39m
Timothy Noah writes: “The phone call died, according to Nielsen, in the autumn of 2007. During the final three months of that year the average monthly number of texts sent on mobile phones (218) exceeded, for the first time in recorded history, the average monthly number of phone calls (213). A frontier had been crossed. The primary purpose of most people’s primary telephones was no longer to engage in audible speech. It’s a lonely business, this life without telephone calls.”
Slate, Sept. 18
2h
National debates over contraception, same-sex marriage, and transgender rights have highlighted the growing tension between protecting religious liberty and guaranteeing nondiscrimination. Conflicts have arisen over whether religious business owners must provide contraception to employees or wedding-related services to same-sex couples. Americans also are grappling with the question of which public restrooms transgender people should use. A new Pew Research Center survey finds the public divided.
Pew Research Center, Sept. 28
2h
Brianna Wellen writes: “Even though William Shakespeare never set foot in Chicago, the writer’s influence has long been palpable in the city, and the Newberry Library has the collection to prove it. In conjunction with the citywide celebration of Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, Shakespeare 400 Chicago, ‘Creating Shakespeare,’ a new exhibit, features nearly 200 Bard-related objects, including a playbill from 1862 that credits John Wilkes Booth as the lead in Othello at Chicago’s McVicker’s Theater.”
Chicago Reader, Sept. 24
3h
Peter Chase, Barbara Bailey, Jan Nocek, and George Christian write: “We are the four librarians who fought a government gag order in 2005 when FBI agents demanded library records under the Patriot Act. The ‘Connecticut Four’ are now reunited as attempts are being made in the US Senate to expand the amount and kinds of information that the government may compel libraries and others to divulge. This amendment to the Justice Department appropriations bill could once again infringe on the civil liberties of library patrons and silence librarians as we were silenced a dozen years ago.”
Hartford (Conn.) Courant, Sept. 28
4h
James Hennelly writes: “Since its inception, Resource Description and Access has sought to establish itself as an international standard, a goal that was reaffirmed in a statement from the RDA Board (then known as the Committee of Principals) in June 2015. But what does this commitment to internationalization really mean, and how can we assess whether progress toward this goal has been made? Internationalization is something that must be pursued at several different levels.”
American Libraries, international supplement, Sept.
4h
On September 17, more than 70 school librarians and educational stakeholders in Delaware, Massachusetts, and Michigan attended workshops dedicated to unpacking the provisions for school libraries in the Every Student Succeeds Act. Presented by AASL in collaboration with the ALA Office for Library Advocacy and the Washington Office, the workshops are part of an outreach effort to AASL state affiliates to highlight ESSA opportunities for school libraries to be addressed in state and local plans.
AASL, Sept. 27
4h
Joshua L. Carlson writes: “Day two of the Gaming As Meaningful Education (GAME) conference, held September 23–24 in Rochester, New York, and cosponsored by AASL and the ALA Games and Gaming Round Table (GameRT), started with a deep dive into games usage in schools. Conference cochair Christopher Harris, director of the Genesee Valley (N.Y.) School Library System and editorial director of Play Play Learn, stressed that games should be treated as any other curriculum-aligned instructional resource.”
AL: The Scoop, Sept. 27
