Latest Library Links
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Internet filters are widely used in homes, schools, and libraries throughout the US and UK to protect young people from unpleasant online experiences. However, a new study by the University of Oxford casts doubt on whether such technologies work after finding no link between homes with internet filters and the likelihood of the teenagers in those households being better protected. The research paper, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, suggests that resources would be better spent trying to develop the resilience of teenagers to such experiences.
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First, armed police seized some of its books. Next, its director was put on trial accused of stirring up ethnic hatred. And now, quietly, its shelves have been emptied and its volumes packed up, ready to be merged into another library’s collection. A year and a half after Moscow’s Library of Ukrainian Literature was dragged into a political dispute between the two countries, Reuters has learned that authorities are transferring its 52,000 volumes to a new cultural center elsewhere in Moscow.
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Eugene Volokh writes: “Under New York Assembly Bill 5323 and Senate Bill 4561, newspapers, scholarly works, copies of books on Google Books and Amazon, online encyclopedias (Wikipedia and others)—all would have to be censored whenever a judge and jury found (or the author expected them to find) that the speech was ‘no longer material to current public debate or discourse.’ The bill contains no exception even for material of genuine historical interest. It is clearly unconstitutional under current First Amendment law.”
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At the 2017 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta, the ALCTS board of directors endorsed the “Core Competencies for Cataloging and Metadata Professional Librarians.” The document defines competencies in broad terms to acknowledge the wide variety of work performed by cataloging and metadata professionals in libraries of all types and sizes, regardless of developments in standards or technologies.
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Applications for the 2017 “Leading to the Future” ALA Leadership Institute, August 7–10, in St. Charles, Illinois, will be accepted through April 13. The institute is designed to help future library leaders develop and practice their leadership skills in areas critical to the future of the libraries they lead. The four-day immersive leadership development program will be led again by ALA past-president Maureen Sullivan and library and leadership consultant Kathryn Deiss.
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On June 23, at the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, the RUSA Emerging Technologies Section will host a preconference, “We Are All User Experience Librarians: Creating Change from the Trenches.” This half-day morning session will focus on user testing and experience using discussion, presentations, and interactive exercises. Registration costs can be found on the conference website.
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Wayne A. Wiegand, author and F. William Summers Professor Emeritus of Library and Information Studies at Florida State University, was selected as the 2017 winner of the Gale Cengage History Research and Innovation Award, administered by the RUSA History Section. Wiegand was selected for his proposal to fill a significant gap in the history of public school libraries. The award consists of $2,500 to assist with research expenses.
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On June 23 at the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, ALCTS will present “Cataloging and Metadata for the Web: Meeting the User Where They Are.” This all-day preconference will address the skills required to increase libraries’ presence on the open web. Register through the 2017 ALA Annual Conference website. A panel of librarians will share their first-hand experiences implementing the concepts discussed in the Library Technology Report, “Improving Web Visibility: Into the Hands of Readers.”
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On June 23 at the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, ALCTS will offer “Building Successful Digital Programs at Small Institutions.” This all-day preconference will address the skills required to build a sustainable digitization program at your library. Register through the 2017 conference website. The preconference presenters will be Peggy Griesinger, Jaime Schumacher, Madeline Sheldon, and Danielle Spalenka.
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Elizabeth Hussey, public services librarian at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York, and Eleana Cordova, adult reference and interlibrary loan librarian at Wayne (N.J.) Public Library, were selected as the 2017 winners of the Atlas Systems Mentoring Awards, administered by the RUSA Sharing and Transforming Resources Section. Each recipient will receive $1,250 to assist with travel to the ALA Annual Conference.
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Maryann James-Daley writes: “The diversity gap is an emerging theme in technology. As corporations, nonprofits, and individuals have embarked on their own solutions, libraries have risen as partners in bridging that gap, from coding classes for kids to the creation of makerspaces that foster access for all. But how are we doing? Two panels at South by Southwest Interactive on March 11 in Austin, Texas, tackled some of these questions.”
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Libraries are employing unique methods to make their digital collections available to patrons outside of the library. As a part of its Digital Library Community Project, San Antonio (Tex.) Public Library created digital wallpapers—virtual bookshelves that give patrons access to ebooks by simply scanning a QR code with a smartphone—that can be placed throughout the community. SAPL Community and Public Relations Manager Caitlin Cowart explains how the library developed the system.
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