Think aloud: Japan quake, tusnami & nuclear reactor crisis (Part 1)

The availability of high-bandwidth information over the Internet (i.e. audio and video) has surely increased people's understanding and empathy. Especially for those not directed affected by the crisis.

On March 11 at 2:46pm JST a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred near the northeastern coast of Japan, creating extremely destructive tsunami waves which hit Japan just minutes after the earthquake, and triggering evacuations and warnings across the Pacific Ocean. The earthquake and tsunami have caused extensive and severe damage in Northeastern Japan, leaving thousands of people confirmed dead, injured or missing, and millions more affected by lack of electricity, water and transportation.

Source: google crisis response page (last accessed 22 Mar 2011)

LISTEN
Not only do we read or watch about a natural disaster unfolding, we get to hear as well. I learned about these sound recordings of the quake and aftershock (speeded up to be audible to human hearing) at Yahoo! News, 18 Mar 2011:

Ever wonder what the fourth-largest recorded earthquake since 1900 sounds like? The Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB) has posted the eerie sound online. The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), a network of underground observatories more than a thousand meters below sea level, made the chilling recording as the quake struck.

SEE
This website, Japan Quake Map, is brilliant. It's developed by Paul Nicholls, who developed the Christchurch Quake Map. The map shows a time-lapse visualisation of the Sendai earthquake and its aftershocks. It plots earthquake data from the U.S. Geological Survey using the Google Maps API. The size of the circle reflects the magnitude and the colour shows the "focal depth".


It's About Page explains that the site was built "primarily to help those outside the affected area understand what the people of Japan are experiencing."

PIECE TOGETHER
Following a few major news and related-agency websites, I found their reports up to date but they lacked the comprehensiveness I was looking for. Like, what were the place names, where and when did the quake first happened.

One report might talk about the power and food shortages in Tokyo. Another would cover the nuclear reactor crisis. A separate one would talk about the tsunami aftermath.

I think the terms "earthquake", "tsunami" and "nuclear reactors" became closely associated with "Japan". But I suspect not many people could link those separate events with the place names (it would be interesting to find out).

The Fukushima prefecture probably became a familiar sounding name to most people, because of the ongoing updates and reports of the reactor crisis. My guess is that not many people would know Sendai was the place most affected by the tsunami (they might know about the tusnami). Tokyo was mentioned in the subsequent days, though I'm not sure if people realised it suffered aftershocks and disrupted food supplies rather than the immediate threat of (the potential) nuclear fallout.

Information was scattered in that sense, with individual authoritative sites focusing on specific information.

Like the Japan Meteorology Agency quake information page, with a map can be expanded to show the epicentre and the seismic intensity in surrounding areas. But you wouldn't get a chronological sequence of events.


I think they updated the page over several days, if I wasn't mistaken. There's a list of place names down the page (didn't recall seeing that when I first visited the site).

The Google Crisis Response page was a convenient directory, though it wasn't quite the place to find all the information I was interested at that point.

The BBC News site is still one of my favourite news agency. Though in this case, it didn't quite provide what I had in mind. For instance, there are video footage linked to the place names. But clicking on the video for "Sendai", the caption only says "Sendai was hard hit. Aerial footage shows an industrial complex on fire, submerged houses and stranded ships". Nothing about the tusnami and flooding.


I wanted to find an English language page that summed up the chain of events, and the places affected. Eventually, I looked at the Wikipedia entry.


It was by far the most comprehensive in terms of the information I'm looking for. I even showed it to my Japanese friend, who currently resides in Singapore. Even she was impressed with the coverage, at a relatively short time.

BTW, my advise is still to make some attempt to verify information (or as my MSc professor would say, "Triangulation"). For me, by mentally referring to information from BBC and other news sources, I could use the Wikipedia information with greater confidence.


Next: Part 2 - "Friends and personal perspectives"

"Can't find the game? Want to try the book?"

Was helping out at today's official opening of Serangoon Public Library.

A young boy approached me. He must have been about 12.

"Are you here to help people look for things?" he asked in a meek way.

"Yes, I am".

He was interested in an item from the Visual Discovery kiosk. Said he tried to look for it on the shelf but it wasn't available.

