Metropolis – 100,000 volumes appear to float midair across staggered honeycomb steel mezzanines. “Unlike recent university libraries which are premised on the absence of physical books, Cornell University’s new art and architecture library is an old-school print palace. Here, printed matter sets the standard. “Everything is scaled to the book,” architect Wolfgang Tschapeller explained. “As… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Education
Researchers identify seven types of fake news aiding better detection
Penn State News – “To help people spot fake news, or create technology that can automatically detect misleading content, scholars first need to know exactly what fake news is, according to a team of Penn State researchers. However, they add, that’s not as simple as it sounds. “There is a real crisis in our cultural… Continue Reading
BBC 100 Novels That Shaped Our World
Explore the list of 100 Novels That Shaped Our World – “Stories have the power to change us. We asked a panel of leading writers, curators and critics to choose 100 genre-busting novels that have had an impact on their lives, and this is the result. These English language novels, written over the last 300… Continue Reading
76 things you can do to boost civic engagement
Brookings: “The year 1776 was an auspicious year for democracy. The idea that a people could govern themselves was radical at the time. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution that followed are for most Americans revered documents and a cornerstone of our democracy. Over the years, this idea of democratic republicanism has become central… Continue Reading
Chicago book returns surge 240% after city eliminates fines
AP: “Chicago public libraries have seen a 240% increase in the number of books returned since the city’s mayor eliminated overdue fines, according to a library official. Library Commissioner Andrea Telli testified at a budget hearing Wednesday, telling City Council members that abandoning the library fines policy has been instrumental in luring in both patrons… Continue Reading
Local journalism in crisis: Why America must revive its local newsroom
Brookings: “Thousands of local newspapers have closed in recent years. Their disappearance has left millions of Americans without a vital source of local news and deprived communities of an institution essential for exposing wrongdoing and encouraging civic engagement. Of those still surviving, many have laid off reporters, reduced coverage, and pulled back circulation. Over 65… Continue Reading
National Library of Israel uploads 120,000 historic books online
The Jerusalem Post: “The National Library of Israel (NLI) and Google have announced that 120,000 books from the library’s collection will be uploaded to Google Books for the first time as part of their collaboration. The books that are expected to be uploaded will, according to NLI, include all of the library’s out-of-copyright, royalty-free books… Continue Reading
Being a Law Firm Partner Was Once a Job for Life. That Culture Is All but Dead
WSJ.com [paywall]: “At the modern law firm, not all partners are created equal, and data and billings rule – “Four hundred of Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s top lawyers gathered in May at an oceanfront resort in Southern California to toast another banner year. Kirkland was the highest-grossing law firm in the world for the second… Continue Reading
Senate Hearing on Modernizing Library of Congress
C-SPAN – “Carla Hayden, the head of the Library of Congress, testified before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee on modernizing the library. She updated committee members on efforts to digitize and secure documents and described how the public would have more access to the library’s collections. Also testifying at the hearing was Karyn Temple,… Continue Reading
Italy Is Making Climate Change Lessons Compulsory In Schools
HuffPost – All public school students will have 33 hours of mandatory climate change education. “Children studying in Italy’s public schools will soon have climate change lessons on their weekly schedules. Italy’s education minister, Lorenzo Fioramonti, announced on Tuesday that climate change and sustainability will be a mandatory part of education for students ages 6… Continue Reading
Helsinki has a library to learn about the world, the city, and each other
Kottke.org: “The Finns love libraries, and a new fabulous one opened last year in Helsinki. Tommi Laitio, Helsinki’s executive director for culture and leisure was at the CityLab DC conference recently and presented some of the thinking behind Finland’s investments in libraries and culture, and why they are so important to their country. “This progress… Continue Reading
Weaving Books into the Web—Starting with Wikipedia
Internet Archive Blogs: “The Internet Archive has transformed 130,000 references to books in Wikipedia into live links to 50,000 digitized Internet Archive books in several Wikipedia language editions including English, Greek, and Arabic. And we are just getting started. By working with Wikipedia communities and scanning more books, both users and robots will link many… Continue Reading
