Category «Libraries & Librarians»

We Need Librarians Today More Than Ever – How an ancient profession stays on top of the digital age

Journalist and librarian Marcus Banks discusses the role, relevancy and impact of librarians in all sectors as we are increasingly overwhelmed with information and yet access to actionable resources is often blocked by fees and paywalls, and the goal of knowledge sharing is subsumed and often ill served by conflicting agendas. Librarians remain critical advocates for open access, teachers of digital literacy skills, proponents of services to all Americans, and touchstones for identifying truth in an increasingly growing sphere of fake news and information that fails to serve democracy, education, and commerce.

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Subjects: Civil Liberties, Communications, Competitive Intelligence, E-Books, Education, Information Management, KM, Libraries & Librarians, Library Marketing, Reference Services

First Lifeline, Now Broadband Program for Schools and Libraries in the FCC’s Crosshairs

In a previous article here on LLRX, Gigi Sohn wrote about how the new Federal Communications Commission majority revoked the approval of nine companies to become Lifeline providers and how that would weaken the Lifeline program and widen the digital divide. Sohn follows up with a discussion of how the E-Rate program, which makes broadband services more affordable for America’s schools and libraries, is in the FCC majority’s crosshairs. And much like the case of Lifeline, Sohn argues the majority is using procedural steps and administrative tools to weaken the E-Rate program.

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Subjects: Communications, Communications Law, Economy, Education, Government Resources, Legal Research, Libraries & Librarians

Can current antitrust law deal with Amazon?

Chris Meadows calls our attention to a Yale Law Journal by Lina M. Khan published in January 2017 titled Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox. The author presents an argument in favor of modifying antitrust law in light of the realm of competition created by a burgeoning, powerful and often narrow group of players in specific e-commerce marketplaces. For librarians, researchers, professors and student among others, the issue of pricing and competition in the ebook market is particularly salient.

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Subjects: E-Books, E-Commerce, Legal Research, Libraries & Librarians, Publishing & Publishers (Legal)

How the national library endowment will work

This is an introduction to a critical effort to support local public libraries throughout the United States, not in competition with any other efforts, programs or initiatives, but with the goal to fund a robust, long lived and essential endowment in response to ongoing defunding of critical library staffing and resources in our communities, especially poor land rural localities.

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Subjects: Digital Archives, E-Books, Economy, Education, Librarian Resources, Libraries & Librarians, Library Software & Technology

Library Services for People with Memory Loss, Dementia, and Alzheimers

Sarah Houghton organized a training for library staff throughout her county from the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and a stellar local senior non-profit named Senior Access dedicated to serving residents with memory loss issues. This training was inspired by two things: in her year in the San Rafael Leadership Institute when her class project was raising funds for Senior Access, and a demographic study from the Association of Bay Area Governments that highlighted Marin County’s median age compared to regional, state, and national norms.

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Subjects: Education, Healthcare, KM, Libraries & Librarians
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