December 2016

The American Public Library and the Problem of Purpose

The American Public Library and the Problem of Purpose
http://amzn.to/2hWCocX

The problem of purpose in the title is the 130-year debate within the library community over the proper place for the library in society. Chapters discuss roles for public libraries from the founding of the Boston Public Library with its clear educational purpose through attempts at rational planning for library roles in the 1980s. The controversy about the place of popular fiction in American libraries in the late 19th century; the militant outreach efforts during the early decades of the 20th century; the adult education phase during the 1920s to 1940s; and the library as an information nexus for the people during the late 1960s and 1970s are additional topics covered. The style is highly readable and provides important historical insights that should be of interest not only to library educators and students, but to any public librarian concerned with current service roles.

You can see the table of contents and read the preface here.

Ten Stories That Shaped 2016

Can you believe we’re closing in on 2017? It’s time once again to look back at the notable library-related stories from the past year.

Dishonorable Mention: Librarian Arrested in “First Amendment” Issue
In May, an altercation with security personnel at a Kansas City Public Library event led to violent arrests against several people, including the programming director.

10. Google Books Case Finally Ends
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the last appeal of the Authors Guild in the nearly decade-old Google Books copyright case.

9. Open Data Initiatives
This year saw continued growth of efforts to make research data freely available.

8. Libraries Catch Pokémon Go Fever
Many libraries got on board with the latest augmented reality app based on collecting and fighting with other Pokémon creatures.

7. Intellectual Property Disputes Aplenty
Legal cases involving everyone from Anne Frank to the NFL made headlines this year.

6. Libraries Fund Open Access
More libraries now offer to pay author fees for open access publications.

5. Welcome, Robot Overlords
This year AI agents won a game against a grandmaster of Go, made medical diagnoses, and drove a truck across the highway. Time will tell how these advances impact libraries.

4. Sci-Hub
Piracy of academic research became a big league success via the website Sci-Hub, raising many questions and discussions about the need for such a clandestine distribution of knowledge.

3. “Illegal Aliens”
After the U.S. Library of Congress announced the Subject Heading “Illegal Aliens” would be replaced with the terms “Noncitizens” and “Unauthorized immigration,” Congress legislated a halt to the renaming process.

2. Carla Hayden becomes the new Librarian of Congress
In September, Dr. Hayden was sworn in as the successor to James Billington, giving many hope about the future of the nation’s library.

1. Our “Post-truth” Era
The circumstances resulting in the naming of OED’s word of the year, namely the rise of fake news and our current political climate, make librarians and other educators as important as ever.

What was your favorite story this year?

Hay-on-Wye: The Town of Books

Hay-on-Wye, also known by its Welsh name Y Gelli (“The Grove”), lies on the border between Wales and England, and is about halfway between the English cities of Bristol and Birmingham. Its English name is derived from the Norman word for an enclosed field (“hay” or “haie”) and from its setting on the banks of the River Wye.

Earlier on in its thousand-year history, the town was the scene of immense political upheaval owing to its strategic location between Wales and England. The history of the castle at its center illustrates how tumultuous those times were. Built in A.D. 1200 by the local ruler, William de Breos II, Hay Castle replaced an older, smaller castle. After displeasing King John of England, William was forced to flee to France in 1211, and his wife and son were imprisoned.

From Hay-on-Wye: Interesting Thing of the Day

Why I still won’t review for or publish with Elsevier–and think you shouldn’t either

Contrary to what a couple of people I talked to at the time intimated might happen, my scientific world didn’t immediately collapse. The only real consequences I’ve experienced as a result of avoiding Elsevier are that (a) on perhaps two or three occasions, I’ve had to think a little bit longer about where to send a particular manuscript, and (b) I’ve had a few dozen conversations (all perfectly civil) about Elsevier and/or academic publishing norms that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have had. Other than that, there’s been essentially no impact on my professional life. I don’t feel that my unwillingness to publish in NeuroImage, Neuron, or Journal of Research in Personality has hurt my productivity or reputation in any meaningful way. And I continue to stand by my position that it’s a mistake for scientists to do business with a publishing company that actively lobbies against the scientific community’s best interests.

From Why I still won’t review for or publish with Elsevier–and think you shouldn’t either – [citation needed]

Overdue library book returned to school 120 years late

On discovering the HCS library stamp inside the book, Mrs Gillett, who lives near Taunton, decided to return it.
“I can’t imagine how the school has managed without it,” she said.
The book would have been of good use to young Boycott as he eventually graduated with first class honours in Natural Science and became a distinguished naturalist and pathologist.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-38240845

PG Wodehouse secures redemption as British Library acquires priceless archive

On Thursday, the British Library will announce that the Wodehouse archive is about to join its 20th-century holdings, a collection that includes the papers of Arthur Conan Doyle, Evelyn Waugh, Mervyn Peake, Virginia Woolf, Harold Pinter, Ted Hughes, Beryl Bainbridge, JG Ballard and Angela Carter.

This rare and brilliant archive not only casts fascinating new light on Wodehouse’s comic genius, and painstaking daily revisions of his famously carefree prose, it also holds the key to the controversy that has tormented the writer’s posthumous reputation, the “Berlin broadcasts”.

From PG Wodehouse secures redemption as British Library acquires priceless archive | Books | The Guardian

Libraries Become Unexpected Sites of Hate Crimes

Because of a “sudden increase” in such crimes — three in a couple of weeks after one in a year — the association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom is starting to formally track them, the office’s director, James LaRue, said in an email. He said it was difficult to know whether the uptick was “a blip or a trend.”

“We hope to track the details, locations and frequency, the better to stay on top of it, develop training or webinars, and support our members,” he said.

From Libraries Become Unexpected Sites of Hate Crimes – The New York Times

ALA warns Members it is “Concerned” about Trump Administration

From Central NY News:

Statement from ALA Prez Julie Todaro confirms that she is concerned how core values of free access, intellectual freedom and privacy will fit with the president elect Donald Trump’s administration. [aren’t we all]

“It is clear many of those values are at odds with messaging or positions taken by the incoming administration.”

Will this statement soften the blow of Todaro’s statement on November 15? (reprinted below):


“We are ready to work with President-elect Trump, his transition team, incoming administration and members of Congress to bring more economic opportunity to all Americans and advance other goals we have in common.”