This is an example of what I mean when I say that libraries need to consider all of their touchpoints when facilitating a good user experience. Way to be thorough, AADL!

I contacted the guy who made the ad, Jeremy Wheeler, and he gave me permission to show you some more stuff he made for the AADL here.

More on the Ministry of Stories.

More views of the Monster Supply Shop.

Cycling for libraries is a politically and economically independent unconference and a bicycle tour. It also supports physical and mental well-being of library professionals, grassroots networking, and internationalism and — last but not least — the crucial role of libraries for the society and for the intellectual and scientific education in general. Cycling for libraries also supports environmental values and ecological way of life.

More info at Cycling for Libraries.

I feel a bit awful for liking them so much.

More destroyed Apple stuff.

[via today and tomorrow]

Three students and alumni from the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota have a project called Reading Rickshaw on Kickstarter:

The Reading Rickshaw aims to spread the word about art and books by offering patrons a ride on a 4-person bicycle fully outfitted with an art library. We seek to offer both mobile and stationary programming: Patrons can browse the permanent collection or pick a book from a temporary collection curated by artists, participate in mobile story hour, listen to artist lectures, and many more fledgling ideas. We will focus on creating a presence where a traditional library cannot go: parks, sidewalks, the lakes communities (land of 10,000=popular Minnesota activity), downtown Minneapolis/St. Paul, and high foot traffic neighborhoods. [emphasis mine]

It is interesting when non-librarians observe service gaps, brainstorm solutions and then take matters into their own hands. It sort of makes me feel like libraries aren’t living up to their potential. It is also interesting that often times they don’t consider partnering with established libraries. The IKEA ad I just posted is an example of that. So are the community book exchanges / tiny tomato gardens I see around Portland.

A related project: A group of folks involved with the Art Shanty Projects erected a library shanty on the frozen Medicine Lake:

Come hang out at the Medicine Lake Branch and create a library card, join a book clubs or enjoy the curated shelf-sized art exhibitions.

Ages ago I meant to point to this post about the the Library Initiative in New York. They’ve created some nice looking spaces.

Now there’s an entire book about the project: The Library Book: Design Collaborations in the Public Schools.

The L!brary Book takes readers behind the scenes of fifty groundbreaking library projects to show how widely varied fields and communities – corporate underwriters, children’s book publishers, architects, graphic designers, product manufacturers, library associations, teachers, and students – can join forces to make a difference in the lives of children. – Dexigner

Just in case, you can buy them from Ferrol Studio.

I’d love to see a coastal library set up a permanent book exchange like this. Has it been done?

[pic from baddogwhiskas]

On a bright spring morning in Baltimore, retiree Gwen Tates goes over her weekly grocery list — oatmeal, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, pea soup. But it’s where she’s shopping that might surprise you: at the public library.

Under a new city program, patrons can order groceries online and pay with cash, credit or food stamps. The orders are filled by Santoni’s supermarket, a longtime Baltimore grocer. They deliver the items to the library the next day. Tates says she loves the convenience.

“I pay with my charge card. They swipe it right here. I come back to the library tomorrow and they’ll have it all bagged up and ready to go,” she says.

[via].

Libraries can become so much more than content mausoleums by facilitating a suite of useful community services. I do worry a bit about feature creep, however. More about this in a forthcoming post about the Garage Library in Malmö.

It is really neat how much of a role the library is playing in the City of Birmingham’s revitalization plan.

The Library of Birmingham, opening in 2013, will occupy a prime site on Centenary Square, the city’s largest public square, acting as the flagship for the regeneration of Birmingham, and celebrating the ‘Global City with a Local Heart’.

Sited between the 1970s Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the 1930s Baskerville House, the new Library of Birmingham will “bring the spoken and written word together to inspire creativity and discovery.” [via]

See libraryofbirmingham.com for more.

After launching the app and shaking my phone I saw a heads-up type display containing an overlay of restaurants and bars down the block. Turning about and pointing the phone in the opposite direction loaded watering holes towards the East.

Another AR app for the iPhone is one for the Metro in Paris but none of this is as cool as AR for contact lenses.