August 2006

Search Engines WEB writes “More than 500 students in Lancaster, Texas, had their summer vacations extended after failing to complete their summer reading assignment – only they weren’t exactly on vacation: The school suspended them until they completed their assigned reading. Last year 1,100 students were sent home for failing to complete the summer reading project.

ABC News Has More“

Anonymous Patron writes “European Commission calls on Member States to Contribute to the European Digital Library: Today the European Commission urged EU member states to set up large-scale digitization facilities, so as to accelerate the process of getting Europe’s cultural heritage online via the European Digital Library. In a recommendation on digitization and digital preservation, it calls on member states to act in various areas, ranging from copyright questions to the systematic preservation of digital content in order to ensure long-term access to the material.”

It has been 16 years since Channel One’s advertising-supported news broadcasts first slipped into the commercial-free space of middle schools and high schools; today, its in-class advertising, it says, reaches seven million students. A $4 billion-a-year business cannot change fundamentally overnight; the shift from printed to electronic textbook will take years. In the meantime, a small publisher of college textbooks, Freeload Press of St. Paul, seeks to take advantage of this flux with a new concept: providing free e-textbooks to students. The catch? Ads are inserted within the text. Here’s The NYTimes With More.

PEER.org Says The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving ahead this summer to shut down libraries, end public access to research materials and box up unique collections on the assumption that Congress will not reverse President Bush’s proposed budget reductions, according to agency documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). At the same time, EPA’s own scientists are stepping up protests against closures on the grounds that it will make their work more difficult by impeding research, enforcement and emergency response capabilities.

Anonymous Patron writes “New York Times: LibriVox is the largest of several emerging collectives that offer free or inexpensive audiobooks of works whose copyrights have expired, from Plato to “The Wind in the Willows.†(In the United States, this generally means anything published or registered for copyright before 1923.) The results range from solo readings done by amateurs in makeshift home studios to high-quality recordings read by actors or professional voice talent.”

The Information Architecture Institute seeks nominations for members to serve on the 2006-2007 IAI Board of Directors. There are seven members of the Board of Directors and four open positions for this board term. Nominations are being acceped until August 31, with the election following in September. If you are interested in serving on the Board, you may nominate yourself, or if you know someone who you think will be an asset to the organization, you may nominate that person. Please contact membership AT iainstitute.org for more information or a link to the nomination form.

Subscribe to the free IAI Newsletter for monthly updates from the institute, including notices about conferences, workshops, volunteer opportunities and job postings.

Anonymous Patron writes “Business First of Buffalo: The board of directors of the Library Foundation of Buffalo & Erie County Inc. has agreed to transfer a majority of its assets to the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo with the goal of building its endowment and creating a greater funding pool for the libraries.

Under the agreement, the Community Foundation will manage the library foundation’s assets, creating an endowment and a pool of flexible funds. The central library, as well as the contract libraries and branches, will be eligible to apply for grants for their individual needs.”

Keith Tipton writes “Rice University: Using the open-source e-publishing platform Connexions, Rice University Press is returning from a decade-long hiatus to explore models of peer-reviewed scholarship for the 21st century. The technology offers authors a way to use multimedia — audio files, live hyperlinks or moving images — to craft dynamic scholarly arguments, and to publish on-demand original works in fields of study that are increasingly constrained by print publishing.”

The new Union County Library in Lake Butler, Florida is asking potential donors to claim a piece of a mural to be painted in the meeting room of the new facility. The mural will represent Florida as a natural environment (before the retirees landed?). Library Director Mary Brown has divided up sections of the picture for donors to purchase. Donations are as follows:

Leaf on the tree $200, limb on the tree $500, small bird $500, small reptile $500, squirrel $500, raccoons $1,000/pair, flying egrets $1,000/pair,
large bird $1,000, bear $1,000, alligator $1,000, deer $2,000, panther $2,000, trunk of tree $5,000.
Brown said her goal is to raise $50,000 from the project. Bradford County Telegraph reports.

A few good librarian profiles from around the country I spotted this week. Not a typical librarian looks at London-Silas Shavers, the new head librarian at the Jessie J. Edwards Public Library in Memphis,TN. Librarian driving force for renovation is on Beth Foulks over in Sioux City,IA, former second grade teacher who is the new librarian at Ponca Public School. Last but not least, Librarian enjoys integrating life passions, life talks with Jenine Lillian, “a whimsical surprise: a librarian who is a reluctant reader; a knitter who doesn’t use wool or organic materials; a wanderer who plans to stay put.” She’s in Fayetteville,AR.
It’s good to see so many good librarians getting coverage in their local press.