Latest Library Links
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Jessie Kratz writes: “December 15 is Bill of Rights Day, which commemorates the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution. For more information on events and resources at the National Archives, visit NARA’s Bill of Rights Day website. How much do you know about the Bill of Rights? We know a lot and have written quite a bit about it. Here are some facts about the Bill of Rights you might not know.”
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Christine Schmidt writes: “When the journalism organization Report for America announced that it was placing 250 journalists into 164 local newsrooms, the list of beats they’d be covering didn’t seem out of the ordinary. It served as a to-cover list for local news. Then there’s this one, from Charlotte, North Carolina, public radio station WFAE, the local Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, and the Digital Public Library of America: a ‘unique partnership using both radio and Wikipedia to fill news deserts.’ WFAE will house a journalist who will work with a Wikipedia researcher, with the assistance of DPLA, to find Charlotte-related news at the library.”
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Jennifer Sturge writes: “If you have not heard about Wakelet, it’s time to learn. If you are like me, you are always finding amazing resources, articles, and ideas floating around cyberspace. Wakelet makes curation easy and allows you to organize what you want to save, share, and comment upon. You can bookmark anything—videos, articles, music, or podcasts—and create collections while adding images and notes to yourself or others. Not only can Wakelet be a powerful tool for your own professional learning network, but it can also be a great tool to use with students in the school library.”
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Tomas A. Lipinski writes: “Legal regulation of fake news in public spaces is difficult, if not impossible. As long as the speech is not defamatory, ‘the right to lie’ is constitutionally protected as free speech. Official filings are an exception: You cannot lie on your tax return, on a mortgage loan application, under oath, or otherwise on legal declarations subject to penalty of perjury. In theory, the proper response to false claims is more speech—that is, more open exchange in a free marketplace. Libraries can take a cue from this by offering programming and materials that help patrons discern truthful news from fake news.”
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Michael Lee writes: “Since opening in 2015, the Chinatown branch of the Chicago Public Library has become a hub for seniors in the community to socialize, play board games, and participate in other activities. Like other public libraries nationwide, it is adapting to the changing needs of their residents in addition to its traditional role as a resource for books, periodicals, and DVDs. Libraries nationwide are looking for ways to support seniors, but not because they are changing their roles, said Maria Bonn, director of the library and information science master’s program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.”
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Corin Balkovek writes: “Chances are, if you work in a library or have a bookish lifestyle and spend any time on social media, you’ve seen it: The Library Cake. With shelves packed to the brim, a table and chairs beset with reading materials and lamps, even miniature potted plants sitting outside the ‘front door,’ the intricate edible decorations take baked goods to the next level. But where did the Library Cake come from? Why was it created? ‘This cake was made for my daughter’s 21st birthday,’ wrote the Library Cake’s creator, Kathy Klaus, in our communications.”
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James C. Zimring writes: “Science seems under assault. Attacks come from many directions, ranging from the political realm to groups and individuals masquerading as scientific entities. There is even a real risk that scientific fact will eventually be reduced to just another opinion, even when those facts describe natural phenomena—the very purpose for which science was developed. Hastening this erosion are hyperbolic claims of ‘truth’ that science is often perceived to make and that practicing researchers may themselves project, whether intentionally or not.” -
Each year Booklist editors are tasked with the impossible: From thousands of 2019 book releases, select seven. These seven picks, dubbed the Top of the List, showcase the year’s most exceptional titles in the following categories: adult nonfiction, adult fiction, adult audiobook, youth nonfiction, youth fiction, youth picture book, and youth audiobook. To see which seven books editors recommend, cherish, and would probably fight to the death over (their meetings are intense) this year, watch this exciting announcement (3:00) from Donna Seaman, Sarah Hunter, and Biz Hyzy. -
Howard LaFranchi writes: “When teenage Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived by solar-powered boat in New York in September to speak before the United Nations General Assembly, she garnered so much attention one might think her youthful climate activism was unusual. Actually it’s not. All over the world, in big cities and small villages, in global powers and tiny island nations, young people are mobilizing and marching, as seen in the Black Friday global climate strike. Beyond that, young people are starting their own organizations and innovating greener everyday-living practices, all in the name of addressing climate change.”
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The ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table has selected Kayla Kuni as its 2020 Emerging Leader. The sponsorship consists of a $1,000 grant towards attendance at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia and ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. Kuni is a librarian at Pasco-Hernando State College in New Port Richey, Florida, where she teaches modularized developmental reading and writing and helps future business owners discover resources.Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, Dec. 12
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In a WebJunction webinar on “Civil Legal Justice: The Crucial Role of Libraries,” law librarian Catherine McGuire, who has conducted extensive trainings with public libraries, will share insights into interacting with patrons who approach the library with civil legal needs. The free webinar will take place on February 11. Participants will learn about the status of civil legal justice in our system, the vital role public libraries can play in reducing the justice gap, and about the multiweek course to be offered in April, which takes a deeper look at supporting people to navigate the complexities of the legal system. Register online. -
Choice magazine has published the fifth in a series of white papers designed to provide actionable intelligence around topics of importance to the academic library community. Written by Carol Tenopir, Research Data Services in Academic Libraries: Where Are We Today? offers a unique opportunity to revisit and re-examine findings from a 2012 ACRL survey and white paper about research data services (RDS) by reissuing the survey, appropriately updated, and writing about the changes in thjese services that have occurred in academic libraries in the past seven years.
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