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New York Public Library turns classic novels into Insta Stories
The New York Public Library is using Instagram's Stories feature to make classic novels more accessible and enticing to read, especially to the younger generation. It has teamed up with ad agency Mother in New York to create "Insta Novels," which turns classic pieces of literature into animated digital novels illustrated by various visual artists. These digitized versions take inspiration from the layouts of the original classics, featuring elements that reflect the novels' designs. The full digital books will be posted as Stories: simply hold the screen to read a page and lift your finger to turn it. If you're a fast reader, just let it play on its own to watch the animated elements move on screen.
A New York library card is your ticket to stream thousands of movies
Libraries have long let users check out DVDs and Blu-ray discs, but that's starting to feel a bit archaic thanks to Netflix, Hulu and all the rest. Fortunately for those who don't even have a disc player anymore, some libraries are getting into the streaming gaming. As reported by Gothamist, the New York Public Library is getting ready to give citizens access to Kanopy, a streaming service originally started to let university students access its library of films. Currently, Kanopy has deals with more than 3,000 colleges and universities, and the company has been making partnerships with public libraries as well.
The New York Public Library has a mini roller coaster for books
On October 5th, the New York Public Library near Bryant Park in Manhattan will open up its newly renovated reading room to everyone. When that happens, members of the public will be able to get their first look not only at the gorgeous new working area, but also the building's new book delivery system. I was lucky enough to be treated to a tour of the library's facilities to get a behind-the-scenes preview of the now-colloquially-named "book train."
NY Public Library releases 180,000 free public domain pictures
The New York Public Library has made 180,000 old-timey, out-of-copyright pictures available as high-res downloads through its Digital Collections website. "No permission required, no hoops to jump through," writes its Public Programs Manager Shana Kimbal. The Library has even created a few demo projects to help you discover images you may find interesting, because the pile truly is massive, with a big number of entries a lot of people might consider mundane. Think barely legible scripts and restaurant menus.
Obama to provide 10,000 free e-books through your library
President Barack Obama announced a new program on Thursday aimed at delivering access for more than 10,000 e-books to financially strapped schoolchildren throughout the United States. The $250 million program will feature titles from numerous publishers including Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins and Hachette, selected by volunteers from Digital Public Library of America. The New York Public Library has signed on to develop the free app. "It's very different than from our generation," Cecilia Muñoz, Obama's domestic policy adviser, told Reuters. "More and more, you're going to be seeing kids using devices, and what we're doing is making sure that there's more books available on those devices." As the president's top economic advisor Jeff Zients pointed out to Reuters, research shows that some 80 percent of low-income children are behind the rest of their grade in terms of reading skills. Few of them have books at home. That's why Obama's program will also work with local libraries, boosting their enrollment of local kids in order to provide them with hardware necessary to enjoy these books. Each age-appropriate title will be made available from the publishers' online libraries, though there's no word on whether the e-title will be given away or simply checked out as traditionally lent books are. Still, any excuse to get kids into the library is a good one. [Image credit: Getty]
Your search history's got nothing on this
In addition to dealing with symmetrical book stacking and full-torso apparitions in basements, New York's librarians have had to field some pretty crazy questions in their day. Case in point: "What percentage of all bathtubs in the world are in the US?" As Gothamist tells it, the book-lender recently found a box full of reference questions ranging in origin from the 1940s to the 1980s, and has started posting pictures of them to its Instagram account. What's more, the answers are coming too. You know, just in case you wanted to know if black widow spiders were more harmful dead or alive. Seriously, someone actually asked that. Each Monday, the New York Public Library will post a new question but if you're feeling impatient Gothamist has a handful of them in advance. We're guessing at least a few librarians are happy there's a program in place enabling people to Google stuff for themselves now. [Image credit: Associated Press]
Google donates $1 million to help NY libraries get people online
That WiFi-device lending program we told you about this summer is getting a million dollar shot in the arm from Google. Mountain View's donation (along with $500,000 from the Knight News Challenge) is helping libraries in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens provide Sprint-powered hotspot devices to get qualifying families online. It's throwing 500 Chromebooks in for teens enrolled in after-school programs at New York City libraries, too. As the city notes, how each library system's rolling the initiative out this month is a bit different, but there are some common traits: most require that you don't already have broadband at home and that you're enrolled in an English class for speakers of other languages (ESOL) or an adult learning class. And, depending on the branch, the lending period is between six months and a year.
