Barnes and Noble and the Case of The Missing Missing Manual

I wanted a book. I went to a book store. I came home without a book. If only it was that simple.

We were looking for some clear guidance about QuickBooks 2012.  The Missing Manuals series has been a good source of guidance on a number of topics. I had some errands to run and so added a stop at Barnes and Noble to my itinerary. I double-checked on my phone to make sure that they had a copy. They thought that they did.



They have a lot of books in the store. I wasn't looking for a lot of books. I was looking for one. Because the taxonomy put books of this type in the Microsoft Office shelf, rather than under business or finance, I had to wander a bit to find the right section, let alone the book. So, somewhat surprisingly, I asked for help. I went to the desk, explained my mission, and followed the clerk to the aforementioned section where we found no such book.



The clerk asked if I wanted to have him order it. I declined. The Barnes and Noble website didn't let me see the contents or index to make sure that it had the information that I needed. (I'd already checked the official Intuit manual on the B&N shelves. That book didn't address the topic at hand.) I ordered the book from Amazon after confirming that it had the information I needed.

 

Congress shall make no law ...

In the news, we learn that there are a bunch of laws managed by private firms, for which we'd have to pay to see because, well, that's what Boing-Boing is trying to figure out in Liberating America's secret, for-pay laws. These laws relate to areas as diverse as building codes, motor vehicle standards, and workplace safety. Because the laws are written by private, albeit nonprofit, organizations, the companies are asserting their copyright on the material. Courts have made it abundantly clear that the laws of the nation are in the public domain. Nonetheless, the companies are charging big bucks to have the documents printed and are still claiming their rights to restrict distribution.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Times is reporting that the Justice Department is trying to keep another category of information out of the reach of Freedom of Information Act requests.