NLB's Customer Appreciation Day + 15-Year Anniversary A few hours ago, I was at the Central Public Library for the launch of NLB's Customer Appreciation Day. The event is into its fifth year. Its the NLB way of thanking library customers for their support.Hours before the speech and presentation ceremony, kids were invited to create figurines from polymer clay. Here's a shot of three of the library's Junior Reading Ambassador rehearsing their show.[Fast-forward to the presentation ceremony] After the speech by the Chief Executive of NLB, awards were given out to library customers. Some were for demonstration of good library etiquette while some were recognised for being avid readers/ users of the library. Seated right in front of me was an avid reader! I spotted this child reading a compilation of the READ! Singapore stories, which was part of the goodie bag for guests.Guests queuing for food and refreshments after the simple award ceremony. Staff were on hand to mingle and interact with them as well.NLB 15-YEAR AnniversaryThis September is also the 15-Year Anniversary of the formation of National Library Board. Here's a non-comprehensive list of highlights in the 15-Year NLB history 1996 - Jurong West Public Library; first NLB library in a shopping mall.1997 - Library Supply Centre at Changi opens.1998 - Bukit Panjang Public Library; first to prototype Colour Coding of library books. This was also the year of the centralised library sale of weeded books (used to be held at individual libraries). Bukit Batok PL was the first library to have the RFID electronic library management system. Made possible the instant online clearing of loans as soon as items are dropped in.1999 - library@orchard opens; designed and positioned as a lifestyle library (targeted at adults; no Children's section) located at Ngee Ann City, in the hub of Singapore's shopping belt. This was also the year NLB launched the Student Virtual Community web service. It was a service concept ahead of its time, where the site offered online collaborative features like file/ document sharing and repository -- kinda like a more primitive version of Google Docs and YouTube. 2000 - Marine Parade PL opens; the first NLB library co-located within a community club. This was also the year Asian Children's Festival opens. 2001 - "Born to Read, Read to Born" reading initiative launched.2002 - library@esplanade opens, the first performing arts public library. That was also the year Sengkang PL opened; touted as a DIY library (has a concierge service rather than a full-fledged service counter).2004 - kidsREAD initiative launched. Jurong Regional Library was also re-opened, featuring a dedicated floor for teens. In that year, the National Library building at Stanford Road closes to public. 2005 - READ! Singapore launches. The new National Library building opens at Victoria street.Library 2010 plan published. Email reminder service launched too. 2007 - www.deposit.nl.sg launched.2008 - Molly the Mobile Library launched.2009 - Library In Your Pocket service launched. Quest, a reading initiative targeted at reluctant readers, was also launched.2010 - newspapers.nl.sg launched. Facebook app launched as well.This page from the NLB corporate website has a more comprehensive list of the milestones (1995 - 2008).Loads of things happening from now till 15 Sept ("15 Treasures", "15 Lucky Draw winners" etc.). Check out the pl.sg website for more details.Here's to 15 years more!   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com The ASCAP "Copyleft" fund-raiser: Campaign of misinformation? If you've not been following the Creative Commons scene, you might not have heard of the fund-raising campaign by the American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), started in June 2010.The ASCAP fund-raiser for a legislative campaignFirst, you ought to read their letter for yourself.Their fund-raiser is for a "legislative campaign" to "urge the members of (the U.S.) Congress to support [their] rights". I've read the letter several times. I'm still not sure what rights ASCAP is campaigning for. Or is it for a law against the lawful sharing of works -- even if initiated by the creator?What's really controversial was ASCAP's claims that 'Creative Commons promote "Copyleft" in order to undermine "Copyright"'. Wired.com was probably the first to break the news (25 Jun), and the article sums up the fallacies in ASCAP's position:The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is urging the membership to donate money to battle the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge and even Creative Commons.ASCAP’s attack on EFF and Public Knowledge are farfetched. Those groups do not suggest music should be free, although they push for the liberalization of copyright law.But the attack on Creative Commons is more laughable than ASCAP’s stance against EFF and Public Knowledge.While lobby groups EFF and Public Knowledge advocate for liberal copyright laws, Creative Commons actually creates licenses to protect content creators.LINKDid ASCAP bother to find out what Creative Commons (CC) really is about?CC is built upon the foundation of Copyright. CC is NOT an alternative to Copyright; CC works along side it. The idea of Creative Commons (CC) is not hard to understand. So I was puzzled as to why an organisation like ASCAP would choose to espouse wrong ideas.A Red Herring?Reading the ASCAP letter carefully, I think the basis of their concerns is in this statement (emphasis mine):If their views are allowed to gain strength, music creators will find it harder and harder to make a living as traditional media shifts to online and wireless services.I think there's the real issue: the weakening and gradual collapse of the traditional music publishing and distribution business model, brought about by technology.Technology is the cause of the industry's collapse (or some might say the greed and/ or narrowly-defined business models of music publishers). Certainly not global movements like Creative Commons. Don't take my word for it. This business week post (Jul 2010) cites technology as the underlying issue to the fall in traditional music sales. Musician John Mellencamp already said it so back in 2009. Even further back, here's a MSNBC article summary by Bob Baker in 2003 that reads just like it was written yesterday.ASCAP is trying to do something. But I think initiating a legislative campaign is just barking up the wrong tree. Not to mention wasting resources (from doners). A music community responds to ASCAPAnyway, what's more interesting to me was how a music community like ccMixter chose to respond to ASCAP's claims. Check out this Freedom To Share campaign. Excerpt: So here’s how it works. FREEDOM TO SHARE has two stages.Stage One: Write, record and upload a piece that reflects the theme FREEDOM TO SHARE.Stage Two: Remix someone else’s upload from Stage One. Upload your remix BETWEEN AUG 18 - SEPT 5.STAGE ONE:WHEN: Aug 1 through August 14WHAT: Write and Record a lyric that comments on the themes of this project: artistic freedom, sharing culture, collaboration, the evolution of the music industry, etc.HOW: Up through August 14, upload a recording of your lyric as an acapella….you can submit a spoken word, a rap, or a melody. (If you’ve never uploaded a poem or a song, this is your opportunity!)STAGE TWO:WHEN: UPLOAD BETWEEN AUG 18- SEPT 5.WHAT: Remix one (or more) of the uploads from Stage One.HOW: You can start woking with pells from Stage One as soon as they are submitted and upload between Aug 18 - Sept 5. Upload your remix here (or remixes) that include at least one track from Stage One. Your remix should continue to explore the theme of this event — artistic freedom, sharing culture and collaboration. Again, your remix must include at least one track piece from Stage One (please note all samples in your remix must be yours originally or under the appropriate Creative Commons license). You are free to upload more than one remix too.SHARING THE MESSAGEThrough this project, we at ccMixter will create a musical body of work that demonstrates the power of creative collaboration using Creative Commons licenses. We also hope the FREEDOM TO SHARE Remix Event will sonically illuminate matters requiring more light in this debate.The music created by the project will become a tool for educating others about the versatility of Creative Commons licenses. We intend to share these remixes via curated playlists, podcasts and compilations in as many venues as we can reach, including other websites that support CC licensed work, such as Jamendo, Soundcloud, FMA, Archive.org, etc.LINKDebate seems to be over before it begunCC co-founder, Lawrence Lessig, offered to publicly debate the issues. ASCAP declined and continued to issue puzzling statements that lumped CC as part of movements that encourage "a culture of disrespect for copyright".The irony may be that ASCAP's campaign has done the opposite of its intent. They might have inadvertently created greater awareness of movements like Creative Commons.Dear Mr Williams...Whichever the case, here's my contribution as an amateur songwriter. BTW, I didn't deliberately choose to make my mix an "international" one. It just so happens that I found suitable stems from musicians from Mexico and Japan, not to mention the ccmixters from US, UK, Canada (I think): The track was made possible by those who have chosen to share their works under their chosen Creative Commons licenses:beautiful paranoia by urmymuse. CC-BY-NC 3.0.Dear Mr Williams by Loveshadow. CC-BY 3.0.Mine + Yours = Ours by snowflake. CC-BY 3.0.We Hold These Truths by essesq. CC-BY 3.0.Dear Mr Williams (Snowflake Adaptation) by snowflake. CC-BY 3.0.Why? by Admiral Bob. CC-BY 3.0.Musica Mexicana. Artist/Composer: Sr Nopal. Attribution 2.5 MexicoHypnotic garden by Universal Hypnotica. Creative Commons license: Attribution 2.1 JapanThe Full mix and backing tracks available at this ccMixter page.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG): History, today. It came down to this. BTW, here's a refreshingly (positive) perspective about Singapore hosting the inaugural YOG. (via Ridz.sg).Thinking aloudIt's hard for one to fully appreciate the competencies required to pull off such an event. We only see the end product. We take for granted the organisational capabilities that have to exist, in order to make such a thing happen. Taking on the responsibility of being the first to host the YOG. That required an appetite for risk.Above all, we forget that it requires imagination to even conceive of such a possibility.Even with awesome pictures like this, it is still hard to fully appreciate the gumption involved. Months or years later, some Singaporeans are still going to say that Singapore's decision to host the inaugural YOG was a waste of resources.It's easy for some of us to forget that Singapore is really a tiny country, relative to the geographical giants out there.Whenever I'm in a foreign airport, clearing immigration, I'm reminded of one stark cold fact: outside of my country, the name 'Singapore' means little to many.Confession: Months before, I didn't think that much about Singapore's hosting of the inaugural YOG. Wasn't against it. I was simply apathetic to the whole thing.Now, I'm wiser.And not too late to say that I'm proud of our tiny little country.The next time I'm in a foreign land, faced with puzzled looks when I tell them I'm from Singapore, I'll add that I'm from that country that hosted the world's first Youth Olympic Games. First in the history of modern society.Doesn't matter if they still give me blank looks.History has already been written.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Read in Jun 2010 In no particular order:Roughnotes | NLBsearchplusISBN: 0814409113Ebook version | NLBsearchplus | RoughNotesRoughNotes | NLBsearchplusRoughNotes | NLBsearchplus=RoughNotes | NLBsearchplusRoughNotes | NLBsearchplusRoughNotes | NLBsearchplusRoughNotes | NLBsearchplusRoughNotes | NLBsearchplusRoughNotes | NLBsearchplusRoughNotes | NLBsearchplusRoughNotes | NLBsearchplusRoughNotes | NLBsearchplusRoughnotes | NLBsearchplusRoughnotes | NLBsearchplusRoughnotes | NLBsearchplusRoughnotes | NLBsearchplusRoughnotes | NLBsearchplus   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Flying the Singapore Flag: We're 45 - Part 1 Today's Singapore's 45th birthday.I wanted to exercise my left/ right brain and write something about it. Led me to start writing about National Identity and the concept of Nationhood. Intellectually serious stuff.Then I received an email from Siva. He had just published this blog post about my sharing of a recent experience on our national Park Connector Network (PCN).A week before my trip to Melbourne, I bought a foldable bicycle. All because I saw a newly constructed park connector near my home. After my first late-night exploration of that connector, I was so stoked that I immediately emailed Siva and Lucian. Both are cycling enthusiasts. Siva contributes to the Cycling in Singapore blog. Lucian traced the PCN onto Googlemaps, plus he cycles to work. So what has the Park Connector Network got to do with National Day?Siva's post ended with a "Happy National Day everyone!" Nothing odd about that, since today is National Day.But that one simple sign-off, in a post about the PCN, made me appreciate National Day from a simpler perspective.I decided to leave my thoughts about national identity and nationhood for later. For now I'm enjoying the simple fact that I have a Park Connector Network near where I live. It's just one one of the many reasons why I'm happy to call Singapore home. Happy birthday.