[He's not in the picture; just showing you how the Kiosk works]

We checked the kiosk display again.

"Halo Encyclopedia".


Seemed like a rather heavy-going book for a 12 year-old.

He pointed to the word "Game" in the display. Which made me ask him if he was interested in the book or the computer game.

"I want to play the game."

"Oh, this title is a book. Not the actual computer game".

Apparently, he was looking at the Subject field which contained the word "Game".

"Why not try reading the book?" OK, that wasn't so subtle. But I had to try.

He gave a sheepish smile. The way kids do when they mean "I'd rather not" but don't want to say anything for fear of offending an adult.

I smiled back.

A few minutes later, he came looking for me.

"Where can I find Greg Bear?"

I brought him over to the Fiction section. Greg Bear was definitely not a Children's author. This kid's reading upwards (not my place to doubt him either). "Halo" must be one heck of a game for him (Thank You, Bungie).

"What's the title?" I asked.

"Halo Cryptum". He had to spell out "Cryptum", as he couldn't quite pronounce it.


Unfortunately for him, the title wasn't on shelf.

"Did the OPAC say the item was available or out on loan?"

He started looking doubtful. We scooted to the nearest OPAC. A man was using it, so we waiting in line. The boy appeared eager for the man to finish this search, for he stepped up pretty close to the guy. But he was discreet enough to stand just a little behind.

Our turn came.

He typed in "Halo". We went through a few minutes of clicking on titles and checking the availability. I showed him how to limit the search to only SRPL.

We clicked through a few titles. Some that he picked out weren't novelisations. I explained that to him.

It seemed like we were performing a cat-and-mouse game, hunting down available titles. There was a queue behind us. I asked they boy if he wanted us to email him a list.

"I don't have email at home".

My colleague, Jan, happened to walk past. She took stock of the situation and immediately offered to help print out a list. Asked him if he could wait for 5 to 10 minutes while she went to the office to get it done (this wasn't something we readily offered on the spot, as SRPL wasn't a regional library with an advisory counter).

The boy went off.

Meantime, I thought I'd try looking around for Halo novels. Something about the kid made me want to ensure he didn't go back empty handed.

By chance, I noticed "Halo: The Cole Protocol" sitting on a display panel.


I picked that up. Found the boy sitting on a floor reading. I triumphantly presented the book to him.

"How about this?"

"I already have this," and he showed me.

Nice! But I thought I'd try one more time. I'm sure there were some other titles he wasn't aware of. I don't know what you can call it. Perhaps it was from a selfish professional reason. Professional pride?

All the OPAC stations were occupied. I wasn't sure how long the boy would be staying in the library. Gotta rely on memory.

Some time back, I read a Halo-related anthology out of curiosity. Couldn't remember the title*, vaguely remembered the author's surname started with the letters "Ny". [*Now that I've access to my RoughNotes blog, this was the book.]

Walked over to the Fiction shelf. Looked under "N" and then "Ny". It was "Eric Nylund". Two of his stories were in plain sight: "The Fall of Reach" and "Ghosts of Onyx".




I brought both titles to the boy.

The delight in his "Thank You" was simply priceless.

Pictures and first-hand perspective: Official opening of Serangoon Public Library

Like many of my Public Libraries colleagues, I was helping out at today's official opening of Serangoon Public Library (SRPL).

ASIDE: In case you're not aware, SRPL has a Facebook page.

Seeing the library fill up, with customers of all ages, gladly reminded me of the voracious reading appetite of some Singaporeans and members. You'll see that in a few pictures.

8.30am
The library was quietly ready for business. Staff were on hand to receive invited guests.


Vendor staff getting the current day's newspapers ready:




Shots of the Children's Section:


A close-up of the board at the Children's Section: the library's attempt to inculcate a healthy dose of curiosity and encourage them to actively seeking knowledge:


Very nice range of graphic novel titles. I was really tempted to borrow some for myself. But nah, we'd like to let the public have a go at them first.


"Learn as you Play" - Here's the "Gaming Area", which is one of the highlights of the new library:

"The first public library in Singapore to have a dedicated area for gaming, SRPL aims to promote learning and a reading culture by tapping on the educational effects of games. The games featured in this area will demonstrate significant educational content or learning value."

