citation needed, Molly White – Big publishers think libraries are the enemy. The recent Second Circuit decision in Hachette v. Internet Archive is only the latest battle in the war on libraries and the freedom to read: “I’ve seen quips to the effect of “if public libraries were invented today, they’d be outlawed.” The joke… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Libraries
Redesigned NOAA Library website rolled out
NOAA Library offers access to over 9,000 journals, a combined 120,000 ebooks from Overdrive, ProQuest’s Ebook Central and Wiley Online Library, and 36 different databases. Watch the video and learn how to navigate Primo and find these resources. Continue Reading
Art words
Data is Plural: “The Getty Vocabularies, published by the Getty Research Institute, “contain structured terminology for art, architecture, decorative arts, archival materials, visual surrogates, art conservation, and bibliographic materials.” They provide definitions, relationships, translations, and disambiguations for a broad range of terms and entities. Their Art & Architecture Thesaurus, for example, describes 57,000+ generic concepts… Continue Reading
The Department of Everything
Te Hedgehog Review. Dispatches from the telephone reference desk. Stephen Akey: “How do you find the life expectancy of a California condor? Google it. Or the gross national product of Morocco? Google it. Or the final resting place of Tom Paine? Google it. There was a time, however—not all that long ago—when you couldn’t Google… Continue Reading
How Librarians Can Support AI Policy Development
Lucidea, Lauren Hays: “Many organizations are starting to develop policies on the use of generative AI. I believe it is important for librarians to be involved in this process due to our expertise in information systems, data management, information ethics, user advocacy, copyright and intellectual property, and information literacy. How Can Librarians Support AI Policy… Continue Reading
Why a ruling against the Internet Archive threatens the future of America’s libraries
MIT Technology Review – “The decision locks libraries into an ecosystem that is not in readers’ interests. Congress must act. I was raised in the 1980s and ’90s, and for my generation and generations before us, the public library was an equalizing force in every town, helping anyone move toward the American dream. In Chantilly,… Continue Reading
Use These 8 Sites to Find Unique and Niche Books
MakeUseOf: “If you’re like me, nothing beats the thrill of discovering a book that’s a little off the beaten path. Whether it’s a rare edition, an obscure title, or a self-published chef-d’oeuvre, I’ve found that some of the most interesting reads come from places that aren’t your typical big-name bookstores…Sometimes, the best recommendations come straight… Continue Reading
The Internet Archive Loses Its Appeal of a Major Copyright Case
Wired unpaywalled: “The Internet Archive has lost a major legal battle [The case is Hachette Book Group Inc. v. Internet Archive, 2d Cir., No. 23-1260, 9/4/24.]—in a decision that could have a significant impact on the future of internet history. Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against the long-running digital… Continue Reading
From School Librarian to Activist: ‘The Hate Level and the Vitriol Is Unreal’
The New York Times: “One Sunday morning two years ago, Amanda Jones, a middle school librarian in Watson, La., woke up and saw an email on her phone that left her shaking and breathless. The expletive-laced message from a stranger accused her of being a pedophile and a groomer, and concluded with a threat: “You… Continue Reading
How to Find a Book Without Knowing the Title or Author
Make Use Of: “Have you ever wanted to find the title of a book but can only remember the plot or main character’s name? Gone are the days of friendly, knowledgeable librarians [what!!], but online search tricks make it easy to find a book using vague descriptions.” Continue Reading
New Ways to Search Archived Music News
Internet Archives Blog: “While MTV News took all its sites offline in June, its contents are now available in the Wayback Machine, with more than 470,000 pages dating back to 1977 (here’s a sample search for Peter Gabriel). Similarly, CMT News is also available—with 70,000 pages saved dating back to 2002 (sample search for Dolly… Continue Reading
The tiny N.Y. town where bookstores rule
CBS News: “Nestled in the Northern Catskills, the tiny village of Hobart, New York, is home to around 400 residents, and millions of fascinating characters, all stacked high on shelves. Hobart is a book village. Within one brief block of Main Street, there are seven different bookstores. When Kathy Duyer retired, she moved to Hobart… Continue Reading
