A significant wake-up call to increase citizens' access to knowledge and culture, which requires both public awareness and...
Palfrey (Head of School/Phillips Andover Academy; Intellectual Property Strategy, 2011, etc.) reports on his progress setting up the Digital Public Library of America and argues that in the digital era, public libraries are more necessary than ever before.
The author, the founding chairman of the Digital Public Library, is involved with reorganizations of particular libraries, such as Harvard Law School Library. He is known for his expertise in various aspects of Internet policy, including open access and intellectual property rights. Here, Palfrey defends America's tradition of philanthropy-based free public libraries, starting with Joshua Bates' 1852 founding of the Boston Public Library, as well as Andrew Carnegie's nationwide provision of library facilities. “The changes wrought by the digital revolution,” writes the author, “add up to a perfect storm for libraries and librarians. Every kind of librarian…faces a series of problems that can’t all be solved at once using the resources they have today.” The traditional job description of “collectors” and “keepers” of information is out of sync with successive waves of digital technology. Libraries, which lack sufficient financial resources, can't keep up with the flood of printed and digital material. The author argues for the support of public libraries as core institutions of democracy, noting that “the knowledge that libraries offer and the help librarians provide are the life-blood of an informed and engaged republic.” We must preserve the public spaces and combine them with digital platforms, as both will play an essential role in the future. Palfrey provides insight into local efforts in schools and libraries around the country and highlights the individual trailblazers. He also details national and international efforts that are bringing vast resources to the public and dealing with legal and other issues that come up along the way.
A significant wake-up call to increase citizens' access to knowledge and culture, which requires both public awareness and financial support.Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-0465042999
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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