Read it online or download and print it 

The Transition from Paper: Where Are We Going and How Will We Get There? edited by R. Stephen Berry and Anne Simon Moffat

Summary
The world of communication is going through a transition unlike any that humans have ever experienced, with far-reaching consequences possibly greater than any prior advance since the invention of written language. Now communications are faster, cheaper, and potentially more accessible than we could have imagined even just a decade ago. Information of traditional and very nontraditional kinds is available, in principle, for anyone with a link to the internet. The scientific community has been at the vanguard in developing and using the new modes and in experiencing the consequences, both positive and negative, of the transition. We are still in the early stages of that transition, trying to feel our way ahead. The project that produced this set of essays has been an attempt to anticipate changes and to feel our way ahead in the process. [read the entire text online]

Print vs. digital publishing 

Critics attack net journal initiative by Ivan Noble

Critics of a project to set up alternative open-access scientific journals on the internet say the idea is ill-conceived and will undermine quality.

Financier George Soros announced in February that he was giving a $3m grant to the Budapest Open Access Initiative to set up open-archiving systems.

But, says Sally Morris, of the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers, open-access initiatives will undermine existing journals without replacing them.

"People value peer review and they value research being gathered together in things called journals," she told BBC News Online. [read more]

Not to discount the merits of their arguements, but the critics seem to be largely the publishers.

Film vs. digital photography 

Digital cameras click with consumers by Tiffany Kary

... The study found that most households now use their digital cameras as their primary means of photography, according to Slaughter, and 19 percent have stopped using film cameras altogether.

"The growth in market penetration will have a noticeable impact on the entire photo industry," she said. [read more]

For cryin' out loud, KEEP THE LIBRARY!!! 

Preserving our Heritage: The Case to Keep the Washington State Library by Secretary of State Pam Reed

Since 1853, we've honored and preserved our state history under one roof at the Washington State Library. Virtually any background a researcher has needed on history, state government and public policy issues has been available in one place, free-of-charge.

Now, picture Washington State in 100 years. It is the only state in America without a state library. A researcher is looking for facts on a particular issue that transcends generations. Maybe it's the environment or healthcare. Maybe it's our state economy. Maybe it's transportation. What happens to the research? What happens to pending legislation of the 22nd Century that demands a historical perspective? In 100 years, who exactly will have had the money and/or interest in preserving Washington State history in its entirety? To our knowledge, there's not a single organization in the state that could afford to shoulder the costs even with the collections moved to separate locations. Will our heritage then sit on shelves in the collections historians thought would prove most vital to their predecessors? How could they possibly have known?

Should a proposal to close the state library solidify, researchers, legislators, historians, and the state of Washington will go without the help, history, and perspective they need to improve the quality of life in the Northwest. [read more]

Price point 

High book prices force students to photocopy by Lai Ting-ming

... As long as Taiwan remains marginalized and dependent on Western countries, the big bucks we have to pay for foreign-language books will only increase, not decrease. As the schools pursue internationalization, the demand for foreign-language textbooks will only rise, as will the cost of book purchases -- commensurately.

Few people photocopy books from China and Taiwan except when they are out-of-print editions, because books from China are cheap and Taiwan's book prices are in keeping with our standard of living. Foreign publishers should ask themselves whether it is reasonable to sell books to students in developing nations at prices set according to their own living standards.

The piracy situation will never be eliminated if this problem is not resolved. If foreign publishers take into account the living standards of developing countries and adopt more reasonable price-setting policies, then I believe the piracy problem will abate. [read more]

Freelance librarian 

Jessamyn West: Freelance Librarian The Ultimate Antistereotype

If Jessamyn West was what people thought of when they thought of the word "librarian," our profession would be unbelievably cool. Visit West's web site (librarian.net) and you will find quickie reviews of the books she read in the past four years; her journal, "Abada abada"; her research projects (including surveying the literacy programs in America's public libraries); and an actual formal rÈsumÈ where she recounts her many jobs as researcher, reference librarian, writer, newsletter editor (Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association), ThinkQuest judge, and now coeditor for Revolting Librarians Redux. [read more]

More interesting stories about great librarians in the Library Journal special feature, Movers & Shakers.

Bravo for the ALA 

American Library Association to argue against mandatory Internet filtering in U.S. District Court March 25

From the Fact Sheet:

• CIPA abolishes a community's control of its library policies. More than 95 percent of libraries have Internet-use policies in place. Local libraries and their trustees and community members have created solutions that work.
• Filters simply do not work, and CIPA does not protect children. In test after test, filters have failed to block objectionable content, and they continue to restrict legal and useful content. Filters can give parents a false sense of security that their children are protected when they are not. Education is more effective than filters - kids need to make good decisions about what they read and view, no matter where they are.
• CIPA violates the First and Fifth Amendments because it makes access to funding and discounts for Internet use in public libraries contingent on accepting content and viewpoint restrictions on constitutionally protected speech. The law does not strictly only limit Internet access for minors, but also for adults and library staff.
• Poor communities and people with disabilities will be affected disproportionately if libraries are forced to choose between federal technology funding and censorship.

Intellectual property power grab 

When elephants dance by Michael Fraase

When elephants dance, it's best to get out of the way. That's exactly what's happening now as the entertainment industry--the recording, publishing, and motion picture industries, mainly--attempts a worldwide intellectual property power grab with two distinct targets. Think of it: a coup and a lock on all published content in the same year, amazing isn't it? [read more]

What Hollings' Bill Would Do by Declan McCullagh

Digital Preservation 

CyberCemetery

The University of North Texas Libraries and the U.S. Government Printing Office, as part of the Federal Depository Library Program, created a partnership to provide permanent public access to the electronic Web sites and publications of defunct U.S. government agencies and commissions. This collection was named the "CyberCemetery" by early users of the site.