643.7

Link to May 17 New York Times article, "Even to Save Cash, Don’t Try This Stuff at Home".

Excerpt: When the toilet in Carol Taddei’s master bathroom began to break down a few months ago, she decided it would be cheaper to buy a new one than pay for repairs. Ever frugal in this dismal economy, Ms. Taddei, a retired paralegal, then took her economizing a step further, figuring she could save even more by installing the new toilet herself.

Initially, things looked good with the flushing and the swishing. That is, until the ceiling collapsed in the room below the new (leaky) toilet.

Would a visit to the library have prevented this and other disasters?

Ebook Pricing Irks Consumers

Link to May 17 New York Times article, "Steal This Book (for $9.99)".

Excerpt: Just how much is a good read worth?

David Baldacci, the best-selling thriller author, learned what some of his fans think when “First Family,” his latest novel, went on sale last month. Amazon initially charged a little over $15 for a version for its Kindle reading device, and readers revolted.

Several posted reviews objecting that the electronic edition of the book wasn’t selling for $9.99, the price Amazon has promoted as its target for the majority of e-books in the Kindle store. Hundreds more have joined an informal boycott of digital books priced at more than $9.99.

“I love Baldacci’s writing,” wrote one reader, who decided not to buy. “Sorry Mr. B — price comes down or you lose a lot or readers. I’ll skip your books and move on!”

It was a chilling sentiment for authors and publishers, who have grown used to an average cover price of $26 for a new hardcover. Now, in the evolving Kindle world, $9.99 is becoming the familiar price. But is that justified just because paper has been removed from the equation?

Tough Decisions at Milwaukee Public Library

Link to May 16 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, "Library Board considers cost-cutting that might shut locations".

Excerpt: The city's 13 public libraries are spaced just two or three miles apart, offering free access to literature, information and computers in nearly every corner of town. They also provide meeting rooms that help them serve as community centers for their neighborhoods.

But all that could change, as Milwaukee Public Library officials grapple with city budget shortfalls and looming multimillion-dollar upgrades to aging buildings.

The city's Library Board is studying whether to replace some existing neighborhood libraries with fewer and larger regional libraries, buttressed by a network of computer centers and tiny "express" libraries in supermarkets or coffee shops.

Library officials say a new approach would let them keep providing much of the same service at lower cost. They also say these would be long-term changes, not a shift for 2010.