Latest Library Links
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Library marketer Angela Hursh writes: “Most libraries don’t have a budget to hire a photographer for every campaign or marketing initiative. They may not have a graphic designer to create illustrations. So they rely on free stock photos and art to create promotional material that looks professional and modern. But libraries must navigate the tricky legal maze of copyright issues associated with images, icons, and photos. If you are working with a limited budget, there are many websites where you can find high-quality, free stock photos.”
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A trove of Brontë family manuscripts—virtually unseen for a century—will be auctioned by Sotheby’s as part of what the auction house is calling a legendary “lost library” of British literature treasures. The Honresfield Library includes a handwritten manuscript of Emily Brontë’s poems with pencil edits by Charlotte, letters, inscribed first editions, and the family’s heavily annotated copy of Bewick’s History of British Birds (which features in the opening scenes of Jane Eyre).
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OCLC REALM Project Director Sharon Streams writes: “When the REALM [REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums] project began in April 2020, little was known about the COVID-19 virus. Now, more than a year later, REALM has completed eight laboratory tests, synthesized emerging research findings, and produced toolkit resources for archives, libraries, and museums. In this next phase, REALM is exploring additional questions as vaccines have become available, SARS-CoV-2 variants are on the rise, and local guidelines and restrictions change. Here, I’ll discuss what the REALM project has learned over the past year and outline our next phase of work.”
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Hillary Bird writes: “Supporting an LGBTQ child or finding guidance for diverse families can come in all forms. Children’s book authors have put kids with varying identities at the forefront to help kids, allies, and parents answer questions and drive acceptance. These titles help shine a light on different families and, above all, serve as tools to help parents, teachers, relatives, and kids to accept themselves, their friends, and their families.”
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The Linda Lindas, the Asian and Latinx teen band that lit up social media when a video of their recent performance at Los Angeles Public Library went viral, have signed with punk label Epitaph Records. The show at LAPL’s Cypress Park branch was part of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month programming.
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Arianne Cohen writes: “Publicly correcting misinformation on Twitter is not the thing to do. This is the conclusion of MIT researchers who attempted to politely correct flagrantly false posts on social media. The researchers targeted 2,000 Twitter users from a range of political persuasions who had tweeted 11 overtly false news articles.”
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Matthew Gault writes: “It can be hard to access scientific articles, which are often hidden behind expensive paywalls. For 10 years, Sci-Hub, the ‘Pirate Bay of Science,’ has hosted scientific papers free for anyone who wanted them. But it hasn’t uploaded anything new since December 2020 and is facing prosecution in America. Now, determined activist archivists are working to make a decentralized backup of the website that can never be erased from the internet.”
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On May 11, RBmedia, the largest audiobook producer in the world, announced the acquisition of McGraw Hill Professional’s audiobook publishing business, which includes its catalog of previously published titles, as well as a multiyear agreement to become the exclusive audio publisher for all of McGraw Hill Professional’s new titles.
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The Rococo-style library of the National Palace of Mafra in Portugal holds 36,000 leather-bound volumes dating from the 14th to 19th centuries. Also part of the collection? Bats. Atlas Obscura Podcast talks to librarian Teresa Amaral and bat biologist Hugo Rebelo about these tiny nocturnal creatures, why they’re welcome in the library, and the “cost-free” service that this “night shift” provides.
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What would it take to repair and modernize the 17,000 public library buildings in the US? According to a May 20 data brief from ALA’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office, $32 billion is needed for construction and renovation—a goal that would take more than 25 years to meet at current funding levels. Congress has not provided dedicated funding for library facilities since 1997. “Federal support outlined in the Build America’s Libraries Act would be a strong start,” said ALA President Julius C. Jefferson Jr. in a May 20 statement.
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Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists Nikole Hannah-Jones and Isabel Wilkerson will speak at ALA’s virtual Annual Conference and Exhibition (June 23–29). Hannah-Jones, investigative reporter for The New York Times Magazine and author of the forthcoming book The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, will open the conference. Wilkerson, author of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, will present as part of the ALA President’s Program. Hannah-Jones was featured on an episode of Call Number with American Libraries last month.
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Sussex County (Del.) Libraries has offered up its bookmobile to be used as a mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic, in partnership with Beebe Healthcare and Sussex County Medical Services. This first-of-its-kind venture—dubbed by some as the “Magic Bus”—aims to get more shots in the arms of underserved communities. County officials, librarians, and medical workers work together to monitor patients. Librarian Rachel Lynch told The New York Times that children who were already familiar with the bookmobile brought parents, sometimes translating for them.
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