“It was a shocking thing to say and I knew it was a shocking thing to say. But no one has the right to live without being shocked. No one has the right to spend their life without being offended. Nobody has to read this book. Nobody has to pick it up. Nobody has to open it. And if you open it and read it you don t have to like it. And if you read it and you dislike it you don t have to remain silent about it. You can write to me you can complain about it you can write to the publisher you can write to the papers you can write your own book. You can do all those things but there your rights stop. No one has the right to stop me writing this book. No one has the right to stop it being published or bought or sold or read. That s all I have to say on that subject.”

via Philip Pullman on censorship and free speech — pithy and wonderful – Boing Boing.

There’s more data coming in on the extent to which low income Americans depend on public institutions for broadband. A new report released by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation says that 44 percent of those living below the poverty level access e-mail and the Web via their local public library. And nearly a third of Americans over 14 used library Internet services in 2009. That’s about 77 million people.

via Almost half of poor Americans go to the library for Internet.

With the goal of one day offering 150 titles for checkout across its 38 locations, Toronto’s public library has taken steps toward building a video game collection – but figures it needs $300,000 to make it happen.

And interestingly enough, from the comments:

Stanford University’s library has had games for a long time – there are even consoles you can play them on. All the current gen systems are there, as well as a few Atari.

Don’t believe me? Try searching [socrates.stanford.edu] for anything from Mass Effect 2 (Call number ZMS 2523) to Katamari Damacy (ZMS 1252). Final Fantasy XIII is still on order.

This is the perks of having a professor who is a video game historian on your faculty.

Library Seeks $300K in Funding for Video Game Collection – Culture – Kotaku.

Sheldon® Comic Strip: Daily Webcomic by Dave Kellett.

Sheldon™ Comic Strip: Daily Webcomic by Dave Kellett.

Original artwork by Scott Campbell.

Tame The Web » Blog Archive » Thanks Library of Virginia & Public Library Directors.

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Tame The Web » Blog Archive » PNS on an ipod/iphone using Prowl.

Libraries were created under an economic model where it was more cost-effective to buy something a book, a video, a magazine and share it than to buy a copy for everyone. And for centuries this model has given libraries their value. But for the first time in history we are moving from a time of information scarcity to one of information abundance. Can we define why libraries are necessary when information is ubiquitous, more scalable, far more convenient, and often “free” online?

via Things That Keep Us Up at Night – 10/1/2009 – School Library Journal.

The budget cuts come at a time when libraries around the country are rethinking their role in the 21st century. National library associations are redefining libraries beyond the book depositories and lenders of the past. Modern libraries also are digital centers where information is exchanged and Internet is available to those who don’t have it at home. They are community hubs where people can learn skills they need in the digital era. They are evolving beyond quiet reading spaces to bustling places of public discourse. They are striving to make information available 24-7, not just during library hours.

via Are local libraries in process of checking out?: Anchorage | adn.com.