Latest Library Links
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Suzanne LaPierre writes: “New research published in the Journal of Librarianship and Information Science adds pieces to the puzzle of how public libraries can best address rising tides of misinformation within their communities. Most recently, misinformation surrounding COVID-19 has demonstrated how complex the issue can be and how serious—even lethal—the consequences.”
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Children’s librarian Chelsey Roos writes: “Recently, HBO adapted Roald Dahl’s 1983 novel The Witches into a film. This isn’t the first time the extremely popular novel has been adapted—it was first made into a film in 1990, and has also been turned into a radio play and an opera. It’s also a novel that’s built upon a framework of antisemitism.”
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The biggest book publisher in the United States is about to get bigger. ViacomCBS has agreed to sell Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House for more than $2 billion in a deal that will create the first megapublisher. Penguin Random House, the largest book publisher in the United States, is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Adding Simon & Schuster, the third largest publisher, would create a book behemoth, a combination that could trigger antitrust concerns.
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In the 1930s and 1940s, federal programs such as the Works Progress Administration paid artists and artisans to create thousands of artworks. Some of those works ended up on display in public buildings such as libraries. Roughly eight decades later, some of the images depicted in those murals are now recognized as racist. Deciding whether to remove, alter, or retain these murals can be challenging; not all stakeholders agree on a course of action.
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Starting in January, Comcast plans to charge home internet customers in northeastern US states for going over 1.2TB of data in a month—a cap that’s already in effect for customers on non-unlimited plans in other parts of the country. The affected states include Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, as well as parts of North Carolina and Ohio.
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Academic librarian Joe Hardenbrook writes: “This has been an tough academic year so far–on students, on faculty, on library staff. At times, I’ve felt like a teacher, therapist, commiserator, coach, and cheerleader all wrapped into one. We’ve had to scramble, learn new technology, alter assignments, and just … adapt. In doing so, don’t forget your academic librarian! Here are eight simple tips to make the relationship successful and how your academic librarian can contribute to your students’ success.”
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Filippo Menczer and Thomas Hills write: “We prefer information from people we trust, our in-group. We pay attention to and are more likely to share information about risks. We search for and remember things that fit well with what we already know and understand. These biases are products of our evolutionary past, and for tens of thousands of years, they served us well. Modern technologies are amplifying these biases in harmful ways, however.”
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Livia Gershon writes: “It’s Thanksgiving season, which in many elementary schools means it’s time to celebrate Native Americans. And yet the books teachers and administrators choose for these units sometimes convey unintended messages, stereotyping Native cultures. That’s a situation that anthropologists Valerie Lambert, an enrolled citizen of Choctaw Nation, and Michael Lambert, an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, came face to face with in 2011.”
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Freshly employed Teen Librarian Courtney Evans writes: “When I began drafting ideas for this month’s blog, I was mostly thinking about library assessments and interviews. I knew I wanted to write about my experience, but I was unsure how because I hadn’t yet been offered the job that I was busy applying for. However, in this whirlwind of a past two weeks, I accepted and started my first librarian job as a teen librarian. To keep this as brief and useful as possible, I’m sticking to 10 tips to help you get that library job.”
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Charlie Deitch writes: “On Monday, Nov. 16, the Allegheny County (Pa.) Jail’s incarcerated population received a memo from warden Orlando Harper that read: ‘Effective Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, the Allegheny County Jail shall no longer accept books from Barnesandnoble.com and Christianbooks.com. Inmates living in our facility now have the ability to read over 214 free books and 49 free religious books through our tablet program.’ The ACJ’s tablet program began earlier this year after the county inked a new contract with Global Tel*Link.”
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Author and book blogger Anastasia Suen writes: “The COVID surge has derailed the Thanksgiving plans of families across the country this year. So how can we celebrate? Here are some Thanksgiving activities that families can try at home.”
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Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden has appointed Joy Harjo to serve a third term as Poet Laureate of the United States, making her only the second poet to serve three terms. Harjo also launched her signature project, “Living Nations, Living Words,” which features 47 contemporary Native poets through a new Story Map and online audio collection. Harjo will be the ALA President’s Program speaker at ALA Midwinter Virtual on January 24.
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