Now, almost one year after the incident, the world-famous library has revealed details of its £400,000 plan to move forward from the disaster – which left it with a website that still doesn’t have a proper Content Management System (CMS) and forced the ongoing closure of both physical and virtual archives.
Unbundling Profile: MIT leaders describe the experience of not renewing its largest journal contract as overwhelmingly positive
This is part of a series of profiles detailing the experiences of institutions that have unbundled or canceled big deal journal contracts. The aim of the series is to provide insights, lessons learned, and inspiration to libraries to consider a similar move.
MIT leaders describe the experience of not renewing its largest journal contract as overwhelmingly positive. MIT has long tried to avoid vendor lock-in through big deal contracts and, in 2019, maintained individual title-by-title subscriptions to approximately 675 Elsevier titles. In 2020, they took the significant step of canceling the full Elsevier journals contract – all 675 titles – leaving users with immediate access to only pre-2020 backfile content. Since the cancellation, MIT Libraries estimates annual savings at more than 80% of its original spend. This move saves MIT approximately $2 million each year, and the Libraries provide alternative means of access that fulfills most article requests in minutes.
Utah outlaws books by Judy Blume and Sarah J Maas in first statewide ban | Books | The Guardian
Utah outlaws books by Judy Blume and Sarah J Maas in first statewide ban
State has ordered books by 13 authors, 12 of them women, to be removed from every public school, classroom and library
The 13 books could be banned under House bill 29, which became effective from 1 July, because they were considered to contain “pornographic or indecent” material. The list “will likely be updated as more books begin to meet the law’s criteria”, according to PEN America.
E-Books Can Subvert Book Bans, But Corporate Profit-Seeking Stands in the Way
E-Books Can Subvert Book Bans, But Corporate Profit-Seeking Stands in the Way
Exorbitant costs and restrictive licenses are obstructing libraries’ efforts to resist book bans via access to e-books.
“The ultimate aim is to try to get five or six state laws passed, and then hope that the federal government says, ‘Okay, this is a mess. We’ve been kicking the can down the road for 30 years on this digital copyright stuff. It’s time for us to look at this and say, libraries have a vital function. We need to carve out special exemptions for them and make the terms under which they get books more fair.’”
Ten Stories That Shaped 2023
It’s time yet again to take a look back at the memorable library stories from the past year.
Two themes dominated headlines in 2023: attacks on libraries; and the rising implications of generative artificial intelligence.
10. Misplaced Classified Documents
Fallout over politicians from both parties mishandling documents continued to make news early in the year.
9. Attacks on Librarians – Kirk Cameron
In a peculiar bid to paint himself the victim of library policies, Kirk Cameron staged conflicts over his right-wing children’s books and related library events.
8. Generative AI – Audio Books and Music
War Sows Disruption at the National Book Awards
A majority of this year’s finalists at the national book awards made a collective statement calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war at the ceremony in New York on Thursday, amid a storm behind the scenes as sponsors pulled out in anticipation.
War Sows Disruption at the National Book Awards
Thanks Robin!
“No one else is saving it”: the fight to protect a historic music collection
The ARChive of Contemporary Music, which houses more than 90m songs and is supported by names such as Martin Scorsese, is in need of a new home
The Arc preserves copies of every recording in all known formats. It has electronically catalogued more than 400,000 sound recordings and digitised 200,000 with the Internet Archive – more than any other public university or private library in America. It also contains more than 3m pieces of material including photos, videos, DVDs, books, magazines, press kits, sheet music, ephemera and memorabilia.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/nov/16/archive-of-contemporary-music-new-york
No, I Don’t Want to Join Your Book Club
WSJ about new variations of book clubs, for people who don’t like the traditional ones – and it does feature a cool “not-a-book-club book club” at the public library in Woodstock, Vt.
Iowa election 2023: Pella Public Library retains independence
Pella voters keep library independent by slim margin following failed 'Gender Queer' challenge
In a tense battle over book censorship, Pella residents voted Tuesday to protect the local library board’s independence.
About 51% of voters cast ballots against a measure to give City Hall officials oversight of the library’s actions and budget, according to unofficial results. The non-binding referendum reached the ballot after some residents petitioned the library board to remove a graphic novel about gender fluidity, mirroring a national debate driven by conservatives over what books taxpayer-funded libraries should carry.
Just 87 votes separated the two sides, according to unofficial results.
Thanks Robin !
A door at a Swedish library was accidentally left open 446 people came in, borrowed 245 books. Every single one was returned
A door at a Swedish library was accidentally left open — 446 people came in, borrowed 245 books. Every single one was returned
They say a reader does not steal and a thief does not read. In the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, that’s definitely true.
Mihai AndreibyMihai Andrei November 9, 2023 in News, Offbeat
When Anna Carin Elf arrived at her workplace in Gothenburg, she immediately realized something was not right. She works at a library, and she was greeted by several visitors, just like any other day. But this was not any other day — the library was supposed to be closed.
“They were surprised. They thought it was a bit empty,” she says. “The people in the library behaved as usual. Many were sitting reading newspapers, some families were in the children’s section and others were searching for books on the computer.”
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