Gold karate trophies obscured the half-dozen books on the lone shelf.

NEWYORKER: Deniers

Stanford library director Michael Keller says the librarians determined which books to keep on the shelf by looking at how frequently a book was checked out.

NPR: Stanford Ushers In The Age Of Bookless Libraries

To the right, a button lets you open the book (you can also accomplish this by simply clicking on the book, naturally), view more info on the title, delete it from your shelf or find similar books -- yet another spot for some e-book upselling.

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We access text, pictures, audio, video and interactive graphics from this massive storehouse as if we were pulling books off a shelf or turning on the TV.

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The first time she had visited my room, she had, after examining my meagre shelf of books, spent several minutes studying the mimeographed photo of Samuel Beckett sitting on the terrace of the Closerie des Lilas that I had taped to the wall.

NEWYORKER: Sweetheart Sorrow

Reflecting a set of books and magazines laid out on the coffee table at home, the core layout of each customer's "Daily Shelf" lets them easily find their latest read or a new issue of their favorite magazine or newspaper.

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