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The ALA Public Programs Office and the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation invite library professionals to attend a free learning series to explore various dialogue facilitation approaches and position themselves to foster conversation in their communities. Through Libraries Transforming Communities: Models for Change, a two-year project, ALA and NCDD will produce 10 webinars and three in-person workshops. Registration is currently open for four learning sessions....
ALA Public Programs Office, Dec. 15 |
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PLA knows its members and their libraries may be struggling to respond to the post-election challenges our communities face. As we invite our communities to have critical conversations, libraries must be committed to ensuring a safe place for all that reflects and serves the diversity of our nation. PLA is offering a variety of resources to help public libraries serve their communities. Included in these resources is an online discussion for members to share examples of how their library has responded to post-election challenges....
PLA, Dec. 15 |
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The ALA Washington Office was one of the organizations mentioned for its efforts in opposing regressive Freedom of Information Act reform, an effort that made The Hill’s list of top 10 lobbying efforts in 2016: “Unlike most legislative proposals, the overhaul was primarily opposed by federal agencies, which warned of a surge in lawsuits against the government. Although some provisions were watered down to satisfy the intelligence community, the final law strengthens the FOIA process—and the power of those seeking government documents—in significant ways.”...
The Hill, Dec. 15 |
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FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who championed strong net neutrality rules, resigned on December 15, calling his service “during this period of historical technological change” a particular honor. His resignation paves the way for a likely more conservative FCC chairman under Donald Trump and a new battle over net neutrality. Wheeler has been instrumental in changing the industry to accommodate new players and to vex the establishment he once represented....
The Guardian (UK), Dec. 15 |
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Libraries retained over $1 billion in federal funding for programs in a stopgap funding package passed by Congress on December 9 to avoid a midnight shutdown of the federal government. The continuing resolution was cleared by the Senate following House approval on December 8 and will allow spending by all arms of the federal government to continue at or near FY2016 levels through April 28, 2017. President Obama signed the resolution December 10....
ALA Washington Office, Dec. 15; The Hill, Dec. 9 |
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On December 14, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the annual selection of 25 motion pictures that have been inducted into the National Film Registry because of their cultural, historic, or aesthetic importance. This year’s titles range from the Disney animated blockbuster The Lion King and the seminal coming-of-age drama The Breakfast Club to the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning, chronicling the pageantry of drag balls in New York City, and a collection of home movies showcasing African-American life in Oklahoma during the 1920s....
Library of Congress, Dec. 14 |
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David Hansen writes: “The Library of Congress has overseen the Copyright Office since the office’s inception in 1897, but there are increasingly serious calls for changing that relationship. Ralph Oman and Marybeth Peters—the two Registers of Copyrights who preceded Maria Pallante—recently sent a letter to the leadership of the two relevant House and Senate committees. Duke University Libraries sent a letter to Congress to correct some of the other letter’s inaccuracies and makes the case for why LC is the best choice of home for the Copyright Office.”...
Scholarly Communications @ Duke, Dec. 14; US House Judiciary Committee |
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According to the US Office of Education Technology, librarians are at the forefront of helping schools become future ready. But all too often librarians are left out of the planning process for infrastructure and devices, professional learning for teachers, and digital content strategies—areas where they often have expertise. The Alliance for Excellent Education launched its Future Ready Schools initiative in October 2014; in June 2016, the group expanded FRS to position school librarians as leaders in this effort....
eSchool News, Dec. 16
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Mary K. Chelton writes: “The FBI has announced plans to refer more suspects showing leanings toward becoming terrorists—particularly juveniles—to interventions by involving community leaders and educators. To assist this effort, the FBI has published guidelines for secondary school personnel regarding at-risk behaviors that serve as ‘drivers of violent extremism’ to facilitate intervention activities. Adding libraries to this list of surveilled institutions runs in direct opposition to the institution’s mission and its usefulness to young people.”...
YALSA Blog, Dec. 16; Project Censored, Oct. 4
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Michael Barthel, Amy Mitchell, and Jesse Holcomb write: “According to a new survey by Pew Research Center, most Americans suspect that made-up news is having an impact. About two in three of US adults (64%) say fabricated news stories cause a great deal of confusion about the basic facts of current issues and events. This sense is shared widely across incomes, education levels, partisan affiliations, and most other demographic characteristics. The results come from a survey of 1,002 US adults conducted in December.” Meanwhile, Facebook has detailed some of its plans to combat fake news stories in its feeds....
Pew Research Center, Dec. 15; NPR: The Two-Way, Dec. 15
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The New York Public Library and Macmillan announced a new agreement on December 13 to create and publish a program of print and ebooks for adults and children, inspired by the library’s collections. The deal was negotiated by NYPL Chief External Relations Officer Carrie Welch and Macmillan Executive Vice President Will Schwalbe. Among the first children’s titles will be Coloring in the Lions, a coloring book featuring vintage art from the NYPL archive, and a picture book starring the NYPL lions Patience and Fortitude....
Publishers Weekly, Dec. 13; Macmillan, Dec. 13
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David Talbot writes: “Most homes in the US have internet service, but they don’t in the poor parts of Cleveland and nearby suburbs. A 2012 survey showed that 58% of the area’s households with incomes under $20,000 had neither home broadband nor mobile internet access, often because of the cost. Another 10% had a mobile phone but no home broadband. But because of small screens and data caps, phones are not an adequate substitute for home broadband.”...
MIT Technology Review, Dec. 16; Connect Your Community 2.0
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