Tag Archives: librarianship

Beyond History Books: Trove of Rosa Parks Memorabilia Opens to Public for First Time | Mashable

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Rosa Parks was more than just the woman who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in 1955. Letters and photos that belonged to the civil rights activist offer new insights into her complexities. Parks legacy has been somewhat simplified by the history books.

Her archive goes on display for the first time on [February 4, 2015] at the Library of Congress, after long legal disputes hid the documents from public view for years. Researchers and the public will have full access to Parks archive of letters, writings, personal notes and photographs for the first time. About 7,500 manuscript items and 2,500 photographs from the civil rights activist, including a pocket-sized Bible, letters from admirers and her Presidential Medal of Freedom, are part of the collection.

READ MORE: Beyond history books: Trove of Rosa Parks memorabilia opens to public for first time | Mashable

X-ray Reveals the Secrets of Burned Vesuvius Scrolls | CNET

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Scrolls that were damaged, but not destroyed, in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius may now be read for the first time in nearly two millennia.

READ MORE: X-ray reveals the secrets of burned Vesuvius scrolls | CNET

Cosplay, Comics, and Geek Culture in Libraries [Blog] by Ellyssa Kroski

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Ellyssa Kroski of iLibrarian fame said farewell to the iLibrarian blog in late 2014. iLibrarian was one of my top resources for emerging technologies in libraries and information services. I will miss the iLibrarian posts but am excited about the new website she has launched called Cosplay, Comics, and Geek Culture in Libraries. I’ve participated in coding and medieval times events over the past few years and am surprised at how quickly these events are transitioning into the mainstream. With the increasing popularity and growth of these activities, CCGC in Libraries is sure to be a great resource for librarians and fans of cosplay, comics and geek culture.

Speaking of geek culture, I’ve been watching TNT’s The Librarians series and I guess I’m hooked. It’s silly and over the top but I enjoy the mix of science fiction, mystery and adventure. IMO each episode’s concept/theme is more interesting than the overarching storyline. Cassandra’s outfits are way too distracting though! The remaining 2 episodes of Season 1 air tonight, January 18, 2015, on the Space channel in Canada. 

Via the CCGC in Libraries website.

Welcome everyone to Cosplay, Comics, and Geek Culture in Libraries! This is an exciting time for geeks of all kinds to be involved with libraries as today’s savvy libraries have begun to embrace new ways to engage library patrons such as fandom events, comic book and graphic novel collections, comic cons, cosplay events.

The intersection of these interests with libraries is a perfect match as libraries are striving to develop entertaining and educational new programs and services that will appeal to not only children but young adults as well as “kids at heart” of all ages. And these new programs and resources fit well with the interests of cosplayers who can utilize the equipment in library makerspaces such as 3D printers and sewing machines to create many of their props and costume pieces, as well as comics fans who can come to the library to read comics and graphic novel collections, video and board game enthusiasts who attend library gaming events, and geeks of all types who are drawn to “nerd nights”, Dr. Who marathons, and Harry Potter socials, etc.

I decided to start this blog, not only because I am a self-proclaimed geek, cosplayer, and comics reader and collector myself, but because this is a cutting-edge area of growth in libraries with significant appeal to today’s patrons. I think that there is much that we can do to expand and develop this type of programming and collection development. And I’m not alone. I’ve been joined by a talented group of international writers, librarians, information professionals, and library patrons to provide articles and inspiration to libraries seeking to incorporate cosplay, comics, and geek culture in their libraries!

E-Book Legal Restrictions Are Screwing Over Blind People | WIRED

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Snip

…For the nearly 8 million people in the US with some degree of vision impairment, the advent of ebooks and e-readers has been both a blessing and a burden. A blessing, because a digital library—everything from academic textbooks, to venerated classics, to romance novels—is never further away than your fingertips. A burden, because the explosion of ebooks has served as a reminder of how inaccessible technology really can be…

READ MORE: E-Book Legal Restrictions Are Screwing Over Blind People | WIRED

What Book Should You Read Next? Putting Librarians And Algorithms To The Test | Co.Exist

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What Book Should You Read Next? Putting Librarians And Algorithms To The Test | Co.Exist | ideas + impact

Snips

When I received the Brooklyn Public Library’s recent email newsletter promoting a new service called BookMatch, I was both delighted and dismayed.

