After his profanity-laced tweetstorm went viral last week, Portland student librarian Alex Halpern found himself speaking up for his ̶[e̶m̶b̶a̶t̶t̶l̶e̶d̶ thriving and evolving] profession. READ MORE: Portland’s Angriest Librarian Isn’t Mad Anymore | CityLab
+ This angry librarian’s passionate defense of libraries won the Internet | Washington Post
Let’s hope IFCN hires more librarians as verified fact checkers…and not “would-be fake news detectives.”
Google is taking its battle against misleading information to the real world. The company has partnered with the International Fact-Checking Network, a nonpartisan organization run by The Poynter Institute that advocates across the globe for accuracy in online articles. The IFCN holds an annual fact-checking conference, funds fellowships and provides training for would-be fake-news detectives, plus it’s the author behind a widely accepted code of principles for media organizations.
Google plans to work with the IFCN in three main ways: increasing the number of verified fact checkers in the world, expanding the code of principles into new regions, and offering free fact-checking tools.
READ MORE: Google partners with fact-checking network to fight fake news | engadget
This post breaks out technical skillsets required in public, academic and special librarians as well as new skillsets in emerging technologies.
Trying to get a handle on what library technologies LIS professionals need to know can be a challenge, as both the tasks that librarians are taking on – and the tools they’re using to do them – seem to be changing daily.
Nevertheless, it’s especially important for job hunters to be aware of technology skills and knowledge that are in-demand, because increasingly these tools will be central to successful performance of your careers
A pointed and realistic viewpoint on the state of journalism today.
One of my responsibilities as Research & Strategy Librarian at Calgary Economic Development is fact-checking data points and verifying statements. At times I have explained (repeatedly) why specific information can or cannot be used. Statements in the media or elsewhere are often misleading and taken out of context to suit specific purposes including marketing, messaging and promotion. Using critical judgement, objective analysis and interpretation of data, reviewing methodology and investigating sources are essential and routine activities when sourcing information. I have developed a categorized inventory of verified statements and data points for staff to use when creating content and marketing collateral. The inventory is updated on an ongoing basis. I am available on request to fact-check any content before publication, ensuring all statements are verified and sourced. I highly recommend all organizations develop such a resource.
True story: The Government of Alberta recently issued a news release with an incorrect statement and source for an important factual statement about the provincial film industry. I contacted the media representative twice to request a change to the statement and the source. Thankfully, the news release has now been revised. How do I know the statement source was incorrect??? My organization is the source…and I completed the analysis to develop the statement. Lesson learned: Consider the source.
This great How to Spot Fake News infographic from IFLA outlines the questions we should be asking when viewing media. Be critical!
Cool but confusing…would this then be called anti-tomecide or reverse tomecide?
The Jan van Eyck Academie, a “multiform institute for fine art, design and reflection” in Holland, has come up with a novel way of presenting Ray Bradbury’s 1953 work of dystopian fiction, Fahrenheit 451.
On Instagram, they write: This week our colleagues from Super Terrain are working in the Lab as a last stop on their all-over-Europe printing adventures. They showed us this remarkable book they made “Fahrenheit 451”. —
Want to see how the novel unfolds? Just add heat. That’s the idea.
The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) recently concluded its 110th Annual Meeting and Conference. From the outset, it was abundantly clear that the organization’s members, consisting primarily of legal sector library, research, and knowledge services professionals, are more than ready to make themselves heard. Outside in their communities, within the legal services sector, and inside their own organizations, they are making a difference in a multitude of ways.
READ MORE: Quiet No Longer: Law Librarians ‘Forgo the Status Quo’ | Law.com
Google’s Pixel 2 event in San Francisco on Wednesday had a lot of stuff to show off and most of it was more of the same…But tucked into the tail end of the presentation, Google quietly revealed that it had changed the world with a pair of wireless headphones. Not to be outdone by Apple’s Air Pods and their wirelessly-charging TicTac storage case, Google packed its headphones with the power to translate between 40 languages, literally in real-time. The company has finally done what science fiction and countless Kickstarters have been promising us, but failing to deliver on, for years. This technology could fundamentally change how we communicate across the global community.
Google’s Pixel Buds translation will change the world | engadget
infophile 