Great Academy Award Reads

I was really struck this year by how many of the movies that were nominated for Oscars were based on really good books.

Just check out this list:

• Atonement by Ian McEwan;
• No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy;
  
• Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini;
  
• Gone, Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane;
  
• The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman;
  
• 3:10 to Yuma a short story by Elmore Leonard;
  
• The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum; and
  
• Oil by Upton Sinclair (There Will Be Blood)
  

So often the movie never matches the experience of reading the book, or vice versa. But just looking at this list makes me think that the movie makers did a wonderful job this past year. Nearly all the books on this list were great films, in most cases matching the book's power to captivate imaginations.

Free Law Library Now Online

On Wednesday there was an announcement that "the largest free law library on the web" was launched.

Called the Public Library of Law, it touts itself as "the most comprehensive free resource for legal research online."

At first glance, it looks like a useful site. It includes a sampling of legal forms, and assembles links to a variety of free website legal resources from the web.

More on Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone

In January I wrote about what was being reported in the Australian news media about Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone. Apparently questions had arisen as to the accuracy of his memories of life as a teenage soldier in Sierra Leone.

You can read more about this at newsvine.com. I think this article by Hillel Italie says it best:

Memoirs, of course, are a famously imperfect art form. Inaccuracies and omissions appear in classics by Henry Adams and Benjamin Franklin and countless other works. While few are reduced to proven deceit, such as James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces," even the best books are only as reliable as memory itself.

Who among us can accurately remember events that occurred when we were children — much less in the environment of being trained to be a mercenary killer? I can't even imagine what that would be like.

Thus, this title remains one of my most memorable books from 2007.

Fines Provide A Lot of Money

In December 2007, I wrote about a complaint that the Library System Board received about its fines for video recordings.

The library card member had returned some video recordings a few days late and was upset that he was charged $6 in late fees per item. He knew that he could renew them by phone, online or in-person at the library, but he said it was inconvenient for him to do that.

He suggested that the library system have a grace period, or that we charge lower rates for older materials, or that we lower fines.

After reviewing the issues, the Library System Board decided to keep its current fine rates for video recordings.

This decision was made for two reasons:

1. Video recording fines provide about $52,000 in annual income for the library system. In our current funding climate, the library system cannot afford to lose $26,000 annually.
2. Fines encourage the fast return of materials that are in high demand by our library card members.

Some public libraries in the U.S. have been able to eliminate all fines. It would be great if we could consider doing that too.

But the fact is overdue fines bring in more than $350,000 annually. Those dollars help the library system keep its doors open and provide more materials for everyone.

Still Long for the Card Catalog?

If you are one of those who long for the days of the card catalog, you may want to check out the University of Iowa libraries' cARTalog website.

The University's catalog was retired in 2004; but, as their website says, it has been an 'active' retirement.

To honor the role of the catalog, about 1/4 of the catalog was salvaged to create card catalog art. For the past few years, the University has been sending cards to people who wants to participate in the art project: artists, teachers, students, librarians, alumni and anyone who requests them.

Responses have been pouring in and many can be seen at the online cARTalog gallery.

By the way, for serious card catalog lovers, be sure to check out the interesting links to the history of the card catalog.

Are We Ready for E-Books?

In November 2007, Amazon released its new e-reader Kindle.

Costing about $400, Kindle is a portable reading device that can wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. It uses e-ink technology that its creators say is as crisp and clear as your daily newspaper. What's more, most of the books that you can download cost only $9.99. You can even subscribe to newspapers from around the world. (The New York Times is available for $13.99 a month).

Kindle has been getting pretty good reviews in the news media and by technology buffs alike. And, I have to say that I've been tempted to try it out.

Now, I may be even more tempted. I've long been a fan of audio books, always having one from the library in my car's cassette or CD player.

Yesterday, Amazon announced that it is buying Audible.com, the Web's biggest publishers of downloadable audio books. The New York Times has even suggested that Amazon's new acquisition may provide even more seamless technology that would allow you to switch from reading to listening or vice versa.

How cool is that?