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Alan S. Inouye writes: “On February 21, ALA President Julie B. Todaro led a delegation to meet with publishing and library organizations in New York City. Unlike similar previous trips, however, this year’s visit had a distinctly different tone, given the current political environment. As with previous visits, ALA pressed the case for more options on ebook licensing models, but a new idea that generated interest was the development of and consensus on common principles for the digital age. This principles project will be an initiative of ALA going forward.”...
AL: The Scoop, Feb. 28 |
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Helen Adams writes: “There are many resources about intellectual freedom to keep school librarians informed, but are you familiar with the Intellectual Freedom News? It’s a weekly electronic compilation of intellectual freedom news in a variety of areas produced by interns in the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. To learn more, I talked with April Dawkins and Kate Lectenberg, the OIF interns who are responsible for locating the news and assembling the weekly publication.”...
Knowledge Quest blog, Feb. 27 |
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Monica Anderson writes: “Prior to the Civil War, higher education opportunities were nonexistent for nearly all black Americans. In the years following the war, more colleges sprang up to meet the educational needs of the newly freed black population. Congress defines a historically black college or university as a school ‘established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans.’ One of these institutions—Howard University—will celebrate its 150th anniversary on March 2.”...
Pew Research Center: Fact Tank, Feb. 28; US Department of Education; Howard University |
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The Outreach Team writes: “There is confusion about the library’s ability to ban firearms under current Missouri statutes. This topic began an extremely large discussion about guns in the library. The Missourian received many comments on social media in response to our coverage. We decided to ask the community about it and received more than 380 responses to an online survey. We specifically asked two questions: How does this make you feel about using the library, and will it prevent you from going to the library?”...
Columbia Missourian, Feb. 27 |
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Thousands of South Carolina’s historic documents, from presidential papers to personal slave journals, are facing an issue apart from age—a preservation method that has backfired. For 20 years, beginning in the 1950s, the state laminated documents to protect them from aging. But the process has caused discoloration. The natural acids from the paper mix with the degrading laminate to create a noxious vinegar. Each passing year will further degrade the document until it’s gone....
NPR: All Things Considered, Feb. 21 |
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Craig Silverman writes: “Liberal Society and Conservative 101 are among the growing number of hyperpartisan websites that have sprung up recently. A previous BuzzFeed News analysis of content published by conservative and liberal hyperpartisan sites found they reap massive engagement on Facebook with aggressively partisan stories that demonize the other side’s point of view. But these two sites are in fact owned by the same Florida company. They publish stories that are almost exactly the same, save for a few notable word changes.”...
BuzzFeed News, Feb. 27; Oct. 20, 2016; New York Times Magazine, Aug. 24, 2016 |
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A new program wants to create a space where young people can “defy rigid gender restrictions,” according to the organizers behind Drag Queen Story Hour. The program, which was organized by nonprofit queer literary arts organization Radar Productions and city libraries and bookstores (including San Francisco Public Library and Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library) hopes to capture “the imagination and play of the gender fluidity in childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models.”...
NBC News, Feb. 24 |
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San Francisco Public Library recovered 699,563 overdue items during its fine amnesty program (1:37) from January 3 to February 14. During the six-week period, late fees were waived on all returned books, CDs, DVDs, and other materials, regardless of how long overdue. Included were 12,246 items that were more than 60 days past due. The value of those long overdue items was nearly $236,000. A collection of short stories titled Forty Minutes Late by F. Hopkinson Smith (right) was returned 100 years past due....
San Francisco Public Library; YouTube, Jan. 29
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Kelly Hincks writes: “Learning practical teaching tips and tricks is one of my favorite forms of professional development. I love when others share simple things that can be applied quickly and easily to my teaching and improve learning for my students. Here are 12 tricks that work in my library. For example, this magic wand (right) is used to dismiss students from the rug to move to other activities. It prevents the mob mentality that happens when everyone goes at the same time.”...
Knowledge Quest blog, Feb. 28
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The San José State University School of Information has announced the Library 2.017 Worldwide Virtual Conference, March 29. There will be three topic-specific conferences held throughout the year, with each three-hour event featuring an opening and closing session. The opening sessions will be followed by 10–15 crowdsourced 30-minute presentations. The call for proposals for these sessions will be open until March 15....
International Relations Round Table Blog, Feb. 24
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Jessica Olin writes: “One of the hardest things for a new boss to learn is how to give feedback to staff. If anyone tells you they had an easy time with it, either they are lying or they had a lot of coaching ahead of time. I didn’t have lots of coaching ahead of time, and I’m not going to lie to you. The truth is that I’ve had some missteps while talking to employees about their mistakes. And as I always try to do with my failures, I want to use it to help you avoid the same pitfalls.”...
Letters to a Young Librarian, Feb. 28
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Sam Kashner writes: “There has never been anyone quite like Michael Crichton in the history of the movies. In his lifetime Crichton wrote 18 major novels, most of them bestsellers, including The Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, Jurassic Park, and Sphere. His books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide, and 13 of his novels were made into major films. He also created video games and the long-running TV show ER. The late writer’s vast archive is housed in the home that Crichton owned in Santa Monica.”...
Vanity Fair, Feb. 13
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