E-books, e-readers, online access – perhaps the printed book is going the way of the dodo. Does this mean the death of the public library? Linton Weeks, in this story for NPR, responds to the question with an emphatic “No.” Public libraries function as far more than...
Rival Universities Find Texas-Size Savings in Shared Storage
College football fans would be surprised to find The University of Texas and Texas A&M University trading anything other than insults regarding each others’ poor athletic skills, scanty intelligence, and questionable family history. Nevertheless, the two...
New Trend: Storing Paper Copies of E-Books
The e-book revolution had us thinking we’d never need bookshelves again, but librarians and digital storage experts are becoming concerned that digital media won’t have the same long-term stability that paper has. After all, paper from ancient Egypt has survived...
Your Gift from the IRS: The Equipment Purchase Deduction
As the song says, “It’s that time of year,” time to take advantage of Section 179, the tax rule that allows you to deduct the full purchase price of business equipment, up to $25,000. New equipment put into service before December 31st can be deducted from your...
10 Steps to Bring the Coffeehouse Vibe to Library Interiors
A recent Public Library Association presentation showed that people want their local library to be more like their local coffeehouse, offering customization, comfort, and amenities. As in coffeehouses, activity “zones” defined by furniture color or style can cue...
How Many Books? One Billion – and Counting
It’s an almost unimaginable number. Nearly one billion books are housed on the shelves of U.S. libraries. Despite the advent of e-readers like the Kindle and the iPad, the publishing industry adds an estimated 25 million to the tally each year. It seems the printed...