April 2016

Librarian creates place of hope & love for neighborhood

“I went every day, and the librarians helped me with my homework,” Heyward said. “My grandmother couldn’t help me with my homework.”

Now, Heyward is in a position to help others as manager of the East 38th Street branch of The Indianapolis Public Library. During 2016 National Library Week, Heyward was honored as a “Mover and Shaker” by Library Journal.

She was recognized nationally for tapping into her deep familiarity with the neighborhood to organize community partnerships with more than 40 nonprofits, businesses, churches and universities.

From Librarian creates place of hope & love for neighborhood

“I went every day, and the librarians helped me with my homework,” Heyward said. “My grandmother couldn’t help me with my homework.”

Now, Heyward is in a position to help others as manager of the East 38th Street branch of The Indianapolis Public Library. During 2016 National Library Week, Heyward was honored as a “Mover and Shaker” by Library Journal.

She was recognized nationally for tapping into her deep familiarity with the neighborhood to organize community partnerships with more than 40 nonprofits, businesses, churches and universities.

From Librarian creates place of hope & love for neighborhood

ACRL Report Shows Compelling Evidence of Library Contributions to Student Learning and Success

A new report issued by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), “Documented Library Contributions to Student Learning and Success: Building Evidence with Team-Based Assessment in Action Campus Projects,” shows compelling evidence for library contributions to student learning and success. The report focuses on dozens of projects conducted as part of the program Assessment in Action: Academic Libraries and Student Success (AiA) by teams that participated in the second year of the program, from April 2014 to June 2015. Synthesizing more than 60 individual project reports (fully searchable online) and using past findings from projects completed during the first year of the AiA program as context, the report identifies strong evidence of the positive contributions of academic libraries to student learning and success in four key areas:

From ACRL Report Shows Compelling Evidence of Library Contributions to Student Learning and Success » ACRL Value of Academic Libraries

A new report issued by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), “Documented Library Contributions to Student Learning and Success: Building Evidence with Team-Based Assessment in Action Campus Projects,” shows compelling evidence for library contributions to student learning and success. The report focuses on dozens of projects conducted as part of the program Assessment in Action: Academic Libraries and Student Success (AiA) by teams that participated in the second year of the program, from April 2014 to June 2015. Synthesizing more than 60 individual project reports (fully searchable online) and using past findings from projects completed during the first year of the AiA program as context, the report identifies strong evidence of the positive contributions of academic libraries to student learning and success in four key areas:

From ACRL Report Shows Compelling Evidence of Library Contributions to Student Learning and Success » ACRL Value of Academic Libraries

Celebrating the 200th birthday of Charlotte Brontë with some books from an unconventional childhood

This month marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charlotte Brontë, the third-born and longest lived of the six children of Patrick and Maria Brontë, and the author of the classic novels Jane Eyre (1847), Shirley (1849), Villette (1853) and The Professor (1857).  Much has been written about Charlotte and her famous 19th century literary family, and the mystique of their lives and legacy has been the subject of continuing interpretation and reinterpretation.  The Baillieu Library is very fortunate to hold some important early Brontë editions, together with copies of several titles which they are known to have read, if not devoured, as children.

From Reading with the young Charlotte: celebrating the 200th birthday of Charlotte Brontë with some books from an unconventional childhood – Library Collections

This month marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charlotte Brontë, the third-born and longest lived of the six children of Patrick and Maria Brontë, and the author of the classic novels Jane Eyre (1847), Shirley (1849), Villette (1853) and The Professor (1857).  Much has been written about Charlotte and her famous 19th century literary family, and the mystique of their lives and legacy has been the subject of continuing interpretation and reinterpretation.  The Baillieu Library is very fortunate to hold some important early Brontë editions, together with copies of several titles which they are known to have read, if not devoured, as children.

From Reading with the young Charlotte: celebrating the 200th birthday of Charlotte Brontë with some books from an unconventional childhood – Library Collections

Weeding the Worst Library Books

Public libraries serve practical purposes, but they also symbolize our collective access to information, so it’s understandable that many Berkeley residents reacted strongly to seeing books discarded. What’s more, Scott’s critics ultimately contended that he had not been forthcoming about how many books were being removed, or about his process for deciding which books would go. Still, it’s standard practice—and often a necessity—to remove books from library collections. Librarians call it “weeding,” and the choice of words is important: a library that “hemorrhages” books loses its lifeblood; a librarian who “weeds” is helping the collection thrive. The key question, for librarians who prefer to avoid scandal, is which books are weeds.

From Weeding the Worst Library Books – The New Yorker

On the Banning of Looking for Alaska – YouTube

In which John discusses the American Library Association’s recent announcement that his book “Looking for Alaska” was the most challenged book in the U.S. in 2015, responds to those who try to get the book removed from schools and libraries, and discusses the role of teachers and librarians in American life.

From On the Banning of Looking for Alaska – YouTube

In which John discusses the American Library Association’s recent announcement that his book “Looking for Alaska” was the most challenged book in the U.S. in 2015, responds to those who try to get the book removed from schools and libraries, and discusses the role of teachers and librarians in American life.