On the one hand, it was a great idea. All I had to do was fill out a short web form letting the librarians know a bit about what I wanted to read and what I liked to read, and one promised to write back with five personalized recommendations tailored to my interests and tastes. On the other, the fact I was so delighted was exactly what was dismaying.

…

Clearly, the librarians believe that human tastes and discretion are still relevant, even as automated algorithms are influencing an increasing portion of the media we consume, whether in the form of news, books, music, or movies. But are a book expert’s personalized suggestions really better than what I might get from Amazon, a site that hasn’t employed a human editor for its home page in 14 years? It’s very possible my positive feelings about the BookMatch program are sprung from mere sentimentality.

READ MORE: What Book Should You Read Next? Putting Librarians And Algorithms To The Test | Co.Exist | ideas + impact

Role of the Corporate Library in the Information Management World | Netspeed 2014 Conference Presentation

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Here is a link to the presentation my colleague and I gave at Netspeed 2014 in Edmonton, Alberta. First time ever presenting in public. We worked really hard and felt we gave a great presentation. The presentation focused on evolving roles, competencies and skillets of information professionals working within corporate libraries. Attendees really listened and didn’t spend the whole time fiddling on their smartphones. Practice makes [almost] perfect. I can now cross this accomplishment off my bucket list!

E4: Role of the Corporate Library in the Information Management World | Netspeed 2014 Conference Program | The Alberta Library

Presenters: Margo Price and Nicole Mullings, Talisman Energy Inc.

Information management is an interdisciplinary field which combines skills and resources from librarianship, information technology, records management, and archives. The Information & Research Centre at Talisman Energy Inc. is part of a newly created Information Management team comprised of the corporate library, records management, and enterprise content management ECM groups. Learn more about the unique benefits and challenges that go along with aligning these synergistic roles and functions under one umbrella and how it speaks to potential trends in the special library field.

Direct link to pdf of presentation slides.

via Netspeed 2014 Conference Program | The Alberta Library

Cool Stuff Librarians Do: Librarians Without Borders | BOOK RIOT

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When I was little I wanted to be a doctor, and imagined myself sweeping across continents providing invaluable medical assistance as part of Doctors Without Borders. I came to accept that I’m a writer, not a medical professional, but now I have an opportunity to realign those early dreams with my actual life: I’m interning with the coolest group I know of – Librarians Without Borders. Same basic concept, slightly different product.

READ MORE: Cool Stuff Librarians Do: Librarians Without Borders | BOOK RIOT

29 Moments Any Librarian Knows Too Well | BuzzFeed Books

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Oh definitely!  29 Moments Any Librarian Knows Too Well | BuzzFeed Books

Adobe’s e-book reader sends your reading logs back to Adobe—in plain text [Updated] | Ars Technica

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Adobe’s Digital Editions e-book and PDF reader—an application used by thousands of libraries to give patrons access to electronic lending libraries—actively logs and reports every document readers add to their local “library” along with what users do with those files. Even worse, the logs are transmitted over the Internet in the clear, allowing anyone who can monitor network traffic such as the National Security Agency, Internet service providers and cable companies, or others sharing a public Wi-Fi network to follow along over readers’ shoulders.

Ars has independently verified the logging of e-reader activity with the use of a packet capture tool. The exposure of data was first discovered by Nate Hoffelder of The Digital Reader, who reported the issue to Adobe but received no reply.

via Adobe’s e-book reader sends your reading logs back to Adobe—in plain text [Updated] | Ars Technica.

53 Free October [2014] Webinars for Librarians | OEDB.org

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53 Free October [2014] Webinars for Librarians | OEDB.org Now if only I had the time to watch them all!