Latest Library Links
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Zack Whittaker writes: “The internet is not a private place. Ads try to learn as much about you to sell your information to the highest bidder. Emails know when you open them and which links you click. And some of the biggest internet snoops, like Facebook and Amazon, follow you from site to site as you browse the web. But it doesn’t have to be like that. We’ve tried and tested six browser extensions that will immediately improve your privacy online by blocking most of the invisible ads and trackers.”
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When the Smithsonian introduced a futuristic plan for the 17 acres around its iconic administration building, the National Historic Landmark known as the Castle, officials predicted it would be a game-changer that would remake the structure into a visitor gateway to the storied institution. Six years later, a new Smithsonian administration has jettisoned the eye-popping elements of the $2 billion design by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, opting instead for a dramatically downsized version.
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Librarian Anne Rouyer writes: “Our list includes books set in Regency- and Victorian-era England plus, for good measure, Gilded Age New York. We have more sexy, brooding dukes then you will know what to do with (or will you…?), plus a lot of rakes and rogues too—all of whom will ultimately fulfill your every need first, listen to you, and validate you (while shirtless!).”
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Tana Weingartner writes: “Ebooks, as they say, are having a moment. Sales were up 16.5% for the first 10 months of 2020, according to the Association of American Publishers, and several months into the pandemic, ebook checkouts from libraries shot up more than 50%. Schools are also relying heavily on ebooks during remote and hybrid education. Digital reading platform OverDrive reports an 80% increase worldwide in school ebook and audiobook usage.”
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Simon & Schuster said on January 7 that it would cancel the publication of an upcoming book by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), one of several members of Congress who tried to overturn the results of the presidential election. Hawley has been criticized for challenging the results and accused of helping incite the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6. His book, The Tyranny of Big Tech, was scheduled to be published in June.
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On December 16, the Prague Zoo finally named the baby Sumatran orangutan born there November 17. After sorting through more than 4,000 potential names submitted by the public, zookeepers settled on Pustakawan, the Indonesian word for librarian, after the orangutan in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.
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Humble Bundle’s Be The Change Book Bundle offers best-selling e-books and audiobooks by leading BIPOC authors, and a portion of every sale benefits ALA, Spectrum Scholars, and the Freedom to Read Foundation. From Black history to Afrofuturism, this bundle provides a great reading list to deepen your knowledge, expand conversations, and share the vision of a more equitable future. The bundle is available through February 8.
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The January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill raised a series of questions about free speech, the First Amendment, and protest rights. Should presidents be banned from Twitter and Facebook? Should tech companies refuse to host social networks sites like Parler? What defines “hate speech” and “incitement”? PEN America offers a guide to these thorny issues.
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Twanna Hodge and Jamia Williams write: “Librarianship is an overwhelmingly white profession, with most of its racial and ethnic diversity existing in paraprofessional, precarious, and part-time positions. As two early-career Black women with experience in multiple academic and health sciences libraries, we have experienced many barriers to existing and thriving in librarianship: tokenism, racial battle fatigue, cultural taxation, and emotional labor. We regularly navigate the manifestations and effects of vocational awe as well as structural and institutional racism in academic libraries, all of which COVID-19 has highlighted and severely worsened.”
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Ulia Gosart writes: “It’s not news that libraries and museums have a long and problematic history of mishandling Indigenous materials. From exhibiting culturally sensitive items to retaining materials that were unlawfully seized, the need for improvement has been clear. In response, a burgeoning number of libraries are promoting culturally responsive care of collections, demonstrating leadership and restoring a long-ignored legacy of Indigenous intellectual property.”
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The American Library Association (ALA) announced 10 winners of its I Love My Librarian Award on January 11. Recipients were nominated by patrons nationwide for their expertise, dedication, and profound impact on the people in their communities. The virtual award ceremony will take place during ALA’s 2021 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits Virtual at 2:30 p.m. Central on January 23 and will stream live on YouTube. This year’s award recipients include four academic librarians, three public librarians, and three school librarians.
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Anne Ford writes: “Library of Congress employees and contractors were among the federal workers evacuated by US Capitol Police on January 6 while a mob of Trump loyalists stormed, occupied, and vandalized the Capitol for several hours, falsely asserting that the presidential election had been rigged in favor of President-Elect Joe Biden.”
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