20m
Frank Landymore writes: “Traditionally, books have been good for two things: reading and looking nice on a shelf. But artificial intelligence (AI) companies are interested in neither. To those building large language models, books are nothing more than fodder to be devoured en masse before being spit out like fishbone. Antique books may be endangered. Rare booksellers in the Netherlands are being inundated with bulk purchases they believe are being made by AI companies, though they can’t know for sure.”
Futurism, July 25; NL Times, June 25
5h
Annaliese Melvin writes: “Many library systems around the country rely on the help of volunteers to make our workflows successful. In my system, this includes teen volunteers, and in the summer paid teen employees. If you are new to working with teens, you may feel apprehensive about how to manage their workflow. Whether you work with teens as summer volunteers or school year employees, these tips can help you set them up for success.”
ALSC Blog, July 28
24h
Graeme Peacock writes: “Google offers some very convenient and highly advanced software—there’s no doubt about that—but it comes at the cost of pervasive user tracking. For nearly nine years, an anti-Google movement called de-Google has quietly grown on Reddit. It’s a privacy-focused community whose members share how they cope in a world without Google products. I’ve always been pro-privacy, and naturally gravitate toward software that respects it. These are the four ways (of many) I live without Google.”
How-To Geek, July 24
1d
Cameron C. Beatty writes: “Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is not a slogan. It is not a branding exercise. It is not a campus accessory to pull out during heritage months and quietly hide when the political weather changes. At its best, DEI education helps people understand history, power, identity, inequality, institutional responsibility, and democratic life. It helps us name harm before harm becomes normalized. As we enter the next academic year, especially for those of us whose work embodies DEI even when the acronym itself is treated like contraband, I offer four considerations.”
Inside Higher Ed, July 24
2d
Sally Sax writes: “Twenty-five years after the US Copyright Office’s first Digital Millennium Copyright Act review, libraries operate in an increasingly noncompetitive digital information environment. A lack of digital ownership rights remains a critical barrier to libraries serving their missions as memory institutions. Library leaders can use the reaction to Sony’s announcement [to end sales of physical PlayStation games] and similar cultural moments to showcase our institutional expertise on digital rights issues, and to advance our interests in library-owned digital collections and federal contract override protections.”
Association of Research Libraries Views, July 22
2d
“The absence of clear personnel policies could lead to confusion, conflict, and organizational risk. As you consider your own personnel policy, the following questions and resources may help support your review and identify areas for improvement. These policies may cover areas such as behavior management, privacy, access to information, emergency response, staff training, hiring, scheduling, leave, performance expectations, grievances, and workplace conduct.”
Texas State Library Archives Commission, July 23
2d
Amanda Silberling writes: “At Bangor (Maine) Public Library, patrons turn to librarian Hannah Cyrus when they need help with anything involving technology. Usually, Cyrus’s classes like Intro to Computers get about a dozen attendees. But so many people expressed interest in her first Avoiding Artificial Intelligence workshop that she had to cut off registration at 30 people, open a waitlist, and share the workshop on Zoom. Including the livestream, about 70 people attended each of Cyrus’s first two workshops.”
TechCrunch, July 25
