Latest Information Industry News and Resources
Canadian Government Announces Funding to Expand National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS); Will Make More Published Works Available in Formats Accessible for Canadians With Print Disabilities
From the Employment and Social Development Canada/Government of Canada: Today, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility announced the expansion of the National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS) through funding from the Government of … [Read More...]
Recently Published: “The Role of Public Libraries in Engaging Citizens in Smart, Inclusive and Connected Communities – a Current Practices Report”
"The Role of Public Libraries in Engaging Citizens in Smart, Inclusive and Connected Communities - a Current Practices Report" (40 pages; PDF) was recently published by CTG UAlbany (a research institute at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany). About the Report from SUNY … [Read More...]
ALA and ARL Submit Comments to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Ways to Advance Consumer Privacy
From the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA): [On Tuesday,] NTIA released comments it received in response to a September 25, 2018, request for comment on a high-level framework for protecting consumer data privacy. We received over 200 comments from individuals, … [Read More...]
OCLC’s Andrew Pace on “Linked Data in Libraries: From Disillusionment to Productivity”
From a NEXT Blog Post by Andrew Pace, Executive Director, Technical Research at OCLC: What does “productive linked data” look like? What could linked data cataloging mean for library workers and end users? Catalogers will trade re-work for pioneering new work, refocusing on materials … [Read More...]
Journal Article: “Quadcopters or Linguistic Corpora: Establishing RDM Services for Small-Scale Data Producers at Big Universities”
The following article was recently published by LIBER Quarterly: The Journal of the European Association of Research Libraries. Title Quadcopters or Linguistic Corpora: Establishing RDM Services for Small-Scale Data Producers at Big Universities Authors Viola Voß ULB Münster, … [Read More...]
News Roundup (November 14, 2018)
1. National Coalition Against Censorship Issues Statement About New Jersey School District Restricting Library Circulation 2. AI: Google’s Ethical Black Hole Swallows Deepmind’s Best Intentions (via TNW) 3. New Hampshire Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment on Privacy (via NCSL) … [Read More...]
Deepfake and Facial Mapping are Seen, Discussed in Two New BBC News Videos
Two videos from BBC News embedded below. ---- BBC Newsreader 'Speaks' Languages He Can’t BBC newsreader Matthew Amroliwala only speaks English, but by using artificial intelligence software he suddenly appears to be speaking Spanish, Mandarin and Hindi. The technique is known as … [Read More...]
Video: Why a Library Fire Feels Like an ‘Attack on Humanity’ (PBS NewsHour Report)
From the PBS News Hour: In April 1986, fire raged through the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles, damaging or destroying more than a million books. Journalist and author Susan Orlean resurrects this nearly forgotten story in “The Library Book,” which also explores the emotional attachment … [Read More...]
EFF, Human Rights Watch, and Over 70 Civil Society Groups Ask Mark Zuckerberg to Provide All Users with Mechanism to Appeal Content Censorship on Facebook
From a Joint Announcement: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and more than 70 human and digital rights groups called on Mark Zuckerberg today to add real transparency and accountability to Facebook’s content removal process. Specifically, the groups demand that Facebook clearly explain how … [Read More...]
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) Selects Technology From Preservica and TeraMach For New Digital Platform Project
From Preservica: Library and Archives Canada (LAC), one of the world's largest library and archival institutions, has embarked on a large-scale, multi-stream initiative to move its extensive collection of digital records to a new digital platform to make it easier for Canadians to access … [Read More...]
Reference: New Data: 2017 Hate Crime Statistics Report Released by FBI
From the FBI: The number of hate crime incidents reported to the FBI increased about 17 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year, according to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s annual Hate Crime Statistics report, released today. Law enforcement reported 7,175 hate crimes … [Read More...]
A Group of 34 Civil Rights, Consumer, and Privacy Organizations Release Principles for Privacy Legislation
Note: As of today (November 13) no library groups are have signed this document. From a Joint News Release (via New America Foundation): Today, 34 civil rights, consumer, and privacy organizations join in releasing public interest principles for privacy legislation, because the public needs … [Read More...]
News Roundup (November 13, 2018)
1. FTC Submits Comments to NTIA on Consumer Privacy ||| Direct to Filing 2. De Gruyter and University of California Press Enter Partnership For International Distribution of E-Books and Digitization of About 2,250 Titles 3. Europe Needs A Broad & Mandatory TDM Exception (via … [Read More...]
U. of New Mexico University Library Launches Project to Preserve Zuni Language
From The Daily Lobo: The University of New Mexico’s College of University Libraries project is working to preserve the Zuni language and culture by using modern digital technology. The Zuni Language Materials Collection (ZLMC)is comprised of materials donated by the Zuni Public School District … [Read More...]
Stan Lee’s Papers are Held at the University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center
From the Casper Star-Tribune: This article originally ran in a May 2012 edition of the Star-Tribune. In light of Stan Lee's death Monday, we are re-publishing the article. [Clip] Lee challenged the image of the prototypical superhero by giving his characters humanistic flaws. He … [Read More...]
Audio and Video: Remembering Stan Lee: A Collection of Interviews and Presentations
Below, a small collection of interviews and presentations featuring the legendary comic book writer, editor, and publisher, Stan Lee. Lee passed away today at the age of 95. We begin with a video recording from the 2014 ALA Annual Convention in Las Vegas. From ALA Annual Conference, … [Read More...]
New Report/Data: FOIA Lawsuits Reach Record Highs in FY 2018
From the Transactional Records Clearinghouse (TRAC)/Syracuse University: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits continued to break record highs in FY 2018. According to case-by-case court records, 860 FOIA lawsuits were filed in FY 2018 against government agencies. In addition, the backlog of … [Read More...]
Research Article: “Differences Between Health Related News Articles from Reliable and Unreliable Media” (Preprint)
The following research article (preprint) was recently shared on arXiv. Title Differences Between Health Related News Articles From Reliable and Unreliable Media Authors Sameer Dhoju The University of Mississippi Md Main Uddin Rony The University of Mississippi Naeemul … [Read More...]
Firefox Launches Two New Experimental Resources: Price Change Alerts From Online Retailers & Tool to Make Sharing Easier
From The Mozilla Blog: Today, just in time for the holiday shopping season, the Firefox Test Pilot team is introducing Price Wise and Email Tabs — the latest experimental features designed to give users more choice and transparency when shopping online. These game-changing desktop tools are sure … [Read More...]
Research Objects: New EU-Funded Platform Helps Earth Scientists Manage and Share Data
From EUROPA: Earth sciences cover a range of related subjects. Scientists working in areas such as climatology, oceanology and geology produce vast amounts of data about the planet every year. However, in such a diverse field, it is not always easy to preserve the results of research activities or … [Read More...]
