Category «Libraries & Librarians»

Toxic for libraries? KKR investment firm to buy OverDrive, biggest library ebook company

The KKR investment firm is buying OverDrive, the biggest library ebook company, providing ebooks and audiobooks to 43,000+ libraries and schools in 75 countries – from Rakuten, also owner of the Kobo ereader, audiobook and ebook business. As the number of e-book publishers and ereaders continues to shrink, David H. Rothman asks, “do we really want to trust digital libraries to KKR on issues ranging from access to reliable digital preservation.”

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Subjects: E-Books, Education, KM, Libraries & Librarians, Library Software & Technology, Software

Converging Paths: A Librarian’s Journey to Becoming a Privacy Professional

After receiving her MLIS Stephanie Davis worked in the field of knowledge management (KM) where she sourced, documented, categorized, and shared information about her consulting firm’s people and project experiences. Davis designed webpages, delivered training programs on information access and disclosure, and administered communications and awareness campaigns. She also tracked metrics and presented reports to senior management to demonstrate the KM program was delivering against our strategy and mandate. Davis became interested in keeping data secure and maintaining confidentiality while also focusing on how to make information as accessible as possible so her clients could achieve their objectives – and this article discusses her role as a privacy professional.

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Subjects: Big Data, Computer Security, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, KM, Law Librarians, Leadership, Libraries & Librarians, Privacy

Libraries can have 3-D printers but they are still about books

Paulette Rothbauer, Associate Professor, Library and Information Science, Western University discusses the consequences of the high value placed on each new technology or innovation of the moment that results in pushing books and reading to the margins in the commentary on the latest trends in public libraries. One such outcome might be the disavowal of public librarians’ unique, professional knowledge base related to books and reading. Another might be the abdication of a mandate related to the promotion of reading as a social good.

Today’s libraries do build community, support healthy living, promote knowledge and provide space for city sanctuaries. But it is critical that libraries continue to be about books and reading, and that Canadians understand the high value of well-staffed, well-stocked and well-funded libraries.

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Subjects: AI, Big Data, Gadgets/Gizmos, KM, Libraries & Librarians, Library Marketing, Social Media, Technology Trends

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues April 20, 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: WikiLeaks set 21st century model for cyber-leak journalism; Your car is watching you. Who owns the data?; Facebook, lose my digits: Here’s how to unlist your phone number; and What e-books at the library mean for your privacy.

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Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Books, Health, Internet Trends, KM, Libraries & Librarians, Privacy, Social Media

Opinion – How a national library endowment could help Philadelphia

David Rothman continues his advocacy for a national library endowment to help K-12 and public libraries in Philadelphia, and around the country. His argument in favor of such an endowment is especially resonant in light of the recent college entrance cheating and bribery scams involving the children of wealthy parents and celebrities.

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Subjects: Economy, Education, Libraries & Librarians, Reference Services

Will America’s libraries miss out while Harvard grows still richer? Library endowment could help.

David Rothman is an indefatigable advocate for a national library endowment. He states: “Just ten Americans are together worth more than half a trillion dollars, and the assets of the top 400 U.S. billionaires added up to a cool $2.7 trillion in October 2017. Charity-minded members of the super rich love to give to elite institutions such as Harvard. Its endowment is well north of $35 billion. The Gates Giving Pledge could free up countless billions in future years for prestigious institutions like Harvard. But will America’s libraries miss out while Harvard, Yale, and Princeton grow still richer? Very possibly, if the American Library Association and other good people in the library establishment fail to act in time.”

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Subjects: E-Books, Economy, Education, Libraries & Librarians, Social Media

As a Matter of Fact: A New AI Tool for Real-Time Fact-Checking of News Using Voice Analysis

Alan Rothman suggests a new phrase for a growing subject matter area which he calls Fact-Check Tech. His article introduces to use a prototype TV news voice scanner and fact-checker called Voyc. The significance of this new technology will quickly become apparent to news consumers here in the U.S., and around the world, as we are increasingly confronted with endless charges of “fake news” and counter assertions of what is “real news.” The Voyc technology currently under development can assess the audio of live news media broadcasts to determine the veracity of statements made within seconds of being spoken.

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Subjects: AI, Business Research, Communications Law, Competitive Intelligence, Congress, Internet Trends, KM, Libraries & Librarians, Reference Resources, Social Media

Library Acquisition Patterns: Preliminary Findings

Katherine Daniel, Joseph J. Esposito, Roger C. Schonfeld: Several years ago, we set out to better understand how both library acquisition practices and the distribution patterns of publishers and vendors were evolving over time. Within the academic publishing community, there is a sense that academic libraries are acquiring fewer and fewer books and that university presses are struggling amid declining sales. The latter may certainly be true—a recent UK study found that between 2005 and 2014, retail sales of academic books dropped by 13 percent—but what if the academic libraries that constitute part of that market were in reality not making fewer purchases? As new vendors and acquisition methods disrupt customary means of acquiring books, Joseph Esposito, Ithaka S+R’s frequent collaborator and consultant, was inspired to ask whether book sales were actually depressed, or if they only appeared to be because academic libraries were bypassing the traditional wholesale vendors whose metrics are used by university presses to assess sales to libraries for companies like Amazon.

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Subjects: E-Commerce, Electronic Subscriptions, Information Management, Libraries & Librarians, Reference Resources

Our “Small” Project with a Big Impact: Littler’s Knowledge Desk, A Case Study

Cynthia L. Brown, Director Research Services at Littler Mendelson P.C. discusses the firm’s one-stop-shop for all KM and library research inquiries and needs – the Knowledge Desk. The Knowledge Desk is available to all Littler attorneys and staff for any legal research, traditional library resources, KM requests or questions concerning the legal training group Littler Learning Group (LLG). Via the Knowledge Desk, attorneys are connected to subject matter experts, a vast collection of databases, print materials, practice groups, internal work product and proprietary data collections, through which our team can search efficiently to locate exact information.

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Subjects: KM, Libraries & Librarians, Library Marketing, Reference Services

Donald Trump again wants to kill off IMLS, the library agency

David Rothman’s commentary argues that “good libraries are all about content and community and the needs of local people.” The FY2019 Federal Budget proposes once again to eliminate Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to America’s libraries through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Rothman identifies what is at stake if these cuts are approved, and how the ALA and others groups are on point to lead a bi-partisan effort to save this funding now and into the future.

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Subjects: Congress, Education, Libraries & Librarians
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