A very impressive example of the power of digitisation to support 'book culture' comes from the creation of the digital version of the Codex Siniaticus, the earliest version of the Christian Bible, dating from the fourth century. No complete version of the original parchment manuscript exists anywhere; the 800 pages are scattered in museums and… Continue reading Codex Siniaticus; the good side of digital
Category: digital, onlife, infosphere
Transferred illusions
I've just written a review of Marilyn Deegan and Kathryn Sutherland's Transferred lllusions: digital technology and the forms of print for the journal Alexandria. This is a modified version: The so-called 'digital transition' has been at the forefront of the minds of many library / information specialists over the past few years, as the certainties… Continue reading Transferred illusions
Occasional tweeting
After resisting for a long while, I have finally joined Twitter. I image that my tweeting will be even more occasional than my blogging, but for anyone interested it's @david_bawden. Yes, the underscore does matter.
Keitai and novel, medium and message
In my last post about browsing arXiv on the iPhone, I mused about the use of mobile devices for information access. By the sort of happy coincidence which afflicts the blogger, the following day's London Metro free paper carried an article about novels written for the mobile phone. The keitai shousetsu, as moblie phone novels… Continue reading Keitai and novel, medium and message
Of Archives and iPhones
A new posting on Gerry MacKiernan's Mobile Libraries blog tells us about a new application for Apple iPhone. We can now search and display recent additions to the arXiv repository of preprints in the physical sciences. A clever, and logical enough no doubt, development in the trend towards mobile information. And something more for me… Continue reading Of Archives and iPhones
The World Digital Library
A new venture sponsored by UNESCO, the World Digital Library appears to want to be a front window for displaying (virtually) the cultural treasures of national libraries and similar 'heritage institutions' worldwide. Coverage from different regions and countries, at the moment, is a bit sparse, with less than 1200 items included. It has much less… Continue reading The World Digital Library
An informationist ? and occasional ?
The term 'informationist' has a long history of being not quite accepted. At present, it seems to have been hi-jacked by healthcare librarians, to imply someone working in that area who has a good understanding of, and perhaps even a qualification in, relevant clinical specialities; a pretty specific instance of an 'information scientist in context'.… Continue reading An informationist ? and occasional ?
The Occasional Informationist 