A Social History of Books and Libraries from Cuneiform to Bytes

A Social History of Books and Libraries from Cuneiform to Bytes
Author: Patrick M. Valentine
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2012-09-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0810885719

While the importance of writing has often been recognized, the role of books and especially that of libraries has just as often been slighted. Knowledge, once generated, has to be communicated, preserved, and accessible. Books in their varying formats—from clay tablets to scrolls and manuscripts to pixels—have been instrumental in spreading knowledge, although relatively little attention has been given to the story of books themselves. A Social History of Books and Libraries from Cuneiform to Bytes traces the roles of books and libraries throughout recorded history and explores their social and cultural importance within differing societies and changing times. It presents the history of books from clay tablets to e-books and the history of libraries, whether built of bricks or bytes. Following an introduction that sets the theoretical basis for the historical importance of books and libraries, chapters alternate between the history of the book and the history of libraries. Included within the chapters are short excursions on some particular development, such as book emblems or cataloging. Case studies are given as thematic illustrations of libraries everywhere. Patrick M. Valentine argues that social and cultural forces have been more influential in determining the nature and status of information, books, and libraries than has technology. But A Social History of Books and Libraries is far from a jeremiad against technology; rather it presents history within the subtle yet shifting context of time and place. Although written primarily for librarians and library students, it will also be of interest to a wider audience of scholars and those interested in books, libraries, and cultural history.

A Writer’s Journal Workbook

A Writer’s Journal Workbook
Author: Lucy van Smit
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2022-01-20
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1472988671

The Writer's Journal Workbook is a lively prompt for creative writers looking for help in setting themselves regular creative tasks, goals and challenges. Packed with step-by-step activities, advice and suggestions, the writer is guided through practical exercises and encouraged to put pen to paper. Are you stuck in a writing rut and don't know how to move forward? Do you lack a daily routine and need a structure to set daily or weekly writing time for yourself? Do you want somewhere to gather your writing ideas and scribbles together in one place? This workbook is the perfect place for the budding writer who wants a spark of inspiration, to sharpen their ideas and perfect their skills at their own pace. The workbook is composed around a series of have-a-go exercises with ample space (double spread) for the user to write and doodle in. This Journal Workbook will become the must-have companion for creatives on the go.

Understanding Digital Libraries

Understanding Digital Libraries
Author: Michael Lesk
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2005-01-20
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0080481515

This fully revised and updated second edition of Understanding Digital Libraries focuses on the challenges faced by both librarians and computer scientists in a field that has been dramatically altered by the growth of the Web. At every turn, the goal is practical: to show you how things you might need to do are already being done, or how they can be done. The first part of the book is devoted to technology and examines issues such as varying media requirements, indexing and classification, networks and distribution, and presentation. The second part of the book is concerned with the human contexts in which digital libraries function. Here you'll find specific and useful information on usability, preservation, scientific applications, and thorny legal and economic questions. - Thoroughly updated and expanded from original edition to include recent research, case studies and new technologies - For librarians and technologists alike, this book provides a thorough introduction to the interdisciplinary science of digital libraries - Written by Michael Lesk, a legend in computer science and a leading figure in the digital library field - Provides insights into the integration of both the technical and non-technical aspects of digital libraries

Bits and Bytes

Bits and Bytes
Author: Seymour Simon
Publisher:
Total Pages: 54
Release: 1985
Genre: Computers
ISBN:

A dictionary of computer terms explaining parts, functions, and useful jargon.

Books, Bytes and Business

Books, Bytes and Business
Author: Bill Martin
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2016-04-08
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1317173260

How are businesses responding to global changes in markets driven by changes in technology? Whatever the industry, the trends are familiar: globalization and the rise of industrial conglomerates, mergers and acquisitions, the networking of businesses and markets, outsourcing and shifts in the distribution of resources and production, all reflected in the emergence of new players, new products and services and new forms of competition. As arguably the first knowledge-based business, book publishing provides an ideal setting for the study of challenge and opportunity. The industry is currently experiencing fierce levels of competition, extreme financial pressures, restructuring and the threat of technology-induced obsolescence. Added to these are the challenges posed by new and potential entrants to the market, the emergence of new products and services, new ways of doing business, including trading in virtual markets, and the vulnerability of traditional business models. The suitability of book publishing as a context for researching the emergence of knowledge-based business becomes all too apparent. Through combining primary research with secondary analysis drawn from the relevant literatures, Books, Bytes and Business is both a readable and informative account of business in the knowledge-based economy.

