Latest Library Links
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Mihir Patkar writes: “Tired of bots and algorithms recommending “popular” songs you don’t like? Music makes a human connection, so it’s best to hear song recommendations from real humans. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like AI is terrible at recommending music based on your tastes. But your ‘guilty pleasure’ track suddenly can mess up your algorithm. There’s nothing like a friend who tells you, ‘Hey, you might enjoy this, try it out.’ So forget about bots, and check out these real people recommending really good songs.”
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United for Libraries’ 2020 Virtual Conference—a three-day event covering issues that affect library trustees, foundations, and Friends—kicked off August 4, as Tropical Storm Isaias roared up the East Coast. Though Isaias affected power in several Eastern cities, United’s program proceeded without interruption, covering a variety of advocacy and funding topics. With COVID-19 and social justice in mind, keynotes and sessions introduced management tools and strategies, highlighted opportunities for organizations to pivot and imagine a different future, and explored what these changes might mean for the libraries and nonprofits that support them.
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The Omaha Magical Society has donated its collection of 1,200 books—including instruction, history, and biographies of famous magicians—to University of Nebraska at Omaha Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections. The move makes the books available not only to the public but to scholars and others around the world. The books had been kept in the homes of members but now will be stored in one safe place.
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Barbi Gardiner writes: “You’re looking for the right images for your social media, website, or promotional material. You don’t have time for DIY product photography, so you’ve searched high and low for free images to use but keep running into cheesy stock photos of people high-fiving in boardrooms or staring off longingly into the horizon. Don’t worry, I’ve created the perfect list of websites that have great free stock photos.”
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On his return to Spain, Christopher Columbus wrote a letter to his patrons, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, describing his voyage, and in effect, asking for more money to make another trip. His letter was printed and distributed throughout Europe. Columbus’ original handwritten letter no longer exists, but some of the printed copies do, and most are housed in prestigious libraries. But about 10 years ago, authorities discovered some of these treasures had been stolen and replaced with forgeries.
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A StoryWalk in Abilene, Kansas, displays panels from the book Farmers and Ranchers Care about Their Animals by Dan Yunk on the windows of local businesses. The walk starts at a bank and ends at Abilene Public Library. Participants can answer a few questions at the end to receive a voucher for 1–2 pounds of Kansas-raised ground beef provided by Kohman Meats and Engle Family Farms.
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Noam Cohen writes: “In an aggressive move that is anything but sitting back, a panel of Wikipedia administrators in July declared that Fox News would no longer be considered ‘generally reliable’ in its reporting on politics and science, and in those areas ‘should be used with caution to verify contentious claims.’ (Fox News articles on other topics were unaffected.) There simply were too many examples of misleading, inaccurate, and slanted reporting about science and politics for Wikipedia to pass on Fox News articles as part of a broader search for the truth.”
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University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Libraries has launched a new online portal featuring more than 2,500 digitized letters, photographs, diaries, programs, recordings, and other artifacts chronicling the life of opera singer and civil rights activist Marian Anderson. The archive is drawn from the school’s extensive Marian Anderson Papers.
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Andrew Albanese writes: “As the pandemic continues to impact the country, Penguin Random House has announced that it is extending its temporary digital license terms for libraries through December 31, 2020. Under the terms of its temporary program, PRH is offering libraries the option to license ebooks and digital audio for one-year terms at a 50% prorated price as an alternative to the existing two-year term (for ebooks) or perpetual access (for digital audio). A cost-per-circulation model is also available.”
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Talia Evans, media relations specialist at Kansas City (Mo.) Public Library, writes: “As stay-at-home orders and social distancing recommendations were handed down as COVID-19 spread, the first thought on the minds of so many at KCPL was, ‘How can we still help our community?’ More importantly, what about those who rely on us for access to a computer and the internet? After figuring out the basics, the focus quickly shifted to the digital divide that exists in our city. Citywide, 13% of all homes don’t have a computer and 17% are without the internet. To start, we partnered with the Kansas City Public School District and Connecting For Good, an organization that accepts donations of computers and computer accessories.”
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Eva Galperin, David Greene, and Kurt Opsahl write: “It is ironic that, while purporting to protect America from China’s authoritarian government, President Trump is threatening to ban the TikTok app. Censorship of both speech and social media applications, after all, is one of the hallmarks of the Chinese Internet strategy. While there is significant cause for concern with TikTok’s security, privacy, and its relationship with the Chinese government, we should resist a governmental power to ban a popular means of communication and expression.”
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