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The good news is that it's warm.

Didn't I see this on The Twilight Zone? Are tiny astronauts about to step out?? Oh, wait -- it's a piece of paper.

""Judas, Judas" was playing at the Universal on Fifth Street, and the cast was entirely human." -- Walter M. Miller, Jr., The Darfsteller

One of the great science fiction opening lines.

When I came across a reference to automation recently, I had a sudden impulse to take a look at The Darfsteller, again. It's a 1955 novella, long out of print, by the author of A Canticle for Leibowitz. This anthology, The Hugo Winners - Volumes I & II (Volumes 1 and 2) by Isaac Asimov , published in 1972, was in the library and contained the novella as its first selection.

Like a lot of anthologies, it's a huge book -- 849 pages, to be exact. It would be so much easier to download and read on my Kindle, especially as I'really just wanted to look at the one story. But there is no Kindle edition.

Like many books of that era, it falls in what might be called a copyright black hole. In recent years, publishers have included electronic publishing rights in most contracts, and e-books are available for most new releases. And public domain books that have gone out of copyright are widely available in free or inexpensive e-editions.

In between lurk the books in the copyright black hole. Some are there because they are what is known as "orphan books" that can't be published under current law, because the copyright holders can either not be identified or cannot be found to give their permission for an electronic edition. There's another group that can be identified, often by tracking down obscure heirs at great expense, but who hold out for ridiculously high terms. (Anthologies are especially tricky, because so many copyright holders are involved, and they would all have to agree if the book were to be published in its original form.) Generally it's just not worth it.

That's why electronic publishing keeps moving forward on two tracks -- the present or recent past, and the long ago. (I wonder if there will be a revival of interest in Victorian novelists just because there is so much free or inexpensive content out there to keep feeding people's Kindles.) Congress has been wrestling with the question of orphan books, but the books in the copyright black hole may end up aging into the public domain long before they find a solution.

I couldn't leave "Bookles"s -- Saturday's exuberant art show, community celebration and library fundraiser -- without a last look down these stairs that I had descended so many times with arms filled with books. These stairs will be gone next time I'm in here, replaced by an atrium in the renovated and expanded library that reopens in the summer of 2013.

I also couldn't leave "Bookless" without a shoutout to Trent Miller of the Madison Public Library and Courtney Davis of the Madison Public Library Foundation for coming up with the vision to transform this empty building and having the perseverance to make it happen. The result was the most creative, joyful and exuberant art event I've been to in Madison for years. Check out Katie Vaughn's interview with Trent in her Liberal Arts blog to find out more about the origin of the event and how it came together.

Many people took photos at Bookless. I've put some of mine up on Flickr in this Bookless at Madison Public Library set. A larger selection from a greater number of photographers is in the BOOKLESS MPLgroup.

I love the colors and the flowing geometry of these artfully arranged recycled materials. If you know the title of the work or the name of the artist, please leave a note in the comments.

"Bookless" was the 1-day art and music festival, celebration and fundraiser at the downtown branch of the Madison Public Library, now closed for renovation.