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Megan Perrero writes: “The Gail Borden Public Library’s community room was quiet—too quiet, especially considering 31 elementary school kids were sitting there. Suddenly Jeff Williams, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, appeared on a projector screen. His appearance was part of NASA’s traveling exhibit, ‘Discover Space: Exploring Our Solar System,’ in which a group of kids talk with an astronaut aboard ISS. The Elgin, Illinois, library was one of eight selected nationwide to host the program.”...
AL: The Scoop, Aug. 8 |
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In its continuing efforts to highlight the importance of school librarian participation in the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, AASL has submitted recommendations (PDF file) to the US Department of Education in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on ESSA accountability and state plans. The recommendations focus on school librarian participation in state plan development and on the school librarian’s role in teaching digital literacy skills....
AASL, Aug. 5 |
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Riley Oliphant writes: “In July, we were surprised to discover that the Provo (Utah) City Library had four Pokéstops in the new Pokémon Go game. We watched as players started gathering on our front lawn during all hours of the day and night catching Pokémon, trading stories, and coming together as a community. The game and its players brought an incredible amount of energy to the library. However, because of unexpected costs and increased problems, we requested the Pokémon stops be removed.”...
Provo (Utah) City Library blog, Aug. 5 |
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Scott Jaschik writes: “Gabriel J. Gardner is a librarian at California State University at Long Beach. He studies the reasons that some scholars prefer shared papers, even when those papers have been pirated on Sci-Hub in violation of copyright laws. Gardner has published papers on the topic and given presentations at ALA meetings. Thomas H. Allen, president of the Association of American Publishers, in July sent a letter to Gardner’s boss to complain about a presentation he made on the research. Roman Kochan, dean of library services at Cal State Long Beach, has now issued his own letter, strongly defending Gardner.”...
Inside Higher Ed, Mar. 16, Aug. 8; American Libraries feature, June |
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Israel’s supreme court has ruled that Franz Kafka’s manuscripts are the property of the National Library of Israel, ending a lengthy legal battle. The court on August 7 rejected an appeal by the heirs of Max Brod, a friend of Kafka and the executor of his estate to whom he had willed his manuscripts after his death in 1924. On his death in 1968, Brod bequeathed the papers to his secretary Esther Hoffe, with instructions to give them to a library in Israel. But Hoffe instead kept them and shared them between her two daughters—sparking multiple legal battles....
The Guardian (UK), Aug. 8; July 1, 2015 |
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Kathia Ibacache writes: “I see mindfulness as a means to connect people with themselves and their surroundings, developing a closeness with nature and a compassionate heart. But we seem to have lost the human potential to empathize with others because families are becoming too self-focused. Our children’s programs are structured with a number of activities to build children’s resilience, empathy, and ability to relax.”...
ALSC Blog, Aug. 9 |
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Jennifer Jarson writes: “When a first-year student in my colleague’s class asked her for suggestions on where to go to get news, it gave my colleague pause. Sure, some quick suggestions for selected websites or apps could help that student, and perhaps others, engage with current events. But the question prompted my colleague to think more deeply about students’ news consumption behaviors overall. Where and how were students getting their news? How did they approach the news they consumed?”...
ACRLog, Aug. 9 |
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Loren Klein writes: “The RUSA Library Publishing Toolkit, a new professional tool designed to assist librarians who offer publishing services, collects links to (mostly) free online resources that cover how to offer education and instruction, content development and editorial, design and production, and marketing and dissemination services. The toolkit collects annotated links to resources about library publishing services and builds on the work of the 2015 Emerging Leaders Team for RUSA.”...
Public Libraries Online, Aug. 3 |
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Dawn Abron writes: “There’s still a couple of weeks before the start of school, and this is the perfect time to see this great nation of ours. Whether by plane or by car, visiting one of the United States can be entertaining and educational; however, sometimes a two-day trip or a quick stop at a historical landmark leaves you wanting more culture. Reading books set in the states is a great way to fill your cultural needs. So grab your devices and your trail mix and go on a reading tour of the USA.”...
YALSA The Hub, Aug. 8 |
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Sam Tanenhaus writes: “In 1967, when William Styron’s novel The Confessions of Nat Turner was published, it briefly looked as if a white southern liberal might have found an ideal story to tell a country torn by racial strife. Styron’s subject was a little-known historical event: America’s bloodiest slave revolt. Now, Styron’s protagonist Nat Turner has been revived—in The Birth of a Nation, a feature, set to premiere in October, that is already being discussed as a serious contender for next year’s Oscar.”...
Vanity Fair, Apr. 15, Aug. 3
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Laura Miller writes: “They called her ACM, but never to her face. Her staff at the New York Public Library were expected to observe strict decorum at all times, but those who passed muster got to see the giants of the first age of children’s book publishing walk through the door to pay court to Anne Carroll Moore (right), superintendent of the Department of Work With Children for the NYPL from 1906 to 1941. Beatrix Potter considered her a close friend, and her pet cause was the improvement of children’s literature itself.”...
Slate, Aug. 5
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Wendy Zamora writes: “Picture this: You start your computer and wait. And wait. And wait some more. When your desktop finally shows its face, things don’t get any better. Your Internet is sluggish, your programs are taking forever to load, and your cursor is dragging 20 seconds behind your mouse. You might have tried to open too many programs at once. Or you might be infected. Sometimes a malware infection is plain as day. Other times it’s a silent killer. If you want to know whether or not your machine is sick, you first need to understand the symptoms. So let’s take a look at the telltale signs.”...
Malwarebytes Labs, May
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