Blake

Tim Tierney’s call for ‘fair’ e-book prices for Canadian libraries adopted by FCM

Canadian municipalities are asking the federal government to find ways to bring down e-book prices for their public libraries, a move led by an Ottawa councillor.

From Tim Tierney’s call for ‘fair’ e-book prices for libraries adopted by FCM – Ottawa – CBC News

Canadian municipalities are asking the federal government to find ways to bring down e-book prices for their public libraries, a move led by an Ottawa councillor.

From Tim Tierney’s call for ‘fair’ e-book prices for libraries adopted by FCM – Ottawa – CBC News

Library workers oppose ‘precarious work’

A group of unionized employees still in contract talks with the city is challenging Mayor John Tory to end what it calls “precarious work” being carried out by a large chunk of the city’s library staff who work part time, have limited access to benefits, and face unstable work hours.

The Toronto Public Library Workers Union, Local 4948, whose contract expired Dec. 31, launched a campaign Friday, including a four-minute horror movie spoof, to get its message out.

Local president Maureen O’Reilly called precarious work “the epidemic of our time” and said Toronto is “one of the biggest offenders, especially in the library.”

From Library workers oppose ‘precarious work’ | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun

A group of unionized employees still in contract talks with the city is challenging Mayor John Tory to end what it calls “precarious work” being carried out by a large chunk of the city’s library staff who work part time, have limited access to benefits, and face unstable work hours.

The Toronto Public Library Workers Union, Local 4948, whose contract expired Dec. 31, launched a campaign Friday, including a four-minute horror movie spoof, to get its message out.

Local president Maureen O’Reilly called precarious work “the epidemic of our time” and said Toronto is “one of the biggest offenders, especially in the library.”

From Library workers oppose ‘precarious work’ | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun

March 5, 2016 by Blake Librarians Libraries

The Plain Person’s Guide to Plain Text Social Science

As a beginning graduate student in the social sciences, what sort of software should you use to do your work? More importantly, what principles should guide your choices? These pages offer some answers. The short version is: you should use tools that give you more control over the process of data analysis and writing. I recommend you write prose and code using a good text editor; analyze quantitative data with R or Stata; minimize error by storing your work in a simple format (plain text is best), and make a habit of documenting what you’ve done. For data analysis, consider using a format like RMarkdown and tools like Knitr to make your work more easily reproducible for your future self. Use Pandoc to turn your plain-text documents into PDF, HTML, or Word files to share with others. Keep your projects in a version control system. Back everything up regularly. Make your computer work for you by automating as many of these steps as you can.

From The Plain Person’s Guide to Plain Text Social Science

As a beginning graduate student in the social sciences, what sort of software should you use to do your work? More importantly, what principles should guide your choices? These pages offer some answers. The short version is: you should use tools that give you more control over the process of data analysis and writing. I recommend you write prose and code using a good text editor; analyze quantitative data with R or Stata; minimize error by storing your work in a simple format (plain text is best), and make a habit of documenting what you’ve done. For data analysis, consider using a format like RMarkdown and tools like Knitr to make your work more easily reproducible for your future self. Use Pandoc to turn your plain-text documents into PDF, HTML, or Word files to share with others. Keep your projects in a version control system. Back everything up regularly. Make your computer work for you by automating as many of these steps as you can.

From The Plain Person’s Guide to Plain Text Social Science

March 5, 2016 by Blake Uncategorized

How Presidential Libraries Work

“They’re really getting big,” says Hufbauer, who points out that the private funding allows “presidents to build gigantic temples dedicated to themselves.”

That means that presidential scandals or mistakes may get glossed over, and presidential successes highlighted. “The decision about what to display in the very first exhibits is made by the president, along with the National Archives and key advisors who help determine the story and presentation of those artifacts,” says Susan Donius, director of the office of presidential libraries.

From How Presidential Libraries Work

“They’re really getting big,” says Hufbauer, who points out that the private funding allows “presidents to build gigantic temples dedicated to themselves.”

That means that presidential scandals or mistakes may get glossed over, and presidential successes highlighted. “The decision about what to display in the very first exhibits is made by the president, along with the National Archives and key advisors who help determine the story and presentation of those artifacts,” says Susan Donius, director of the office of presidential libraries.

From How Presidential Libraries Work

March 4, 2016 by Blake Libraries

Data Is a Toxic Asset

We can be smarter than this. We need to regulate what corporations can do with our data at every stage: collection, storage, use, resale and disposal. We can make corporate executives personally liable so they know there’s a downside to taking chances. We can make the business models that involve massively surveilling people the less compelling ones, simply by making certain business practices illegal.

From Data Is a Toxic Asset – Schneier on Security

We can be smarter than this. We need to regulate what corporations can do with our data at every stage: collection, storage, use, resale and disposal. We can make corporate executives personally liable so they know there’s a downside to taking chances. We can make the business models that involve massively surveilling people the less compelling ones, simply by making certain business practices illegal.

From Data Is a Toxic Asset – Schneier on Security

March 4, 2016 by Blake Legal Issues

‘Libraries are vital to freedom of speech’

“Librarians are much needed as valuable guides: to help students and other readers to learn techniques to sift information, question its validity and measure its importance,” Jolley said. “To understand what to trust and what to question; and that all information is not equal. Students need to be able to weigh up and sift different sources of research. The University of California Library System saw a 54% decline in circulation between 1991 to 2001 of 8,377,000 books to 3,832,000. It is shocking that some students are failing themselves by not using a broad range of books, and journals that are free from their university libraries to widen and deepen their understanding.”

