Breaking the Rules

From e-books to books-on-demand

Monday's World Service interview saw me extolling the possible if under-exploited virtues of e-books. By Friday I'm on BBC Ten O'Clock news talking about he virtues of print-on-demand. I suppose there isn't a real contradiction - they are different channels, producing a product with different potential. Friday's interview is difficult - the crew are 2 hours late and the first cut is abandoned for technical reasons. That was probably my best shot: I prefer live to recorded any time.

Finish off Marinetti's novel  'Mafarka the futurist: an African novel'. It's almost the founding text of magical realism and you can see why Marinetti was jailed for indecency. Mafarka's creation, Gazourmah, I sadly equate/confuse with Anthony Gormley's sculpture, 'Angel of the North'. My copy of 'Mafarka' is published by Middlesex University Press, funded by the Arts Council,  and is almost (but not quite) a print-on-demand book. It's got an interesting introduction by Carol Diethe.

Wall hangings

Last night go to the Chelsea futurespace gallery in Victoria to see an exhibition of the collaboration between Marian and Peter Daglish. Peter would draw directly on Osnaburg coarse linen canvas, the lines then 'punched' with a needle full of yarn. I've seen the prints and the enamels, but these are new and forty years after are crisp and colourful. I used to look after Spot, the Daglish's cat, when they holidayed in their house in Seillans, a Surrealist retreat. Spot would not like leaving the living room at night, and having figured out he didn't like the sound of a vacuum cleaner, I'd resort to psychological torture and bring out the vac - no need to switch on. I'll pay for this in my circle of the inferno. Get back home to hear the second half of the incredible Chelsea-Liverpool game - funny how the Surrealist theme continued.

Wednesday is busy. A Collection Heads meeting followed by a Web Archiving Programme Board. Talk to a BBC journalist about a World Service programme on e-books. Get home at around half six. Create an old favourite - meat ravioli mixed with soured cream, black pepper and white vinegar. It's derived from a Russian restaurant in Helsinki: for me dining out is a form of culinary research - how can I make this meal myself.

Back from holiday

A week off means a week of emails to catch-up with: do we want to be part of two European Library projects?  - well, just one. Finance want information on Acceptance in Lieu items and donations over £10K for this financial year for the accounts. HR want examples of professional competencies on promoting cultural diversity in interpretation. A French writer wants information on europeana and British Library involvement for an article. Quarter 4 of the business plan needs updating. Sign off an invoice for the acquisition of Zweig 2. Deal with some web archiving questions. In between is a one to one with Peter, a meeting about our forthcoming e-book reader display, a meeting with Nick about any HR issues in European & American Collections, and a one to one with Carole. The CEO's PA rings to see if I could go to Paris later in the month for the launch of the World Digital Library at UNESCO in Paris. Print out the slides for the Scholarship & Collections Review and our meeting tomorrow in Peterborough. Have another discussion with Helen on the domain crawl of free public websites in the UK domain. Time to go home and pack for tomorrow.