March 2016

Look, the impact of this “ethics” policy is going to be small. The number of people who want to listen to podcasts but won’t figure out how to download one without Steve Inskeep walking them through the process is tiny. There are plenty of ways NPR One can be effectively marketed through digital channels. But the issue here isn’t the impact of the policy — it’s what it tells us about NPR’s underlying strategy. Again, I have enormous sympathy for the people making these decisions at NPR — just as I had enormous sympathy for those working through an analogous set of questions at newspapers 5 or 10 years ago. But if you see a future, at a certain point you’ve got to commit to getting there.

Look, the impact of this “ethics” policy is going to be small. The number of people who want to listen to podcasts but won’t figure out how to download one without Steve Inskeep walking them through the process is tiny. There are plenty of ways NPR One can be effectively marketed through digital channels. But the issue here isn’t the impact of the policy — it’s what it tells us about NPR’s underlying strategy. Again, I have enormous sympathy for the people making these decisions at NPR — just as I had enormous sympathy for those working through an analogous set of questions at newspapers 5 or 10 years ago. But if you see a future, at a certain point you’ve got to commit to getting there.

http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/03/npr-decides-it-wont-promote-its-podcasts-or-npr-one-on-air/

As the digital revolution fundamentally reshapes how we live our lives, libraries are grappling with how to reinvent themselves in a world in which they are no longer a primary gatekeeper to knowledge. As I wrote in 2014 for the Knight Foundation’s blog, “perhaps the future of libraries lies in a return to their roots, not as museums of physical artifacts for rental, but as conveners of information and those who can understand and translate that information to the needs of an innovative world.” As the Knight Foundation wraps up their most recent Challenge on reinventing libraries for the 21st century (which has attracted over 225 submissions to date) and as the nation prepares for a new Librarian of Congress to shepherd the organization into the digital era, what might the future of libraries look like?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2016/03/19/reimagining-libraries-in-the-digital-era-lessons-from-data-mining-the-internet-archive

As the digital revolution fundamentally reshapes how we live our lives, libraries are grappling with how to reinvent themselves in a world in which they are no longer a primary gatekeeper to knowledge. As I wrote in 2014 for the Knight Foundation’s blog, “perhaps the future of libraries lies in a return to their roots, not as museums of physical artifacts for rental, but as conveners of information and those who can understand and translate that information to the needs of an innovative world.” As the Knight Foundation wraps up their most recent Challenge on reinventing libraries for the 21st century (which has attracted over 225 submissions to date) and as the nation prepares for a new Librarian of Congress to shepherd the organization into the digital era, what might the future of libraries look like?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2016/03/19/reimagining-libraries-in-the-digital-era-lessons-from-data-mining-the-internet-archive

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced the winners of the 2015 Free Software Awards at a ceremony held during the LibrePlanet 2016 conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). FSF president Richard M. Stallman presented the two awards: the Award for the Advancement of Free Software and the Award for Projects of Social Benefit.

http://www.fsf.org/news/library-freedom-project-and-werner-koch-are-2015-free-software-awards-winners

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced the winners of the 2015 Free Software Awards at a ceremony held during the LibrePlanet 2016 conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). FSF president Richard M. Stallman presented the two awards: the Award for the Advancement of Free Software and the Award for Projects of Social Benefit.

http://www.fsf.org/news/library-freedom-project-and-werner-koch-are-2015-free-software-awards-winners

Poor mothers often spend way too much time hunched over a washboard. What if they could use those hours to curl up with their kids and read a book instead? A group of friends at Oxford University plans to find out by developing a combination childhood education and laundry services center, a concept they’ve dubbed a “Libromat.”

The five team members have extensive backgrounds in childhood education, and they pooled their talents to apply for the 2015 Hult Prize, a $1 million award for young social entrepreneurs tackling some of the world’s biggest problems.

This year’s challenge: provide self-sustainable education to impoverished urban areas.

From Rinse, Spin, Read To Kids: It’s A Mashup Of Laundromat and Library : Goats and Soda : NPR

Poor mothers often spend way too much time hunched over a washboard. What if they could use those hours to curl up with their kids and read a book instead? A group of friends at Oxford University plans to find out by developing a combination childhood education and laundry services center, a concept they’ve dubbed a “Libromat.”

The five team members have extensive backgrounds in childhood education, and they pooled their talents to apply for the 2015 Hult Prize, a $1 million award for young social entrepreneurs tackling some of the world’s biggest problems.

This year’s challenge: provide self-sustainable education to impoverished urban areas.

