Julian Fellowes bemoans North America's 'Downton Abbey' broadcast lag

Yes, we still have to wait until January to see Season 4.

 

By The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – September 24, 2013

TORONTO - "Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes says he, too, feels the frustrations of the saga's North American fans.

Season 4 of the sudsy period drama debuted to raves in the United Kingdom over the weekend, but viewers on this side of the pond must wait another three months to see the fallout of a devastating cliff hanger.
Fellowes says he wishes the series could air simultaneously everywhere, noting that U.S.-based blogs are awash with spoilers.
He says a more unified release would "increase everyone's enjoyment" of the series.
Last season ended with the sudden death of new father Matthew Crawley who had found happiness with Lady Mary after a protracted courtship.
"Downton Abbey" — which chronicles the upstairs/downstairs woes of an aristocratic family and their servants — returns to PBS on Jan. 5.
"I'm sorry about the time creating spoilers," Fellowes said Tuesday from Los Angeles, shortly after attending the Emmy Awards bash.
"Unfortunately it's not down to me, if it was, everything would be alright."
Fellowes said he'd much prefer a universal release, noting the delayed broadcast can ruin the experience for some.
"Because then the whole 'Downton' conversation could all be equally balanced. And the blogs and the this, that and the other, everyone would be receiving the information at the same time within a few hours. And that would, I think, increase everyone's enjoyment."

Libraries are the most important public buildings" - Francine Houben

With our new community complex project well under way, it has been interesting to see how the residents are viewing the new amenities of an arena and a library. 

With the fundraising campaign, more of the library naming opportunities have been taken than those for the arena. 

For a rural or semi-rural community, the library is the most important cultural and meeting place.

A great facility can make libraries more than just books!

 

De Zeen Magazine

29 August 2013          

         

Interview: after completing Europe's largest public library in Birmingham, architect Francine Houben of Dutch studio Mecanoo spoke to Dezeen about the role of the library in the digital age and claims libraries are as central to society as cathedrals once were.
"Libraries are the most important public buildings, like cathedrals were many years ago," she said, explaining how Mecanoo designed the Birmingham building as a "people's palace". She added: "We wanted it to be very inviting and welcoming, not just about books. It's not just for the rich or the intellectuals, it's for everybody."
The building comprises a stack of four rectangular volumes that include a sunken amphitheatre, rooftop gardens and a shimmering facade clad with interlocking metal rings. Part of the library extends beneath a public square, while reading rooms branch out from a staggered rotunda.
"I didn't want to make a brick building, because we needed a lot of light, but I didn't want to make a glass building either," said the architect. "It's so beautiful to sit here because of the reflections and the shadows, and the changing of the weather. It's different from December to June."

Library of Birmingham front elevation

Houben dismisses the suggestion that digital technologies will see the end of libraries, explaining that the university library completed by the firm in Delft is still the most popular place in the city.
"We were always prepared that there would be less books in the future," she said. "The research machines will always be here, but to me the space is much more important."

Little Libraries of Kitchener-Waterloo

It seems that I am finding another group or community that is building or organizing 'Little Libraries'.  Here is the group from Kitchener-Waterloo.  Another in the growing 'Libraries aren't just Buildings Anymore' series.

Little Libraries of Kitchener-Waterloo is a loosely organized group of people who are really into the idea of Little Free Libraries sprouting up all over KW.  Our goal is to make buying/building, setting up and maintaining your Little Library as easy as possible.  Read on for more!

Why?

Here are some of our reasons for wanting a Little Library… what are yours?

• Neighbourhood Bonding – When you put out a Little Library, you are exchanging ideas and opinions with your neighbours.  As they walk by, they can take or leave books, and perhaps start a conversation about the books with you.  A Little Library is a great way to engage those who live near to you.  Put out books on art history, or on the biology of rabbits!  Put out 6 copies of a book that you want all of your neighbours to see!  You’re the steward of your Little Library; you get to curate it!
• Immediate Availability of Books – While we do have a great set of libraries in Waterloo, there is a tangible benefit to having a book immediately available for perusal and taking, with no registration or process required.  See a book that intrigues you?  Just take it!  Don’t like it?  Drop it back off, put it in another Little Library, or just give it to a friend.  No need to head over to the main library or bookstore; the book is right there, just for you!  You may pick up a book that you never intended to read, that you might have glossed over otherwise.
• A Marker of What We Believe – Just the presence of Little Libraries, perhaps even more so than the books in them, is a big part of the message.  Having Little Libraries all around town, and seeing them on a daily basis, reinforces that we in this community truly value literacy, thought, education, opinion, engagement.  We value knowledge over ignorance.  We value our millennia of personal experiences.  In short, we value books!  What better way to say that than to display them prominently?
• Personal Engagement – When we walk through residential areas, often we see houses that are very much separate from the public roadways we walk along.  We value the notion of private property, and our propriety doesn’t allow us to interact with what we see.  A Little Library is a way for a homeowner to reach out, to say “You are welcome here.  I want to engage with YOU.”

Austrian city builds public library with nothing but QR codes, NFC and stickers

Here's something new to me.  A digital library that does not have a building or equipment to access information.

What do you think?


Strangely, the Austrian city of Klagenfurt doesn't have a public library, even though it hosts the Festival of German-Language Literature. However, an initiative dubbed Project Ingeborg is turning the municipality into a book repository of sorts with 70 QR code and NFC chip-equipped stickers. Plastered throughout town, they direct users to web pages where they can download public domain works, largely from Project Gutenberg. Oftentimes, e-books will be located in relevant locations -- so you'll be sure to find Arthur Schnitzler's The Killer near the police station, for example. Come August, the team behind the effort will partner with local talent to distribute books, music and other digital content too. In an effort to build a stronger bond to the location, the organizers have prevented search engines from indexing the links, so you'll have to visit Klagenfurt to access the curated goods. If you'd like to turn your city into a library, the group hopes to release instructions for replicating their system soon.