Published by rwatstein July 26th, 2008
in libraries, library services and Canada.
Business is booming at Canada’s major public libraries, which credit everything from the high price of buying books to social networking, vampires, and a new social acceptance for frothy bestsellers. In Edmonton, Alberta, 385 people are on the waiting list for Fearless Fourteen, the newest offering from romance-turned-crime writer Janet Evanovich. In Surrey, B.C., Stephenie Meyer’s Breaking Dawn (right), a vampire novel written for young adults that is still on order, has 220 members on its waiting list.
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Published by rwatstein July 26th, 2008
in Canada, cataloging and OPAC.
BiblioCommons’ revolutionary system is set to replace user-facing OPAC functionality in Canada, allowing for faceted searching and easier user commenting and tagging. Libraries serving more than half of Canada’s population are expected to adopt the product, and it is also stirring interest in U.S. libraries as well. Gail Richardson, Oakville PL’s acting director of online services told Library Journal, “People don’t want a library that acts like just a glorified card catalog online. They want a catalog that’s as good as Google and Amazon.”
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Published by rwatstein May 4th, 2008
in education, economics and Canada.
A Statistics Canada report reveals that while twenty-somethings in Canada have more higher education than their parents did in the previous generation, they earn significantly less.
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Published by rwatstein March 16th, 2008
in archives, Canada and cataloging.
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) collects and preserves Canada’s documentary heritage, and makes it accessible to all Canadians. This heritage includes publications, archival records, sound and audiovisual materials, photographs, artworks, and electronic documents such as websites. As part of its mandate, LAC works closely with other archives and libraries to acquire and share these materials as widely as possible. LAC is committed to making as much of its collection as possible available online. LAC has determined that genealogical records are a priority.
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Published by rwatstein March 16th, 2008
in demographics, internet and Canada.
The idea that Canadian teens are Internet-savvy, constantly-wired early adopters may not be true, according to a study by Ipsos Reid. The online survey of Canadian youth (ages 12 to 17) found that teens spend an average of 13 hours per week online, compared with 19 hours for adults.
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Published by rwatstein January 12th, 2008
in copyright and Canada.
The average Canadian might not think twice about taping his or her favourite show on television, using a personal cellphone overseas or listening to music on a newly-purchased CD. But industry officials and observers say that each activity is being threatened by existing copyright regulations and the Conservative government’s pledge to “modernize” Canada’s laws with a new piece of legislation that could make these and other related everyday consumer habits illegal. “There are a growing number of people who recognize that this legislation will directly touch what people can do with their own personal property,” said Michael Geist, the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce law at the University of Ottawa.
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Published by rwatstein January 5th, 2008
in Facebook and Canada.
Canadians are the second largest contingent on Facebook, numbering less than the Americans but more than the Brits and the French, according to data from the popular social networking Internet site. Of the 60 million Facebook users around the world, nearly eight million are located in Canada — about a quarter of Canada’s overall population of 33 million, a ratio much higher than that of the United States. Facebook is so popular that authorities in Ontario province, where Toronto is located, have blocked the site for government employees during work hours.
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Published by rwatstein December 22nd, 2007
in social networking, Facebook and Canada.
The power of social networking struck the federal government with unmistakable force in December. Industry Minister Jim Prentice had intended to introduce new copyright legislation before Parliament’s holiday break. Professor Michael Geist of Ottawa University believed that Canadians did not know enough about the issue so he launched a Facebook group, Fair Copyright for Canada, on the first of December with, as he wrote, limited expectations. The next two weeks, he wrote, demonstrated that Facebook is “…an incredibly effective and efficient tool that can be used to educate and galvanize grassroots advocacy, placing unprecedented power into the hands of individuals.” An exercise in distance education quickly grew. From a ’seed’ of about 100 invitations, it attracted 10,000 members in a week, 25,000 in two weeks and, Geist wrote, at one point a Canadian was joining every 30 seconds.
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Published by rwatstein December 1st, 2007
in archives and Canada.
Library and Archives Canada launched the LAC Government of Canada Web Archive on November 20. The Library and Archives of Canada Act received Royal Assent on April 22, 2004, allowing the LAC to collect and preserve a representative sample of Canadian websites. To meet its new mandate, LAC began to harvest the web domain of the Federal Government of Canada starting in December 2005….
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Canada Web Archive website
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Published by rwatstein November 12th, 2007
in YouTube and Canada.
YouTube held a special event at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel recently to trumpet the launch of their localized Canadian portal.
“We’re very excited to bring a local version of YouTube to Canada, and are committed to continuing to improve the YouTube experience for our Canadian users,” said YouTube chief executive and co-founder Chad Hurley in a statement. “Our goal is to satisfy the unique needs of the local users and to further strengthen Canada’s vibrant YouTube community.”
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YouTube Canadian website
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Published by rwatstein October 27th, 2007
in libraries and Canada.
The federal government is building a library and there’s more than mere books in it. Called the Architecture Library, it’s envisioned to be an online collaboration tool for government departments and agencies to share knowledge and learn from each other on anything from software tools and business process models to policies and standards, said Ken Cochrane, CIO of the Government of Canada.
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