Futurism: “It’s a big day for bookworms: scientists studying how reading fiction affects your brain say the news is very good. In an interview with PsyPost, Lena Wimmer, a postdoctoral researcher at Germany’s Maximilian University, explained that she and her colleagues wanted to lay the groundwork for quantitative studies about fiction’s effect on thinking — and… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Libraries
How to Improve the Explanatory Power of an Intelligent Textbook: a Case Study in Legal Writing
Sovrano, F., Ashley, K., Brusilovsky, P.L. et al. How to Improve the Explanatory Power of an Intelligent Textbook: a Case Study in Legal Writing. Int J Artif Intell Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-024-00399-w – “Explanatory processes are at the core of scientific investigation, legal reasoning, and education. However, effectively explaining complex or large amounts of information, such… Continue Reading
Reading Digitally in 2024
Craig Mod – scroll down the page to this section – Digital Reading in 2024 – “A long time ago, in a universe far, far away, I used to write about / really care about digital reading. A whole chapter of my life / career pivoted around digital reading and books, what could be, and… Continue Reading
Thwarted cyberattack targeted LC in tandem with October British Library breach
NextGov/FCW:”The Library of Congress was targeted in a cyberattack that occurred in parallel with a high-profile intrusion into the United Kingdom’s British Library in late October, but the hackers failed to access the U.S. library’s systems, according to internal documents obtained by Nextgov/FCW. The attempted breach occurred around Oct. 28, the same day the U.K.’s… Continue Reading
Inside libraries’ battle for better e-book access
Axios: “Librarians are mounting a fierce state-by-state battle against the high prices they pay to provide patrons with e-books — so far, with little to show for it. Why it matters: The ongoing dispute threatens library patrons’ access to e-books. Where it stands: Publishers typically require libraries to renew the license to each e-book every… Continue Reading
The Battle for Attention
The New Yorker [unpaywalled] – “How do we hold on to what matters in a distracted age?Last year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported a huge ten-year decline in reading, math, and science performance among fifteen-year-olds globally, a third of whom cited digital distraction as an issue. Clinical presentations of attention problems have… Continue Reading
We Are Not Alone: Libraries Making a Stronger Impact In a Global Community
Chapter contributed by OCLC – Connaway, Lynn Silipigni. 2024. “We Are Not Alone: Libraries Making a Stronger Impact In a Global Community.” Chap. 9 in Library 2035: Imagining the Next Generation of Libraries, edited by Sandra Hirsh, 63-68. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. YouTube video presented by Lynn Silipigni Connaway and Sandra Hirsh, produced by… Continue Reading
Yes, People Do Buy Books
From the you have never been to my house department…Despite viral claims, Americans buy over a billion books a year [you bet we do…used books…from bookstores…and we read them too…so there]: “…How many books are sold in the United States? The only tracker we have is BookScan, which logs point of sale—i.e., customer purchases at… Continue Reading
There’s More to Copyright Than Financial Incentives
ToreentFreak: “The Internet Archive is doubling down on its position that its digital lending library service operates under the bounds of fair use. Major publishers assert that digitizing books without appropriate licensing amounts to infringement but IA counters that the practice is in the public interest. It also fits copyright’s ultimate purpose; to promote the… Continue Reading
Emily Dickinson’s Botanical Inspiration
The Marginalian – Stunning 19th-Century Flower Paintings by the Forgotten Artist and Poet Clarissa Munger Badger “To be a flower,” Emily Dickinson wrote in her prescient ode to the interconnectedness of nature, “is profound responsibility.” A passionate lifelong gardener, the poet had fallen under the spell of wildflowers while composing her astonishing herbarium as a… Continue Reading
It’s the End of the Web as We Know It
The Atlantic [unpaywalled] – A great public resource is at risk of being destroyed. By Judith Donath and Bruce Schneier: “The web has become so interwoven with everyday life that it is easy to forget what an extraordinary accomplishment and treasure it is. In just a few decades, much of human knowledge has been collectively written… Continue Reading
Red states threaten librarians with prison as blue states work to protect them
Washington Post [read free]: “…library-friendly measures are being outpaced by bills in mostly red states that aim to restrict which books libraries can offer and threaten librarians with prison or thousands in fines for handing out “obscene” or “harmful” titles. At least 27 states are considering 100 such bills this year, three of which have… Continue Reading
