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Traditional mak yong and asyik dancers, accompanied by gamelan musicians, performed a royal welcoming dance to open the 84th International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions’ (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This year’s conference, August 24–30, drew 3,516 delegates from 112 countries to the bustling and diverse Malaysian capital. The congress theme, “Transform Libraries, Transform Societies,” includes the tagline “Reaching out to the hard to reach.” Many sessions and programs this year are emphasizing the role of libraries in national development....
AL: The Scoop, Aug. 26 |
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How can libraries make use of the Marrakesh Treaty to benefit patrons with print disabilities? That was the focus of the “Marrakesh Treaty in Force” session August 27 at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Other sessions focused on law libraries in times of crisis, libraries as safe spaces and using social media, libraries as forces for change, and libraries using blockchain technology. Follow more IFLA activities at #wlic2018....
AL: The Scoop, Aug. 26–28 |
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Maggie Bush writes: “Libraries offer a prime opportunity for voters to gain access to critical information they need to cast a knowledgeable vote. Whether your library has a longstanding voter engagement effort underway or you’re just getting started, here are five tips for getting the most out of your voter outreach campaign this year.”...
AL: The Scoop, Aug. 28 |
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Following growing controversy surrounding a drag queen storytime event scheduled for early October at the Lafayette (La.) Public Library, Board of Control President Joseph Gordon-Wiltz has submitted his letter of resignation, according to library board members. Gordon-Wiltz, who is an appointee of Mayor-President Joel Robideaux, dated the resignation effective immediately. He was appointed as board president in November 2017, and his term would have been up in October of this year....
KLFY-TV, Lafayette, La., Aug. 27; Lafayette Daily Advertiser, Aug. 22 |
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Representatives from Baptist churches in Mobile, Alabama, spoke in opposition August 27 to a planned Drag Queen Storytime event at the Mobile Public Library Main branch on September 8, arguing that it pushes a political agenda and is detrimental to children. The pastors were joined by three other speakers before a large crowd at a Mobile County Commission meeting. Scheduled to read to children ages 3–8 is Wade Brasfield, who will be dressed as “Khloe Kash,” his drag queen persona....
Birmingham (Ala.) News, Aug. 24, 27 |
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Anne Quito writes: “The Library of Congress unveiled a new logo on August 21. Compared to the beloved ‘book flag’ logo created in 2000 by the late branding guru Ivan Chermayeff, LC’s updated brand mark is bold, plain, and, as many have noted, oddly redundant with two instances of the word ‘library.’ Paula Scher, who designed the new visual identity, explained that Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden wanted to emphasize the breadth of its services for the American public instead of its ties to the US Congress.”...
Quartz, Aug. 26; Library of Congress Blog, Aug. 21; Quartzy, Dec. 4, 2017 |
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Alex Johnson writes: “The astronauts on the International Space Station are busy people, but even they need some time to unwind. In addition to a well-stocked film library (strong on movies with a space theme), there are many books in their informal library. Some are brought up by the astronauts—Susan Helms was allowed 10 paperbacks and chose Gone With the Wind, Vanity Fair, and War and Peace. Others come with space tourists, such as billionaire businessman Charles Simonyi, who brought Faust and Robert Heinlein’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.”...
The Independent (UK), July 31 |
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Travis McDade writes: “In the summer of 1980, Robert Kindred was a 35-year-old high school dropout with no plans of going to college. No major American crime requires as much traveling as that of stealing rare books from libraries, a fact Kindred knew from experience. Kindred, an antique print dealer, and his partner Richard Green were interested in the low hanging fruit of the rare book field: 19th-century scientific illustrations. The first circle on their map was College Station, home to Texas A&M University.”...
Atlas Obscura, Aug. 24 |
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Matt Mikalatos writes: “There are classics of fiction that are uncomfortable for various reasons. Some of them are straight-out racist, or unrepentantly misogynistic, or homophobic, or all of the above. How and why and when we come to these realizations can change depending on who we are, as well: I’m guessing none of my African American friends have come across the n-word in a novel and ‘not noticed,’ even as kids. The fact that I hadn’t noticed or remembered the use of that word, even as a child, in T. H. White’s The Once and Future King is a sign of my own privilege.”...
Tor.com, Aug. 27 |
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John Larison writes: “Part immigrant story, part adventure tale, and part allegory of truth and justice—the Western has been entertaining American readers for nearly 200 years. So many of America’s myths about itself—many of them historically inaccurate, misogynistic, or both—are reflected in the genre that literary writers have been turning their attentions to in recent years. To help make sense of these contemporary efforts, consider this crash course on the origin and future of the Western genre.”...
Publishers Weekly, Aug. 24 |
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Ryan Johnston writes: “The University of Rhode Island is launching an artificial intelligence laboratory that officials say will be the first in the world to be located within an academic library. The grant-funded, $143,065 AI lab will be open to all students and faculty on the first floor of the university’s Robert L. Carothers Library. It represents the latest approach to educate the campus community on the ethical, technological, and social consequences of AI.”...
EdScoop Aug. 23 |
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Ashley Farley writes: “There are often barriers to subscription access for students and faculty working offsite. Often this can require using Remote Desktop or a VPN to connect to a network before access is recognized. For the institution where I work, this involves 10–15 clicks with two verification steps. Open access is technically easier. However, the discovery process for open access articles isn’t necessarily the same as subscription searching. Here are some tips and tools for finding open access articles more easily.”...
LITA Blog, Aug. 27 |
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