The European Library

Recently, I came across a website of the European Library.

[It] is a free service that offers access to the resources of the 48 national libraries of Europe in 35 languages.  Resources can be both digital (books, posters, maps, sound recordings, videos, etc.) and bibliographical. Quality and reliability are guaranteed by the 48 collaborating national libraries of Europe.

Read more about the library and its organization.  You may subscribe to the library's newsletter.  To learn more about the participating libraries, click here. Current library's exhibitions include Reading Europe, A Roma Journey, Napoleonic Wars, Treasures, and Buildings.

Users may browse the entire collection or by subject, or search the collection by subject or material. The advanced as well as simple searches are available.  And, something that I was impressed by, the search screen includes an option for a virtual keyboard that has 28 language keyboards for users to choose from.  The website is very clean and easy to use.

Users may also register, which now allows them to save favorites and session query history, and in the future users will  be able to save selected collections, receive email alerts concerning collections of interest, and receive email alerts concerning subjects of interest.

Digital Lending Library By Internet Archives

I have always been a fan of the Internet Archives, or as many call it (including me) the Wayback Machine. I use it to see what websites looked like years ago or to locate a website that has been taken down. The Internet Archive periodically takes snapshots of the web and archives it; a pretty neat concept. Users can browse through over 150 billion websites that have been archived since 1996. The Internet Archives work on many projects including the Bookmobile, Scanning Services, Archive-It, or the already mentioned Wayback Machine. One of the newest initiatives is the Digital Lending Library.

Checking out digital versions of books that are automatically returned after two weeks is as easy as logging onto the Internet Archive's Open Library Site, announced digital librarian and Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle. By integrating this new service, more than seventy thousand current books - best sellers and popular titles - are borrowable by patrons of libraries that subscribe to Overdrive.com's Digital Library Reserve. Additionally, many other books that are not commercially available but are still of interest to library patrons are available to be borrowed from from participating libraries using the same digital technology.

Currently, OpenLibrary.org is making available:

• More than one million digital versions of older books are now available for free download in a variety of formats.
• Over 70,000 current digital books to those with a library card from many of the over 11,000 libraries that subscribe to the OverDrive service.
• Genealogical books from the Boston Public Library.
• How-to and technical book collection via the Internet Archive
• Marine life reference materials from the Marine Biological Laboratory and Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
• Spanish texts from Universidad Francisco Marroguin in Guatemala.

Free Library Check Outs With SONY E-Reader

To follow up on our previous post, via Engadget, Sony's Reader Daily Edition will launch in December 2009 for $400. It has a seven-inch touchscreen. It enables to pull content wirelessly. The 3G network will be free but limited to accessing the Sony eBook store.

The new feature (said to be a major advantage over Kindle) is

[t]he library finder service, which enables you to check out ebooks and other digital content from your local public library on any of the Readers -- for free.

The New York Public Library is the flashy public launch partner, but there are "thousands more" looped in through a partnership with Overdrive.com -- check out the huge selection of top-tier content you can get through the Chicago Public Library, for example.

The library buys a fixed number of "copies" of each title and "checks out" the licenses, so you're on a time limit -- licenses will revert after 14-29 days depending on your local branch's rules.

Any thoughts?

Library Closed Due to Water Main Break

The Library is closed today, Monday March 16, due to a water main break that has cut power to the building. The lights are working, but there is no power to anything else. Four feet of water is currently being pumped out of the basement, and we are awaiting the arrival of Con Ed. Check here, our Twitter feed or the Law School website for updates. A slideshow of photos is available to the right.

New USB Flash Drives

The Pace Law Library is now selling 1GB USB flash drives for only $10.00. There is a limited amount of them, so be sure to get one before they sell out. The drives are dark blue in color with an imprint of "Pace Law Library".

Did you forget your storage device at home or do you need one? Are you looking for a gift? Are you looking for a practical Pace memorabilia? Our Pace Law Library USB flash drive might be the answer. Purchase one at the Law Library circulation desk.

See you there!