Since I love all of my friends and followers, I’m giving you a hot tip for last minute e-Valentines via NPR.
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Swiss Army Librarian discusses the feasibility of libraries adopting new scanners that read smart phones. With a $30 scanner, Swiss Army Librarian successfully scans a library barcode on his phone’s screen.
But why try to adapt an old technology to fit in with the new technology? Why not a barcode reading attachment for iPhone, similar to credit card readers like this? Can we check out with Bump?
OK, I really just want a job that pays for my phone, and being the future of the underpaid information profession, I feel like I need that.
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I meant to post this ages ago from Fast Company Co.Design:
“At the University of Amsterdam, Dutch designers Studio Roelof Mulder and Bureau Ira Koers converted an existing 27,000-square-foot library into a massive study hall — without any visible books — to accommodate the 1,500 to 2,000 students who visit daily.”
A library without books? Gasp! The photographs show a little more minimalism than I usually like, but I think it’s a great display of redirecting focus away from accommodating books and looking toward accommodating people.
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From the Library of Congress flickr:
“In remembrance of the Union and Confederate soldiers who served in the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Liljenquist Family recently donated their rare collection of almost 700 ambrotype and tintype photographs to the Library of Congress.
Most of the people and photographers are unidentified, and we’d love to learn more about them. Please let us know if you recognize a face from your family, a regiment, or a photographer’s painted studio backdrop!”
Another benefit of sharing image collections online: identification! A photo library of unknowns would be awfully fun for a small community to tackle. I can see the applications for public libraries, many of which probably have mystery photos like these lying around, uncataloged (gasp!), and/or genealogists with sizable old family photo collections. Communities that build their cultural and ancestral heritage by helping libraries develop their collections — clearly there’s awesome value in that concept!
I quite like the photo above, titled “Three unidentified men in Union uniforms and two unidentified men, one pointing a revolver at another’s head.” Very eager to do some rebel killin’, yet unafraid to display their emotional side (i.e. rosy cheeks, hand holding). Here are some others that tickled my fancy and pulled on my heart strings, mostly the latter:
Unidentified African American soldier in Union uniform with wife and two daughters
Three unidentified soldiers in forage caps with musket
