LISNews: Hawkish On Libraries Since 1999

http://www.nerve.com/books/a-young-adult-authors-fantastic-crusade-to-defend-literatures-mos...

“Anyway,” I said, when we were finished, “Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote an ornery letter to his editor complaining about popular fiction. He went on and on about all the ‘scribbling’ women who sold hundreds of thousands of copies while he sold none. He thought they were dumb simply by virtue of being popular. Don’t you understand?” I scooped a lock of hair behind her ear in a way that said I would support her if she decided to have our baby. “You don’t gain credibility by being widely read, Ruth, you gain credibility by being accepted by rich, white, men.”

LISNews received the following letter from the Carnegie Corporation of New York; please read and take part (if you wish...):

I am writing from Carnegie Corporation of New York, where we've created a web photo project together with dozens of education nonprofits to support national Teacher Appreciation Week, which starts Monday. I'm hoping you'll help spread the word to people at schools (which could, if public, have the opportunity to win $3500), and anyone interested in inspired learning and education, and/or photography…

“Picture This!” aims to do just that. Using Carnegie’s "umbrella"
position—supporting multiple organizations, ranging from universities, to the NEA, the National Council on Teacher Quality, Public Impact, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, and more—we’ve created a far-reaching collaboration to call on students, parents, teachers, administrators, and anyone who’s witnessed great teaching, to upload pictures to our photo-sharing site Great Teaching that “visually” answer one of these questions:

When I picture great teaching I see ________.

When my teaching is inspired I ________.

My teacher inspires me when ________.

Plus, the person who submits the most inspiring photo (pic and description) can win $3500 for a K-12 public school of his or her choice! The site is live, so please take a look (and upload a photo!). Thanks for your help spreading the word. Finally, the project also integrates with Instagram through the hashtag #GreatTeaching.

Thanks,

Deanna Lee
Chief Communications and Digital Strategies Officer Carnegie Corporation of New York

Slashdot's great headline "Internet-Deprived Kids Turning To 'McLibraries' 315" for This WSJ Article on the digital divide was great.... "In many communities, after the library and the computer lab close for the night, there is often only one place to turn for students without internet access at home: the local McDonald's."

From Mashable, a report on library use by young people.

According to a study by the Pew Research Center published Tuesday, 16-29 year olds are reading more often, largely because of the mass amounts of e-content that is available to them on mobile devices. They’re not just reading short blips of content, either — people under 30 are reading more long-form content on their smartphones and tablets, but also continuing to visit their local libraries.

Eight in 10 Americans ages 16-29 read a book this past year, and more than six out of 10 used their local public library. Of the people who read this past year, 75 percent read a print book while 19% read an ebook, and 11% listened to an audiobook. Forty six percent used the library for research, 38 percent borrowed books (print books, audiobooks, or ebooks), and 23 percent borrowed newspapers, magazines, or journals.
High schoolers, especially, report borrowing books from libraries.