Source: NLB Press Release. See also Channelnewsasia.





The games that are currently featured include "The World Of Temasek", which is a pretty cool virtual 14th Century Singapore and role-playing game environment, developed by Magma Studios in partnership with National Heritage Board.


9.30am
The official ceremony kicked off:


11am
An orderly queue had already formed before the library opening time.


The library staff shouted out a countdown to the last seconds, before the doors opened to the general public for the very first time.

I'm sure many of these were neighbourhood residents, who have been eagerly waiting for a library near their homes. Library staff and volunteers were on hand to assist customers.

I met a few parents who were looking for YP books for their kids (told them SRPL intershelved their YP collections with Adult collections):


The Gaming Area was a hit with the kids, naturally.


This picture is easily my favorite: it says "family", "intergeneration", "the young learning with the old"... sweet!


"Visual Discovery Kiosk"
This is a new service being prototyped at SRPL, something called the "Visual Discovery Kiosk". A touch-screen digital book display, if you will.


The items displayed complements the Gaming Zone. The kiosk displays "games" related books -- includes Fiction, and Non-Fictional works like game play design and creation -- that belong to SRPL.


Clicking on the book cover image displays the synopsis and some item details (author, Call Number, Subject etc.)


"People, Places and Recollections"
This neat little touchscreen display features the winning entries of a “People, Places & Recollections” photo contest. The event was organised before the library's official opening, where the community was invited to share photographs on the Serangoon area.


It complements the static exhibit on interesting facts and heritage information about the neighbourhood (turn left immediately when you enter the library):


At least one happy customer
One middle-aged lady approached me and asked, "May I give you some feedback?"

"You certainly can!"

"I just love the library. It's the best use of the taxes I pay."

Next: "Can't find the game? Want to try the book?"

NLB media release: "Serangoon Public Library Offers New Experience for Gamers and Shoppers"

Today's the official opening of Serangoon Public Library.

The library is at "Level 4R" (rooftop) of the NEX mall.

I'll put up pictures in the next post.

First, here's the the National Library Board press release:

Release Date : 11 Mar 2011

First public library in Singapore to focus on gaming as a learning pedagogy

Singapore, 11 March 2011 – Residents staying in the North East region of Singapore will now be able to enjoy convenient access to learning resources with the opening of the new Serangoon Public Library (SRPL) today. The first public library in Singapore to have a dedicated area for gaming, SRPL aims to promote learning and a reading culture by tapping on the educational effects of games. The games featured in this area will demonstrate significant educational content or learning value. Apart from housing interactive game stations, SRPL also offers an extensive collection of game-related titles to enhance the learning and discovery process for novice and seasoned gamers alike. SRPL has also partnered with gaming entities such as the Singapore Cybersports and Online Gaming Association and DigiPen Institute of Technology, to organise programmes and workshops related to gaming.

Pick and Go
Located at retail mall nex and the heart of a major transportation node, the library offers a wide selection of quick and easy reads such as comics, graphic novels and magazines which will be prominently displayed to make it easy for users to pick up a book on the go.

Ms Yeoh Chee Yan, Chairman, National Library Board (NLB), and Second Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education said: “The Serangoon Public Library is the result of a close collaboration with the community. In planning this new library, we worked closely with users, residents and various community groups, seeking views and suggestions to create a social learning space that promotes learning and reading. NLB will continue to enhance our service offerings to remain relevant, accessible and convenient to our users.”

With a floor area of 1,635 square metres, SRPL has a startup collection of approximately 150,000 items, which include books, magazines and audio-visual materials in the four official languages. These include 70,000 volumes of fiction and non-fiction books for children and 80,000 volumes for adults and young people. The library will also carry over 400 local and international magazine titles and a selection of local newspapers in the four official languages.

Thematic Community Programmes
To celebrate the opening of SRPL, an exhibition titled “Serangoon: A place like no other” will be on display at the library. This exhibition showcases the heritage of the Serangoon area, as well as winning entries of the recently held “People, Places & Recollections” photo contest, where the community was invited to share photographs on the Serangoon area. SRPL has also partnered the National Heritage Board (NHB) to feature two exhibitions on “Food” and “Spice” targeted at children and young people, to create awareness and educate on the heritage of Singapore's street food and spice trade. Please refer to Annex 1 for more information on the exhibitions.

