Five Friday Links

1. EveryBlock is a hyperlocal site that aggregates local info like news articles, building permits, crime reports, restaurant inspections, blog posts, more.  Frustrating bit is that it only covers 15 cities…  well, now the source code is up for grabbing.  Enterprising local techbrarians can use the code to create sites for their own communities.

2. The inestimable Siva Vaidhyanathan in Publishers Weekly re plagiarism: “We have forgotten that all text relies on previous text—that it takes a library to write a book.”

3. “MetroMonitor: Tracking Economic Recession and Recovery in America’s 100 Largest Metropolitan Areas” from the Brookings Institute.

4. Interesting post about local community sites from Media Transparent, can librarians play a role:

What’s missing from sites focused on a city? Community organizers. It’s the same leadership dilemma facing any organization, whether physical or virtual. Hyperlocal sites need to be driven and organized by hubs and influencers of the local community, and these hubs need to feel invested and committed to their “city site”.

5. Those annoying Geico ads make thier way into the library: