Heading east for the American Library Association Midwinter meeting in Boston? Are you interested in the future of books and reading? Check out the CODEX hackathon over at the MIT Media Lab January 8-10.
The concept of a hackathon may seem daunting if you're not a developer or designer, but really, don't be intimidated. Typically, small groups of people are put together to work a problem, or respond to a conceptual prompt. As they say on the site, "Programmers, designers, writers, librians, publishers, readers. All are welcome." If you have the interest, and ideas of what people are doing right and wrong, you will fit right in. Here's some writing on what the previous CODEX in San Franscisco was like.
There's so much work yet to do on what books will evolve into. The best way to make your voice heard is work with people applying themselves to the problem at hand. This is a great opportunity to get involved.