[Later: Part 2]   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com The library as a sanctuary for the Lost (or, "Visiting Melbourne: Guest of State Library of Victoria) As with all my first-time one-person visits to a new country/ city, I was a stranger in a strange city.It's winter here, in Melbourne.I was cold. A little hungry. Feeling very alone.No matter how many countries I've been too, how many working trips I've been sent, I feel anxious in a totally new place.It's thanks to the State Library of Victoria that my colleague and I are here. To share NLB's perspective and experience at their strategic retreat they have organised for Victorian public library managers and senior State Library staff.But my gratitude is dulled by my own lack of sophistication in coping in a new city. My anxiety was compounded by not knowing where and when I would be meeting my colleague, as well as the specifics of the next few days itinerary (some people are perfectly comfortable with uncertainty; I'm not one of those persons).After I settled into my hotel room, I took a 15 minute walk to the State Library (their equivalent of a National Library, if Melbourne was an independent city-state like Singapore). "Very stately," was my visceral thought. There were young people lying on the grass like it was a warm summer day and not the cold blustery windy day that it was.Stepping into the library dispelled all the uncertainties I've felt so far, in Melbourne. I knew enough of libraries to know I wouldn't be stopped. I was perfectly anonymous. After a few minutes inside, it quickly dawned on me that the library was like a place of worship. It was comforting and familiar; a sanctuary for those who feel lost in a new place.Lest you misunderstand that the State Library of Victoria was some dark, musty and unused building, it's pretty "happening". I saw a lot of young people there. Reminded me of how our own National Library is popular with the trendy youngsters.Right at the entrance was an arrangement of books on shelf. Says "bookstore" (so simple and cool). Went further in and up, till I reached a large expansive room that had the musty smell of books. It wasn't an unpleasant smell. In fact, I immediately thought the familiar bookish library smell was a contrast to the smart and swanky entrance and other sections. I asked a librarian if I could take photographs. She said as long as I didn't intrude on others by taking their pictures. I smiled and said they have a liberal policy (for a National/ State library). I liked that, as in the library should be encouraging people to promote it via online sharing.Here's a room that was dedicated to a Chess collection. Some people were engaged in chess games. The room also doubled up as a quiet-reading area.On my way out, I noticed a section called Experimedia.Peering inside, it was clear young people were openly playing digital Wii and Xbox games. Overall impressionsThere was a feeling that this was a very well used, and stately, academic library. And somehow there's a welcoming feeling. A large part has to do with the decor, I'm sure. Or maybe it's the way the staff are around, and yet not specifically looking at you (giving you the impression that you're being watched).I've visited libraries of similar size, design and style. Older buildings tend to give me the cold and impersonal feeling. But definitely not the State Library of Victoria.I'm sitting in the Experimedia room, on a comfortable seat, putting down my thoughts on my Nokia E71. The combination of my earlier anxieties and the comfort of this library has made me experience the library in a totally different way. The key word was "experience"; not "use". I could imagine how a new immigrant might feel. Or an out-of-state citizen moving into a new place, alone.I'm still a stranger in this new city.But for now, in the library, I'm feeling perfectly at home.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Art practice: "Blue Skies, Green Hills" On a Sunday afternoon back in March, my wife cajoled me into painting an acrylic piece. I said 'cajoled' because I was a bit lazy to pick up the paint brush... but she prepared all the paints and palette so I had no excuse.She practiced on her own piece, and I did mine. For reference, we used one of the paintings featured in the book “Art school: A complete painters course” by Patricia Monahan, Patricia Seligman, and Wendy Clouse.NLBsearchplus | ISBN: 9780600614135This was her paint palette (she bought a "stay wet" palette).I started my piece by sketching the outlines of the hills, in pencil.The fun part starts: I applied a mix of blue and white to the sky. Then started on the green hills, working towards darker colours (in Acrylics, you work from dark to light -- but I'm never one to follow the rules strictly): When the painting was almost complete, I decided the sky needed a touch of gray and some reflection of the green. If not, the sky was a bit too plain looking. The completed painting. Took about 2 hours, slightly less.There are several DVDs and books, on "How To Paint", from the Public Libraries. They come with step-by-step illustrations. Check out the "Arts and Recreation" section.[Also blogged at MyRightBrain.wordpress.com]   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Disability Sports Showcase at the Public Libraries, 3 Jul 2010 Overheard: "Daddy, daddy, these are sports played by the disabled!"More like the 'Abled', I wanted to tell her. Yesterday, on 3 Jul 2010, the Public Libraries held a Disability Sports Showcase at Woodlands Regional Library. The event, organised by my Public Libraries colleagues, was in partnership with by Special Olympics Singapore and Handicaps Welfare Association and a few other sponsors From the NLB Press Release, 3 Jul 2010:Besides enabling library users to browse the wide collection of resources on topics related to disability and sports, the event also provided a platform for the participants to engage in disability sports demonstrations of bocce, floor hockey and other sports competed at the Special Olympics.A sharing session at the Disability Sports Showcase was held with athletes from Special Olympics Singapore, their family members and Ms Hanako Sawayama, an athlete with the Special Olympics for 17 years. Together, they shared their experiences on disability sports as well as the positive impact of reading on their lives. Ms Sawayama is also a Special Olympics' International Global Messenger who travels the world to speak about the Games.In the auditorium, the library's Junior Reading Ambassadors performing a skit, adapted from Robin Pulver's book, "Way to go, Alex!":NLBsearchplus There was also a prize-giving ceremony for the winners of the Design-A-Card Game contest (details of this card game is in the later part of this post):SPECIAL OLYMPICS SPORTS SHOWCASEThis was the highlight of the day; the reason why the event was organised. One of the main aim was to educate the general public that people need not be excluded from sports because of their disabilities The game of Floor Hockey was one of the Special Olympics sport being exhibited: This was Bocce:This was a demonstration of a Badminton training exercise, to develop the player's footwork and psycho-motor skills. The Special Olympics trainer explained that their Intellectually Disabled players also had some degrees of psycho-motor skills limitations, which meant that modified training techniques had to be developed.  Trainees were assessed with a 'Skills-rating sheet'. The assessment sheet also served as a way to mark the trainee's progress.MOTOR ACTIVITIES TRAINING PROGRAMMESports is also about training and preparation: Here are some kids with one of their arms tied to their body, to simulate restricted movements that a person with disability might experience: OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIESThe event also featured the forty winning entries from the Stories Next Door competition. You can read all the entries at Blogs.nlb.gov.sg/YO. The idea behind the competition was to focus on the "man in the street" who has either demonstrated or seen to promote the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. JUST SHARE PHOTO CONTESTA related contest was the "Just Share" photo submission. The entries (which you can view at www.pl.sg) reflected stories and photographs by 'ordinary people' and everyday scenes that portray the Olympic values.DESIGN A CARD-GAMEThere was an exhibition on the winning entries of the Design a Card Game competition was held. There were twenty entries from teen (secondary school students). The main intent in producing the card game was to raise awareness on sports in a fun and engaging manner.The Guest-of-Honour being brought around to see how the card game was played.Very simple rules: basically you win when you match all the cards in the deck. The learning element is that each card has a piece of sports trivia, extracted from a print or digital resource. The students contributed the graphic design, and also the sports trivia.The winners also received a commemorative printout of the cards that they helped designed.QUIZ & GOODIE-BAGSTo add a little fun element and to get participants to move around the exhibits, my colleagues designed a simple quiz form. Complete the quiz and redeem your prize.PUBLIC EDUCATION: PROMOTING A KNOWLEDGEABLE & ENGAGED SOCIETYLooking at some of the messages posted on the board, it's quite clear to me the Public Libraries met one of the main aims of the event. Incidentally, this was the third Disability Signature event organised by the Public Libraries. The first signature event was in 2008 (the Amazing Wheelchair Challenge) and the second was last year's Deaf Culture Seminar.As part of the Sports@Public Libraries initiative, a series of activities will be organised till August 2010 for the public to learn more about various sports featured under the Youth Olympic Games and to inculcate sporting values.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Game2Read - READ! Singapore 2010 This event, Game2Read, was launched today on 26 Jun 2010, at the Plaza of the National Library building:It's jointly organised by NLB and Singapore's Cybersports and Online Gaming Association (SCOGA), as part of READ! Singapore 2010.Here's a short video I put together from today's launch.LINKYou can still catch the events on Sunday, 27 Jun 2010 (and there's one more on Sunday 18 July 2010). Here's the key events, from NLB press release, dated 26 Jun 2010:1) Gaming competitionA gaming competition between the top regional all-girls DotA celebrity team, PMS|Asterisk*, and the recently crowned Singapore champions for Heroes of Newerth (HoN), an all-boys team, Princess Council.Date: Saturday, 26 June 2010Time: 2.30pm – 4.00pm2) Cyberwellness exhibitionFind out more about cyberwellness topics presented by SCOGA on gaming addiction, cyberbullying, netiquette, health and nutrition, and more.Date: Saturday – Sunday, 26 – 27 June 2010Time: 11.00am – 6.00pm3) NLB book loans on books related to gaming and sportsOver the two-day event, Public Libraries Singapore will be showcasing more than 500 gaming and sports related books. Books on World of Warcraft, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Soccer, amongst other titles will be available for loan.Date: Saturday – Sunday, 26 – 27 June 2010Time: 11.00am – 6.00pm4) Quest collectible cards available for redemptionQuest fans will be able to redeem a packet of collectible cards, with every four books borrowed, at the mobile borrowing station at Game2Read. Quest is a year-long reading initiative to cultivate the love for reading in reluctant readers, especially boys aged 7-12 years old, with the use of collectible cards.Date: Saturday – Sunday, 26 – 27 June 2010Time: 11.00am – 6.00pm5) 'Journal Singapore' BoardgameDesigned by Monsters Under The Bed, 'Journal Singapore' hopes to engage youths and the public-at-large in Singapore's history.Date: Saturday – Sunday, 26 – 27 June 2010Time: 2.00pm – 6.00pm6) Book discussionsBooks selected for READ! Singapore 2010 such as Legend of the Condor Heroes and Romance of the Three Kingdoms will be discussed during the sessions.Date: Sunday, 27 June 2010Time: 1.00pm – 4.00pm7) Game2Read HourGTR Hour will be held after the two-day event. This is a nation-wide call for gamers to take a break from gaming and pledge a gaming hour to reading for one hour on 18 July, 2.00 – 3.00pm under the Read! IT initiative. Jointly organised by NLB and Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), this initiative aims to encourage members of the public to go online to view celebrity gamers, amongst many others, read live via the Internet.There will also be onsite activities at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), which include a cosplay festival, and a talk by Koei on how they adapted the successful series of Romance of the Three Kingdom games from the book.This activity is opened to all. Interested parties can log onto the website, www.scoga.org/gtr, to support their favourite gamers from Warcraft 3, Starcraft, Counter Strike and DotA.Date: Sunday, 18 July 2010Time: 2.00pm – 3.00pm   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Post-event: Inaugural CC Salon SG, 25th Jun 2010 at HackerspaceSG Just came back from the first ever CC Salon SG (here's the programme line up).Pretty good turnout. About 30 people, slightly more? I was expecting only 15 to 20 people.At