Shareable

In case this is your first time, This Week in Sharing is our weekly links post with articles, how-to's, and contests from around the web. Give em a click and add your own in the comments.

• Robert Darnton at the New York Review of Books blog argues passionately for the creation of a national digital library.
   
• The Atlantic knows just how to tug our heart strings with their report "Is Social Media Driving the Economy?"
   
• BMW starts its car-sharing program and Hertz buys Australian car-sharers Flexicar. It's safe to say car-sharing is here to stay.
   
• For those in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, details about the coming (2012!) streetcar project are finally emerging.
   
• Does new public transportation increase gentrification? A new study from Northeastern U. suggests it does, Grist has the details.
   
• Princeton University Press has posted the first chapter of NYU professor Tom Tyler's new book Why People Cooperate: The Role of Social Motivations online as a free download.
   
• PBS's one-hour special Fixing the Future about the new sharing economy airs on November 18, watch a preview here.
   
• DIY site Instructables along with Betabrand is hosting a contest for the best re-use of an old belt, read and submit here.