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On March 16, President Trump submitted his budget outline—the so-called skinny budget—to Congress, which proposes wholesale changes to federal funding priorities, including deep cuts to many programs. Alarmingly to librarians across the nation, those proposals include eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services and more than $210 million in funding cuts for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) programs. This budget proposal affects us and our communities, and it could impact our future. We must all take action now....
AL: The Scoop, Mar. 28 |
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The ACRL Conference in Baltimore came to a close on March 25 with another full morning of programs and a closing session with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden (right). The conference broke records for both attendance and fundraising, according to Conference Chair Jim Neal and ACRL President Irene Herold. ACRL’s 2019 conference will be held April 10–13 in Cleveland. The call for proposals opens this fall....
AL: The Scoop, Mar. 27 |
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While on a US State Department–sponsored trip to United States libraries, the assistant library director of the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) in Kabul visited the ALA offices in Chicago. Hamayoun Ghafoori (right) stopped by American Libraries to talk about his library and what he’s learned during his American tour....
AL: The Scoop, Mar. 28
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On March 29, more than 250 representatives from Ohio’s public libraries will travel to Columbus for the Ohio Library Council’s Legislative Day. Library directors, fiscal officers, trustees, and supporters will meet with members of the Ohio General Assembly to share how their libraries are transforming local communities with essential services such as workforce development and early literacy programs....
Ohio Library Council, Mar. 27 |
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On March 23, the leaders of the House Judiciary Committee introduced legislation titled the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017. The bill would make the position of the Register of Copyrights subject to presidential appointment and Senate confirmation. Under current law (17 USC 701), the Librarian of Congress selects the register. The Library Copyright Alliance released a statement in response, calling the bill “mystifying.”...
ACRL Insider, Mar. 24; District Dispatch, Mar. 27 |
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Ilana Masad writes: “It’s no secret at this point that President Trump wants to cut funding to the National Endowment for the Arts. We can see the huge impact that NEA grants have on writers. According to a Denver Post article, ‘since 1990, 53 of the 88 recipients of the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize were past NEA fellows.’ That’s 60%. We’d like to share 10 of the titles that have been supported by NEA grants to their authors.”...
Book Riot, Mar. 28; Denver Post, Mar. 4, 2010 |
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Through the generous donation of Marina “Marney” Welmers, AASL will offer the Inspire Disaster Recovery Grant in support of public, middle, or high school libraries that have incurred damage or hardship due to a natural disaster, fire, or an act recognized by the federal government as terrorism. The grant also provides funding to schools affected by an increase in enrollment due to displaced or evacuated students. A total of $30,000 in funding will be available each year....
AASL, Mar. 24 |
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Laura Ascione writes: “Social media’s popularity means educators have a number of avenues to develop their professional learning networks and learn from one another. Blogging gives educators a platform to share best practices, pose questions to their peers, and explore new ideas about teaching and learning. Here we’ve gathered nine blogs that focus on technology integration, instructional technology, school leadership, and pedagogy.”...
eSchool News, Mar. 2 |
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On terminals in Anchorage’s public library system, adults explore all the corners of the internet, including pornographic websites. But in the middle of a rewrite of internet-use policies, library officials say they are wrestling with ways to balance the intellectual freedom of porn-searching adults with making the city’s public libraries safe and welcoming for everyone....
Anchorage Alaska Dispatch News, Mar. 26
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Eric Hellman writes: “Ever hear of Grapeshot, Eloqua, Moat, HubSpot, Krux, or Sizmek? Probably not. Maybe you’ve heard of Doubleclick, AppNexus, Adsense, or Addthis? If you read scientific journal articles on publisher websites, these companies that you’ve never heard of will track and log your reading habits and try to figure out how to get you to click on ads, not just at the publisher’s websites but also at websites like Breitbart and the Huffington Post.”...
Go to Hellman, Mar. 22
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K. Thor Jensen writes: “The big boys—Chrome, Firefox, and IE/Edge—aren’t the only browsers out there. If you dig deep, you’ll find a whole world of unusual web-surfing tools that are designed to fill different needs. From intense privacy to media streaming, torrent tracking to text-only displays, there’s a browser for just about everything.”...
PC Magazine, Mar. 25
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Matthew Murray writes: “The battery may be a laptop’s most critical feature. That’s what makes it a laptop, after all, and not just a semi-portable replacement for a desktop PC. There are two ways to make sure you don’t run out of juice on a long travel day: Buy and charge an external battery pack, or just buy a laptop with really long battery life. We’ll focus on the second option here, as there’s no separate device to pack, carry, or charge. Here are 10 of the best choices.”...
PC Magazine, Mar. 24
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