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Library linkspam! It's been awhile...

Hayward Public Library tries the Netflix model. For a small fee, patrons can check out three items for an unlimited amount of time. Libraries have tried the "items by mail" aspect of the Netflix service, but it appears that this is the first time one has implemented the "no time limits" model. The hope is that charging people a small amount upfront rather than levying fines will bring more people into the library. I don't think this would work at all in an academic setting, but it has possibilities for the public library. Keep an eye on this one.

What is the library if it's not the place where we keep the books? Here we go again. Is there a role for the library in the paperless future, round #3,497. If we're a paperless society, why have I jumped up about half a dozen times while writing this post to help people with the printer and the copy machine?

Are digital diaries bad for our brains? The idea, I suppose, is that if we outsource our memory to the Internet and portable devices, we'll lose "muscle tone" in our brain. I disagree, though. The power of being a librarian isn't that I know everything. It's that I know how to look everything up.

Last but definitely not least, one of my new favorite blogs: Awful Library Books. Two public librarians, showing the worst their stacks have to offer. Computer careers books from 1985? Etiquette guides for the modern teenager from 1947? Tips for CB radio and preparing for Y2K? It's all here, and more!