a sometimes blog about mostly libraries
This is a transcript of a Distinguished Seminar Series talk I gave at OCLC in Dublin, Ohio in November of 2017. It’s edited somewhat for clarity and I've removed verbal fillers, eliminated a few random asides, and restored compressed content. This took me the better part of a year to finish, and while I'm trying... Continue Reading →
This is last part of a keynote I gave in October at CSU San Marcos's student Social Justice Summit. It's long so I've split it into three installments - best to start with parts 1 and 2 if you haven't yet. allyship, community, and tools for change: social justice summit keynote transcript (part 3 of 3). See the full... Continue Reading →
I have an article in Library Journal this week on HathiTrust, the giant "digital library by libraries for libraries." It's an interview with Heather Christiansen and Paul Fogel, two key HathiTrust staffers that I've enjoyed working with in the past. An excerpt: As librarians and users, we constantly encounter digital discovery interfaces and collections, but we don't... Continue Reading →
I've been a bit slow on the blogging uptake lately, thanks to a full slate of projects and the massive learning curve that occurs when one starts an (excellent) new job, not to mention residual writing trauma after finishing RTEL. Future posts on all of the above are percolating, but I can at least share... Continue Reading →
In the past year or so I have been thinking more about issues related to digital accessibility, particularly in the area of e-text usability and universal design. On the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, federal plans are now underway to incorporate more comprehensive accessible technology and design guidelines into... Continue Reading →
I recently answered a few questions for a Viewpoint/Interview piece in the upcoming Reference Services Review (38/2), most of which is now available to subscribers in pre-print. The issue is devoted to mobile services in libraries and features some of the smartest content I've seen on the subject thus far. Several of the articles are... Continue Reading →
Radical Reference has posted the results of its call-out for LC subject heading suggestions. Entries include BOLLYWOOD FILMS, EASTERN FILBERT BLIGHT, FOLKSONOMY, FREEGANISM, and GENDER DIFFERENCES, among others. Many thanks to RR for helping drag bibliographic control a little further out of the 19th century.
Check out this awesome project from Radical Reference, as written up in The Experiment: Viva RR! Do subject headings still matter? We say they do. Does the Library of Congress always identify accessible and appropriately named headings and implement them in a timely manner? We say not always. All you have to do is spend... Continue Reading →
Today's New York Times online has a piece on a strategy they themselves recently adopted, and one that in tandem with the open publishing movement portends significant change for library e-subscription policy (and hopefully expenditures). Publications such as Sports Illustrated and Newsweek are making their back and historic issues available online, thus increasing their findability... Continue Reading →
The Times of London reports that proposed British legislation seeks to require internet service providers to monitor and take action against illegal downloaders, who ultimately risk being "cut off" from internet access: "Users suspected of wrongly downloading films or music will receive a warning e-mail for the first offence, a suspension for the second infringement... Continue Reading →
info-mational 