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Category Archives: Libraries

Public Library Ebook Service to Cull AI Slop After 404 Media Investigation

404 Media: “Hoopla, a service that provides public libraries around the country with ebooks, announced that it will do more to prevent the spread of low quality AI-generated books after a 404 Media investigation showed that they were common on its platform. “At hoopla, customer satisfaction is at the core of everything we do, and we deeply appreciate the feedback we’ve received regarding our content, including AI-related titles,” Ann Ford, VP of Sales & Customer Support at Hoopla, said in an email sent to librarians on February 10, which 404 Media then obtained. “We want to assure you that we take your concerns very seriously. Your input is invaluable in helping us learn, grow, and continuously improve. In response, our senior management has come together to develop a thoughtful and comprehensive plan of action.”   While the exact details of the plan Hoopla is putting together to prevent low quality AI-generated books from flooding its platform are still not clear, Hoopla emailed librarians again on February 14 to share more information on actions it has already implemented. This includes revising its “collection development policy to ensure we adhere to and evolve with industry best practices,” offering librarians better ways to manage the Hoopla catalog by contacting Hoopla directly, and the removal of all “summary titles from all vendors, with some exceptions,” such as HMH Books, the publisher of the popular CliffNotes series. 404 Media also obtained a copy of this second email…”

New Book-Sorting Algorithm Almost Reaches Perfection

Quanta Magazine: “The library sorting problem is used across computer science for organizing far more than just books. A new solution is less than a page-width away from the theoretical ideal. Computer scientists often deal with abstract problems that are hard to comprehend, but an exciting new algorithm matters to anyone who owns books and… Continue Reading

Trump Orders US to Cancels Critical News Subscriptions for Diplomats Worldwide

RegTech Times via MSN: “The U.S. State Department has issued a directive to cancel all news subscriptions deemed “non-mission critical” across embassies and consulates worldwide. The move is part of a broader cost-cutting initiative, aligning with efforts to reduce government spending on media contracts. Sweeping Cancellation of News Subscriptions – Internal emails revealed that diplomatic… Continue Reading

Data Rescue Project

Data Rescue Project – There are many individuals, organizations, and community-based resources that document and assist with rescuing efforts. Below is the list of tools, data sources, library guides, and articles we are aware of and their associated scopes. This list was developed from the original Data Rescue Google Doc. Please email suggestions to [email protected].… Continue Reading

Update on the 2024/2025 End of Term Web Archive

“Every four years, before and after the U.S. presidential election, a team of libraries and research organizations, including the Internet Archive, work together to preserve material from U.S. government websites during the transition of administrations. These “End of Term” (EOT) Web Archive projects have been completed for term transitions in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and… Continue Reading

Millions of federal workers face Feb. 6 deadline over whether to resign

CBS News: “More than 2 million federal employees face a looming deadline: By midnight Eastern time on Thursday, they must decide whether to accept a “deferred resignation” offer from the Trump administration. If workers accept, according to a White House plan, they would continue getting paid through September but would be excused from reporting for… Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Law Libraries

Parsons, Patrick and Niedringhaus, Kristina L. and Zhang, Alex, Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Law Libraries (December 01, 2024). Georgia State University College of Law, Legal Studies Research Paper Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5118446 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5118446  – “The Southeast Roundtable Report summarizes the discussions from a day-long conference held on March 1, 2024, at… Continue Reading

Bookshop.org enters the e-book arena, giving indie stores a new way to compete with Amazon

Salon: “Bookshop.org founder and CEO Andy Hunter joked that the e-books question has been the bane of his business’ social media manager’s existence for a while now. “Every day she has people ask her, ‘When are e-books coming? When are e-books coming?’” Now Bookshop has an answer. On Tuesday, it launched a new digital platform… Continue Reading

Tips for Searching in Chronicling America

“Chronicling America has a new look! This month, we’ll be exploring the new Chronicling America interface and providing tips on how to best use the new site. In this series of posts, we’ll show you how to use multiple keyword search options and facet your search results to narrow your search. We’ll also look at… Continue Reading