Phil the Web Crawler – Latest on Timbuktu manuscripts, ebrary gains publishers, Amazon Canada targets Kobo, and FVRL’s Smitty Miller at ALA Midwinter meeting.

– Check out Fraser Valley Regional Library’s Outreach “tour manager” Smitty Miller and “Lili” at the ALA Midwinter meetings in Seattle.

– Timbuktu, Syria and protecting cultural artifacts in times of war.

– Has the Great Library of Timbuktu been lost?

– e-artexte is launching the digital repository for documents in visual arts in Quebec and Canada.

– Is the book a crucial cultural artifact, or just an outdated container for content?

– 53% of Library Users Want ‘A Broader Selection of eBooks’.

– Macmillan to launch two-year ebook library lending pilot.

– Credo Helps Students Learn Critical Information Skills with Two New Literati Solutions.

– Syndetic Solutions will add Facebook access and new content elements in early 2013.

– ebrary Closes 2012 with 100+ new publishers signed.

– Cornell and Columbia Libraries to build a joint technical infrastructure.

– EBSCO Publishing and Ingram collaborate to make eBooks on EBSCOhost available via OASIS Library Platform.

– Australian library’s Lance Armstrong ‘fiction’ notice revealed as a hoax.

– Battling Kobo, Amazon launches Kindle e-readers and store in Canada.