the last minute, I decided not to be the MC, as I wanted to keep this informal and instill a sense that its really community-driven rather than a curated event. Told the presenters to just step up, introduce themselves, and speak.Preetam Rai on "Sharing my Images with a CC license"First up was Preetam. Preetam shared about his experiences in sharing his photos under a CC license. Like how his photo of a cathedral in Budapest was used in a Wikipedia entry. And how GlobalVoicesOnline eventually invited him to work for them, after he had been contributing his CC licensed work there. And finally he talked about ideas for "tipping" contributors (I remember reading this in one of his blog post, but can't find the post at the moment).Kevin Lim on "Marginalia: Giving books their social life"Next was Kevin, who gave a slightly more academic slant to the evening's line-up. He shared about the concept of Social Marginalia and how online social platforms was extending the phenomenon. Some links he shared during his talk: www.futureofthebook.org, Commentpress, digress.it. Kevin has also published his PhD dissertation at antiCTRL.com, which he intends to experiment with the idea of social marginalia too. I thought Marginalia was a form of vandalism, if the book didn't belong to you. But with online social platforms, it wouldn't be considered vandalism if additional comments are made without destroying or defacing the original content.Stefano Virgilli on “Adobe After Effects demo: Creating animated words”Stefano was next, where he shared a video of how he created animated words with an Adobe product, and where others could find his CC-licensed source files. Stefano opted to show a video rather than do a "live" demo. One lady in the audience seemed to take issue with the fact that Stefano wasn't using an Open Source app.My gut reaction was that one didn't need to use Open Source apps per se. For instance, I use a proprietary software, GarageBand, to create music and remixes, which I subsequently release and license under CC. That doesn't make it less legitimate.But later I thought about her question, and wondered if she was referring to the release of the source files in their native file formats. Would we have the right to license the source files under a CC license?I think the conservative answer is that one cannot. Because while I may be providing my creative outputs within the native files, I may not have the rights to attach a CC license for the entire source file. But I also wonder from the legal standpoint if I could argue that I'm not providing the source file per se, but using it as a container for the creative work. Or does the Doctrine of First Sale apply here, in the context of software (incidentally I happened to read this Law Gazette article yesterday).Tricky. But interesting questions.Inch Chua on “Creative Commons & The Opposing Innovation”The topping on the cake for this CC Salon SG session was, without any doubt, a young talented lady named Inch Chua (yup, it's her real name; I asked) She started sharing about issues of piracy and CC (which upon hindsight, would have made her talk into a potentially dull one, since she wasn't sharing anything new to this crowd). But luckily, her talk was more about her personal reasons and experiences in adopting CC. I thought she hit a sweet spot by revealing how she had tried to sell her music via iTunes before abandoning that model. After all the administrative work involved, she was earning less than 10cents for every song sold (iTunes sells them at 99cents). She wondered if it was worth all the effort in paperwork when she earned barely a tenth of what her work was sold via the online store. "What was the difference in giving away the songs free?", she asked.That experience pushed her to adopt CC licenses for her songs, leaving her to focus on "live" performances. She asked something really though-provoking: "Is sharing = devaluing one's work?"In reality, I think many people may think so. Sharing for free, when one could earn something (never mind how little), was akin to decreasing the value of one's work. Or was it?It's a philosophical position, I think. My stand is that if "value" is equated with "use" rather than "revenue", then not sharing and not being discovered is the real killer.Did CC make a positive difference for Inch? I think the answer to that question is again something personal, and therefore speculative. What I do know is that we had one talented young lady tonight, who will be launching her new album soon. And will be performing at Esplanade (tickets at $25). She gamely sang us two of her compositions:Prior to meeting Inch Chua in person, I have listened to her songs and was quite impressed (even more impressed after learning that she was the first Singapore solo artist selected to perform at the South By Southwest, SXSW, music festival). Having met her in person tonight, I was impressed by her overall confidence and down-to-earthiness sort of way (and I'm sure many in the audience feel that way too). Just before completing this post, I've just gone back to her website and made a donation. Or you can consider it a purchase of this album in particular. It's not a large sum but still, she's definitely getting more than 10cents per song from me :)Next CC Salon SG?Maybe in three months' time. I don't dare to promise there will be one CC Salon SG every month.Or maybe the next session doesn't need to have speakers. In which case, it's a matter of fixing a regular date/ time and have an open showcase of CC licensed works, i.e. whoever turns up is free to share their work. Let me think about it. Suggestions are most welcome (leave a comment!)Oh, Kevin suggested every CC Salon SG should have at least one musician/ performer. And I agree, so I'll try to find them :)BTW, thanks to Ruiwen from HackerspaceSG, for sponsoring the space. He said tonight's event was the most "happening" at HackerspaceSG this year, and would welcome us back there. Thanks! I thought HackerspaceSG offered a very informal and cozy setting for this sort of sharing and networking session. In fact, several attendees were already members of HackerspaceSG. p.s. I'll also find time to blog about how this inaugural CC Salon SG session came to be, how the speakers were selected (or maybe, why it took so long to organise one, heh).   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Books read: Jan - May 2010 I hardly mention the books I read here, because they are all posted at my RoughNotes blog. Well, I might publish a monthly or quarterly list here. Don't expect too much though. I didn't name the other blog "Rough Notes" for nothing.The notes ain't pretty. :) For a start, here's what I read since Jan to May 2010, in no particular order (no, no, I'm not trying to show off with a list of items read. Quantity means nothing. I happen to like artfully designed book covers on my blog, that's all. Besides, one of these days I might tempt you to pick up a pretty book cover from the public library).[RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus]But Still They Blog: The liblog landscape 2007 - 2009/ Walt Crawford[RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus]Chokher Bali[RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus][RoughNotes | NLBsearchplus]   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com On cities and urban living Came across this interview of Bruce Sterling, "science fiction author, cultural observer, and futures provocateur", where he shared his thoughts about cities.When asked about what thought were the dangerous aspects of urbanisation, he had this to say:But I'd also like to point out that large financial centers in certain cities around the planet are certainly going to kill millions of us by destroying our social safety networks in the name of their imaginary financial efficiency. You're a thousand times more likely to die because of what some urban banker did in 2008 than from what some Afghan-based terrorist did in 2001.Do read his interview in full, at boingboing.net. Incidentally, I came across a 2007 work, by Zygmunt Bauman (Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Leeds and the University of Warsaw), titled "Liquid times: Living in an age of uncertainty":RoughNotes | NLBsearchplusISBN: 0745639879It's a relatively short book (115 pages, including references). For a work by an academic, it's quite readable (yes, I realise there are several biased views in the remark I just made... heh).The book is a collection of five essays, containing intellectual views and ideas about society and modern living. I can't say this book compelled me to read it cover to cover (I lack that sort of academic inclination). But it contains several intellectually provocative statements, perspectives and interesting framing of issues.Like page 71 to 72, that "Cities have become places with more danger than safety". The original intent of cities (walled towns and the like) was for people to band together for safety. But now, individual homes have become places to protect and hide inhabitants away from the community, rather than integration. Or so that particular essay suggests.And on page 92: "Cities as dumping grounds for globally produced troubles, but can also be seen as laboratories to invent ways and means to live on an overcrowded planet."There's no question that urbanisation will continue. But what isn't inevitable is that urbanisation will be at the expense of community integration, as well as co-existance with nature. At least I hope it isn't inevitable.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Highest Number Of Singapore Literary Works Selected For READ! Singapore 2010 Still going strong since 2005.The 2010 theme is "Roads Less Travelled". Selected titles are posted at readsingapore.nlb.gov.sg.Release Date : 26 May 2010Poetry is included for the first time in this nation-wide reading initiativeSINGAPORE, 26 May 2010 – The National Library Board (NLB) officially launched READ! Singapore 2010 today. Into its sixth year, the nation-wide reading initiative promotes a culture of reading fiction among Singaporeans. The theme of this year's campaign is “Roads Less Travelled” which aims to encourage Singaporeans from different walks of life to share their perspectives in making unconventional life choices.Selected works feature Singapore literary talentsIn line with the theme, eight novels, eight short stories and five poems in the four official languages, written by well-known local and international authors, were selected by the READ! Singapore Steering Committee, with one title voted by the public. This is the first time that poetry is included to provide a greater variety of literary works. The selected works explore the different scenarios in which the characters took the roads less travelled in their lives. Each of the short stories is translated into the other three official languages and compiled into four anthologies, together with the poems, to encourage Singaporeans to read across cultures and communities. This year's selection also features the most number of literary works written by Singaporean and Singapore-based authors.New initiatives to engage youths and the community-at-largeApart from meet-the-author sessions, book discussions and reading carnivals, READ! Singapore 2010 will feature the first-ever infocomm-enabled nation-wide reading event, Read! IT.Organised by NLB and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, Read! IT will feature teams of readers simultaneously reading over a two-hour period at six different venues on 18 July 2010. They will be streamed online via a collaborative platform, www.readit.sg (operational from 1 July 2010 onwards). The public can view the six reading groups creatively read or present their selected books in the form of a live dance, mime performance or skit. They can also tweet about Read! IT, vote for their favourite team and participate in online teasers to win attractive prizes.Another highlight of this year's campaign is Game2Read, a joint initiative with the Singapore Cybersports and Online Gaming Association to encourage the gaming community and youths to re-discover the joy of reading. This will be done through book discussions on gaming-related titles, gaming competitions, a cyber-wellness exhibition and other activities related to gaming and reading. These activities will be held over a two-day period from 26 to 27 June at The Plaza, National Library Building.“In this digital age, it is common for youths to spend many hours online on social networks and playing their favourite computer games. Through Read! IT, Game2Read, and various other exciting programmes organised as part of READ! Singapore 2010, we want to engage more youths and the wider community to pick up the selected literary works, read and discuss with one another, and in the process, cultivate a passion for reading and lifelong learning. We hope that the programmes would spark their imagination and encourage them to discover new possibilities in their lives,” said Dr N Varaprasad, Chief Executive, NLB.READ! Singapore 2010 will run from 26 May to 30 August. During this 14-week period, Singaporeans can look forward to a wide range of reading-related events happening at various locations around Singapore. LINK   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com The late Dr. Goh Keng Swee and I (part 2) - National Service This post, as with the previous one, may seem unabashedly about me and not the late Dr. Goh Keng Swee. Quite unintended, really.I don't know Dr. Goh Keng Swee personally. Yet much of what he was directly involved had a direct influence in my development as a Singaporean.This post is about one other great foundation that Dr. Goh laid down for generations of Singaporeans -- National Service (NS).A GREAT SACRIFICEI do not entertain any romantic notions about military service.No way would I want to repeat my two-and-a-half years full-time stint and the subsequent 13-year 'reservist' cycle of NS, in the Army.And yet I truly and deeply believe I would be a lesser person if not for NS."National service imposes not only a great sacrifice of time and money on the young men called up. It is also unpleasant as military training aims to push the soldier to the limits of human endurance. Yet in every election since national service was introduced, its abolition has never been an election issue. ...The average Singapore citizen knows the dangers that he faces are real and not hypothetical. A kind of folk wisdom has grown on the need to defend ourselves. ... Having said this, while we must prepare for war to keep the peace, we must not get paranoid about this. The worst policy is to arm ourselves to the point where our neighbours misread our intentions. We are not Israel and South-east Asia is not the Middle East." - Dr. Goh Keng Swee. Sept 25, 1984 (as cited in The Straits Times, May 18, 2010).I feel war is a great economic and social waste. But I also accept that defence spending, for deterrence, is a human necessity. At a personal level, there's a confidence that comes from knowing how to handle a basic infantry assault rifle. At the societal level, NS is a modern-day rite of passage.But what NS really gave me was an education that formal schooling could never impart.A DIFFERENT SORT OF EDUCATIONIn the army, I experienced first hand that street savvy-ness, human decency and intellect has no direct correlation to education and economic backgrounds.In the confines of army rules and regulations, between the whims of sargents and officers, I got to know -- and learned how to live with -- people whom I would never have been exposed to in my civilian life.FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFEIn civilian life, you can choose your friends or acquaintances. Or, you could avoid them. In the army, you have a lot less say in who you're assigned to work with. Some of the people I met were real rough in language and behaviour. Now, I'm no prude and I've heard swearing and have been known to swear as well. The difference was that when those other people swore and cursed, they sounded like they meant it. Very intimidating for a person like me, who grew up relatively sheltered from these rough and tumble manners.And yet once I got to know them, I enjoyed their company. There isn't any secret to it. Treat other people decently, they are likely to show the same to you.Of course, the rule that "anyone can be an a**" holds true. I don't have misplaced notions that all 'rough and tumble folks' are nice people. Some are just plain mean on their inside as well as outside. As I said, there's no correlation between education and economic background and whether one acts decently or not.UPGRADING MYSELFBeyond the basic necessities the army provided, anything else was what I made do with it. The lesson was that I should not leave my own future to "other people".Before I went into NS, I naively thought that obtaining a diploma was good enough. I didn't think taking up a degree course was necessary.It was NS that made me realise I had to better myself. Nearer the end of my full-time stint, I heard some of my peers boast of how they were going overseas to study. They spoke of grand career plans after getting a job with their degree. I didn't think I was any less capable than them. Yet the stark reality was without equal qualifications, they would likely to be my bosses (also, I'd like to restate that some people would just be a**holes no matter what, heh). That realisation strengthened my resolve to upgrade myself. I found my way to a degree programme. That degree eventually landed me in librarianship. Would never have become a librarian if I had not started down that path, I guess.A CORPORAL WHO LED SINGAPORE'S ARMED FORCES From The Straits Times, Saturday Special Report, May 15, 2010. "Corporal who built an army" by Goh Chin Lian:What he knew of military affairs then was learnt only as a corporal in the British-led Singapore Volunteer Corps, but he rose to the challenge of building up Singapore's defence, one which people at that time did not think was possible. He took a decade to accomplish his mission. From August 1965 to August 1967, he headed the Ministry of Interior and Defence which also handled Home Affairs. His initial plan was to build up a regular army of 12 battalions between 1966 and 1969. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said in his memoirs that as the Prime Minister, he disagreed and proposed a small, standing army with the capacity to mobilise the whole civilian population, who should be trained and put in the reserves.The revised plan gave the blueprint for today's national service and SAF - mobilising a large part of the population, while keeping regular forces at 12 battalions.UNDERSTANDING LOSS, CHERISHING FREEDOMDuring my Basic Military Training, one of my platoon mate remarked that the army stint was no different from his jail time. He should know what he's talking about. He had been in and out of Juvenile reformatory several times.What he said was true in many ways, when I think about it. As a conscripted soldier, you could not quit from the Army. Your personal freedoms wasn't exactly curtailed, but there were restrictions whenever you put on that uniform.Here's where I'll allow a romantic indulgence about NS: one does not really know what is freedom, until one experiences its absence.It may not have been the primary intent, of the late Dr. Goh, for NS to be a social leveler or to serve as a "school beyond school". But the way I experienced it, NS was more about defence. It was an education in itself.Thank you, Sir.More references:An introduction to the late Dr. Goh Keng Swee - from National Library Resource Guide site.National Library Infopedia article, on the late Dr. Goh Keng Swee.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Weapon of Mass Instruction Brilliant."Literature gets a ride in the streets of Buenos Aires" LINKThe AFP YouTube channel says:"In Argentina, a local artist has transformed an old ford Falcon into a roving library. He weaves through the streets of Buenos Aires and the rest of the country, offering books to passers-by in the hopes of sparking the country's appetite for literature."American Libraries tweeted it as a "Weapon of Mass Instruction", which is an apt description since the artist made the car look like a tank.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com The late Dr. Goh Keng Swee and I (part 1) No, I do not know the late Dr. Goh Keng Swee personally.But after the past few day's stories and commentaries in the The Straits Times, I now have a deeper appreciation of just how much his vision and work has influence my life. Dare I say, a stronger connection to him than before.NLB Call No. 959.5704092 TAN (SINGAPORE Collection)LINKNO PERSONAL CONNECTION, UNTIL NOWInitially, what I did know of Dr. Goh was from The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew. From the book, it was clear that Dr. Goh was one of the Old Guards, who were the architects of post-Independence Singapore. The connection went as far as that, however. He was of an earlier generation of leaders, from a time before I was born. And when I was mature enough to know who he was, he was someone far beyond my ken. I could not really relate to Dr. Goh, the man, and did not think I ever will.But maybe time, and biological age, has a way of making one see links that were previously beneath one's consciousness.Of the many ministerial portfolios undertaken by the late Dr. Goh, two things stood out for me now: Education and Defence.Here's part 1, about Education. Specifically, I'll talk about the now defunct Religious Knowledge curriculum that Dr. Goh introduced in the early '80s.RELIGIOUS STUDIES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLSFrom The Straits Times, Saturday Special Report, May 15, 2010. "Shaking up the Education Ministry" by Susan Long & Ho Ai Li:(Dr. Goh Keng Swee) long believed that religion was a systematic way to inculcate values, temper Singaporeans' individualism and build social cohesion. In 1982, he introduced religious knowledge to the secondary school curriculum, in spite of widespread reservations that this would lead to overzealous proselytising.But barely seven years after Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Confucian ethics classes were offered, they were phased out because of a 'heightened consciousness of religious differences and a new fervour in the propagation of religious beliefs'....'The rationale to develop the student's character was good, but implementation was difficult. Since then, the MOE has never brought up religious education again.'They still had Religious Studies when I was in Secondary school, which was about two decades ago. It was only now that I'm making the connection that what I went through in school arose from the late Dr. Goh's policy. I remembered having to choose a 'religion', so to speak. I did not have a religion then (I still don't have one now). Students could opt for "Buddhist Studies", "Bible Studies", "Confucian Ethics", "Islamic Religious Knowledge", and "Sikh Studies". I chose Buddhist Studies because it was the closest religion I had been exposed to as a child (my grandmother was Buddhist).BUDDHIST STUDIESFrom my classes, I learned of the origins of Buddhism. I remember being struck by the very profound and simple observation that "Life is Suffering", meaning: life and suffering is very much intertwined. My young and impressionable mind was also introduced to concepts like "cause and effect", "mindfulness", "compassion" and how desire was often the root cause of greed, anger, and suffering.When I learned of something called the Five Precepts, I remember thinking they sounded rather similar to what I vaguely knew of Christianity's Ten Commandments (e.g. "thou shall not kill", "thou shall not commit adultery").FAILURE?MOE decided to terminate the Religious Knowledge curriculum. The failure was in the implementation, as reported.The programme proved divisive because students studied only one of the religions. Some quarters felt the teachers were not adequately trained, while others used the classes to promote their faiths.Source: Fri, Sep 18, 2009. "Best not to bring back religious classes in schools" by Tan Hui Yee". The Straits Times.There were problems, for sure. Even back then, when I wasn't too aware of what was happening or the intent of the classes, it was clear to me that religious lines became more apparent. My peers who were Christian/ Muslims/ Taoists/ Hindus took up classes that were closest to their religion of their upbringing. Come Religious Studies period, the 40 plus students in each class would break out to different classes, to attend their respective religious studies class.Now that I have two decades of hindsight, what do I think of this the late Dr. Goh's "Religious Knowledge in Secondary Schools" policy?I think he was right. Let me put in more specific terms: Dr. Goh's vision IS still a right one. Its implementation might not have been perfect, but I can attest to positive outcomes for myself.TIME TO RE-VISIT?Till today, I remain a Free-thinker. Admittedly, I'm partial to some Buddhist philosophies. But that does not make me a Buddhist any more than believing in the "Thou shall not kill" commandment would make me a Christian.My Religious Studies class teacher wasn't a Buddhist either, as I remembered. It might seem that the non-partisan educator is the key to making Religious Studies work.I did not have less friends or make enemies because they were of different religions and chose different Religious Studies classes. We accepted that we had different paths to take -- and come to think of it, all positive religions preached the same positive values anyway.While I hated the need to regurgitate and exhorts by my teacher to memorise the Five Precepts, thanks to my Buddhist Studies classes I dare say I am who I am because of those foundation years. I was made more aware of positive values of being a good person.Perhaps MOE should re-consider and revisit the late Dr. Goh's vision of religious knowledge in schools. I'm not the first to make a similar call either (see section on "Religious Knowledge"; MOE's parliamentary replies, 9 Mar 2005).Mind you, it's "knowledge" and not "indoctrination".Rather than let students choose their particular religious topic, there should only be one common curriculum, comprising of the major religions in Singapore. An "Inter-Religious Knowledge Studies" curriculum. Again, emphasis on "knowledge" and not "indoctrination".We already have the Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore (IRO). A "Inter-Religious Knowledge Studies" curriculum would aim to promote mutual respect, understanding and exposure of ideas to the different faiths. All students would learn of what the major religions in Singapore represent, perhaps clarifying certain misconceptions in the process.Yes, it will be a ultra-sensitive topic to introduce in schools. Carry it out badly and we will scar entire generations. Still, the same could be said about education as a whole, right?Now if done well (and we Singaporeans have a track record for doing things well too), it will mean a generation who goes beyond "religious tolerance" to "religious understanding and acceptance.THANK YOU, DR. GOHTo the late Dr. Goh, I thank you.Particularly for introducing Religious Knowledge when I was in Secondary School.I may not be the best person that I can be now (it's my excuse for being human). But I am certainly mindful about a lot of things -- particularly about being human. [Next: Part 2 - Dr. Goh and National Service]   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Creative Sushi: Fresh & "Live" remixing of Creative Commons content These past months, I've been working closely with the good folks at Creative Crew Singapore (namely Linus, Stefano and Carlsson). Not only are they a talented and passionate bunch, they are also open and enthusiastic about trying new creative ways of doing things.Like incorporating a "CREATIVE SUSHI SESSION" for the 11th May meeting, at Bedok Public Library (starts 6.45pm). See the Facebook events page or the Creative Crew SG website.Wasabi Sushi Chef - FayettevilleOriginally uploaded by eschipulWe're not preparing real sushi, of course. It's all about creating, remixing or mashing up creative works -- "live" and "fresh", like how real sushi should be :)CREATIVE SUSHI - "LIVE" & "FRESH"The creative work could be anything, from retouching a photo, composing a music track, editing a video, or coding an application -- even written works or performances.Each work is created within the allotted time and then passed on for remixing or mash-up. Creative Commons is the obvious enabler (copyright permission already given, so creators can focus on the creative process). The final outcome is an on-the-spot original creation, built upon earlier ones. And that itself would be released under the appropriate Creative Commons license.For this session, Stefano and I will be the "sushi chefs". I'll take 30mins to create an audio track on GarageBand (similar to this attempt). Then, I'll pass the track to Stefano (he's a Photoshop expert with a capital 'E'). He'll take 30mins to demonstrate "live" on incorporating the track into a video. The final result, we hope, is a music video.We will not be rehearsing or discussing prior to the meeting. The only thing we've agreed is to use this  set of audio stems: "Man in love stems". Credits: ManoloCamp. 2010 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)Audience participation is certainly welcome. We hope people will bring their Macs, laptops, video editors of their choice. To attempt their own "sushi remix".The famous dragon rollOriginally uploaded by LoreniaJust in case you're not aware, the Creative Crew Singapore and the Public Libraries has been collaborating for the past year. The library sponsors the venue for the Creative Crew meetings. The Creative Crew team would organise their meetings, which are essentially mini-learning seminars on using creative apps and stuff. My librarian colleague would prepare the appropriate book displays, after checking with the Creative Crew team on the topics for the month. At the meeting, at least one of the demonstrators would also recommend a relevant library item, usually related to the demo.Supporting communities like Creative Crew is one way for the public library to fulfill our stated mission and vision (specifically in this case, it's about creating and enabling social learning spaces).   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com "I've Got Google, Why Do I Need You?" (or, "Thoughts about the Future of Public Libraries" Part 2) [From Part 1]A manage-your-expectation Disclaimer: These posts are just my way of articulating thoughts and refining ideas. Definitely work-in-progress. And if you're expecting earth-shattering ground-shaking life-changing concepts and revelations, you can stop reading now :)I've been told that the first step towards effective treatment is to acknowledge and accept that there is a problem (be it drug addiction, learning disabilities etc.). So I suggest we librarians have to accept that the old "rules of the game" have changed. There's no turning back (except maybe if the Internet goes kaput and it's back to printed references). WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?To put it simply, I see the problem boils down to one issue: disintermediation.This issue isn't unique to librarians. The banking industry have faced it in the '90s. So have brokerage and fund houses. We see that happening with 'traditional' music publishers and distributors.It's a problem faced by organisations and institutions whose main business is/ was being the middle-man. Technology and market maturity (among other factors) will reach a stage where suppliers and customers can, and prefer to deal with, each other direct. The middle-man gets cut out.Public libraries are middle-men.We source for information materials and make them available to our members/ customers. Our members indirectly pay us through taxation. The gnawing issue is that in the future, more customers may prefer to get their materials direct from suppliers (especially digital content).The writing on the wall may be just a scribble right now. But it's there.INVENTORY VULNERABILITYPublic libraries, to me, are also particularly vulnerable. Because our business is largely invested in print-based information inventory. We may say we're in the business of promoting learning and reading but in essence, what public libraries are really doing is to promote the use of print books. Printed materials are still the mainstay of the public library's inventory. This affects how our stakeholders measure our performance.What about eBooks? I've explained why the current eBook business model for libraries may not be sustainable.What about public library services that are independent of printed materials? Like our advisory/ reference services?GETTING OUR HEADS OUT OF THE SANDI'm uncomfortable when I read/ hear proclamations that librarians are still the best source of information. Or that only libraries offer credible and authoritative information (implying that anything else is junk). Statements of that sort only serve to push our proverbial heads deeper into the sand.Take for instance, back in 2008 this Google employee blogged that Google results are often good enough. Self-serving Google propaganda? I don't think so. If what he blogged didn't have elements of the truth, would the liblogsphere would let him get away with it? He would have been blasted off the face of the Internet. Right? :)The reality is that library customers value convenience over anything else. The debate of Satisficing (in the context of information search) is over, in my opinion.If anyone -- librarian or otherwise -- takes issue with the above position (and some of my colleagues frequently do), just answer this: What's the first thing you refer to/ use when searching for information (whether for your individual need or to help others with their information need)? Google/ Yahoo!/ Wikipedia/ Bing [name your preferred internet search engine]Ask a friend/ colleagueSearch the library's online catalogueSearch the library's databases onlineEmail a librarianCome on, be honest.It's Google/ Yahoo! etc., isn't it?Hey, I am NOT suggesting it's about professional laziness or incompetence.The truth is that few public library customers need to embark on anything that requires the level of academic rigour, that requires them to refer to in depth information from electronic databases.CHANGESI entered the public library world at about the same time the Internet was introduced in public libraries (i.e. mid '90s). My early impression of the general library-world mood was one of 'seige-mentality' and possibly denial -- one that centred on the threat of widespread proliferation and adoption of the Internet. The reaction was usually "Librarians know better" or "Libraries have credible information compared to the junk out there".Today, that sort of thinking still lingers. But for the most part, I sense the mood has shifted from away from a 'them-Vs-us' to a more proactive 'let's try/ do this'. For instance, changing the way libraries are valued and measured (British Library's Contingent Valuation is one often cited approach). Some are experimenting and reconceptualising library spaces, for specific audiences (e.g. Mindspot www.mindspot.dk)In Singapore, the changes introduced include the provision of eBooks/ electronic databases, an improved Search feature, SMS services, a social experiment in allowing unmoderated publishing and community monitoring of images, bringing the library to social spaces...I believe the solution isn't necessarily about competing with Google (nay, Google is my friend). It's also not about making library customers need us in the way they need Google.It's about creating value, in the context of public service. And making attempts to change the rules of the game.It's also about learning from how other non-library industry players have changed, or are attempting to implement change.LOOKING OUTWARDS: IDEAS TO EXPLOREI'll explore a few ideas and thoughts in the next few posts. Recently I came across some interesting sources that may give insights and ideas:NLB Call No. 338.762138456094897 LAT -[BIZ]NLB Call No. 658.4012 GRA -[BIZ] | EBook version. NLB Call No. 658.4012 RAS -[BIZ]IT'S ALSO IN THE MINDAbove all, I believe it's for librarians to adopt a positive mindset. Acknowledging that we have a problem is the first step. Keeping an open, realistic and positive mindset is also part of the recovery. Success, even.[Next: Exploring ideas].   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com "I've Got Google, Why Do I Need You?" (or, "Thoughts about the Future of Public Libraries" Part 1) A provocative, well-argued and self-explantory presentation. By Ida Aalens (who's the student in question, I believe).The provocation, to me, was akin to the little boy telling the crowd that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes (some of us librarians anyway).This is the current reality for libraries and librarians: I've Got Google, Why Do I Need You?View more presentations from Ida Aalen.LINKHOW DOES THIS RELATE TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES?The presentation is from the perspective of a mature student, enrolled in a higher-education course, in an academic library setting. But it's something that's equally applicable to the situation faced by public libraries. Public libraries have a growing tech-savvy customer base. And every year more students, like the one in the presentation, graduate and join the workforce and become the public library customers (or choose not to).The idea behind Ida's presentation isn't new. It's the way she presented her arguments that I found refreshing.Viewing her slides was also timely for me. I've been meaning to post some thoughts about how public libraries should react to such a current reality.Might as well start with the next few posts.[Next: Part 2].   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Public Libraries: "Spot A Reader" for World Book Day 2010 Friend of the Library (FOL), Mr James Seah, blogged about his experience helping out at the first-ever "Spot A Reader for World Book Day 2010", held last Friday on World Book Day and Copyright Day 2010 (23 Apr).He and his fellow FOLs were at the Circle Line, Bishan MRT Interchange Station, to "spot the readers" in the trains.[Image linked from source: Blog To Express]The library obtained permission from the train operator, and had to adhere to the 11am and 1pm time slots within specific train routes. As James wrote in his post:"The SMRT Guides chaperoned the participants and to comply with instructions. The MRT train is a security and safety public areas not allowed for loitering or hawking business purposes... We were ensured not to speak too loudly to the commuters, seek their permission and with courtesy, considerate and public decorum. We were required not to disturb the commuters on their train ride, while commuters taking a nap on long journey (as seen some babies in arms). Not to cause unnecessary annoyance when commuters are left alone."Thanks for the post, James. From what he shared, some commuters were delighted to be spotted.The event organised by the public libraries was a deliberately low-key. Should the "Spot a Reader" be a regular event in Singapore? What do you think?   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com This librarian shall be conducting a "DIY Music remixing and publishing workshop" In this earlier post, I mentioned that the conjunction with World Book Day and Copyright Day (Apr 23), the Public Libraries has organised a series of events.Here's another one this coming Saturday, 24 Apr 2010 (I'm conducting this one, btw):DIY music remixing and publishing workshopThis is a free hands-on workshop, for and run by, DIY music enthusiasts. It is an introductory session for those interested in self-recording, producing and publishing their audio, music and podcasts online -- with simple and inexpensive recording and computer equipment.Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops and thumbdrives for the session.The session will cover GarageBand (for Mac users) and Audacity (a free and open source application for PC and Macs). Music samples will be from ccMixter.org and FreeSound.org.The session is led by Ivan Chew. In his day job, he is the Senior Manager/ Librarian from NLB. Off work, he dabbles in music and arrangement and volunteers at Creative Commons Singapore. Samples of his work, all created and mixed using GarageBand and Audacity, can be found at myrightbrain.wordpress.com/my-discographyThis event is organised in conjunction with World Book Day and Copyright Day.24 April 2010 (Saturday), 2.00pm – 5.00pm, Bukit Merah Public Library, Radin Mas room, Level 3.In truth, I had apprehensions about organising this session. Not from lack of confidence or uncertainty about the content itself. I've done podcasting workshops before, where participants -- with zero knowledge and experience -- were able to create usable audio tracks after 3 hours. I was concerned about the turn out. Will people turn up? Will there be interest in such a workshop?We shall see. More details of how I intend to run the workshop:Objective:By end of the 3 hours, participants will be able to use an audio editing/ sequencer software and piece together a music track, using free and legal sound samples from the Internet (e.g. ccMixter.org, Freesound.org).Pre-requisites:Ideally the participants need to bring their own laptop computers and earphones. Also their computer microphones (optional). Those with Macs should check if they have their preloaded GarageBand software on their computer. For PCs, they may wish to download the Audacity open source software.Sequence of the session:1) Welcome of participants.2) Installation of software (open source freeware) if desired.3) Introduction to basics of Audacity and GarageBand.4) First hour: demo of GarageBand (30mins) and Audacity (30mins). Demo covers:- Importing tracks- Basics of editing, sequencing, recording.- Fade-in/ outs- Sound effects- Saving/ exporting tracks5) Next hour - participants will try on their own.6) Finally, we will showcase some samples produced by participants (if any).7) Sharing of how one can publish a music album online (free file hosting; copyright considerations; Creative Commons).8) End of programme.I've created a Facebook event page. You may wish to sign up at the Facebook event page.Currently it's still 1 person attending (me!)Which is rather scary and maybe even embarrassing... but heck, nothing to be embarrassed about. Even if one person turns up, and is an old lady who knows nuts about computers and wish to learn more, I'd be happy to share :)[Post-event update: Total of eight people showed up. Sweet! Thanks to Arul, Wan, Raman, Ms Tan, Edmund, Lee, Judy, and Linus. You rock!]   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com This librarian met these SG Rockers [From this earlier post]I hardly organise talks or library events any more, given my present scope of work. Which makes me even grateful when invitations are accepted. And then the gratitude is doubled when they deliver an outstanding job.Like these four rock-musicians-lawyers-cool-people who took time to appear at library@esplanade this afternoon.I tweeted "live" (#MeetSGROCKERS) from the front row. As I recall from some of my tweets:Daniel Sassoon kidded that lawyers were secretly failed artists (in response to the question if there was some link between being lawyers and rock musicians). Linda Ong embraced the idea that the Internet empowers musicians to connect with their audience (she appeared soft-spoken you'd never think she's the bassist in a rock band nor a lawyer -- but hey, I guess I've my way of stereotyping people. My bad!) Our guests also shared of some realities in the music industry: unfair contracts; the intermediaries taking their cuts; the Internet resulting in lower distribution costs and yet artists aren't paid more.They didn't say all that in a bitter way, but cited facts and experiences. And they were clearly still passionate about music.Like when Eng Teck said, "We stay in the legal profession to fund our dreams and passion". During Q&A, someone sought their views on how to protect their works if they published online. And I thought Daniel explained it all quite coherently (he practices IP law).Which led me to tweet that I wished more younger bands were there to hear them.  I think some did make their way there.One young member of the audience asked whether he should work first then study music later, or to pursue his musical passion first? To which Kevin Mathews succinctly offered that one should be clear of one's financial situation and weigh one's personal financial choices. And to be honest with one's music talent (or lack of!)After that, our guests stayed and chatted with members of the audience for another 30 minutes or so. During that time, I had an extremely educational conversation with Kah Whye, Lunarin's guitarist who's currently doubling up as their sound mixer. Learned quite a few tips from him on audio mixing.Kah Whye said he had some books to recommend to me -- and no, it's not odd at all that a librarian is one the receiving end of  book recommendations :)Nice people, these rockers.[Thanks also to my fellow Public Library colleagues, seated left, for hosting the session today].   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com NLB celebrates World Book Day 2010: Meet the Rockers, library@esplanade In conjunction with World Book Day and Copyright Day (Apr 23), the Public Libraries has organised a series of events.Here's one of particular interest to me:"Meet the SG Rockers: Music, Copyright, Creative Commons"Date: Saturday, 17 April 2010Time: 15:30 - 16:30Location: Library@EsplanadeHow many lawyers do you know who are also band members of some of the hottest acts to come out of Singapore's pop-rock scene? This session brings together some of Singapore's musicians who are lawyers, some specializing in IP laws. Come for a session to listen to them share their experiences in the music scene, how they produce their songs and their thoughts on music and copyright. We'll ask our guests to talk about ideas -- from books or anything recorded -- that they have found inspiring for their music and life. They will also share their personal views on copyright, from their perspective as musicians. The focus is on them as musicians; the fact that they are practicing lawyers are just incidental. This talk follows the Open Mic session that starts an hour earlier, so you might want to drop by early to catch both events.Facebook event page, here (courtesy of Lunarin)BTW, just to share how this event came about:Some months ago, my colleagues and I were discussing about library events that we can organise as part of World Book Day and Copyright Day (many people don't know it's a UNESCO initiated event). I remember thinking somewhere along the lines: Copyright, Creative Commons, Music.Bounced some ideas off the Creative Commons Singapore discussion list (some helpful suggestions from there but nothing really concrete).Then I thought of a contact, whom I knew was a rocker and a lawyer, though not specialising in IP law. And I emailed her (yeah, female rocker and practices law... don't play play ah!) Asked if she would be interested in helping the library as a guest speaker. She replied yes almost immediately and even suggested a few other possible guests.So come Saturday, 17th Apr 2010, meet: Linda Ong & Eng Teck (Lunarin), Kevin Mathews (Watchmen, The Crowd, Popland) and Daniel Sassoon (Livonia, Electrico).No prizes for who my contact was :)Thanks folks, for helping and supporting the public library.[update: This librarian met these SG Rockers]   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com The Creative Crew April 2010 Meetup I'll be speaking at the Apr 2010 Creative Crew meetup (13 Apr, Tampines Regional Library). Specifically, I'm presenting a 30min segment on how "non-musicians" can use GarageBand to create tracks (write-up below, in bold). Will be referring to resource sites like ccMixter and FreeSound. And make reference to Creative Commons of course.Incidentally, the Public Libraries has been hosting the Creative Crew meetups since Mar 2009. I'm happy to say that the collaboration is still going strong. And starting this year, the folks at Creative Crew agreed to feature musical-related segments. Which is why I'm in there. We'll also be working towards a Creative Commons project (more on that, later).Here's an online resource list prepared for the Mar meetup, which is still relevant for Apr.And here's the Apr programme:Date/Time: 13 April 2010 (Tuesday), 6.45-8.45pm.Venue: Tampines Regional Library, 31, Tampines Ave 7 Singapore 529620Nearest MRT Station: TampinesTampines Buses : SBS Transit 8, 15, 18, 19, 27, 28, 29, 37, 38, 81, 168, 291, 293Programme Details6.45PM – Registration7.00PM – Professional photo retouching by Stefano VirgilliStefano retouched the pictures of well known Italian photographers from 2002 to 2006. Last month he showcased the High Pass sharpening trick. This month, he will focus on other amazing retouching techniques, allowing the model to look younger and fresher while retaining her natural look as much as possible.7.30PM – Creating music for beginners by Ivan ChewIvan Chew, a Garageband and DIY music enthusiast, will share how “non-musicians” can use Apple’s GarageBand software and Creative Commons licensed music samples to create soundtracks — instrumentals or vocal pieces — for videos and slideshows. By non-musicians, it means you don’t have to know how to play any instruments or sing to win Singapore Idol. All you need is GarageBand (which comes with your Mac), an ability to count (if you can count, you can keep in tune), and a connection to the Internet (to search and download free and legal music samples).8.00PM – BREAK8.15PM – Finally CS5! by Stefano VirgilliSynopsis > Beta tester Stefano Virgilli will showcase some of the mostimpressive new tools in Adobe Photoshop CS5! Do not miss it8.45PM – END   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Detecting suspicious Gmail account activity (or, "Digital Literacy & Roles of Public Libraries") If you use Gmail on a regular basis, then you might want to read these two posts from the official Gmail Blog:Detecting suspicious account activity (March 24, 2010) by Pavni Diwanji, Engineering DirectorRemote sign out and info to help you protect your Gmail account (July 07, 2008) by Erwin D'Souza, Gmail EngineerThe posts elaborates on the measures that Gmail has introduced, with the lastest (i.e. Mar 2010) being an audit trial of when and where your account was accessed, as well as an automated checking/ warning feature.Both features are useful, particularly for those who access Gmail from shared computers and/ or public terminals.HOW MOST EMAIL ACCOUNTS MAY HAVED BEEN "HACKED"In most cases, I suspect most email accounts get "hacked" not from deliberate attempts to crack into individuals' account, but from the carelessness/ lack of knowledge by the owners when they use a shared computer -- in school, cybercafe, a friend who also has many other friends using the terminal. Like this:You go to your email sign-in page, checked the "Stay Signed-In" option before you log into Gmail.You log into your email account, do what you have to do, and then close the browser. But you didn't sign out from your account. You leave the computer.A stranger pops by and uses the same computer. Goes to the same email sign-in page.If you have checked the "Stay signed-in" option and you didn't sign out, then your email account opens up right away. Because the computer was told to stay signed-in. already signedinthe computer doesn't know or care who is accessing the information.No security feature is foolproof. It's just a matter of reducing the chances of the user making a mistake, or giving potential malicious hackers a harder time.A feature like auto sign-out would help reduce the chances of someone stumbling onto your account, if you didn't log out. But potentially, if someone plonks right onto your vacated computer mere seconds after you leave, the auto sign-out feature may not have kicked in.And the alerts are merely that -- an alert, as mentioned in the Gmail blog post: "Keep in mind that these notifications are meant to alert you of suspicious activity but are not a replacement for account security best practices. "[The same blog post has links to online security tips and best-practices]Personally, I try to follow these practices if I use any computer that isn't my own:Avoid using shared terminals if I can wait. And in most cases, things can wait. I'd rather not check my emails or access my Twitter or Facebook account, if I have to use a shared terminal. I'd rather get home to access my accounts if I can wait).Empty the browser cache/ history/ Saved Passwords before shutting down/ leaving the computer (although this becomes a problem when I use a computer in a foreign country, and where the native language isn't English).Always Remember Rule #1.CYBER-SAFETY, DIGITAL LITERACY & ROLE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIESI definitely think Cybersafety should be part of a Digital Literacy curriculum. And that public libraries (hence, public librarians) are well placed to be those that help deliver Cybersafety and Digital Literacy awareness -- either by inviting outside speakers or developing our own credibility/ expertise to conduct such sessions.For every child and adult who've been exposed to cybersafety talks (e.g. schools, computer classes for seniors), I'm sure there are still many who have not. The topic is also quite broad, so chances are not everything can be covered.Plus, people forget. Or they don't instantly make the connection with what they have been warned earlier.Such cybersafety talks don't have to be be long drawn sessions. I imagine them as 10-minute teasers. Or just short on-the-spot presentations (to target the incidental library visitor), like how some retail outlets employ retail assistants to conduct quick demos.It just so happens that the product the librarian is trying to "sell" is Cybersafety and Digital Literacy.