Is time running out for offset printed books?

There is an excellent discussion of this subject by the author and his commentators at Morris Rosenthal’s blog, Self Publishing 2.0.    Here’s a taste:

In a brave new business model, the library might offer the patron the opportunity to purchase the book for a “donation” that covers the immediate costs associated with downloading and printing it. Otherwise, the book would end up in the library collection when returned, and the librarian could inform that patron that rationing is now in effect:-) As a long toothed library hound who is constantly checking out books from the stacks that have yet to be cataloged (and sometimes have never been read), I’m the last person who would suggest that libraries should exit the business of providing low demand books. But it would be more efficient and cost effective to provide these books only when the demand materializes in the form of a patron walking in and asking.

How to apply for broadband funding.

Information about how to apply for broadband funding under the  American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

AGENCIES: Rural Utilities Service (RUS), Department of Agriculture, and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) and solicitation of applications.

SUMMARY: RUS and NTIA announce general policy and application procedures for broadband initiatives established pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). RUS is establishing the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) which may extend loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas. NTIA is establishing the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) which makes available grants for deploying broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas in the United States, enhancing broadband capacity at public computer centers, and promoting sustainable broadband adoption projects. In facilitating the expansion of broadband communications services and infrastructure, both programs will advance the objectives of the Recovery Act to spur job creation and stimulate long-term economic growth and opportunity.

DATES: Applications will be accepted between July 14, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) until August 14, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

APPLICATION SUBMISSION: The application packages for electronic and paper submissions will be available at http://www.broadbandusa.gov.

The Internet’s Effect on Value and the Economy

Although I am more productive than I have ever been I probably spend too much time on the Internet.  I love current events, so I could just read online news items all day.  So the Internet, like most things in life – all things in moderation, remember – can be a blessing or a curse depending on how one uses it.

Two items came to me in e-newsletters that I subscribe to that reveal the polar ends of the Internet issues spectrum.  From Harvard Business School I received this:

Working the Web Shift

The Internet employs 1.2 million people directly to conduct advertising and commerce, build and maintain the infrastructure, and facilitate its use. Each Internet job supports approximately 1.54 additional jobs elsewhere in the economy, for a total of 3.05 million, or roughly 2%, of employed Americans. The dollar value of their wages is about $300 billion or around 2% of U.S. GDP.

Source: How to Value the Advertising-Supported Internet

And from ZDNET.COM, there was this provocative article:

The Internet Devalues Everything It Touches

by Tom Foremski

Ever since I first heard about the Internet and then saw its incredible development and application across industries, I’ve been on the look out for the economic effects of this powerful platform technology. The specific economic influence I’ve been looking for is a strong deflationary trend. That’s when we will know when the Internet has truly begun to reach its potential.

Let me explain why. Read the article.

The Two Most Admirable Qualities in a Lead

The 2 Most Admirable Qualities in a Leader

When asked what they look for and admire in a leader and in a colleague, people put honesty at #1. But the second-highest requirement of a leader — that he or she be forward-looking — wasn’t applied to colleagues. 72% of respondents wanted leaders to be forward-looking, but only 27% looked for that trait in a colleague.

SOURCE: “To Lead, Create a Shared Vision” in Harvard Business Review, January 2009

New laws go into effect today – July 1.

These laws, among many others , passed by the Legislature during the 2009 session, go into effect today:

House Bill 150: Allows 16-year-olds to donate blood with parental permission.

House Bill 214: Restricts the use of tanning facilities by children younger than 18.

Senate Bill 2799: Provides for regulations on Internet pharmacies and gives the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics authority.

House Bill 1434: Allows patrons to take bottles of wine home from restaurants and provides for special permits to serve alcohol at events.

House Bill 1530: Establishes a program to combat obesity that would provide coverage for bariatric surgery as a treatment option.

House Bill 1623: Provides tax breaks for businesses in designated entertainment districts.

Senate Bill 2280: Bans young drivers from texting while the vehicle is in motion.

Senate Bill 2875: Establishes Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration Commission.

Senate Bill 3024: Creates claim for wrongful conviction in Mississippi.

Senate Bill 3049: Authorizes the Bureau of Fleet Management to seize vehicles found to be in noncompliance and requires fleet to become more fuel efficient.