12 Bytes

12 Bytes
Author: Jeanette Winterson
Publisher: Arrow
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-10-13
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 9781529112979

'Joins the dots in a neglected narrative of female scientists, visionaries and code-breakers' Observer How is artificial intelligence changing the way we live and love? This is the eye-opening new book from Sunday Times bestselling author Jeanette Winterson. Drawing on her years of thinking and reading about AI, Jeanette Winterson looks to history, religion, myth, literature, politics and, of course, computer science to help us understand the radical changes to the way we live and love that are happening now. With wit, compassion and curiosity, Winterson tackles AI's most interesting talking points - from the weirdness of backing up your brain and the connections between humans and non-human helpers to whether it's time to leave planet Earth. * With a new chapter by the author * 'Very funny... A kind of comparative mythology, where the hype and ideology of cutting-edge tech is read through the lens of far older stories' Spectator 'Refreshingly optimistic' Guardian A 'Books of 2021' Pick in the Guardian, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard

Book Bytes

Book Bytes
Author: Cris Popenoe
Publisher: Pantheon
Total Pages: 244
Release: 1984
Genre: Computers
ISBN:

Learning Go Programming

Learning Go Programming
Author: Vladimir Vivien
Publisher: Packt Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2016-10-26
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1784392332

An insightful guide to learning the Go programming language About This Book Insightful coverage of Go programming syntax, constructs, and idioms to help you understand Go code effectively Push your Go skills, with topics such as, data types, channels, concurrency, object-oriented Go, testing, and network programming Each chapter provides working code samples that are designed to help reader quickly understand respective topic Who This Book Is For If you have prior exposure to programming and are interested in learning the Go programming language, this book is designed for you. It will quickly run you through the basics of programming to let you exploit a number of features offered by Go programming language. What You Will Learn Install and configure the Go development environment to quickly get started with your first program. Use the basic elements of the language including source code structure, variables, constants, and control flow primitives to quickly get started with Go Gain practical insight into the use of Go's type system including basic and composite types such as maps, slices, and structs. Use interface types and techniques such as embedding to create idiomatic object-oriented programs in Go. Develop effective functions that are encapsulated in well-organized package structures with support for error handling and panic recovery. Implement goroutine, channels, and other concurrency primitives to write highly-concurrent and safe Go code Write tested and benchmarked code using Go's built test tools Access OS resources by calling C libraries and interact with program environment at runtime In Detail The Go programming language has firmly established itself as a favorite for building complex and scalable system applications. Go offers a direct and practical approach to programming that let programmers write correct and predictable code using concurrency idioms and a full-featured standard library. This is a step-by-step, practical guide full of real world examples to help you get started with Go in no time at all. We start off by understanding the fundamentals of Go, followed by a detailed description of the Go data types, program structures and Maps. After this, you learn how to use Go concurrency idioms to avoid pitfalls and create programs that are exact in expected behavior. Next, you will be familiarized with the tools and libraries that are available in Go for writing and exercising tests, benchmarking, and code coverage. Finally, you will be able to utilize some of the most important features of GO such as, Network Programming and OS integration to build efficient applications. All the concepts are explained in a crisp and concise manner and by the end of this book; you would be able to create highly efficient programs that you can deploy over cloud. Style and approach The book is written to serve as a reader-friendly step-by-step guide to learning the Go programming language. Each topic is sequentially introduced to build on previous materials covered. Every concept is introduced with easy-to-follow code examples that focus on maximizing the understanding of the topic at hand.

Books and Social Media

Books and Social Media
Author: Miriam J. Johnson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2021-07-29
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1000415562

Social media and digital technologies are transforming what and how we read. Books and Social Media considers the way in which readers and writers come together in digital communities to discover and create new works of fiction. This new way of engaging with fiction stretches the boundaries of what has been considered a book in the past by moving beyond the physical or even digitally bound object to the consideration of content, containers, and the ability to share. Using empirical data and up-to-date research methods, Miriam Johnson introduces the ways in which digitally social platforms give rise to a new type of citizen author who chooses to sidestep the industry’s gatekeepers and share their works directly with interested readers on social platforms. Gender and genre, especially, play a key role in developing the communities in which these authors write. The use of surveys, interviews, and data mining brings to the fore issues of gender, genre, community, and power, which highlight the push and pull between these writers and the industry. Questioning what we always thought we knew about what makes a book and traditional publishing channels, this book will be of interest to anyone studying or researching publishing, book history, print cultures, and digital and contemporary literatures.

Paper Empires, 1946-2005

Paper Empires, 1946-2005
Author: Craig Munro
Publisher: Univ. of Queensland Press
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2006-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0702242152

Annotation " ... It is highly recommended to anyone who thinks they have a serious interest in the book ... or would like to discover to discover something of the complexity of the well-springs of the Australian psyche." Biblionews Paper Empires explores Australian book production and consumption from 1946 to the present day, using wide-ranging research, oral history and memoir to explore the worlds of book publishing, selling and reading. After 1945, Australian publishing went from a handful of fledgling businesses to the billion dollar industry of today with thousands of new titles each year and a vast array of imported books. Publishing's postwar expansion began with the baby boom and the increased demand for school texts, with independent houses blossoming during the 1960s and 70s followed by the current era dominated by global conglomerates.