Latest Library Links
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Terra Dankowski writes: “Nearly 150 years after it leveled 18,000 buildings and killed 300 people, the Great Chicago Fire (October 8–10, 1871) lives on—in the city’s tourist attractions, sports team names, and soon in a Chicago History Museum exhibit commemorating its anniversary this fall. ‘It’s just amazing how much the aftermath was documented,’ says Ellen Keith, director of the museum library. The library’s holdings include period maps and stereographs (an early form of three-dimensional photographs popular in the 19th century) depicting the burned areas of the city, transcripts of the 1871 fire department hearings, a 1997 mayoral resolution exonerating Mrs. O’Leary and her cow of blame for setting the blaze, and even sheet music for songs about the fire.”
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ALA members are invited to join Patricia “Patty” Wong at 1 p.m. Central on June 29 as she begins her term as the first Asian American to serve as president of ALA and shares her plans for leading the association through an exciting time of change. The virtual event is free and is part of the ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition, June 23–29.
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Emily Temple writes: “It’s June, the summer reading lists are out in full force, and so are our newly vaccinated knees (and chins), which can only mean that it’s that time of year again. This year, I read 38 lists, which recommended a grand total of 522 individual books. I have included those books recommended at least three times below, in descending order of frequency. So if you want to Read the Book That Everyone is Reading (or at least recommending) this summer, here’s where you should start.”
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Quanetta Batts and Ellen Knutson write: “Ethics and inclusion should be at the center of all your community engagement programs. Putting these ideas into practice can be challenging because of organizational inertia and a lack of appetite for risk. By carefully considering the potential impacts of your actions and plans, you will be on your way to providing truly ethical and inclusive engagement programs.”
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The Rhode Island Library Association presented its annual awards at the virtual RILA Annual Conference, June 3–4. The theme for the conference was “Well + Connected: Libraries and Healthy Communities,” and the recipients of this year’s awards exemplify the library community’s commitment to creating and supporting strong and healthy communities. See the full list of winners.
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OverDrive announced on June 9 that it is acquiring Kanopy, a leading video streaming service. Kanopy provides academic institutions and public libraries with a catalog of more than 30,000 curated films. It is used by millions of students and library patrons and is available on all major web, mobile, and TV platforms. The terms of the acquisition were not announced.
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Over the course of six months, cybersecurity researchers at Agari planted thousands of false credentials onto websites and forums popular for dumping stolen usernames and passwords. About half of of the accounts were accessed within 12 hours, 40% were accessed within six hours, and 20% were accessed within an hour.
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Bill Furbee writes: “Early last year when Americans were advised to stay home to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, libraries had to consider new ways to connect with the communities they serve. Most libraries already had an online presence pre-pandemic, and many offered virtual programming, providing a vital lifeline to the library for patrons sheltering in place. With such attention devoted to digital engagement, however, a new problem emerged: how to reach and support those who don’t have access to Wi-Fi, the internet, or even a device that can connect online.”
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The Library of Congress has acquired audio diaries featuring more than 200 frontline healthcare workers in the fight against COVID-19, a collection that provides first-hand testimonies from hospitals and communities across the country as the public health crisis unfolded. The audio library was donated by The Nocturnists, a San Francisco-based independent medical storytelling community and podcast. The majority of the recordings were originally collected for the “Stories from a Pandemic” series in the spring of 2020, of which only a small fraction was published on the podcast and accompanying online story map.
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Carrie Smith writes: “Gardening has become more popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, with seed companies seeing unprecedented demand and some popular seed varieties selling out. Seed libraries have been popping up across the US since the early 2000s, and one Girl Scout, Alicia Serratos, has helped start more than 100 such libraries in the past year. Serratos, 14, is an environmental activist and founder of Three Sisters Seed Box, a program that mails free seed library starter kits with instructions, organic vegetable seed packets, label sticks, and envelopes to return new seeds at the end of the season. American Libraries talked with Serratos about her activism, environmental stewardship, and why libraries are a great place to share seeds.”
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Meredith Farkas writes: “When I started writing for American Libraries in 2007, my column was part of a newly redesigned magazine that had a goal of increasing its technology coverage. I worked in a small rural library in Vermont at the time, and my Technology in Practice column would focus on sharing simple, low-cost technology success stories that most libraries could replicate. I wrote a lot about using social media in libraries when these platforms were in their infancies, long before they became tools of polarization and disinformation. So much has changed since then.”
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Jessica Hilbun Schwartz writes: “The approach of Father’s Day has got me thinking about dads in literature. You’ve got your classics like Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, and Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. But what about dads in contemporary YA? Here’s a short list of some of my favorite fathers in teen literature.”
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