Click here to read the complete article in The Clarion-Ledger.

THE 60 U.S. HOTSPOTS FOR YOUNG, TALENTED WORKERS

THE 60 U.S. HOTSPOTS FOR YOUNG, TALENTED WORKERS report has just been released by Next Generation Consulting.  It also contains “The Seven Indexes of a Next City.”
More...

Governor Haley Barbour in Iowa

The newly-named chairman of the Republican Governors Association pitched a message of inclusion to a crowd of party activists at a major summer event in Des Moines Thursday night, one of many preludes to the presidential campaign of 2012.  More…

Should Rhode Island Change Its Name?

Most people probably don’t know that the official name for what most of us think of as Rhode Island is actually “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.”  In 2010 there will be a referendum on the ballot for the state’s voters to decide the matter unless the governor vetoes the measure that has been passed by both houses of the Rhode Island legislature.

So why the change?  According to an article in the Providence Journal, “Proponents of the name change say that the word ‘plantations’ is offensive to the African-American community because it conjures up images of slavery.”

How Do We Pay for Health Care?

There seem to be weekly snapshot pools on what people think of health care reform.  A better tool, in my opinion, for guaging the public sentiment on this issue is a report prepared for the Kettering Foundation that was released June 19, 2009 at briefings in Washington, DC.   The Stennis Institute held one of the forums last year for this report.  Here’s more info about the report:

The report, titled Public Thinking about Coping with the Cost of Health Care: How Do We Pay for What We Need, presents outcomes of the 2008 National Issues Forums (NIF) where participants used the issue book titled Coping with the Cost of Health Care: How Do We Pay for What We Need? in deliberative public forums around the country.

The following are excerpts from the report’s executive summary.

This report examines public thinking about the rising cost of health care–the values, thoughts, insights, and struggles voiced by a diverse collection of thousands of Americans in deliberative forums in 40 states and the District of Columbia from July 2008 to January 2009.  Forum participants gathered in educational and faith-based institutions, clubs and community centers, and libraries to deliberate about an issue that is currently of central importance to this nation–the challenges associated with the rising cost of health care. (report page 6)

Areas of Common Ground

Despite the complexity of the issue, participants in a great many forums did find areas of common ground.

• • People agreed that the issue of cost–the cost of providing both health care and health insurance–poses the greatest threat to the system
  • They favored providing at least minimal insurance to all Americans, especially children.
  • Many strongly endorsed increasing wellness and prevention programs, particularly in schools, saying these could help decrease health-care costs in the long run.  Participants also favored educating the public about making good personal health decisions, and providing incentives for better behavior.
  • Most important–and despite the fact that they did not reach consensus on every aspect of the issue–participants agreed that the nation’s health-care system is in dire need of a complete overhaul and that increased public deliberation and dialogue is crucial to moving forward and reaching that goal. (report page 4)

The report Table of Contents includes:

• • • Executive Summary: What Mattered Most
    • A Framework for Public Deliberation
    • Health-Care Costs and the Economy
    • Finger-Pointing…and Some Nuanced Thinking
    • Health as a Public Good
    • Areas of Common Ground
    • Questions and Answers about the Forums
    • Appendices
      • Postforum Questionnaire Results and Demographics
      • Methodology
      • Issue Map
    • About National Issues Forums
    • About Public Agenda and the Report’s Authors
    • About the Kettering Foundation

  
  

The report can be downloaded by clicking here, or by contacting the Ruffolo Company at 800-600-4060 (phone) or 937-388-0494 (Fax) and ordering ITEM # 10184.

Jackson, Mississippi and its Web site Woes

If your city is going to get on the Web, it should do it right. The City of Jackson, Mississippi should either update its old Web site -http://city.jackson.ms.us/ – which is labeled as “The Official City of Jackson, MS” or close it down.  It’s rather embarrassing for users to see a “send a getwell message to Mayor Frank Melton.” The other “official” Web site –  www.jacksonms.gov – states that, “The City of Jackson is a leader in the use of technology to inform and engage citizens in governmental affairs. Use this portal to increase your civic awareness, understanding, and participation in your City’s government and to connect with City staff, departments, agencies, and their services.”