Internet Archive Blogs: “The Internet Archive has reached a new milestone: 2 million. That’s how many modern books are now in its lending collection—available free to the public to borrow at any time, even from home. “We are going strong,” said Chris Freeland, a librarian at the Internet Archive and director of the Open Libraries program. “We are making books available that people need access to online, and our patrons are really invested. We are doing a library’s work in the digital era.” The lending collection is an encyclopedic mix of purchased books, ebooks, and donations from individuals, organizations, and institutions. It has been curated by Freeland and other librarians at the Internet Archive according to a prioritized wish list that has guided collection development. The collection has been purpose-built to reach a wide base of both public and academic library patrons, and to contain books that people want to read and access online—titles that are widely held by libraries, cited in Wikipedia and frequently assigned on syllabi and course reading lists. “The Internet Archive is trying to achieve a collection reflective of great research and public libraries like the Boston Public Library,” said Brewster Kahle, digital librarian and founder of the Internet Archive, who began building the diverse library more than 20 years ago…”
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Daily Archives: February 8, 2021
This Turkish library is shaped like a shelf of giant books
Literary Hub: “Here’s something wonderful: Karabuk University’s library, in Karabuk, Turkey, is designed to look like a row of large books on a shelf. It’s so cheerful—and there is a pleasure and clarity in something stating what it is. Others have noticed the joy of buildings like this: architects Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and… Continue Reading
U.S. and Worldwide Vaccination Tracker
Brown School of Public Health and Microsoft AI for Health Vaccination Tracker Provides Data on U.S. Vaccine Distribution – “A new dashboard launched [February 5, 2021] by the Brown School of Public Health and Microsoft AI for Health allows users to track state-by-state progress in reaching the goal set by President Joe Biden to distribute… Continue Reading
They Stormed the Capitol. Their Apps Tracked Them.
The New York Times – Times Opinion was able to identify individuals from a trove of leaked smartphone location data.”…The sacking of the Capitol was a shocking assault on the republic and an unwelcome reminder of the fragility of American democracy. But history reminds us that sudden events — Pearl Harbor, the Soviet Union testing… Continue Reading
If open is the answer, what is the question?
Rob Johnson – “This is an edited transcript of a keynote given at the International Conclave on eScience and Digital Libraries on 28 January 2021 on the topic of Open Science and Scholarly Communication. The slides are available here. I’ve been fortunate in my career to participate in discussions in numerous countries and at all levels… Continue Reading
This Is How Many Guns Were Sold in All 50 States
24/7 Wall St – “U.S. gun sales in January surged 60% to 4,137,480. This makes it the largest single month since figures started to be recorded in 1998. The rise is part of a trend. Gun sales in the United States rose 40% last year to 39,695,315. The figure also represents the high water mark… Continue Reading
Mask Mandate: Does the Federal Aviation AdministrationHave Authority to Require Masks on Flights?
CRS Legal Sidebar –Mask Mandate: Does the Federal Aviation Administration Have Authority to Require Masks on Flights?, February 8, 2021: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cautions that although air circulation and filtration systems in passenger aircraft help reduce the spread of most viruses, sitting within six feet of others on flights may… Continue Reading
COVID-19 Vaccine Doses: Selected Data Sources on Allocation, Distribution, and Administration
CRS Insight – COVID-19 Vaccine Doses: Selected Data Sources on Allocation, Distribution, and Administration – February 8, 2021: “The selected sources below can help congressional staff track the progress of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination campaign at the national, state, and local levels. Sources were selected for having commonly cited and frequently requested data. This is… Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve’s Response to COVID-19: Policy Issues
CRS report – The Federal Reserve’s Response to COVID-19: Policy Issues, Updated February 8, 2021: “The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused widespread disruptions to the economy. The Federal Reserve (Fed) took multiple policy actions in response to the crisis, and Congress took the unprecedented step of providing up to $500 billion to the… Continue Reading
To Cite or Not to Cite: Is That Still a Question?
Heller, Deborah, To Cite or Not to Cite: Is That Still a Question? (December 17, 2020). 112 Law Library Journal 393 (2020), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3750791 – “Some states still restrict the citation of unpublished opinions, and the rules among the federal circuits vary slightly as well. This article looks at the history of case publication,… Continue Reading
Disability Without Documentation
Macfarlane, Katherine, Disability Without Documentation (February 7, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3781221 “Disability exists regardless of whether a doctor has confirmed its existence. Yet in the American workplace, employees are not disabled, or entitled to reasonable accommodations, until a doctor says so. This Article challenges the assumption that requests for reasonable accommodations must be supported… Continue Reading
