There’s Gaming in Libraries and then there are Games About Libraries. I tried the latter and found them totally inscrutable and mysterious, though interesting from a “hey look there’s my workplace as a video game!” aspect [thanks michael]
Category: libraries
today’s DDC art link
“Forgotten Futures is a data sculpture which visualizes 100 years of forward thought. Using web-crawls of Google News, Google Blog and Google Scholar, the phrase “in the future” was associated with key words and phrases which reveal previous though about the future of our world. The top 100 terms for each year were categorized using the Dewey Decimal system, and mapped onto a grid. Holes were drilled into sheets of plexiglass whose sizes correspond to their frequency. For example, “war” is the biggest hole in 1945. The prototype shown here is a sketch for a larger installation.” [via info aesthetics, via sudama]
weirdest library design EVAR
Look at and read about the design for Prague’s new national library. I can only say OMG. Or, as Joe Alterio aptly titles his post about it “A slime draws near. Command?” [thanks josh!]
more bookmobiles
Here’s what an Internet Bookmobile does in Finland. [thanks urmas]
libraries help you save money/energy/the world
As we move more towards digital forms of information in libraries, I’m always interested in watching the “libraries as places that lend stuff” role evolve. We’ve seen tool libraries and toy libraries. Seattle Public Library used to lend reprints of paintings and, I think, sculpture. Now libraries in Arlington Virginia are lending out Kill-A-Watt electricity usage meters to help people figure out what’s sucking up all the energy in their houses.
All Arlington branch libraries now have Kill-A-Watt electricity usage meters available for check-out. You can check availability or reserve one through the normal online Library catalog. The meters are listed under “kill-a-watt†and “electricity usage meters.†The devices measure the amount of electricity used by home appliances. You simply plug the meter into the electrical outlet, plug the appliance into the meter, and take a reading after one hour.
[thanks jude!]