WGBH: Inside The E-Book ‘War’ Waging Between Libraries And Publishers. “According to the American Library Association (ALA), about one fifth of the books sold in the U.S. are eBooks. Some publishers are worried that the ease of borrowing a digital book from a library is hurting sales and have decided to limit how and when libraries can access digital books. Now, libraries in Massachusetts and nationwide are vowing to fight back. They say the practices are not just unfair and unethical, but they might be illegal.”
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The Washington Post: 4 million cards. 4,000 drawers. And a whole lot of paper cuts. A coalition of book lovers rushes to save U-Va.’s card catalogue.
The Washington Post: 4 million cards. 4,000 drawers. And a whole lot of paper cuts. A coalition of book lovers rushes to save U-Va.’s card catalogue.. “They’d just finished setting up projectors to create a replica of the planetarium Thomas Jefferson had envisioned spanning the University of Virginia’s Rotunda dome when Neal Curtis and Sam Lemley stopped. They looked at each other. And they decided they had to come up with a plan — immediately They walked into the school’s Alderman Library and promised they wouldn’t leave that night until they had found a way to save the old card catalogue.”
Nieman Lab: This is how Report for America ended up funding a community Wikipedia editor (!) at a library (!!)
Nieman Lab: This is how Report for America ended up funding a community Wikipedia editor (!) at a library (!!). “The entire collaboration involves two positions and three partners. WFAE will house a traditional journalist focusing on local government coverage. That person, though, will work with a second [Report for America] participant with the title of ‘community Wikipedia editor,’ who’ll be based a few days a week in the city’s local public library’s branches. That person will focus on researching and writing up under-covered topics from the library’s archives for Wikipedia articles — in particular those that are relevant to the Charlotte area.”
Book Riot: Available Reads Extension Is A Game Changer
Book Riot: Available Reads Extension Is A Game Changer. “Ever wished you could connect your Goodreads account to your local library’s catalog and know when a book on your TBR is available? Good news: now you can, thanks to the Available Reads extension. The Available Reads extension allows you to see a listing of copies available on OverDrive—one of the most common ebook and audiobook platforms being used in libraries—on every Goodreads review page, as well as your Goodreads bookshelf. You’re able to quickly and easily see whether a book you’re interested in is available locally.”
Lehigh University: Lehigh Libraries develop open source cataloging add-on for Google Sheets
Lehigh University: Lehigh Libraries develop open source cataloging add-on for Google Sheets. “Using an API provided by a vendor the library subscribes to, the add-on automates the lookup, comparison and selection of existing cataloging records for each book being catalogued. It selects the best record (based on criteria configured by the cataloger) and writes the result to the Google Sheet.”
State Library of Ohio: Census Resources For Libraries Launch
State Library of Ohio: Census Resources For Libraries Launch. “The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce the creation of the Census Resources for Libraries web page…. As community hubs with internet access, libraries will play a critical role in ensuring all Ohioans are counted. Libraries are essential to every community, campus, student, and patron that come through its doors or connects online.” There are state-specific resources on the page, but there are also countrywide and general information resources as well.
EdSurge: Creating Libraries for Online Students Is Harder Than You Think
EdSurge: Creating Libraries for Online Students Is Harder Than You Think. “The Association of College & Research Libraries maintains in its ‘access entitlement principle,’ which functions as a sort of library bill of rights, that all students of an institution of higher education ‘are entitled to the library services and resources of that institution,’ including access to a librarian, regardless of location. But getting books to people spread across the world—and answering their research questions—is no simple task.”
