I have been pulling together all of my posts on studies and reports on the value of public libraries for my work with the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries. I thought I might as well post it here too. I’m sure I’ve got some dupes in here but c’est la vie! Hope you find it useful! There are many useful talking points and proofs in this research.
See the very mega megapost: Value of Libraries Megapost | Stephen’s Lighthouse.
These mediums of providing information are still exciting and brand new. The opportunities for devices that augment reality, capture life’s moments in real-time and improve on the function of smartphones are limitless, but what about when the the human body actually becomes one with the technology? I want to take a further look at technology that goes deeper than the surface of the skin.
See the full story: Gadgets: Going Way Beyond Wearable Technology | Information Space.
An Alabama legislator who does not support efforts to repeal the sweeping U.S. education initiative known as the Common Core Standards says he believes the reading list issued in conjunction with the standards needs to be revised.
State Senator Bill Holtzclaw (R-Madison) told Alabama Media Group this week that he believes The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, should be banned from high school libraries, despite the fact that this book is on the Common Core Standard’s recommended reading list for 11th-graders.
See the full story: Alabama Legislator Bill Holtzclaw Calls On Schools To Ban Toni Morrison Book | Huffington Post.
Great to see an organization swoop in, so to speak, to preserve a defunct application, then go a step further and open the source code to developers. Hope to see this happen more often.
The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt design museum in New York just acquired the source code to an iPad app called Planetary from its now-defunct developer. Code is officially art now.
Planetary, as you can see in the video above, is basically a fancy music visualizer. The app’s source code was donated to the Cooper-Hewitt, which promptly open-sourced the code in hopes that people will use its visualization methods for other applications. Beyond the original lines of code, the museum has made a commitment to preserving the offshoots of the open-source project, and to nurturing their development. Planetary’s source has also been printed out in machine-readable OCR-A font on archival stock. Apparently, posterity demands a physical paper record that’s a little less fleeting than a digital archive.
See the full story: The Smithsonian Just Added a Chunk of Code to Its Permanent Collection | Gizmodo.
(CBS News) Ever leave home and get that eerie feeling like something is wrong? Like you’ve forgotten something so important that you rewind through every waking moment before realizing your lifeblood, your reason for living, your smartphone is sitting on the kitchen counter? Well take my advice and leave it. After watching “I Forgot My Phone,” a two-minute film about society’s addiction to these devices, written by and starring actress and comedian Charlene deGuzman, you’ll agree with me. Visit Charlene’s YouTube page or check it out above. Just don’t watch it on your phone.
This brilliant short film shows how depressingly easy it is to let our phones distract us from true enjoyment of many of life’s great experiences like birthdays, the beauty of nature, quality time spent with friends, and even marriage proposals. So next time you walk out the front door, try leaving the phone at home.
via True-to-life short film about smartphones | The Feed Blog | CBS News.
Facebook received about 38,000 data requests from government agents in 71 countries in the first half of 2013, according to the company’s first Global Government Requests Report, which it published [Tuesday]. The report comprises both criminal and national security requests made in the first six months of the year, with half of those requests coming from the United States.
The photos look like they could have been taken at a bar, a bat mitzvah, or one of those swanky media parties with sponsored vodka. But they weren’t. These photobooth shots were snapped at the New York Public Library as part of a new social media initiative to engage more with the library’s selfie-loving patrons, and the live photostream is making our hearts melt.
See the full story: How Selfies Are Re-Energizing The New York Public Library | Co.Exist | ideas + impact.
A library card may get you more than you think
The library has evolved and checks out more than just books. Patrons also may borrow things like clippers and fishing rods. NBC’s John Yang reports.
See the news video clip here from NBC News.
infophile 