From On the Banning of Looking for Alaska – YouTube

Comparing Published Scientific Journal Articles to Their Pre-print Versions

Academic publishers claim that they add value to scholarly communications by coordinating reviews and contributing and enhancing text during publication. These contributions come at a considerable cost: U.S. academic libraries paid $1.7 billion for serial subscriptions in 2008 alone. Library budgets, in contrast, are flat and not able to keep pace with serial price inflation. We have investigated the publishers’ value proposition by conducting a comparative study of pre-print papers and their final published counterparts. This comparison had two working assumptions: 1) if the publishers’ argument is valid, the text of a pre-print paper should vary measurably from its corresponding final published version, and 2) by applying standard similarity measures, we should be able to detect and quantify such differences. Our analysis revealed that the text contents of the scientific papers generally changed very little from their pre-print to final published versions. These findings contribute empirical indicators to discussions of the added value of commercial publishers and therefore should influence libraries’ economic decisions regarding access to scholarly publications.

From [1604.05363] Comparing Published Scientific Journal Articles to Their Pre-print Versions

Academic publishers claim that they add value to scholarly communications by coordinating reviews and contributing and enhancing text during publication. These contributions come at a considerable cost: U.S. academic libraries paid $1.7 billion for serial subscriptions in 2008 alone. Library budgets, in contrast, are flat and not able to keep pace with serial price inflation. We have investigated the publishers’ value proposition by conducting a comparative study of pre-print papers and their final published counterparts. This comparison had two working assumptions: 1) if the publishers’ argument is valid, the text of a pre-print paper should vary measurably from its corresponding final published version, and 2) by applying standard similarity measures, we should be able to detect and quantify such differences. Our analysis revealed that the text contents of the scientific papers generally changed very little from their pre-print to final published versions. These findings contribute empirical indicators to discussions of the added value of commercial publishers and therefore should influence libraries’ economic decisions regarding access to scholarly publications.

From [1604.05363] Comparing Published Scientific Journal Articles to Their Pre-print Versions

Mass. circulation rates tell an interesting tale

Susan Neuman, a professor of education studies at the University of Michigan who has researched the use of libraries in poor versus middle-income areas around the country, said, “In low-income areas, the time people spend in the libraries is often much longer than in middle-income areas and it’s a lot different.”

“This is where they do their job applications, where they do their gaming, and where they read and do all of their information-related activities. It’s where the kids do their homework,” Neuman said.

From Is your local library a bestseller? — Mass. circulation rates tell an interesting tale – The Boston Globe

Susan Neuman, a professor of education studies at the University of Michigan who has researched the use of libraries in poor versus middle-income areas around the country, said, “In low-income areas, the time people spend in the libraries is often much longer than in middle-income areas and it’s a lot different.”

“This is where they do their job applications, where they do their gaming, and where they read and do all of their information-related activities. It’s where the kids do their homework,” Neuman said.

From Is your local library a bestseller? — Mass. circulation rates tell an interesting tale – The Boston Globe

The Oldest Libraries Around the World

their collections, stunning designs, and sometimes playful interiors. After reading news this week about the restoration of Morocco’s Al Qarawiyyin Library, featured below, we knew it was time to take a trip around the world to highlight some of the oldest libraries in existence — repositories of ancient art and architecture, history, and prized books. Here are ten of Flavorwire’s favorites.

From The Oldest Libraries Around the World – Flavorwire

their collections, stunning designs, and sometimes playful interiors. After reading news this week about the restoration of Morocco’s Al Qarawiyyin Library, featured below, we knew it was time to take a trip around the world to highlight some of the oldest libraries in existence — repositories of ancient art and architecture, history, and prized books. Here are ten of Flavorwire’s favorites.

From The Oldest Libraries Around the World – Flavorwire

The woman who is trying to create a Netflix for books for India

Chiki Sarkar hates being called a disruptor but that’s exactly what she’s doing to the opaque, incestuous world of Indian publishing. Along with Durga Raghunath, who brings the digital smarts, Sarkar has co-founded Juggernaut, a digital publishing house. She spoke to Neelam Raaj on why she wants to use tech to give dead-tree books a new lease of life

From The woman who is trying to create a Netflix for books – Times of India

Chiki Sarkar hates being called a disruptor but that’s exactly what she’s doing to the opaque, incestuous world of Indian publishing. Along with Durga Raghunath, who brings the digital smarts, Sarkar has co-founded Juggernaut, a digital publishing house. She spoke to Neelam Raaj on why she wants to use tech to give dead-tree books a new lease of life

From The woman who is trying to create a Netflix for books – Times of India

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu

Book — The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts

http://amzn.to/1SXH0u3

NPR piece about book —
http://www.npr.org/2016/04/23/475420855/timbuktus-badass-librarians-checking-out-books-under-al-qaidas-nose

Book — The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts

http://amzn.to/1SXH0u3

NPR piece about book —
http://www.npr.org/2016/04/23/475420855/timbuktus-badass-librarians-checking-out-books-under-al-qaidas-nose