morning 10 years ago, but that seems almost masturbatory.  I was going to maybe do a funny story about how the Banned Library celebrates Patriot Day in its own unique and silly way, but thought it might be a bit crass.  I was going to review how libraries have changed with introductions to technology and the Patriot Act, etc., but that seemed almost wrong.  I might still all those things on other anniversaries if I last long enough, but not today.  I realized something.

I am a little blogger on the internet, a voice in a dark room filled with others, all mumbling for attention.  So I just want to put out a simple message.

No matter who you pray to, who you think should marry who, or what side you are on George Lucas messing with the Star Wars films, you are still a member of the human race and we all have to live on this ball of dirt together, even if some of us think we are in the Matrix.  Take away all the ideals and theories about what happened 10 years ago and you have one simple truth: people killed people and destroyed something big and cool and that is bad.  Sound childish?  Destruction always is.

Go out and do one nice thing today, help someone out.  Does not have to be big. You will make this world better by doing so, I swear.

Now I'm gonna go eat some BBQ.

Creepy Librarian Suspended After Girls Complain

A librarian in a government school in Panchkula, India has been suspended for indecent behavior towards girl students.

"The girls of this school had collectively complained that the librarian should not take their adjustment classes as his behavior is inappropriate. The girls of classes 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 had indicated that during the adjustment period, he sends all the boys out of their class to the playground and girl students remain in the class itself. His behavior during this period is not appropriate," the spokesman said, quoting the complaint. NDTV

Oh, holy hell.  Why the hell is this guy in charge of anyone?  Without knowing exactly what he did, I know this guy looks creepy.  He ain't no smooth talker.  This is not James Dean kicking back and flirting with students just below his age.  I bet you five dollars that this guy sports some type of comb-over and a creepy smile that he twitches his fingers together.  Somebody adult should have noticed the creep factor before now.  Bless the kids who spoke up and did not just accept it.

IKEA Sees Death of Print, Changes Bookshelves

Not IKEA, just a bookshelf

IKEA is changing the design of their BILLY bookshelf to incorporate deeper shelves and possibly glass doors for decorative item show space.  The LA Times sees this as IKEA noticing the changing of the times as ebooks become more popular than print materials.  Referencing the closing of Borders as well as reports by Amazon citing an increase in ebook purchases, they may have a point.

I can see this as true.  Look at your grandma's couch versus your own.  The weird vinyl thing with a dust cover was a decorative centerpiece and is far apart from the cushion-covered almost-bed that lives in most apartments I have been in that functions as a place to focus on the television and Xbox.  Even the desk had to open up to allow for computers and other devices to populate their surfaces.  Hell, my desk does not even have one of those pencil drawers.  Things gonna change, I guess, and it fits that the folks that fabricate most everything are the one's noticing first.

New Blog Creation: Welcome to Pissues!

A long time ago (last Thursday) in a galaxy far away (New Orleans), I came up with the greatest idea ever!  Split the Banned Library right down the middle!  See, I have lots of interests, from libraries to comics to movies to writing and everything, but they all do not fit in the Banned Library. 

I started doing the Banned Library to make some Internet library friends, share my thoughts on the industry, and for the most part put out my own spin on the library news blogsphere and make somebody laugh.  I am still going to do that, with posting to the BL at the same erratic pace.  I will just be shifting the content a little.

The Banned Library will be mostly for library news, book reviews, and technology posts.  I feel that this encompasses libraries as a whole and will fit with the overall direction the blog has naturally taken.

Penultimate Issues, or Pissues, will deal with everything else I want to say in my life.  Comic reviews, movie reviews, jokes, random fiction, everything everything everything in my little life that I care to share.

So join me at www.pissues.com for the blog or @pissues on Twitter if you dare... Cause it's gonna get real up in here, folks.

Library Crime News, Cause People Sometimes Suck

A bit more crime happened this week other than Mike and his Superman collection and Skeeter getting arrested.  Here's what went down:

A Carlsbad, CA woman was arrested for swiping around 2,000 library materials from San Diego Public Libraries.  Where the hell was Lindsey Lohan this week?  laist

A librarian in Polk County, FL was charged with cyber-stalking a woman by hacking her Facebook account and email.  Just remember, ladies, librarians are good with computers... and your lady parts. abcactionnews

A retired Washington librarian and boy scout leader stands accused of sexually molesting two children in his capacity of a scout leader.  Community calls bullshit.  Where the hell was Michael Jackson this... oh, oh, sorry, too soon. News Tribune

A New Zealand man was arrested for putting his face in a woman's butt in the parenting section of the library.  Now that is how you get banned from a library.  Herald Sun

A Dublin, OH librarian was suspended and fined for cutting the shelves of a school library with a circular saw.  Re-read that.  We do not know whether he cut them for a library related reason or if they were just giving him the runaround.  NBC4i

Let's end on an awesome note, shall we:  When a Catholic school girl recieved her school's banned book list, she felt all kinds of groady about it.  She started loaning her copies of the books to her friends, then the entire school.  Her locker became a banned books library and she branched out to the locker next door, too.  This story has everything I like:  banned books, lockers, branches, and Catholic school girl outfits.  I am a dirty old man.  Babble

Tech News of the Week, Cause It Happened

techa-nology, y'all

Welcome to this weeks Tech News of the Week, where all your library tech news gets shuffled when I can't think of more than a sentence to say about it.

Leapfrog, the educational "computer" company, has created its own version of the iPad called the LeapPad.  Personally I would have called it the "Lilly" (unless they already called their first computer that after Apple's own ancient invention, the "Lisa,") as a play on the whole "lilly pad" phenomenon that is sweeping the swamps.  Or just call it a speak-and-spell and go on with my life.  tennessean

Amazon is opening in Spain this week.  I just wanted y'all to know.  paidcontent.org

Michael Hart, the founder of Project Gutenberg, died this week.  The mark this man left on the world is vast, touching on the creation of the ebook to the digital preservation of materials.  Think about that the next time you bitch about... whatever you bitch about digitally.  NYTimes

IDW has brought graphic novels to the Apple iBook store.  Read such classics as... those movie-licensed comics the kids like these days.  Keep on kicking, digital ebooks picture thingies. comicbookresources

The Huffington Post has begin publishing ebooks.  The first ebook out on its bandwagon will be Arthur Delaney’s A People’s History of the Great Recession.  Prepare for the ride of your life.  paidcontent.org