The Slow Food manifesto lauds "quieter pleasures" as a means of opposing "the universal folly of Fast Life"—yet there's little that seems more foolish, loudly unpleasant, and universal than the screens that blare in every corner of America (at the airport, at the gym, in the elevator, in our hands). "Fast" entertainment, consumed mindlessly as we slump on the couch or do our morning commute, pickles our brains—and our souls.
That's why I'm calling for a Slow Books Movement ...
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/03/a-slow-books-manifesto/254884/
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
SURVEY: UNDERGRADUATES PREFER PRINT OVER EBOOKS
The University of California Libraries has released an ebook usage survey as part of its Springer ebook pilot project. The survey contains a lot of interesting information, but there is one point that was a bit striking as the rush toward ebooks continues apace at all levels of education.
The survey found that 58 percent of the 2,561 respondents use ebooks for their academic work. These respondents were then asked, “When doing your academic work, do you generally prefer print books or ebooks?”
Undergraduates, by far, had the highest preference for print books. Of the 273 undergraduate students asked the above question, 53 percent said they prefer print. They were followed by graduate students, faculty and lecturers, and postdoctoral researchers. The interesting point is that undergraduates explained their preference for print as stemming from their difficulty “learning, retaining, and concentrating while in front of a computer.”
In attempting to measure the “complex dynamic” of the movement away from print, the survey’s conclusion highlighted “the undergraduate who prefers print books for reading and deep study because the computer presents too many distractions” as one of the more unpredictable results.
The survey found that 58 percent of the 2,561 respondents use ebooks for their academic work. These respondents were then asked, “When doing your academic work, do you generally prefer print books or ebooks?”
Undergraduates, by far, had the highest preference for print books. Of the 273 undergraduate students asked the above question, 53 percent said they prefer print. They were followed by graduate students, faculty and lecturers, and postdoctoral researchers. The interesting point is that undergraduates explained their preference for print as stemming from their difficulty “learning, retaining, and concentrating while in front of a computer.”
In attempting to measure the “complex dynamic” of the movement away from print, the survey’s conclusion highlighted “the undergraduate who prefers print books for reading and deep study because the computer presents too many distractions” as one of the more unpredictable results.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Ryan Gosling loves the library
"Hey girl. I tried writing you a love note on a small scrap of recycled paper from the front desk, but someone stole all the tiny pencils...."
Read this and many more comments about the library accompanied by photos of Ryan Gosling, self-proclaimed library & library lover. http://librarianheygirl.tumblr.com/
Read this and many more comments about the library accompanied by photos of Ryan Gosling, self-proclaimed library & library lover. http://librarianheygirl.tumblr.com/
Monday, December 12, 2011
Interesting article from Inside Higher Ed
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/library-babel-fish/language-libraries
"Though the conventional wisdom these days about library spaces is that students want to be social, that group work and collaboration are how kids learn today, and that digital texts and digital tools will get used but printed collections won’t, students often disagree.I’ve heard more librarians talk about student demands for quiet and solitary spaces for study in the past year, perhaps because the information commons idea has become so standard it’s no longer an innovation. Recently a small group of students at the University of New Brunswick protested because their spiffy new library was too noisy, too public, and the books were squirreled away at the periphery. It wasn’t clear from the article that students wanted to read the books, but they wanted a quiet, serious place to study, and books were part of their idea of such a place."
"Though the conventional wisdom these days about library spaces is that students want to be social, that group work and collaboration are how kids learn today, and that digital texts and digital tools will get used but printed collections won’t, students often disagree.I’ve heard more librarians talk about student demands for quiet and solitary spaces for study in the past year, perhaps because the information commons idea has become so standard it’s no longer an innovation. Recently a small group of students at the University of New Brunswick protested because their spiffy new library was too noisy, too public, and the books were squirreled away at the periphery. It wasn’t clear from the article that students wanted to read the books, but they wanted a quiet, serious place to study, and books were part of their idea of such a place."
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Very interesting read
"Balancing Act: How College Students Manage Technology While in the Library during Crunch Time," Alison J. Head and Michael B. Eisenberg, Project Information Literacy Research Report, University of Washington's Information School, October 12, 2011
http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_Fall2011_TechStudy_FullReport1.1.pdf
(Study included both 2 and 4 year college students)
http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_Fall2011_TechStudy_FullReport1.1.pdf
(Study included both 2 and 4 year college students)
Friday, November 11, 2011
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