The library has also teamed up with community and grassroots organisations to organise thematic programmes that engage both the young and old through interactive learning. Library users can look forward to programmes on heritage and green living as well as perennial favourites such as storytelling sessions for children. Please refer to Annex 2 for the list of programmes. For more information on upcoming programmes at SRPL, the public may visit NLB's Go Library website at http://golibrary.nlb.gov.sg/.



Annex 1

List of exhibitions at Serangoon Public Library

1. “Serangoon: A Place Like No Other” Exhibition

Where is Ang Sali and what does the term mean? Who is Singapore's “bee hoon king”? Once covered with fruit orchards, rubber plantations and villages, Serangoon today is perhaps most famed for its culinary finds. But good food is not the only thing that defines this place. Pockets of the past, diverse cultures and a strong kampung spirit - these are just some of what one may discover while strolling along Serangoon's streets. Ready to explore one of the most colourful areas in Singapore? Kickstart your journey at this exhibition tracing Serangoon's transformation over the last two centuries!

2. “Spice Frontier: Changing Boundaries, Evolving Uses” Exhibition

Even before the British established Singapore as a trading post in 1819, there were already a small number of gambier plantations on the island. Subsequently, spice cultivation expanded as the British actively encouraged the planting of nutmeg while the Chinese independently grew gambier and pepper. This exhibition documents the rise and fall of gambier and nutmeg cultivation in Singapore during the heady days of the spice trade, and the various uses of spices in our everyday life. Discover Singapore's “spicy” past in this exhibition which aims to provide a historical overview of spice cultivation in Singapore.

3. NHB Heritage Food Gallery

Singapore food originated from street food sold by hawkers who thronged the harbour front and building sites in the late 1800s. From neighbouring countries, dishes were adopted and adapted to suit the palates from different culture. This gallery showcases the various popular hawker food that is part of Singapore's food heritage.


Annex 2

List of programmes at Serangoon Public Library in March 2011

1. Digital Game Design Workshop by DigiPen
Sunday, 13 March, 1.00 - 3.30 pm

Find out what it takes to create a video game that may just give you a headstart in the video games industry. At this hands-on session conducted by trainers from DigiPen, the world's premier game development institute, you will learn more about the creative and engineering aspects of game design, plus a chance to create your own electronic games using DigiPen's ProjectFUN game development kit.

2. Cyberwellness Workshop by Singapore Cybersports and Online Gaming Association
Sunday, 13 March, 4.00 – 6.00 pm

Learn how to protect yourself online from experts from the Singapore Cybersports and Online Gaming Association. Apart from finding out more about Internet and gaming addiction, netiquette, cyber bullying, intellectual property issues and achieving a balanced lifestyle, you will also get a chance to participate in a range of workshop activities.

3. Learning through Gameplay: Para Life Gaming Session
Wednesday, 16 March, 1.30 – 3.30 pm

Test your understanding of cell biology in Para Life, an exciting PC game that pits players against one another in challenging tasks.

4. Crazy and Fun in Wonderland by Ministry of Games
Thursday, 17 March, 2.00 - 2.30pm

Play games inspired by Alice's Wonderland! Everyone gets to wear a silly hat to this party! You'll roll over with laughter during games like the Tea Party Showdown, or become a funky March Hare Hopper and hop your way to great prizes! All play materials, including the hat, will be provided.

There's nothing but fun and excitement in wonderland! This programme is open to children aged 6–10.

Please register via our e-Kiosks available at all libraries, or at http://golibrary.nlb.gov.sg.

5. Gaming @ Serangoon Public Library
Friday, 18 March, 2.00 – 4.00 pm

Never thought you could play games in the library? Now you can! Join us in our gaming session where you can have fun and sharpen your minds with selected video games on the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360. Plus, you will also get a chance to learn more about Singapore and world history with our range of heritage and historical board games.

