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This is a guest post by Kristy Darby, a Digital Collections Specialist in the Digital Content Management Section at the Library of Congress. In March 2020, we first shared about the growing collection of open access e-books available on loc.gov. A lot has changed since then but, in particular, the Open Access Books Collection was […]
The following is co-authored with Joe Puccio, the Library of Congress Collection Development Officer. Digital collections, and the work related to their acquisition, preservation and access, have become increasingly central to Library of Congress processes and our mission to serve Congress and the nation. For the last five years, in accordance with the Library of […]
I am delighted and excited to announce that Lauren Sorensen is joining Stanford Libraries as a new staff member of Digital Library Systems and Services. Lauren’s first day will be Tuesday, January 18, 2022. It’s auspicious to make this announcement today, Human Rights Day, as Lauren will be serving as the Digital Projects and Data […]
2021 Innovator in Residence Courtney McClellan created Speculative Annotation, an experimental browser-based application that encourages students and teachers to have conversations with historic Library of Congress items through annotation and mark-making. McClellan is a research-based artist who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. With a subject focus on speech and civic engagement, McClellan works in a range […]
A pair of wooden sandals carved and worn by Songye people in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, early to mid-20th century (Object IDs 84.599A and 84.599B). Once again the Digital Production Group (DPG) is partnering with the Stanford University Archaeology Collections (SUAC) team to bring 3D scanning technology into the classroom to […]
A big part of my job these days is supporting campus researchers in their use of NVivo, a tool for analyzing qualitative data. While NVivo does offer some data visualization options, in my workshops I describe it as, “Microsoft Office-level”. In other words, not terribly sophisticated, and that’s fine. But I’m always keen to see […]
Kathy McFadden (right), a staffer at Sussex County (Del.) Libraries, hands out rapid, at-home COVID-19 testing kits during a drive-through distribution event at Seaford (Del.) District Library in August 2021. Photo: Delaware Department of Libraries Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, libraries have served both informally and officially as public health partners, from 3D-printing […]
As a second pandemic holiday season rolls in, even the cheeriest folks are fraying a little around the edges. This year, give them effortless presents that will make their lives gentler, simpler, and sweeter. And since you could probably also use a little break, we’ve done most of the work for you by rounding up […]
As in past years, American Libraries and the Public Library Association have again partnered to track library ballot measures and council actions across the country. In 2021, we followed 78 referenda items; results were positive for libraries in nearly 90% of cases. Ohio remains a national leader in supporting libraries at the ballot box, passing […]
Contributors to this issue: Cathy Aster, Hannah Frost, Dinah Handel, Andria Olson and Michael Olson.As always, we are grateful for our many collaborators! Suzanne Comhaire-Sylvain digitization project In October, the Digital Production Group began a project to digitize a selection of materials from the Suzanne Comhaire-Sylvain papers. Comhaire-Sylvain was the first woman Haitian anthropologist, and conducted anthropological […]
Coming off the year 2020, we celebrate the rebounding number of Stanford departments and programs engaging the SDR’s services to manage, archive, and publish the work of Stanford students. There were a total of 37 collections active in 2021 – — including 4 new collections — and 264 students deposited their works, including honors theses, […]
As Election Day approaches, American Libraries and the Public Library Association are partnering to track library referenda across the country to measure public support for libraries on the ground. Listed below are results that have appeared since last year’s report. Libraries notched many wins in 2021: In Illinois, the state’s April 6 election saw four […]
Illustrations: Gaby FeBland When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, it exposed the precarious financial situation of many small businesses in the US. About half of these businesses were operating with fewer than two weeks of cash reserves at the time, according to research by JPMorgan Chase. Though federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans […]
A protester at the Save Niles Library rally in July. Organizers met at a local park, then marched to the library for a public hearing on proposed budget cuts. Photo: Niles Coalition On March 18, 2021, the Niles–Maine (Ill.) District Library (NMDL) held a candidate forum for its April board of trustees election—a forum that […]
Small and rural communities face a complex set of intersecting challenges. Individuals in less-populated areas, for instance, are more likely to experience extreme poverty and food insecurity, while their public institutions and facilities are more likely to lack sufficient broadband internet and other crucial resources. In September 2020, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Public Programs […]
In summer 2020, during the national outcry that followed the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, the concept of antiracism—or actively opposing racism and promoting tolerance and inclusion—gained traction in critical conversations about library work. Earlier this year the American Library Association’s Reference and User Services Association explored this theme further […]
Illustration: Prostock Studio/Adobe Stock Most people think of collaboration as a soft skill and dismiss it with a shrug. Here’s the thing: You don’t collaborate to make people feel okay, because it’s expected of you, or to earn brownie points. You collaborate because on large-scale projects, you have no choice. This is an excerpt from […]
Padma Lakshmi. Photo: Anthony Jackson Model, author, and television host and producer Padma Lakshmi is having a productive year: The 18th season of her reality competition show Top Chef concluded this summer, snagging five Emmy nominations; she released a children’s book, Tomatoes for Neela (Viking Books for Young Readers, August), with illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal; and […]
A Charlie Cart mobile kitchen. Illustration: The Charlie Cart Project 350Number of classes offered annually through Free Library of Philadelphia’s (FLP) Culinary Literacy Center. According to FLP, this kitchen classroom is the first of its kind created at a public library in the US. $9,000Amount that Chattanooga (Tenn.) Public Library spent on a Charlie Cart—a […]
T-Kay Sangwand, digital collection development librarian at UCLA Library and host of radio show The Archive of Feelings.Photo: Amanda Lopez When T-Kay Sangwand named her radio show The Archive of Feelings, she wasn’t just being cute. In addition to being a DJ, Sangwand is librarian for digital collection development at UCLA Library, where she helms […]
