Library science
Christopher Columbus’ son’s universal library is newly rediscovered in this lost tome
Hernando Colón was the illegitimate son of famed explorer Christopher Columbus. His love of books inspired him to attempt an ambitious dream: store all of the world’s books in one place. He summarized much of the information in his “Libro de los Epítomes,” which has recently been rediscovered.
The Half-Life of Facts
Scientometrics is the science of measuring science. It’s the invention of mathematician Derek de Solla Price. Sixty-five years ago, he was asked to store a complete set of “The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society” in his house. The stacks for each year’s volumes, he noticed, got bigger and bigger. On inspection, he noticed that […]
John Hockenberry Reports from London: Encyclopedia Britannica to Stop Print Editions
After 244 years, the oldest continually published encyclopedia in the English language, the Encyclopedia Britannica, is going out of print. The encyclopedia will now be focused on its online edition and educational curricula for schools. John Hockenberry reports from London, where he spoke with the encyclopedia’s managing editor Ian Grant.
Library Access to E-books Worries Publishers
While e-books are extremely convenient for readers, their proliferation is causing more financial problems for the already beleaguered publishing industry. A growing number of people with e-readers want to borrow e-books from their local libraries. But publishers, selling the electronic manuscripts at record highs, are wary of letting libraries loan them out. Sean Corcoran is senior reporter […]