6. Memories of Upper Serangoon by Mr Bernard Chiang, Braddell Heights Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC)

Saturday, 19 March, 5.00 – 6.00 pm

Talk a walk down memory lane as Mr Bernard Chiang, a long-time resident of Serangoon, Vice Chairman of the Braddell Heights Citizens' CCC and the Chairman of Braddell Heights Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC), shares his memories of the Upper Serangoon area and how it has changed over the years. You will also get to see a number of photos of the area from his personal collection. This talk is jointly organised with Braddell Heights grassroots organisations.

Please register via our e-Kiosks available at all libraries, or at http://golibrary.nlb.gov.sg (please click on “Heritage” and look for the programme title.

7. The Upper Serangoon Story by Serangoon Grassroots Organisation (GRO)
Sunday, 20 March, 11.00 am – 2.00 pm, Programme Zone, Serangoon Public Library

Jointly organised with Braddell Heights Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle and grassroots organisations, this trail will bring you on a journey to the various places of worship around the Upper Serangoon area. Step back in time as you visit the sites of the former Lim Tua Tow Market, Upper Serangoon Community Club, Paya Lebar Police Station, Simon Road Market and much more.

Please wear comfortable attire and walking shoes for this trail. Do remember to bring your umbrella and some drinks. Feel free to bring your cameras and start clicking!

Please register via our e-Kiosks available at all libraries, or at http://golibrary.nlb.gov.sg (please click on “Heritage” and look for the programme title.

About the guide
Mr Charles Soh is a freelance guide registered with the Singapore Tourism Board.

8. Learning through Gameplay: Praxis Board Game Workshop by EduWealth
Sunday, 20 March, 2.00 - 4.00 pm

Plan your way to financial success by learning about the basics of financial management through the Praxis board game developed by Eduwealth. At this interactive board game session, you will learn the importance of financial planning, including insurance, savings and retirement plans - even at a young age. It's never too early to plan for retirement and consider the need for insurance protection. The game will also cover the importance of good credit management and prudence in inflationary times.

Next: Pictures and first-hand perspective.

iPhone app: 3 Degrees of Wikipedia (social game)

[This was initially posted at an experimental group blog, "Gamers Blog", which we've decided to close.]

Found this post at CreativeApplications.Net. About an iPhone app that's essentially a "connect-the-dots" game out of Wikipedia entries.

Here's the social learning/ gaming element: You can play a 'game' created by others, and also create a game yourself. Players can then rate the game level of difficulty/ usefulness.

Watch this self-explanatory video:

3 Degrees of Wikipedia Demo from 3 Wiki on Vimeo.

Basically as a player, you try to make the connection between three Wikipedia articles. E.g. "What's the connection between "iPhone" and "China"?" The answer, as shown in the video, is a Wikipedia entry on "Compass".

I thought the app was quite cool.

And I instantly thought about it as a library application (OK, librarians have to get rid of their hang-ups about Wikipedia though! LOL)

If framed properly in the context of library gaming, the app could be about information literacy, information-seeking (to some extent), information and knowledge discovery, and social learning.

But what might be more challenging is for the hyperlinks links to be stripped out from the Wikipedia. 'Cos after a while, the player may end up just looking for hyperlinks in the text, rather than think about the question/ contextual connection.

Past weeks in libraryland: Egypt and New Zealand

The citizen uprising in Egypt, which would have some significance to librarians because that's where the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is located (non-librarians might be more familiar with the ancient Library of Alexandria).

What's hearterning was that citizens stepped up to defend the library against vandals and looters.

EGYPT
News of the protests in Egypt started unfolding in late Jan.

On 3 Feb, a message was posted to the IFLA-L list, where it carried a message by Dr. Serageldin (Director, Bibliotheca Alexandrina) to let librarians know the Library of Alexandria was safe:

To our friends around the world: The Events in Egypt

The world has witnessed an unprecedented popular action in the streets of Egypt. Led by Egypt’s youth, with their justified demands for more freedom, more democracy, lower prices for necessities and more employment opportunities. These youths demanded immediate and far-reaching changes. This was met by violent conflicts with the police, who were routed. The army was called in and was welcomed by the demonstrators, but initially their presence was more symbolic than active.

