I set up the Open Library Blog with the new WordPress 2.7 beta, which is big improvement over the older WP version that we use on TikiRobot. The OL Blog also uses a clean, widget-capable theme, and a syntax highlighter plugin that is better maintained than the one we use on TR. The visual editor in 2.7 works well, which means I don’t have to install any markup plugins. I can’t wait to update TikiRobot to modern software and get rid of the clunky CSS that we’ve inherited!

When you enter, you are greeted with a sign that explains the library:

This is a prototype library of the future that has access to millions of books, videos, and audio items from thousands of libraries worldwide. This library fits into a small room but still can house music, videos, one of a kind or popular books, and a librarian. It has download capabilities for patrons with music players, e-books, audio books and storage devices, and a Print on Demand machine that can print and bind a book in ten minutes.

The purpose of the open library is to provide universal access to all published knowledge. By using digitizing equipment, computer storange, and the Internet, we can realize the dream of the Library of Alexandria.

When you walk in, the first thing that grabs your attention is the Espresso Book Machine, which can print a book and bind a book in about ten minutes.

The EBM completely changes the physical structure of the library. Using the public access terminal in the library or your own laptop, you can order one of the 200,000+ books from the Internet Archive book collection. It takes about five minutes of preparation and another five minutes of printing, and then a perfect-bound book shoots out of the machine. Here is some video of the EBM in action.

Even though this prototype library is pysically quite small, it has a collection larger than 80% of the libraries in the US. The Internet Archive book collection is growing at a rapid pace (15,000 books a month and rising). Soon, this might be the largest library in the world, and you will be able to put one in every town!

In the two pictures above, you can see the ingredients of the Library of the Future:

• Librarian’s Desk
• Ten Minute Press
• A public internet terminal, for ordering books form other libraries, printing books out, and filling up your iPod/ebook reader.
• One-of-a-Kind Books, including:
  
  • Ancient Books, part of a History of the Written Word exhibit.
  • Book Arts, including:
    
    • Cake Books, by Jodi Alexander
    • Hong Kong Tales, by Anna Wolf
    • Winter Orchard, by Carl Dern
    • Domestic Science, by Nance O’Banion
      
• E-Book Readers, in this case, the OLPC
• Banned Books
• Foreign-language books
• Local-interest and technology books
• 78 rpm records, and other non-book material
• A comfy chair