Libraries will lend out WiFi hotspots to foster online learning
For the less fortunate, a library may be the only reliable way to get online. But what do they do after hours, or when they can't make the trek? That's where a pair of Knight Foundation grants may prove vital. Both the Chicago Public Library and New York Public Library are starting up large-scale projects that lend WiFi hotspots to households with little to no internet access, giving them a chance to pursue internet education programs that would otherwise be off-limits. Chicago's approach will let those in six broadband-deprived neighborhoods borrow a hotspot for up to three weeks; in New York, the library will offer mobile routers for up to a year as part of existing learning initiatives.
New York Public Library now lets you use 20,000 historical maps for free
Ever wanted to see what New York City's maps looked like before skyscrapers took over... or before Americans took over, for that matter? It's now easy as pie. The New York Public Library has published more than 20,000 of its historical maps under a Creative Commons public domain license. You can freely download, manipulate and publish cartography created between 1660 and 1922, a large chunk of which explores New York City's neighborhoods in detail. You'll also see thousands of maps covering the mid-Atlantic US and the Austro-Hungarian empire (yes, really). We can't imagine too many people wanting to remix Gangs of New York-era property charts, but it's hard to object to getting more geographic knowledge at no charge.
Timothy Leary-developed video games found in New York Public Library archive
The New York Public Library recently discovered a treasure trove of video games in its archives created by psychedelic evangelist Timothy Leary. Over 375 floppies (talk about flashbacks) containing a "dozen or so" games developed by the LSD-advocate in the '80s -- some are playable via emulation -- are now on display in the library's rare books and manuscripts division, according to The New York Times. The good doctor's digital works had a self-help bend to them, advocating self-improvement by interactive means as opposed to pharmaceuticals, and apparently recreational drugs as well. If you fancy yourself a cyberpunk, Leary also had an in-progress project based on William Gibson's Neuromancer, replete with writing by William S. Burroughs and a soundtrack by Devo. He had more than just prototypes, too: His Mind Mirror was commercially released in 1985 and sold 65,000 copies for publisher Electronic Arts. If you can't make it to the NYPL, a version has been adapted to Facebook so you can glean your personality profile from your... profile. [Image credit: Jaycobs / Flickr]
Penguin slinks back into e-book lending for New York City libraries, with a possible catch
You might say Penguin has had a rocky relationship with libraries. That looks to be on the tentative mend, as the publisher and 3M have together cut deals with the Brooklyn Public Library and New York Public Library to bring Penguin's e-book catalog back as part of a test program. Under the terms of the one-year project, the libraries will pay retail-level prices once a year to keep any given e-book available, no matter how many times it's virtually borrowed by residents in the boroughs. The book publisher is taking a page from its delay-happy movie industry friends when it comes to new releases, though: fresh titles won't show up at the library until they're six months out from first sale. You won't be reading the latest Clive Cussler novel right away, then, and 3M's lack of relevant formatting means no Kindle borrowing just yet. Even so, it's good to know that we'll soon have no trouble borrowing Penguin's edition of The Mayor of Casterbridge without having to hop on the subway first.
NY Public Library turns stereographs into animated GIFs, reminds your 3D TV of its roots
Digging your 3D TVs, video game consoles and laptops? Thank the past -- the New York Public Library is here to remind you that streographic entertainment has been blowing minds for over 100 years, and has the animated gifs to prove it. The Library recently introduced Stereogranimator, a web app that taps into the institution's large collection of historical stereographs and allows user to convert them into wiggling GIF animations and 3D anaglyphs. The program was inspired by "Reaching for the Out of Reach," a manual labor of animated stereographs started by San Francisco artist Joshua Heineman. The library currently has over 40,000 pairs of stenographic images just begging to be converted to depth-suggesting wigglepic. Interested? The link is below, friends -- go ahead and create your own psudeo-3D view of history. Too lazy to make your own? Fine, read on for a shaky and colorful look at an orange tree.
