Leading virtual museum field trips using Zoom

Amanda Jones writes: “I came across the article ‘Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch’ on Facebook and I was struck with an idea. What if I shared these field trips online for my students? I visited the websites of all 12 museums listed in the article and was impressed, but wondered how some of my students would navigate these sites, as some of them were a little difficult to traverse. I began to wonder if there was a platform I could use to navigate these sites for my students while they followed along. I reached out to my PLN on Twitter, and the consensus seemed to be that the best way to lead a virtual trip would be using Zoom.”

Knowledge Quest blog, Mar. 30

Latest Library Links

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ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall writes: “After an earth-shifting week that has brought into stark relief the experiences of racism and racial violence that many of us and our communities navigate every day as people of color, it is even more clear that the work of dismantling racism is overdue. It is overdue in our society, in library and information services, and at ALA, which exists to ensure that libraries, learning, and information access are available to all. To that end, I invited several ALA staffers and member leaders to reflect on this moment.”
AL: The Scoop, June 5
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The staff at Booklist have compiled a list of antiracist books and other resources for librarians and readers of all ages, noting, “We cannot rely on the books to do the work for us, but in the hopes they might serve as catalysts for the self-reflection and group discussion that often preface effective antiracist action, we have developed a list of our own. For those committed to this journey—the reading and the subsequent action—the list below is a start.”
Booklist Reader, June 5
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Cass Balzer writes: “As the US unemployment rate spikes to historic highs, many librarians and other library workers are being furloughed from their positions and navigating the personal and professional challenges that result. One of the biggest challenges—the effect on morale—is heightened when furloughs arrive with little warning, little support, or both.”
AL: The Scoop, June 5
18h

Dandy roll, dentelles, thumb-soiled. What do these words mean? In a short film called “A Body of Language” posted at The New Yorker, D. W. Young interviews two dozen or so rare book dealers about the “obscure and fanciful language of the book world—particularly the bodily lingo.”
The New Yorker, May 21
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Janko Roettgers writes: “Summer typically marks some of the busiest times for local libraries. But with COVID-19, libraries have had to rethink their summer programs and the way they can serve local communities. Many libraries have turned to ebook-lending programs like Hoopla and Overdrive, which have seen usage surge since March. That increased usage has also put a spotlight on the costs associated with these services, and the role that book publishers play in the digital transformation of libraries, as well as conflicts between business models and policies designed to serve the public good.”
Protocol, June 5
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Peter Derk writes: “This year I’ll be involved in my 16th summer reading at the library. There’s your bona fides. The library and summer reading go together like John Carpenter and synthesizers. Wait, that’s too cool. Not that I think summer reading is uncool, but c’mon, there’s a limit. The library and summer reading go together like glasses and retainers. There, that feels about right. From time to time, a library loses its way. Does some weird things with summer reading that don’t quite add up. I’m here to tell you about a couple.”
Lit Reactor, June 1
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A camel library is giving children out of school in some of Ethiopia’s remote villages a unique opportunity to continue reading and learning, despite COVID-19 school closures. Save the Children first began the camel library in 2010. The service includes 21 camels, which are traditionally used by communities in the Somali region of Ethiopia to transport goods across the hot lowland areas. Camels can carry up to 200 storybooks at a time in wooden boxes strapped to their backs. The project currently reaches more than 22,000 children in 33 villages. Across Ethiopia, some 26 million children are out of school due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: ReliefWeb, June 5

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