Events deteriorated as lawless bands of thugs, and maybe agents provocateurs, appeared and looting began. The young people organized themselves into groups that directed traffic, protected neighborhoods and guarded public buildings of value such as the Egyptian Museum and the Library of Alexandria. They are collaborating with the army. This makeshift arrangement is in place until full public order returns.

The library is safe thanks to Egypt’s youth, whether they be the staff of the Library or the representatives of the demonstrators, who are joining us in guarding the building from potential vandals and looters. I am there daily within the bounds of the curfew hours. However, the Library will be closed to the public for the next few days until the curfew is lifted and events unfold towards an end to the lawlessness and a move towards the resolution of the political issues that triggered the demonstrations.

More coverage from the Guardian.co.uk, "Alexandria youth 'protecting library from looters'" (1 Feb 2011):

The director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina has announced that his building, built in commemoration of the famous ancient library destroyed in antiquity, is being kept safe by Egypt's young people during the current unrest sweeping the country.

... "The young people organised themselves into groups that directed traffic, protected neighborhoods and guarded public buildings of value such as the Egyptian Museum and the Library of Alexandria," he states. "They are collaborating with the army. This makeshift arrangement is in place until full public order returns."

(also see this chronological report from Guardian.co.uk)

NEW ZEALAND
This week on 22 Feb, over in New Zealand, news of the Christchurch Earthquake caught the world's attention.

I first learned about it from a Facebook friend's status update, where he posted a link to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation news page. I was quite stunned by the video footage.

The New Zealand Library Association's (LIANZA) blog posted updates of news about their library colleagues affected in the quake.

The update on 23 Feb, 12pm:

At this stage I think we need to accept that with limited phone and power facilities, those on the ground in Christchurch are focusing on their immediate needs and those of their family and neighbours. The practicality of this is that people will be conserving battery power on their phones and computer for emergency use and I don’t think we can expect to get any detailed reports for some time.

As of 24 Feb, the LIANZA blog post reports that "all library staff in the Christchurch area were safe, although many are contending with personal property damage. There is no information about many of the libraries which are still closed."

I'm not a religious person. But I'll say a prayer for librarians and people in Christchurch.

REMIX now ccFree - by Lawrence Lessig

Old news: Discovered this in my blog draft (dated 5th Jan 2009!). Was alerted, by Kevin's tweet, to by Lawrence Lessig.

It's available at Archive.org(luckily!) under a CC-BY-NC-ND license.

Incidentally, the book used to be downloadable from Bloomsbury Academic page under a CC-BY-NC license but it's a broken link now. See why we need a library? :)

I didn't have time to read the book then, and there's a few other books on my read list right now. Meantime, I gathered this much from the following blogs/ online posts (there are mixed reactions, basically):

From Mr Tunes (Dec 2008):

In my opinion, if Lessig cut a bit of repetitive text about the Open Source software industry out of the book, and maybe shaved off about fifty to one hundred pages or so of other fluff content, I think he has a real winner on his hands.

I would recommend this book to any musician, filmmaker, or other artists, as well as to anyone who is interested in copyright law. But for the average person this book might be a little much. 7/10

From The Independent (Nov 2008):

Thankfully (and I'm writing as a rights-holding musician here), Lessig isn't anti-copyright. He only wants it to apply sensibly – particularly in this dynamic new environment, where the circulation of culture is operating at light-speed. Some of his broad solutions are pretty familiar to artists. He wants to take the principle of the "performers royalty" for radio – invisible to the audience who listens for free, but which all stations pay – and extend it to internet service providers as a whole.

Remix brilliantly puts a name to those businesses trying to bridge the gap between the commercial (Amazon) and sharing (Wikipedia) aspects of the web: the "hybrid" enterprise. Their looser, less paranoid approach to copyright allows fans to explore their enthusiasms. Lessig cites many studies – Warner's U-turn around fan usage of Harry Potter is a prime example – to show the commercial benefits this brings.

I don't quite go along with his general enthusiasm for "remixing" as an art form. Musicians who explore harmony, melody and rhythm might ask: is it more important to play and compose a new soul riff, for new times, than just rest on the auratic power of a James Brown sample? But Lessig is surely right that digital culture requires governance that is more subtle and ecological, judging a balance of forces between commerce and community, than precise and draconian. The Democrats could do a lot worse than give the formidable Lessig some work in this area.

