theorywatch

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that I buy a lot of books. But in the many years that I’ve been an avid bookbuyer, I’ve never had a book I’ve ordered email me before. So I actually enjoyed this email from Better World Books:

“Hello Betsy,

(Your book asked to write you a personal note – it seemed unusual, but who are we to say no?)

Holy canasta! It’s me… it’s me! I can’t believe it is actually me! You could have picked any of over 2 million books but you picked me! I’ve got to get packed! How is the weather where you live? Will I need a dust jacket? I can’t believe I’m leaving Mishawaka, Indiana already – the friendly people, the Hummer plant, the Linebacker Lounge – so many memories. I don’t have much time to say goodbye to everyone, but it’s time to see the world!

I can’t wait to meet you! You sound like such a well read person. Although, I have to say, it sure has taken you a while! I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but how would you like to spend five months sandwiched between Jane Eyre (drama queen) and Fundamentals of Thermodynamics (pyromaniac)? At least Jane was an upgrade from that stupid book on brewing beer. How many times did the ol’ brewmaster have one too many and topple off our shelf at 2am?

I know the trip to meet you will be long and fraught with peril, but after the close calls I’ve had, I’m ready for anything (besides, some of my best friends are suspense novels). Just five months ago, I thought I was a goner. My owner was moving and couldn’t take me with her. I was sure I was landfill bait until I ended up in a Better World Books book drive bin. Thanks to your socially conscious book shopping, I’ve found a new home. Even better, your book buying dollars are helping kids read from Brazil to Botswana.

But hey, enough about me, I’ve been asked to brief you on a few things:

We sent your order to the following address:

Betsy Martens
University of Oklahoma
4502 E 42nd St
Tulsa OK 74135
Order #: 1113223

Item Title:
Brief Tests of Collection Strength: A Methodology for All Types of Libraries

We provide quick shipping service to all our customers. You chose USPS Standard Mail shipping, your book should arrive within 4 – 14 business days. The Postal Service may occasionally take slightly longer to deliver your book.

At this time, we are not able to offer tracking on our USPS Standard Mail shipments.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email my friends in Customer Care at help@betterworldbooks.com. If you could please include your order number (1113223) that would be very helpful.

Eagerly awaiting our meeting,
Brief Tests of Collection Strength: A Methodology for All Types of Libraries

I have to admit, that’s as clever a marketing take on standard order fulfillment as I’ve ever seen! (Though, as I order lots and lots of books from Better World, my heart is sure to be broken when I discover it’s just a form email used by all the books….!)

Excellent article by Diomidis Spinellis in this month’s IEEE Computer magazine on “The Antikythera Mechanism: A Computer Science Perspective”, an ancient astronomical calculator, first studied by Derek de Solla Price some decades ago (which is why I happen to know about something so esoteric!) Read more…

Since I automatically associate the borough of Whitechapel in London with Jack the Ripper, it was a revelation to me to see that their public library (the “Idea Store”) is so cutting-edge that it made this recent list of libraries in Architectural Record. I’m particularly intrigued by what they’re doing inside the building, too!

Another interesting post on the “Do Libraries Innovate” session, from new blogger “The Robot Librarian” (not to be confused with other new blogger “Robot Librarian”), started me thinking again on the possible implications. If libraries are indeed what hold librarians back from innovating, would they be better off as library-free librarians? Read more…

Yesterday was that “Do Libraries Innovate” session at ALA (which I’m hoping to see blogged elsewhere soon by a participant), so in the meantime here’s some additional evidence from Emory that they darn well do.

Update: And this morning there’s a nice summary of the session from the Hidden Peanuts blog and (two days later) the LITA blog version. Read more…