Archives

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Warming Up to End Times

December 30, 2013

There is no longer any point in debating the reality of global warming (or, if you prefer to be politically correct, climate change). The handwriting is on the wall: 2012 was the hottest year on record and the polar ice caps are melting at an alarmingly fast rate. Then there’s the new research report from … Continue reading Warming Up to End Times


Meredith Farkas

Open Access Everything

December 23, 2013

With the growing cost of higher education, declining library budgets, and the crisis in scholarly publishing, it can sometimes be difficult to feel optimistic. Looking at the creative efforts to address these issues through publishing gives me ample hope. Many academic libraries are working to make the scholarly and creative output of their communities widely … Continue reading Open Access Everything



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LIS on the Job

December 16, 2013

Due to loss of funding over the years, many libraries opted to hire less expensive staff members who were not certified librarians. Now, even though people with the title “librarian” make up one-third of library staff, only half of all libraries reported having a credentialed librarian on staff in 2010, according to the Public Libraries … Continue reading LIS on the Job


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Navigating the News

December 10, 2013

To help high school students differentiate between fact and fiction in today’s increasingly chaotic news—in which opinion-based cable news programs, blogs, and social media sites have proliferated—the American Library Association (ALA), in partnership with local library branches and a nonprofit media literacy organization, created News Know-How, a program that helps young adults become better, more … Continue reading Navigating the News


Linda Braun

Moving Beyond Same-Old

December 10, 2013

As I wrote this column, I decided to check my go-to dictionary, the Merriam-Webster, about the definition of “outreach.” It stated: “the extending of services or assistance beyond current or usual limits <an outreach program>; also: the extent of such services or assistance.” Youth services outreach frequently centers on luring young people inside the library … Continue reading Moving Beyond Same-Old



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Common Ground

December 9, 2013

There are many benefits to spending one’s life on a college campus: beautiful settings, the rhythm of the academic year, and of course continually being surrounded by bright, energetic students. Each summer they come for orientation, eager, excited, and younger by the year. You too can play the “where were you the year they were … Continue reading Common Ground


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Libraries on the Vine

December 3, 2013

“We avoided it for awhile,” says Gail Shackleton, director of library services at Appleby College, a 7–12 grade school in Ontario. She and library technician Stefania Mulyk administer the library’s social media presence, which already includes Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and YouTube. They waited to adopt Vine until four months after the app’s introduction because of … Continue reading Libraries on the Vine




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Newsmaker: Kathleen Shearer

December 2, 2013

In August 2013, the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and two other groups launched a Joint Task Force on Librarians’ Competencies in Support of E-Research and Scholarly Communication. Its first task will be to identify expertise and skill sets that academic librarians will need for expanded roles in … Continue reading Newsmaker: Kathleen Shearer