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This is a guest post by Chad Conrady, Archives Specialist in the Manuscript Division. Alongside Senior Archives Specialist Kathleen O’Neill, Chad is a 2020 Staff Innovator working on the project Born Digital Access Now! In previous blog posts, Chad and Kathleen have shared publicly about their project, whose central aim is to research and understand […]
The culinary arts involve the subtle practice and activity of cooking. For those who enjoy reading and cooking, or are willing to learn how to cook, some libraries have decided to advance literacy in an innovative way, through discussing cookbooks coupled with real-life cooking demonstrations. Literacy and Cooking Food is a part of our everyday […]
Referenda Roundup 2020 In the 2020 election year, American Libraries and the Public Library Association tracked more than 100 library-related referenda across 27 states. Voters decided more than 90% of them in favor of the library. As usual, Ohio was a major front-runner, with 31 of 32 referenda voted in; Michigan came in second, with […]
Adobe and Microsoft each issued a bevy of updates today to plug critical security holes in their software. Microsoft’s release includes fixes for 112 separate flaws, including one zero-day vulnerability that is already being exploited to attack Windows users. Microsoft also is taking flak for changing its security advisories and limiting the amount of information […]
It’s bad enough that many ransomware gangs now have blogs where they publish data stolen from companies that refuse to make an extortion payment. Now, one crime group has started using hacked Facebook accounts to run ads publicly pressuring their ransomware victims into paying up. On the evening of Monday, Nov. 9, an ad campaign […]
The Mirador development team at Stanford is happy to announce the release of Mirador v3.0.0. This release represents the first major release of the Mirador software since January 2019. Mirador 3 offers a fresh new redesigned interface and API while keeping many of the well-loved comparison features that Mirador has been known for. Notable new […]
The body of a man found shot inside a burned out vehicle in Canada three years ago has been identified as that of Davis Wolfgang Hawke, a prolific spammer and neo-Nazi who led a failed anti-government march on Washington, D.C. in 1999, according to news reports. Homicide detectives said they originally thought the man found […]
Today’s guest-writer, Leon Bolton, is a librarian from the UK, with over 25 years of experience in the library sector. He shares his thoughts, opinions and feelings on the role local libraries are playing in the lives of their communities. Libraries are local Like the vast majority of people, I discovered libraries as a child. […]
Companies hit by ransomware often face a dual threat: Even if they avoid paying the ransom and can restore things from scratch, about half the time the attackers also threaten to release sensitive stolen data unless the victim pays for a promise to have the data deleted. Leaving aside the notion that victims might have […]
The following is a guest post by Derek Miller, Harvard University, and Elizabeth Brown, a reference librarian in the Main Reading Room at the Library of Congress. In it, they discuss how Brown helped Miller access LC for Robots resources that helped him gain enhanced access to Library of Congress digital collections used in his […]
Two young men from the eastern United States have been hit with identity theft and conspiracy charges for allegedly stealing bitcoin and social media accounts by tricking employees at wireless phone companies into giving away credentials needed to remotely access and modify customer account information. Prosecutors say Jordan K. Milleson, 21 of Timonium, Md. and […]
Illustration: Katie Wheeler When you seek the advice of a goblin priest in the fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons, beware: Instead of helping you in your quest, he might try to feed you to a tentacled monster with a taste for adventurers. A crew of six explorers—library patrons playing as a gnome, two half-elves, […]
Patrons at Palos Verdes Library District in Rolling Hills Estates, California, submitted photos that include images of daily jokes, Zoom meeting signs, protests, and jigsaw puzzles. Photos: Palos Verdes Library District in Rolling Hills Estates, California The Palos Verdes Library District (PVLD) coronavirus archiving project started with a cat. Monique Sugimoto, archivist and local history […]
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). “BCALA comes out of an unflagging commitment to equity,” says Tracie D. Hall, executive director of the American Library Association (ALA) and herself a member of the affiliate organization. “I cannot help but think of how prescient its founding […]
A towering figure in both librarianship and the civil rights movement, E. J. Josey (1924–2009) cofounded the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) and served as ALA president (1984–1985). He inspired and mentored colleagues and students with a leadership style that reverberates today. Renate L. Chancellor, associate professor in the Department of Library […]
Teen leader Iris Alvarenga poses in front of yard signs at Waltham (Mass.) Public Library that depict issues youth patrons care about. The installation was a partnership between the library, civic organization For Freedoms, and local art group Blueprint Projects. Photo: Erwin Cardona/Waltham (Mass.) Public Library Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations—renewed by the death of […]
Photo illustration: ©Victor Tongdee/Adobe Stock As librarians, we are affected by our work. We’re often directly exposed to traumatic events or feeling the indirect results of natural disasters, terrorist events, or rioting. We experience secondary exposure by hearing patrons speak out about their traumas and even by helping them find the resources they need to […]
#MurderTrending, a dystopic novel by Gretchen McNeil, ranked first on the 2019 Teens’ Top Ten list. Photo illustration: © Wayhome Studio/Adobe Stock 1957Year the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) was founded. 6–8Dates in November that YALSA will host its 10th symposium, “Biggest Little Spaces: How Libraries Serve the Expanding Worlds of Teens.” Originally scheduled […]
Amy Schindler, director of archives and special collections at University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Libraries, holds a magic book from the Omaha (Neb.) Magical Society collection. Photo: University of Nebraska at Omaha One day, the magic collection vanished—and then reappeared. That is, the Omaha (Neb.) Magical Society moved its 1,200 magic-related books and materials […]
Mayra Castrejón-Hernandez performs at Milwaukee Public Library’s first Deaf StorySlam event in September 2019. Photo: Pat A. Robinson Photos/Milwaukee Public Library In September 2019, Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) hosted its first Deaf StorySlam, a storytelling event intended to highlight Deaf voices of color and their lived experiences and bring together the city’s Deaf and hearing […]
