Tag Archives: librarianship

Connecting #Inmates With Their #Children Through #Books | Marketplace.org #prisons #communication #tech #libraries

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As part of our series about technology in prisons called “Jailbreak,” we paid a visit to a new program that uses technology to fill an important role in the development of the children of those who are incarcerated.

Organizers say the TeleStory program the first of its kind in the country. At the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library in New York, families of inmates bring their children to a special room filled with toys and books. Even more unique: the room is virtually connected to a prison on Rikers Island. via Connecting inmates with their children through books | Marketplace.org.

The New York Public Library Wars | The Chronicle of Higher Education #NYPL

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Long form, thought-provoking read about change in library services, open governance and the influence of activism. 

What went wrong at one of the world’s eminent research institutions READ: The New York Public Library Wars | The Chronicle Review | The Chronicle of Higher Education.

So you want to be a Data Visualization Librarian? | hls #librarians #dataviz #MLIS

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So you know that you want to be a librarian, but have you thought about specializing in a certain field? Maybe you have an interest in emerging technologies or you want to work with researchers and students across the disciplines? Data visualization is a hot topic in librarianship, and specializations in data analytics and visualization is an exciting area of growth in the profession. I sat down with four visualization specialists who work within the University of Michigan Library system to get an idea of what their jobs entail.

READ MORE: So you want to be a Data Visualization Librarian? | hls.

A Glimpse Inside the Hidden Vault Where Harvard Keeps Millions of Books | Gizmodo #libraries

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Harvard’s flagship library, Widener, is an imposing granite cube built quite literally as shrine to the book. A central alcove cuts through the stacks to show off a prized relic: an original Gutenberg bible. But this is not the heart of Harvard’s libraries. No, that would be its cold storage site, an anonymous concrete building few students or even faculty know about.

The Harvard Depository, some 30 miles from the Cambridge campus, better resembles an Amazon warehouse than a library. The 200,000 square foot facility houses the vast majority of Harvard Library’s collection—some 9 million books, films, LPs, magnetic tapes, and pamphlets sorted not by the Dewey decimal system but by size.

A fascinating new interactive documentary, Cold Storage, glimpses inside this little-known world.

READ MORE: A Glimpse Inside the Hidden Vault Where Harvard Keeps Millions of Books | Gizmodo

The Rise of DIY Libraries | VICE

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In March, a group of New York library officials released a statement declaring that a “staggering infrastructure crisis” has crept up on the city’s public library system. In Brownsville, Brooklyn, one branch is “routinely forced to close on hot days” due to problems with air conditioning. Others are plagued with water-damaged books and facilities that are too small to accommodate everyone in their community.

General interest public libraries are no less necessary than they were in 1901, when Andrew Carnegie donated the equivalent of $147 million to construct 65 of them across New York City, but their focus is increasingly shifting away from books and toward things like English classes, job training workshops, community meeting spaces, or just places to read the news online for those without internet access.

While the public must continue to fight for these more practical resources, a number of oddball independent libraries cropping up around the North American continent offer an experience that can’t be found in their traditional counterparts. These boutique libraries are working to stretch our very idea about the word “library,” creating a real living community around the often very lonely act of reading.

READ MORE: The Rise of DIY Libraries | VICE

What Every Major Job Category Pays, In One Chart | Vox #employment #MLIS

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Of interest to librarians and information services professionals note major job category “Education, training, and library.” See Bureau of Labor Statistics website for interactive charts and chart data.

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics lets us see the average pay for every major occupational group and also the distribution of pay at each level for these groups. READ MORE: What every major job category pays, in one chart | Vox

Further Thoughts On Tech Roles + Librarianship | LITA Blog

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Given the overwhelming response to Bryan’s post, “What is a Librarian?” and Michael’s follow up post, “Librarians: We Open Access,” a few more of the LITA bloggers thought we’d weigh in on our roles and how they fit within the profession. READ MORE: Further Thoughts On Tech Roles + Librarianship | LITA Blog.

Emerging Roles and Possible Futures for Librarians and Information Professionals | Emerald Group Publishing

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What professional roles do you play as a librarian/information professional? How have they changed during your career? And perhaps most important, how do you see them changing and evolving in the future?

These issues are discussed in an intriguing recent article in New Library World, “A systematic literature review informing library and information professionals’ emerging roles.” Evgenia Vassilakaki and Valentini Moniarou-Papaconstantinou, of the Library Science & Information Systems Department of TEI of Athens, Greece, uncovered their findings from peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2014.

Although a variety of libraries were included, the authors state that “the majority of the literature focused on academic libraries.” All of the papers are in English, and “the majority of studies reported on research conducted in the United Kingdom and North America.”

Their findings have implications given the changes taking place in work, society and education, and how those changes affect our institutions. Six emerging roles were discovered, all of which would seem to be applicable within many types of libraries and information centres…READ MORE: Emerging roles and possible futures for librarians and information professionals | Emerald Group Publishing

Unusual Library Collections Around the World | Flavorwire

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A few interesting library collections noted here…I’m sure there are many others that are not mentioned in this Flavorwire list.

Imagine walking into the home of a recently deceased resident after getting a mysterious phone call about a massive collection of maps. That’s what happened to Glen Creason, the map librarian at Los Angeles Central Library and author of Los Angeles in Maps. Creason walked out of the home with boxes of historical maps and coveted city guides that instantly doubled the library’s collection. L.A.-based filmmaker Alec Ernest captured the story of Creason and an unknown map collector named John Feathers in a mesmerizing short film about the beauty and power of physical objects, and the strange passions people have for them. Ernest’s film inspired us to travel libraries around the world and explore their unique and sometimes bizarre collections.

READ MORE: Unusual Library Collections Around the World | Flavorwire.

Poster Sessions – A Beginner’s Guide [Originally Posted December 2013] | Hack Library School

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Though June, July and August might seem like ages away, many conferences use January as their deadline for submissions from students.  So today is as good a time as any to talk about a type of submission that can seem foreign to a lot of library students- the poster session. Let’s dive in! READ MORE: Poster Sessions – A Beginner’s Guide | Hack Library School