February 2019

UC terminates subscriptions with world’s largest scientific publisher in push for open access to publicly funded research

As a leader in the global movement toward open access to publicly funded research, the University of California is taking a firm stand by deciding not to renew its subscriptions with Elsevier. Despite months of contract negotiations, Elsevier was unwilling to meet UC’s key goal: securing universal open access to UC research while containing the rapidly escalating costs associated with for-profit journals.

From UC terminates subscriptions with world’s largest scientific publisher in push for open access to publicly funded research | University of California

Bill To Bring Libraries To NYC Jails Faces Opposition From The Correction Department

On Tuesday, the City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee heard testimony on Councilmember Daniel Dromm’s bill, Int. 1184, that requires the Department of Correction to provide access to the library for all incarcerated people within 48 hours of entering the jail system. The Department would be required to report on the number of books they receive, the source of those books and, if books are censored, the reason for the censorship.

From Bill To Bring Libraries To NYC Jails Faces Opposition From The Correction Department: Gothamist

School Districts No Longer Required To Have Nurses, Librarians Under Senate Bill In Iowa

School districts would no longer be required to have a school nurse and a teacher librarian under a proposal advanced in the Iowa Senate Tuesday.

Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, chair of the Education Committee, said the bill would give school boards and communities more power to make decisions that are best for local students.

“Do we trust those people and their teachers to make the decisions that are appropriate to their students, or not? It’s as simple as that,” Sinclair said.

From School Districts No Longer Required To Have Nurses, Librarians Under Senate Bill | Iowa Public Radio

Publishers say that the bold open-access initiative rules out proven ways of opening up the literature

Highly selective journals, in particular, argued that they have high internal costs that couldn’t reasonably be recouped in a fully open-access model, and that cutting costs would risk reducing journals’ quality. Some publishing companies also urged the initiative to reconsider its policy on hybrid journals.

But their arguments have been rebuffed by Robert-Jan Smits, the European Commission’s open-access envoy and architect of Plan S, to which 18 research funders have so far signed up.

From High-profile subscription journals critique Plan S

Libraries, museums, and universities must include hip-hop culture in their programming in thoughtful, authentic ways

Many of these institutions have begun to embrace this marriage of ideas. Hip-hop curricula, archives, conferences, and fellowships now have homes in even the nation’s most venerable academic institutions, including Cornell University, Harvard University, Duke University, and many more. Libraries across the country, from small towns to the New York Public Library, have welcomed hip-hop programming, as have storied institutions such as Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

From Legacy Institutions Must Welcome Hip-Hop Into Their Halls

School librarians left out of $5K pay raise proposal in TX

School librarians, who are required to teach in a classroom for two years and in many cases receive a master’s degree to qualify for the position, would be excluded from legislation offering a $5,000 pay raise to all Texas teachers.

Senate Bill 3 would allocate $3.7 billion over two years to boost pay for classroom teachers but not other education employees such as bus drivers, counselors or librarians. The legislation, touted as a way to better retain teachers and recognize them for the importance of their jobs, is a priority for Senate GOP leaders, amid a renewed focus among lawmakers in both chambers and both parties on improving public education in Texas.

From School librarians left out of $5K pay raise proposal

Librarians pore over books to keep out the bedbugs

Lincoln library officials say librarians have been inspecting each item checked back into the eight branches, committed to keeping out any bedbugs.

The library system discovered bedbugs in some books in 2014, amid a national rash of bedbug reports from a variety of places, including theaters and thrift stores, college dorms and apartment buildings, hotel rooms and surgical centers.

From Librarians pore over books to keep out the bedbugs | KHGI

How to Read 80ish Books a Year (And Actually Remember Them)

Reading is a skill that once you’ve learned, you probably don’t spend much time trying to get better at. (Not all that different from, say, breathing.) And yet, many of us don’t have to look far to see signs that there’s plenty of room for improvement. We only read at the end of the day—and only for the three minutes between cracking open a book and falling asleep. We’re halfway through about nine books. And our bookshelves are littered with titles that we remember reading but don’t exactly remember anything about.

From How to Read 80ish Books a Year (And Actually Remember Them) | GQ