From Businessweek (Oct 2008):

It's nice to see Lessig trying to move beyond the mere critique of the system that he offered in previous works. He first stepped down this path a few years ago by helping to found the Creative Commons, a copyright-licensing system that has since become a powerful alternative to America's traditional copyright regime. And for those who have never read Lessig, the new book is a good primer on the shifting debates over copyright in the Digital Age. But Remix is Lessig's weakest effort to date, a derivative essay that rehashes a lot of his older work. Like Martin Scorsese doing another mobster flick, Lessig seems uninspired, groping for a fresh take on familiar themes. Most annoying, he devotes only the last 35 pages of the book to his reform plan, and some of those ideas are not even that new.

From The Complete Review:

Remix is a very approachable read, Lessing laying out the legal and economic issues in most basic style, heavy on the real-life examples. The simplification can get a bit annoying -- though it's good enough as a starting point for discussion -- and the anecdotes tiresome, and Lessig's parenthetical asides, while amusing, make it all seem a bit glib, but the basic point is an important one, and if this makes the books more accessible to a greater number of readers and gets them to think about (or pressure their government representatives !) to reform copyright it's worth it.

Have you read the book yourself?

Singapore International Foundation (SIF) Mobile Library Project in Hanoi, Vietnam

Was alerted to this Singapore International Foundation project, over at the Librarians-In-Singapore list.

The SIF is seeking between 3 to 5 volunteers, at least 18 years-old, for a mobile library project in Hanoi, Vietnam. The six-day project will be from 23 to 28 March 2011.

The mobile library project is in partnership with the Hanoi Public Library. Volunteers will perform storytelling, teach basic computer skills and organise educational activities for children aged between six to 15 years old.

All volunteers are required to pay their way -- about S$1,500 per volunteer, inclusive of airfare, accommodation, travel insurance and local transport. But excludes meals.



From the SIF website (last accessed 13 Feb 2011):

Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Type of SIV: Direct Service Project
Project partner: Hanoi Public Library
Duration: Six days
Assignment period: 23-28 March 2011

Description of Assignment
The Singapore International Foundation (SIF) will launch its first mobile library project in Hanoi in partnership with Hanoi Public Library.

This mobile library will be equipped with books, computers with access to broadband Internet and multimedia facilities such as educational videos, which will be operated by the Hanoi Public Library.

The library will visit different villages in Hanoi province on a rotational basis.

Apart from providing free usage of library resources, Internet and multimedia facilities, library staff and volunteers will conduct activities such as book readings, storytelling sessions and will provide coaching on the use of Internet and multimedia information tools.

The selected villages were chosen based on the number of households that earn less than S$42 per month and do not have access to Internet, multimedia and library facilities. Working in partnership with local village cultural centres, the mobile library will help local communities develop educational activities and promote a culture of reading and self?learning via the Internet and multimedia facilities. In every village, the library will be parked in the compound of the village cultural centre.

Requirements
We are looking for a group 3?5 volunteers to attend the official launch of the mobile library and volunteer at the project in Hanoi. Over six days, volunteers will perform storytelling, teach basic computer skills and organise educational activities for children aged between six to 15 years old.

All volunteers are required to finance their own volunteer trips. The estimated cost for a five-day trip is approximately S$1,500 per volunteer. This includes airfare, accommodation, travel insurance and local transport, and excludes meals.

The volunteers must be:
* At least 18 years old and above
* Medically fit for overseas travel involving manual work
* Adaptable and willing to serve in a challenging physical environment
* Able to manage socio-cultural diversity
* Open to sharing and learning
* A team player with good interpersonal skills

Support provided
The SIF will:
* be the liaison between the overseas community and the volunteers
* guide the volunteer team leader in coordinating with volunteers to meet all administrative and logistic needs
* conduct a pre-departure briefing to ensure a safe and enriching volunteering experience
* assign an SIF staff on the actual volunteer trip

LINK

BTW, here's a news release of a 2009 related library project, in partnership with the SIF, the Public Libraries Singapore, and SIA Cargo.