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By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2021 The following libraries are winners of the 2021 Library Building Awards, sponsored by Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures (a division of the American Library Association) and the American Institute of Architects. The awards recognize the best in library architecture and design and are open to any architect licensed in […]
Special Report: The Legacy of 9/11 It’s been 20 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, flashed on our TV screens and left an imprint on our memories. Nearly 3,000 people died at the World Trade Center in New York City, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and aboard four hijacked airplanes. For […]
The Sphere, a sculpture by Fritz Koenig, survived the collapse of the Twin Towers partially intact. The unrestored sculpture now sits in New York City’s Liberty Park near the National September 11 Memorial Museum. Photo: Michael Rieger/FEMA Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, many archivists […]
Illustration: green2/AdobeStock Islamophobia in the US existed long before the September 11 attacks. But as a traumatized country mourned and searched for someone to blame, fear and suspicion of those perceived to be Muslims or Arab Americans intensified. The FBI reported a 17-fold increase in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim crimes in 2001 over the previous year, […]
Photo: ©cnky photography/Adobe Stock (globe); Gander (Newfoundland) Public and Resources Library (exterior) Imagine you’re on an island in the middle of the ocean, and you’ve never heard of it, and you’re trapped there.” That’s what Pam Soucy, a library assistant at Gander Public and Resource Library (GPRL), and her coworkers told themselves in the days […]
The Internet Archive’s Understanding 9/11 video archive features footage from 20 news outlets spanning the period from the morning of September 11 to September 17, 2001. Like Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963, the events of September 11, 2001, have left a […]
The Connecticut Four. From left: Barbara Bailey, Peter Chase, George Christian, and Janet Nocek When the FBI approached George Christian in 2005 with a national security letter (NSL) and lifetime gag order, the then–executive director of the Library Connection—a Connecticut library consortium—convened a meeting with the organization’s executive committee. The NSL would have forced them […]
Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) recognizes the achievements of more than 200 individuals and institutions with an array of awards. This year’s winners, chosen by juries of their colleagues and peers, embody the best of the profession’s leadership, vision, and service as well as a continued commitment to diversity, equality, education, and outreach. […]
Map indicating the 50 countries that participated in the UN Conference on International Organization at San Francisco in 1945. Photo: ©United Nations (2021), digitallibrary.un.org 50Number of countries represented at the United Nations (UN) Conference on International Organization in San Francisco from April 25 to June 26, 1945. Representatives wrote a charter for the UN with […]
For thirty years the Library of Congress has offered undergraduate and graduate students from across the country the opportunity to work on projects focused on expanding access to and use of the Library’s collections. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Junior Fellows program continued to be entirely virtual in 2021. The Digital Content […]
Ryan*, a librarian working in New England, was confused when she received an email from library administration about a man who had been banned from the building. When she asked a colleague what had happened, she learned there had been a “First Amendment audit.” “My heart sank,” Ryan says. She had learned about these encounters […]
Our online column Letters of the Law explores a wide range of legal issues that arise in libraries, with the help of a pair of leading authorities: Mary Minow, a librarian who became a lawyer; and Tomas A. Lipinski, a lawyer who became a librarian. Together they have authored four books on the subject, including […]
As of today, we’re in Day 10 of quarantine, and Day 7 of isolation. On Sunday, August 8, after having sinus issues for a few days that we thought were allergies, Eliza tested positive for COVID-19. We were surprised, as she’s fully vaccinated and we know the stats on breakthrough…nonetheless, she ended up being in […]
This is a guest post written by Hilary Szu Yin Shiue and Jacob Kowall, 2021 Junior Fellows in the Digital Content Management & Services (DCMS) Division under the mentorship of Kate Murray, Digital Projects Coordinator. Hilary and Jacob assisted in updating and expanding the Sustainability of Digital Formats website, which provides information and analysis on […]
We are excited to announce the release of a new, online self-deposit application for the Stanford Digital Repository, with a brand-new user interface. The new application was designed with a focus on improved accessibility and better future support for Open Access as well as other campus research and digital library needs. Much of the content […]
The following is a post by Senior Innovation Specialist Meghan Ferriter about the Collective Wisdom initiative. Collective Wisdom seeks to identify and enrich networks of practitioners of crowdsourcing in cultural heritage, document current practices, and invite others to join in thoughtful consideration of future practices. Supported by an Arts & Humanities Research Council UK US-UK […]
This post was collectively authored by Andrew Berger, Dinah Handel, and Geoff Willard Project goals Digitization of audiovisual resources is only the first step in ensuring their contents are seen by many for years to come. In order for our audiovisual heritage to be truly accessible by all, it needs corresponding captions in a […]
This is a guest post written by Jacob Kowall and Hilary Szu Yin Shiue, 2021 Junior Fellows in the Digital Collections Management & Services Division (DCMS) under the mentorship of Kate Murray, Digital Projects Coordinator. Jacob and Hilary assisted in updating and expanding the Sustainability of Digital Formats website, which provides information and analysis on […]
Here’s a presentation I delivered this summer on the near-future of AI and Machine Learning systems and services for the 2021 IDEA Institute on Artificial Intelligence. I discuss how ML systems “create” things, two types of ML systems that are popular right now (CLIP and GAN), how they might be used in the information world, […]
Today’s guest post is from Kate Murray (Digital Projects Coordinator, Digital Collections Management & Services Division), Marcus Nappier (Digital Collections Specialist, Digital Content Management Section), and Ted Westervelt (Chief, US/Anglo Division) at the Library of Congress. Introduction As the Library of Congress expands its digital collecting activities, the Recommended Formats Statement (RFS) has revised its […]