From ‘Libraries are vital to freedom of speech’ | The Bookseller

“Librarians are much needed as valuable guides: to help students and other readers to learn techniques to sift information, question its validity and measure its importance,” Jolley said. “To understand what to trust and what to question; and that all information is not equal. Students need to be able to weigh up and sift different sources of research. The University of California Library System saw a 54% decline in circulation between 1991 to 2001 of 8,377,000 books to 3,832,000. It is shocking that some students are failing themselves by not using a broad range of books, and journals that are free from their university libraries to widen and deepen their understanding.”

From ‘Libraries are vital to freedom of speech’ | The Bookseller

March 4, 2016 by Blake EBooks Libraries

Great Summary Of Attacks On Carla Hayden’s Nomination to LoC

If this is the best that people can come up with, hopefully it means that Hayden’s nomination will sail through. But, boy, people are reaching deep to argue that the American Library Association is either “pro-piracy” or “pro-pornography” by misrepresenting events from over a decade ago, and magically tying them to Dr. Hayden.

From Desperation Shows As Critics Argue That Nominated Librarian Of Congress Is ‘Pro Obscenity’ | Techdirt

If this is the best that people can come up with, hopefully it means that Hayden’s nomination will sail through. But, boy, people are reaching deep to argue that the American Library Association is either “pro-piracy” or “pro-pornography” by misrepresenting events from over a decade ago, and magically tying them to Dr. Hayden.

From Desperation Shows As Critics Argue That Nominated Librarian Of Congress Is ‘Pro Obscenity’ | Techdirt

March 3, 2016 by Blake American Library Association Libraries

Creating A Public Space: Open Access, Book Theft, and the Epigraphy of Ancient Libraries

Nowadays, I spend a lot of time at the Main Library at the University of Iowa, particularly in the Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio. Like the Library of Pantaenus, library patrons at the UI tend to think more about the books inside of libraries than the inscribed surfaces that help to compartmentalize and organize the space itself. However, the various signs, posted maps, and plaques within these repositories help to shape our experience. Moreover the use of locks, doors, and inscribed warnings can communicate something about the institution itself. I have worked for both public and private institutions with adjoining libraries, and I must say that entering a public library is an altogether different spatial experience from entering a private one–which can often feel like entering a prison.

From Creating A Public Space: Open Access, Book Theft, and the Epigraphy of Ancient Libraries – SARAH E. BOND

Nowadays, I spend a lot of time at the Main Library at the University of Iowa, particularly in the Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio. Like the Library of Pantaenus, library patrons at the UI tend to think more about the books inside of libraries than the inscribed surfaces that help to compartmentalize and organize the space itself. However, the various signs, posted maps, and plaques within these repositories help to shape our experience. Moreover the use of locks, doors, and inscribed warnings can communicate something about the institution itself. I have worked for both public and private institutions with adjoining libraries, and I must say that entering a public library is an altogether different spatial experience from entering a private one–which can often feel like entering a prison.

From Creating A Public Space: Open Access, Book Theft, and the Epigraphy of Ancient Libraries – SARAH E. BOND

March 3, 2016 by Blake Books Libraries

Dirty Old Books

Wear and tear is another way in which the manuscript shows that it was used a lot – that it had been popular among a group of medieval readers. It is not uncommon to see pronounced discolouration at the lower left corner of the page. The dark patches that can sometimes be observed there result from generations of fingers turning the page. Pages with such dirty lower corners usually also turn quite easily, as if the structure of the parchment is loosened up by the repeated turning of pages. Occasionally one encounters a page like the one seen in Fig. 4, which is dirty all over its surface. One wonders how clean the readers’ hands were – also after consulting such a dirty book.

From Dirty Old Books | medievalbooks

Wear and tear is another way in which the manuscript shows that it was used a lot – that it had been popular among a group of medieval readers. It is not uncommon to see pronounced discolouration at the lower left corner of the page. The dark patches that can sometimes be observed there result from generations of fingers turning the page. Pages with such dirty lower corners usually also turn quite easily, as if the structure of the parchment is loosened up by the repeated turning of pages. Occasionally one encounters a page like the one seen in Fig. 4, which is dirty all over its surface. One wonders how clean the readers’ hands were – also after consulting such a dirty book.

From Dirty Old Books | medievalbooks

March 3, 2016 by Blake Books

The manuscript-editing marketplace

Launched in October 2015 and still in beta testing, Peerwith is a forum through which researchers can find and negotiate with service providers such as editors, translators, statisticians and illustrators to improve their research papers. The site boasts “hundreds of experts”, most of them with expertise in the social sciences and humanities. Users post a job request detailing the subject area of the document, its length and the desired turnaround time. Experts then bid for the job, and both experts and users rate each other afterwards. Peerwith’s business model is akin to freelance marketplaces such as Upwork, says co-founder Joris van Rossum, who left the journal publisher Elsevier to start his firm, except with a strictly academic focus.

From The manuscript-editing marketplace : Nature News & Comment

Launched in October 2015 and still in beta testing, Peerwith is a forum through which researchers can find and negotiate with service providers such as editors, translators, statisticians and illustrators to improve their research papers. The site boasts “hundreds of experts”, most of them with expertise in the social sciences and humanities. Users post a job request detailing the subject area of the document, its length and the desired turnaround time. Experts then bid for the job, and both experts and users rate each other afterwards. Peerwith’s business model is akin to freelance marketplaces such as Upwork, says co-founder Joris van Rossum, who left the journal publisher Elsevier to start his firm, except with a strictly academic focus.