10h
For hundreds of years, the world’s best cryptographers have dedicated their lives to solving the mystery of the Voynich Manuscript, a 15th-century book written in a mysterious coded language that no one has ever managed to crack. Gordon Rugg of Keele University in the UK has spent more than a decade studying the manuscript, and argues in a new paper in Cryptologia that the elaborate “language” in the text would have been easy to fake, if the author was familiar with a few simple coding techniques.
Science Alert, Sept. 23
10h
The British Library, the Free Word Centre, and Islington Libraries have come together alongside ALA to celebrate Banned Books Week in the UK for the first time. “We are promoting the week to raise awareness of the issues of censorship and free speech in the UK,” the British Library said. “We see it as an opportunity for all organizations working in literature and literacy to be part of this vital discussion and we hope to see Banned Books Week grow in the UK as it has done in the USA.”
The Bookseller (UK), Sept. 26
10h
Cultivating a space in the library that teens can activate and own sends teens a strong signal they are valued and welcome. In the book Real-World Teen Services (ALA Editions, 2015), Jennifer Velásquez stresses the need for a dedicated teen space and how library staffers can best serve their teens. (Read an excerpt from her book.) Velásquez is a lecturer at San José State University School of Information and coordinator of teen services for San Antonio Public Library.
American Libraries feature, Sept./Oct.
10h
Michael Gonchar writes: “Five years ago we asked students about the web filters used in their schools. In honor of Banned Websites Awareness Day, September 28, we are asking the same question again: What websites, blogs, and social networks are blocked in your school? How have web filters affected teaching and learning at your school? Do you agree with ALA that overly restrictive filtering of educational websites ‘does the next generation of digital citizens a disservice?’ Students 13 and older are invited to comment.”
New York Times, Sept. 27
11h
Is the Oak Lawn branch of the Cranston (R.I.) Public Library haunted? The building, which dates back to 1838 when it was once the Oak Lawn School before becoming a library in 1896, is full of ghostly stories—and not just within the pages of the books on the shelves. Visitors and staff have heard disembodied voices, and seen flickering lights and falling books. In 2014, the Atlantic Paranormal Society investigated those claims and there have been four more investigations since. The library staff isn’t afraid.
Cranston (R.I.) Patch, Sept. 26
11h
Most of the Tennessee middle-school social studies standards involving Islam have been removed from new draft standards undergoing public comment in Tennessee through October 28. In seventh grade, where studies of Islam are concentrated in current standards, the whole section of “Islamic World, 400 AD–1500s” has been removed in the draft, which went online from the state board of education for public review and input September 15. Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions remain.
Kingsport (Tenn.) Times-News, Sept. 25
12h
The Knight Foundation and the Newseum Institute partnered with Gallup this year to conduct a survey of students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities on their attitudes toward First Amendment rights. Gallup conducted interviews with 302 full-time students at HBCUs, 93% of whom identified their race as black or African-American, and compared them with a national sample of 3,072 students. The survey found that HBCU students found the media less trustworthy than other students.
Medium, Sept. 22