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Ask this librarian: For art and music I was just trying to be cheeky for the title.You know, ask a librarian. Asking this particular one (i.e. me) not about music or art but FOR them.ART and the Art of AskingA few days ago, a 15 year-old student (he was Singaporean but was studying overseas) asked if I could send him some higher-res images of a series of illustrations I created for the re-opening of Bukit Merah Public Library (it was referred as a Community Library then, when I was still managing it).Hint: If you want a favourable response from people (from me at least), ask politely. And it helps if you volunteer more information on the Whys and Hows (i.e. be specific).Which he clearly did.And later, when I asked for more information about the school event he mentioned, he also added how he intended to protect my intellectual property rights: adding a watermark each image, destroying the printed images, making sure it's not disposed in a public trash bin even, and to delete from his computer.I wrote back to say he didn’t have to do all that. Mentioned about my adoption of Creative Commons license. He could use the images as he deem fit, as long as he credited them in the way I wanted.As I replied to him, I realised I did not make the higher-res images available online (it was before I discovered Creative Commons).So here they are, posted at my Flickr account, if any one is interested. Instructions on how to credit them are stated at the individual Flickr post.MUSICAnd just a few weeks earlier, another student (not a Singaporean, and not in Singapore) emailed to ask if I was willing to help her team with a soundtrack for their film project.She was a film student working on a film project about Chinese culture and Mahjong. She found my Erhu twilight sample track from ccMixter.org, felt it would be appropriate for her film, but needed someone to create a longer track.This was more challenging that the art work, 'cos I had to create the track almost from scratch.I decided to do it because I had the time, and it every musical challenge was a learning experience. More important, the student was polite in her mails and was clear on what she requested (you spot the pattern here?).Took about two hours and came up with the following:Full mix - Mahjong MelodiesErhu sampleGuzheng sampleIt's all CC-BY licensed. Information on how to credit the tracks, here.Two days ago, she replied. They didn't use my track. Not that they had to, but of course I'd hoped they would.She explained that according to their marking criteria, if they used music that wasn't their original composition, they risked getting a zero for parts of their assessment. Meaning, their overall score would not be as high and they wouldn't get top marks.She also apologised for not using the music, thanked me again, and said they should have reviewed their marking criteria fully before asking me to compose the track.Far from being upset, I was happy they completed their film. I'd be 'upset' if I didn't hear from her (she could've just kept mum and not tell me).I was also happy to learn that they eventually managed to find someone to teach them a little about percussion instruments. They used their new-found skills to create the sound effects for their film.Speaking of which, do check out their film on YouTube:IF YOU WANNA HELP, JUST HELPWhen I related both cases to a friend, he asked me, "Aren't you worried you're being taken for a ride?"He felt there was no guarantee that my efforts would result it my works being used. And even if they did credit my work the way I wanted, that may do nothing to publicise my work (the attention was on their own works).At that time, I just shrugged and said "Maybe" and "Who knows?"Later on my way home, I reflected on my friend's question and comment. Certainly, those concerns occurred to me. They always did. I tend to expect the worse, in fact.But I agreed to those requests, knowing full well of possible 'unintended consequences'.Because I wanted to.Especially when people asked nicely.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com eBooks for Public Libraries: Is the current business model sustainable? In my previous post, I questioned if the whole eBook business model -- where public libraries are customers -- was sustainable.I offer no answers nor earth-shaking mind-bending insights; only opinions :)In essence, I suggest it's a question of managing costs.First, what is the current business model where eBooks and public libraries are concerned? Basically it works like this: The public library enters into a contract with an 'eBook vendor'. The contract is usually a license, where the vendor allows the public library to access the vendor's eBooks. The public library pays the vendor a fee, and there may be other technical restrictions for access (e.g. IP address, number of concurrent access).Depending on the vendor's delivery platform, the eBooks may or may not be able to be downloaded to an eBook reader. The license fee has to be renewed at the end of the contractual term (meaning, access is terminated if there's no payment).Why I feel there may be problems with the current eBook business model for public librariesThe main reason is that in the current eBook supply model, public libraries don't own the eBook copy (unlike the case for print books). The First-sale Doctrine does not apply.Public libraries don't buy eBooks, not in the sense of owning then. In truth, public libraries pay a fee which we're able to pass on the right of access to our members.Or to put in another way, public libraries are paying (on behalf of its members) for the convenience of accessing e-versions of the book.The eBook vendors also impose a limit to the number of digital copies. I'm not privy to NLB's or any other libraries' contracts with their respective eBook vendors. But from the access policies, it's clear to me most eBook vendors do not allow unlimited access. Which means if the public library wants to obtain more digital copies, they need to pay more.In short, it's about cost.Costs of use of eBooks goes up rather than downThe more our users demand for eBooks, it's likely the cost will probably go up rather than come down.It's simple math:Let say the printed book (pBook) costs $10 and the eBook costs $2, or 5 times cheaper than pBook (in most cases, e-versions cost less than the paper versions).Although the pBook is physical while the eBook is in bits and bytes, the eBook vendor isn't going to allow the library to make infinite copies. So the eBook is really a digital item treated and handled like a physical object, limiting its access.And let's assume the pBook is loaned out for an average period of 10 days. Same as eBook (remember, the vendor forces the library to treat the eBook like a pbook).In 300 days, both the pBook and eBook will circulate 30 times. The cost per pBook is $0.33 while the eBook is $0.06.The eBook is cheaper, you say?Ah, but the library owns the pBook and is free to let it circulate for another year. Or make it two more before it deems the pBook too worn to be kept. The pBook would have circulated 90 times. Or it costs $0.03 per loan.The ebook, on the other hand, would have cost a total of $6 over three years (the public library has to keep paying the vendor each year, remember?). That will mean its cost per loan has increased to $0.07.Plus we've not considered that users have to buy their own reader. I'm an optimist but even then I don't think it's possible for the public library to provide eBook readers for every of its members.This means the eBook circulation is likely to be even less than the pBook. For a popular title, the pBook is definitely going to cost less.eBooks are a cost-item, not an asset For pBooks, it's an asset item whose cost of investment is amortised over time and with use. For eBooks, given the current business model, public libraries can only treat it as a cost item.On the balance sheet it is a liability rather than an asset.Time out...Of course there are problems with my simple explanation above. Not all pBooks enjoy full circulation anyway. I've also neglected physical storage costs, or inventory holding costs.Ah, but in reality, public libraries make do with their existing space (that's why we 'weed' collections to make room). This means the infrastructure cost for physical storage is amortised and again you have decreasing costs over time. In fact, the annual reports and financial statements of most -- if not all -- public libraries show that the largest chunk of the operational costs are staffing rather than assets.All things equal, the eBook will cost the library more to provide compared to pBooks.A different (cheaper) eBook business model for public libraries?One of my colleague likes to say that the current reality for public libraries all over the world is a shrinking budget. I agree. Even for Singapore, that will be true.Yet another reality is that the number of public library members -- who find the eBook format attractive -- will increase. More readers will expect the public library to provide eBooks (I'm not talking about replacement of pBooks, but the demand for eBooks).But what then, would be that different business model for public libraries? The eBook vendor will charge a lump sum access fee, and allow unlimited copies for the year? Or allow buyers of eBooks to donate their eBook copy to the public library?And still ensure that the eBook vendor/ publisher/ author still maintains a profit?Or could public library members, who wish to have that added convenience of eBooks, share part of the costs? Where they pay just a little bit, as a premium service. That's possible if we view eBooks as an alternative format to print.A question of balanceIn the longer term, my bet is that eBooks will be more expensive than print, where public libraries are concerned. There are some who say the cost of eBooks are understated as it is.Public libraries will have to calculate the total cost of service provision, and ensure that there's a balance between cost expenditure and asset investment.A company like Apple, whose customer base is global, has the clout to force book sellers to lower prices. Public libraries don't. So the only way is to manage our own costs in view with our customers' use, demand and expectations of our collections and services.A question of public commitmentWhen Andrew Carnegie set up a foundation to help establish public libraries, one requirement was that the people and government had to be willing to fund part of the operating costs.His foundation's initial investment would have covered the building and the collections. The library owned the books and was free to lend them out as many times as people would want to borrow. There was no burden on him to constantly feed money into this black hole called a public library.However, suppose Andrew Carnegie was told that his one-time donation was good only for one year. After that he would need to continue paying the eBook vendor to enable access to the eBooks. The more people used his library each year, the bigger the hole it burns in his pocket.I bet Andrew Carnegie would think twice about setting up the public library in the first place.