Going, Going, Gone!Death to all old ways of communication? On Feb. 17, 2009 analog TV signals will disappear. Why? To free up much of the 700MHz spectrum, also know as UHF channels 52-69. The government has auctioned off this portion of the broadcast spectrum to Verizon and At&T for commercial use. It is unclear what they plan to use the space for but they paid approximately $19 billion. Digital TV makes sharper pictures and better sound possible. Ghosts, snow, psychedelic colors and the rotating vert hold problems, that we all remember from our childhood, will disappear, as digital is a much more stable form of signal. When digital signals break up they look like pixalated versions of Picasso.
There are reports that the old way of publishing books is also disappearing. In the old days the publisher read a paper copy of an idea for a novel then gave the author a paid advance to write the book. Editors fixed grammar, spelling errors and content problems. Then they printed thousands or hundreds of thousands of copies. They paid to ship the copies to the bookstores who had ordered them on consignment (which means that any copies that did not sell were simply returned for credit) the publishers paid the return cost of the shipping too! They then paid for the pulping of the returned product and it's disposal. In today's economy it is this old fashioned practice that is threatening the old publishing houses. They may collapse under the weight of shipping all those paper copies.
The trend? In Japan, popular novels called, keitai shosetsu, are sent directly to cell phones. Digital book formats for the Sony Reader and Amazon's Kindle allow you to download scanned books from such sources as Googles' 7 million copy library. Writers podcast their books or post them chapter by chapter on their personal blogs. Many are self publishing and bypassing the publishers altogether.
What does this mean for libraries? Will they go the way of the Dodo and dinosaur? No way! Libraries are vibrant ever-changing environments that respond to the users. If you don't believe me, compare the modern library to quiet, musty reading rooms of yesterday. We now have teens gather for gaming sessions, students using the wireless with their laptops, online databases for research and in many libraries coffee shops and restaurants. The public library is the communities gathering spot. Knitting groups, writing groups and even fly-tying groups meet here. In hard times libraries get busier as people look for cheaper ways to entertain their family. Use your library card to get movies, music, magazines, Internet service, newpapers and of course, if you like antiques, books.
Michele, Children's Librarian
There are reports that the old way of publishing books is also disappearing. In the old days the publisher read a paper copy of an idea for a novel then gave the author a paid advance to write the book. Editors fixed grammar, spelling errors and content problems. Then they printed thousands or hundreds of thousands of copies. They paid to ship the copies to the bookstores who had ordered them on consignment (which means that any copies that did not sell were simply returned for credit) the publishers paid the return cost of the shipping too! They then paid for the pulping of the returned product and it's disposal. In today's economy it is this old fashioned practice that is threatening the old publishing houses. They may collapse under the weight of shipping all those paper copies.
The trend? In Japan, popular novels called, keitai shosetsu, are sent directly to cell phones. Digital book formats for the Sony Reader and Amazon's Kindle allow you to download scanned books from such sources as Googles' 7 million copy library. Writers podcast their books or post them chapter by chapter on their personal blogs. Many are self publishing and bypassing the publishers altogether.
What does this mean for libraries? Will they go the way of the Dodo and dinosaur? No way! Libraries are vibrant ever-changing environments that respond to the users. If you don't believe me, compare the modern library to quiet, musty reading rooms of yesterday. We now have teens gather for gaming sessions, students using the wireless with their laptops, online databases for research and in many libraries coffee shops and restaurants. The public library is the communities gathering spot. Knitting groups, writing groups and even fly-tying groups meet here. In hard times libraries get busier as people look for cheaper ways to entertain their family. Use your library card to get movies, music, magazines, Internet service, newpapers and of course, if you like antiques, books.
Michele, Children's Librarian
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