From Rinse, Spin, Read To Kids: It’s A Mashup Of Laundromat and Library : Goats and Soda : NPR

Margo Jefferson and Maggie Nelson win National Book Critics Circle Awards
An author’s relationship with a transgender artist and a memoir of growing up in an African-American community in Chicago among subjects of books honoured

From Margo Jefferson and Maggie Nelson win National Book Critics Circle Awards | Books | The Guardian

Margo Jefferson and Maggie Nelson win National Book Critics Circle Awards
An author’s relationship with a transgender artist and a memoir of growing up in an African-American community in Chicago among subjects of books honoured

From Margo Jefferson and Maggie Nelson win National Book Critics Circle Awards | Books | The Guardian

“Academic libraries, in particular those that are at public institutions, want to allow walk-in access, certainly,” said Ann Campion Riley, president of the Association of Research and College Libraries and acting director of libraries at the University of Missouri at Columbia. “But we do have to balance that with security concerns for students and other users.”

From San Jose State University library attack highlights safety issues

“Academic libraries, in particular those that are at public institutions, want to allow walk-in access, certainly,” said Ann Campion Riley, president of the Association of Research and College Libraries and acting director of libraries at the University of Missouri at Columbia. “But we do have to balance that with security concerns for students and other users.”

From San Jose State University library attack highlights safety issues

In 2015, OCLC announced that WorldCat Discovery Services would replace FirstSearch at the end of the calendar year. The Discovery interface, similar to Open WorldCat, features a revamped design, faceted results, and improved listings of related editions and formats. However, it lacks a few advanced search functions available via the FirstSearch version. In response to complaints about these missing options, the retirement date for FirstSearch was extended to 2016. This week it was announced that FirstSearch would continue into 2017, while work is done building a new platform to support full-featured searching. Since Worldcat Discovery will apparently also be enhanced with new capabilities, OCLC’s prolonged development cycle and plans to maintain two product lines seem confounding.

In 2015, OCLC announced that WorldCat Discovery Services would replace FirstSearch at the end of the calendar year. The Discovery interface, similar to Open WorldCat, features a revamped design, faceted results, and improved listings of related editions and formats. However, it lacks a few advanced search functions available via the FirstSearch version. In response to complaints about these missing options, the retirement date for FirstSearch was extended to 2016. This week it was announced that FirstSearch would continue into 2017, while work is done building a new platform to support full-featured searching. Since Worldcat Discovery will apparently also be enhanced with new capabilities, OCLC’s prolonged development cycle and plans to maintain two product lines seem confounding.

There’s been a growing trend in libraries for several years to create maker spaces — places where cutting-edge creative activities such as computer-aided design, robotics, programming, circuitry and audio-visual editing take their place alongside low-tech crafts like sewing and jewelry-making. 

“Certainly it focuses on technology, which is new,” said Multnomah County Library director Vailey Oehlke, who is also the president of the National Public Library Association. “But I’d also suggest that libraries have a long history of responding to the ways in which community and the world around us is changing. There’s a need in our community for people to understand these new skills.”

From Oregon Libraries Invest In Cutting-Edge Maker Labs . Radio | OPB

There’s been a growing trend in libraries for several years to create maker spaces — places where cutting-edge creative activities such as computer-aided design, robotics, programming, circuitry and audio-visual editing take their place alongside low-tech crafts like sewing and jewelry-making. 

“Certainly it focuses on technology, which is new,” said Multnomah County Library director Vailey Oehlke, who is also the president of the National Public Library Association. “But I’d also suggest that libraries have a long history of responding to the ways in which community and the world around us is changing. There’s a need in our community for people to understand these new skills.”

From Oregon Libraries Invest In Cutting-Edge Maker Labs . Radio | OPB

For thousands of years, people have traveled to libraries in search of knowledge. Once civilization dawned, people needed a place to store information and archives, and thus libraries were born. The earliest libraries are traced to present-day Iraq and stored cuneiform data on clay tablets. China’s creation of paper in the 2nd century BC helped spread knowledge westward at a faster pace, and more libraries appeared in sacred and private spaces.

From Time Travel: The History of Libraries :: Travel :: Galleries :: Paste

For thousands of years, people have traveled to libraries in search of knowledge. Once civilization dawned, people needed a place to store information and archives, and thus libraries were born. The earliest libraries are traced to present-day Iraq and stored cuneiform data on clay tablets. China’s creation of paper in the 2nd century BC helped spread knowledge westward at a faster pace, and more libraries appeared in sacred and private spaces.

From Time Travel: The History of Libraries :: Travel :: Galleries :: Paste

While e-books retailers like Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble can collect troves of data on their customers’ reading behavior, publishers and writers are still in the dark about what actually happens when readers pick up a book. Do most people devour it in a single sitting, or do half of readers give up after Chapter 2? Are women over 50 more likely to finish the book than young men? Which passages do they highlight, and which do they skip?

From Moneyball for Book Publishers: A Detailed Look at How We Read – The New York Times

While e-books retailers like Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble can collect troves of data on their customers’ reading behavior, publishers and writers are still in the dark about what actually happens when readers pick up a book. Do most people devour it in a single sitting, or do half of readers give up after Chapter 2? Are women over 50 more likely to finish the book than young men? Which passages do they highlight, and which do they skip?

From Moneyball for Book Publishers: A Detailed Look at How We Read – The New York Times