Tag Archives: libraries

Brooklyn Author Recreates Borges’ Library of Babel as Infinite Website | Flavorwire

Posted on by

Reading this article, it struck me that the website Jonathan Basile has created would be a great premise for an MLIS student’s research paper on multimedia literacies. Or at least continue to inspire others to create online and/or virtual worlds based on ideas and settings as described in fiction.  

“When it was proclaimed that the Library contained all books, the first impression was one of extravagant happiness,” wrote Jorge Luis Borges in his classic of philosophical fiction, “The Library of Babel.” One of the most revered stories-as-thought-experiments ever committed to print, Borges’ fiction posits the Universe as a library (“composed of an indefinite and perhaps infinite number of hexagonal galleries”) that contains every possible text. This intellectual vision, at once playful and poised, has stirred authors (like Umberto Eco and Terry Pratchett) and philosophers (W.V.O. Quine and Daniel Dennett) alike for more than 75 years.

And now it exists! Recently, Jonathan Basile, a Brooklyn author and Borgesian Man of the Book, taught himself programming so that he could recreate Borges’ Universal Library as a website. The results are confounding.

READ MORE: Brooklyn Author Recreates Borges’ Library of Babel as Infinite Website | Flavorwire.

The 10 Most Controversial Books of the Year | BookBub Blog #bannedbooks

Posted on by

As part of National Library Week, the American Library Association just released its annual State of America’s Libraries Report analyzing the shifting role libraries play in today’s society. The full report is interesting in and of itself, but it also includes one of the most fascinating book lists of the year — the most frequently challenged books of the year.

In 2014, the ALA received 311 requests to ban books from schools and libraries. [Here] are the top 10 books that caused the most controversy over the past year, including the reasons they were challenged, as well as each book’s publisher description. READ: The 10 Most Controversial Books of the Year | BookBub Blog

CheckItOut-Taylor Swift Parody Video for National Library Week | YouTube #libraries #parody #taylorswift #shakeitoff #nationallibraryweek

Posted on by

▶ CheckItOut – Taylor Swift Parody Video for National Library Week – YouTube

For Schools With No Books, A Digital Collection So They Can Have A Real Library | Co.Exist #education #digital #libraries #literacy

Posted on by

For Schools With No Books, A Digital Collection So They Can Have A Real Library | Co.Exist | ideas + impact

Library for All is now working in impoverished places around the world on a simple mission with a major impact. Rebecca McDonald came up with the idea for Library for All after visiting Haiti in 2010. The country had just experienced a major earthquake, and the schools there were having a tough time getting back to normal—even more so, because they lacked basic education materials.

“The reason we started the library was that, everywhere I went, they didn’t have any books. And if they did, they were in English when people either speak Haitian Creole or French. They were good paperweights, and that was about it,” McDonald says.

Library for All now works with 10 schools on the island, with plans to partner with nine more. The model is simple. The nonprofit assembles a highly curated local-language collection of books that schools access through Android tablets.

READ MORE: For Schools With No Books, A Digital Collection So They Can Have A Real Library | Co.Exist | ideas + impact.

6 Buildings That Are Redefining The Library | Co.Design

Posted on by

The winners of the 2015 American Institute of Architects Library Awards reflect how libraries are adapting—how they’re investing in technology and trying to reframe themselves as vital community gathering spaces. This year’s winners include a children’s library that teaches kids to grow their own food, a university library that has ditched half its collections to create collaborative work spaces, and libraries that are at the heart of catalyzing redevelopment in their neighborhoods. And they prove that even buildings filled with thousands of objects created from dead trees can be environmentally friendly.

READ MORE AND VIEW SLIDESHOW: 6 Buildings That Are Redefining The Library | Co.Design | business + design.

Also See: 2015 AIA / ALA Library Building Awards

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.

This Beijing Subway Now Has A Library Of Free E-Books For Passengers | Co.Exist

Posted on by

On the subway in Beijing, as in most cities with underground Wi-Fi connections, commuters usually spend their rides mindlessly staring at their phones, scrolling through emails or playing games. But now riders on one metro line have another option: With a scan of a QR code inside the train car, they can access a library of free e-books.

The books are curated by the National Library of China (NLC), which hopes to help make people more likely to read in everyday life. Working with subway operator Beijing MTR, the library launched the new “M Subway Library” in January.

READ MORE: This Beijing Subway Now Has A Library Of Free E-Books For Passengers | Co.Exist | ideas + impact.

Librarians Portrayed in Comics | CCGC in Libraries

Posted on by

Graphic novel and comic book fans are book lovers, so it is no surprise that libraries and librarians are portrayed fairly frequently in all sorts of graphic works. Here are some comics that feature libraries and librarians and are perfect for some light reading or for a fun library display. READ MORE: Librarians Portrayed in Comics | CCGC in Libraries

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

Posted on by

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