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com My (outside US) Kindle experience Back in Nov last year, a colleague lent me his Kindle for a testdrive (I'm not sure if the features have changed/ improved since then).Overall verdict: It was easy to learn how to use it. Handling the Kindle was easier in some ways but harder for some aspects.Whether something like the Kindle is "better than a print book" depends on what criteria we're using. And advantages/ disadvantages might be relative as well. E.g. if cost is the main consideration, I'd go for a pbook anytime. But even then, it's relative. If you regularly buy books, then the cost per book may be lowered as you purchase more eBooks and spread the fixed cost of the Kindle.Though one can't help compare it as an "eBook" Vs. a "pBook" (i.e. print book), I think both formats should be appreciated for what they uniquely offer rather than whether one is better than the other. They both give different user-experiences.Content is still king. Both the electronic and print book versions have inherent pros and cons, which affects the reading experience. But I can still never get through Tolstoy's War and Peace, regardless of "e" or "p" versions.That said, here's my rambly review (btw, you may find my review contradicting what I wrote about making comparisons, but I'm "comparing" more as a benchmark for explanatory purposes):INITIAL IMPRESSIONSMy first thoughts were: "Sleek and stylish; makes you want to pick it up and just... use it!" The whole thing just felt right in my hands. Here's how it looks like in its synthetic leather cover:This was how it looked like without the leather cover (I placed a pen on it so that you get a sense of its dimensions)It's really thin and light. The size difference is even more apparent when placed next to a hardcover book (incidentally the hardcover book was titled "The Shock of the Old", heh).USABILITYI could operate it with familiarity within 5 minutes of fiddling with the buttons, and without referring to any user manual or asking anyone else. It was like learning how to operate a mobile phone -- just fiddling and by trial and error. The Kindle wasn't going to crash just because you pressed the wrong buttons, so that was its plus point.Its black-on-grey screen display was easy to read. If an eBook was interesting enough, I could read it through without tiring my eyes. You can also change the text font size, so that helps for prolonged reading.I could hold the Kindle with one hand and press the "next page" and "previous page" buttons. Together with its light weight, its very handy for reading while traveling on MRT trains (you'll appreciate that if you've attempted to read/ flip the pages of a print book, in a crowded train, while trying to grab hold of support).The built-in dictionary was really handy. Typing on the keys activated the dictionary.When you return to the eBook, it automatically went to the last page location when you left the ebook. Like an automatic bookmark.Battery life was excellent. I charged it once and it lasted for a month easily (I didn't read it everyday though).MORE ON KINDLE'S FEATURESThere's a text-to-speech feature. Turns your book into a hands-free set. However, after a while I couldn't stand the computer narration and went back to sight-reading (it could just be me).I also wondered how easy it would be for a Blind person to activate the speech mode. I mean, if you couldn't visually navigate to get to the buttons, then how does one turn it on/ off in the first place? Well, maybe a Blind person would memorise the button sequence.There's a nifty "note taking" feature. At the 'pages' where I wish to record some notes or thoughts, I simply called up the notetaking feature and typed in the text with the hard buttons.But the downside was that the recorded notes could only be retrieved for that specific ebook title/ e-copy. Meaning, there wasn't a way to read all recorded notes from the main menu (unlike a true notepad application). You'd have a problem if you wanted to retrieve an earlier note but you couldn't remember which eBook title it was when you typed it in.You also couldn't export the notes.So the Kindle wasn't designed as a notepad per se, but more for individual eBook titles to be read (the note-taking was incidental and designed around the individual eBook titles).A KINDLE ISN'T AN eBOOK-READER PER SEThink of the Kindle as more of "a device to read Amazon.com's eBook titles". According to the instructions, Amazon.com will "convert the document into Kindle format and wirelessly deliver to your kindle for a small fee or back to your computer for free."Of course, you could download free eBooks from sites like www.freekindlebooks.org, where they offer free ebooks in Kindle compatible formats. Or if you come across authors like Cory Doctorow.But quite honestly, the general selection of free books -- even from Amazon -- were boring stuff (except for Cory Doctorow's work, but he's more of an exception).In short, I wouldn't have borrowed those free stuff in the first place, even if they were available in the public library, let alone buy them.WHAT I DIDN'T GET USED TOUsing the Kindle lacked the experience of physically browsing and turning a print book. Not that I need to feel paper per se, but I realised a print book allowed me to do a very fast -- albeit hit-and-miss approach -- browse of the contents by flipping and stopping at random sections.With the Kindle, you needed to know the specific page numbers in order to jump ahead the pages. The page number system wasn't intuitive to me. E.g. an eBook could start with a first page like "Locations 19-23", then the very next page was "Locations 23-30", and then next "Locations 30-37". Maybe there was a pattern to it, but I'm the sort who do badly at IQ tests. Then again, you shouldn't be a genius to use a Kindle...Oh yeah, it came a point when I needed to charge the Kindle. But as I mentioned at the start of the post, it shouldn't be a case of eBook device Vs. Print Book (like how we don't complain about charging our mobile phone Vs. talking face-to-face with a friend -- if you can reach them in person).Anyway, the battery charge lasts quite a long time. No complaints from me for that aspect.LACK OF VISUAL CUESMany times in using the kindle, I was reminded at how it lacked the visual and physical navigation that I took for granted with a print book.The horizontal bar gives a visual clue how much of the book has been completed and how much is left. But you don't get any other visual cues of the thickness of the book, because the horizontal line is the same length for a 10 page book and a 100 page volume.Flipping physical pages was still the most efficient way to browse a book, I thought. At least, when you didn't need to look for something specific. With a physical book I can jump very quickly to the middle or end parts of the book.With a Kindle, there was only the "Go to Beginning" and "Go to Location" options from the menu. The horizontal bar might have given me a visual cue which point I was in the book, but to "get there" I had to press the forward/ backward buttons repeatedly.THINK-ALOUD #1: JUST DIFFERENT READING EXPERIENCESPersonally, I don't get the "X-is-better-than-Y" argument about eBooks and print. Both reading formats should be appreciated for what they uniquely offer rather than whether one is better than the other. They both give different user-experiences.THINK-ALOUD #2: IT'S MANY FACTORS WORKING IN CONCERTeBooks have been around for years, but never got the buzz until Amazon's Kindle came along.Until I tried the Kindle, I didn't think it would be feasible to read a book on an electronic device, for protracted periods. The Kindle isn't the only well-designed eBook reader out there. There's Bookeen, for instance. And of course the more well-known Sony reader.However, I don't think all the buzz was just from one or two single factors like eBooks or the eBook reader (although they could be fairly important ones). In totality, it was probably a combination of range and choice of eBook titles, their affordability, a trusted brand/ store, a loyal and ready customer-base, online purchasing habits, a well-designed eBook reader...All things considered, I suppose the Kindle was the tipping point.Even Sony seems to know that it has got to offer both an ebookstore and a reading device.THINK-ALOUD #3: IT'S STILL ABOUT GOOD READSOne other thing that was quickly apparent: a difficult (I choose not to use the word boring) book remains a difficult book. Regardless of whether you read it on a paper-based book or on a kindle.At one point in my Kindle test drive, I had 92 books in it, including the Kindle compatible ones I downloaded.But the only eBook that I read from beginning to end was Cory Doctorow's "I, Robot".THINK-ALOUD #4: IT'S STILL PUBLIC LIBRARIES FOR ME, FOR FREE READSI'm sure if I had purchased some good eBook titles (and I knew a few), my "cover-to-cover" completion rate would increase.The Kindle is a device designed by Amazon.com, for the specific use of buying and reading eBooks from Amazon.com. I can attest that it's a great product. But after the initial novelty, the device became less important.I wanted more of the good stuff.Amazon.com has lots of good stuff. But I've never been one to buy books. I'm so used to just borrowing the good stuff from public libraries that I automatically close myself off any notion of buying books.From that perspective, I suspect those who use public libraries will continue to do so. And those who buy books (electronic or print) will probably carry on and aren't that much of public library users.Do I think public libraries should offer eBooks like how print is offered? Yes, for sure.But whether it's a sustainable model, that's a whole other issue (and for another blog post). [update: I posted this in response to the sustainability issue].   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com CC resource: Learning Music Monthly website I learned about this website called "Learning Music Monthly" - LMM - (learningmusicmonthly.com):"Learning Music Monthly is an album-a-month project. Each season of LMM lasts for twelve months and includes twelve issues. Every album features artwork by a different visual artist, and is released under a Creative Commons license.Every album from the series is available on this website for free stream or download. If you like what you hear, you can help us continue improving the project by making a small donation or purchasing a subscription to receive limited-edition, hand-made CDs every month in your mailbox."At the bottom of the page, it says:"All downloads are offered under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. You are encouraged to share and remix as long as you give credit."According to this Creative Commons' tweet, the LMM site has been revamped. Not sure how it was like before but the current look and feel is really clean, intuitive and easy to navigate.When I visited the site, there were two seasons (i.e. 2 x 12 months) of albums posted. Each of the graphic bar represents an album.Clicking any bar would drop down the individual album playlist.There's a "read liner notes" link, which will pop up more information about the album. The illustrator is credited in the liner note section.The one-album-a-month part is clear. I'm not that sure about the "learning" aspect though. The word learning made me expect that each album artist would share more insights on how they created their works. But most liner notes didn't go beyond listing the creators.But it's a great initiative, nonetheless. I'm not complaining or criticising.A Singapore version?Suppose there was a Singapore equivalent of the LMM site, where there's a new track shared online monthly. Or a video (not limited to music). One of the requirement would be for the creator to provide information on the creative process. Could be a simple form to fill up, as a guide. And in the spirit of learning and sharing, the content would be licensed under Creative Commons.The main recurrent cost for such a site would be the hosting bills. Well, the alternative would be to upload the audio/ videos to Archive.org -- it's their mandate anyway. Then one has only to link to/ stream from the host site.Actually the maintenance cost isn't the biggest challenge. What's harder, I think, is in getting regular contributors for such a site. And getting them to understand and agree to releasing their works under a Creative Commons license.Wonder what our own National Arts Council (NAC) and Media Development Authority (MDA) would make of a site like LMM. Would they see such a website as part of what they want to promote with regards to media and arts in Singapore?   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com Speaking at Young Writer’s Seminar 2010 It's 2.30am as I post this.In about seven hours time, I'll be at The Arts House. Scheduled to speak, with my friend Lucian, at one of the concurrent session titled "The Age Of Blogging - "Why We Write: The Future of Content-Creation".Originally, we were to take 45mins each. But serendipitously, Lucian contacted me via IM Chat about a week ago. Asked if I'd be interested in a combined talk, since our topics had some overlapping points. Sure!It gave us a good excuse to seriously try out the collaborative capabilities of Google Wave, heh.It was fitting that we were collaborating on this. The gist of our talk was on how writing has evolved beyond plain text, how communication has evolved and how that would relate to "writers", writing in the context of creativity and collaboration (here's where I'll talk about Creative Commons), an introduction/ exploration of Transmedia (Lucian's pet topic).And we intend to provoke the audience with this basic question: "Why do you write"?The organisers say 160 participants have signed up; mainly students from polytechnics, junior colleges and the local universities. Up till a few hours ago, Lucian and I were still working and discussing on our presentation, typing away on our laptops, at our own homes, connected over the Internet. We were still debating (amicably) whether collaborative story-writing would work in reality. Lucian felt that "the crafting of an individual story is always best achieved alone" and that "the storyline needs to originate from a single source".I agreed with the part about writing being an essentially solitary process (writing by committee doesn't work, in my experience). But I argued that collaboration could also be about editing, proof-reading, feedback.Also, collaboration doesn't simply mean "only writers collaborate". Why not "writers + illustrators + musicians"? The most memorable tales I've come across are Children's stories, often a collaboration between the writer and the artist.I also feel that it can be collaboration across time, long after the writer is dead. Like how I compose song lyrics adapted from public domain poems. That's a form of collaboration to me.We'll be posting our slides online. I think Lucian is still doing up the finishing touches as I post this.[image source: literarysociety.wordpress.com]All In! Young Writers Seminar 2010Theme: Writing and the New MediaDate: 20 February 2010 (Saturday)Time: 9.30am – 7.00pmVenue: The Arts House (1 Old Parliament Lane)I took a look at the list of speakers. Very impressive (4 pages worth). I joked to Lucian how we'd be lucky to get five people for our session. Out of which four might have wandered into the room by mistake. Heh.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com