Last Monday night, Mark Zuckerberg published a post announcing Facebook's new initiative to bring Internet access to the developing world. The blueprint for internet.org mapped out how Facebook and a host of phone company allies might connect an additional 5 billion people online through more affordable access, increasing data efficiency, and investing in local business infrastructure. It came with a video that depicted IRL social interactions in developing countries, along with a soundtrack cut from a JFK speech and soft, inspirational piano tones. As the Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal deftly pointed out, no one can call this ignoble, or unreasonable, even. Simply put, increased Internet access is a good idea––though the other message Facebook was trying to sell, the one that equated the company with peace and progress, was hokey at best. But there's another facet of Internet access that Internet.org does not address, and that's Internet inequality right at home, in cities that otherwise rank as some of the most "connected" places on the planet. New York City is already well–known for its ample (and growing) income inequality. But on Wednesday, Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer put out a report showing that the city's public schools and libraries vary widely when it comes to its broadband speeds. The report revealed that over 75% of New York City schools had maximum download speeds of 10 megabits per second, 100 times slower than the 2020 goal outlined by President... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2013-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
In 1906, a reporter for the Detroit Free Press described a scene that had become all too common at the city’s public libraries. A child hands an overdue book to a stern librarian perched behind a desk, and with a “sinister expression,” the librarian demands payment of a late fine. In some cases,... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2017-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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President Obama in the Oval Office during an interview with Michiko Kakutani on Friday. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2017-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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President Obama in the Oval Office on Friday during an interview with Michiko Kakutani, the chief book critic for The New York Times. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2017-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rob Wilson on how the government wants local authorities to think differently about public libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The long-awaited Ambition report for Public Libraries has been published, urging local authorities to use libraries to deliver other public services such as health, with the help of a £4m dedicated fund. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Library campaigners have expressed their intense frustration at the continued non-appearance of the Libraries Taskforce's Ambition report on a national strategy for England's public libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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President Obama on the South Lawn of the White House in July. He could earn as much as $30 million with a two- or three-book contract once his second term ends, said Raphael Sagalyn of the ICM/Sagalyn Literary Agency. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2016-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rachael Jolley, editor of global freedom of expression magazine, Index on Censorship, has spoken out about the growing importance of public libraries for freedom of expression saying "at the heart of any library is the idea of a freedom to think and discover”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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President Obama has announced Carla Hayden, CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, as his nominee to become the 14th Librarian of Congress. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jesse DeWitt is the digital director of language learning products at Merriam-Webster. And as you may surmise from his title, DeWitt does not devote the lion's share of his time to the dictionary publisher's social marketing—he wears many hats for the New York-based company. In fact, he shares... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2016-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dosdoce, Bookwire and Publishing Perspectives are offering an exclusive ebook licensing guide for global public libraries and publishers. The post Free Guide to Ebook Licensing for Public Libraries and Publishers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The British Library has appointed Tom Holland as chair of the Public Lending Right (PLR) Advisory Committee for the next three years. Holland said: “I am hugely honoured to be taking on the role of chair of the PLR Advisory Committee, which does such excellent work in promoting the interests of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Library groups have welcomed education secretary Nicky Morgan’s drive for all children to have a library card, although campaigners say the news rings hollow at a time when many public libraries are closing. Desmond Clarke, a veteran library campaigner who has spoken out against library cuts in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Ali Smith has used her appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival to warn how the closure of public libraries was threatening the “democracy of reading”. Smith, who was interviewed at the festival yesterday (16th August), said the continued closing of libraries would have an... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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President Barack Obama is on Martha's Vineyard for his annual two-week summer holiday, and the White House has released his reading list. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2015-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mic’s first interview with President Obama is available on Mic.com, which received more than 16 million visitors in July. The full interview is also available on its mobile app, Facebook and YouTube. But the distribution strategy doesn’t end there, as the publisher has also been sharing... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jim Crace’s Harvest (Picador) has won the 2015 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Crace was announced as the winner of the €100,000 prize, awarded for a single novel published in English, today (17th June) at Mansion House in Dublin. The IMPAC receives its nominations from public... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Libraries minister Ed Vaizey has said he is “keen” on the idea of creating a national libraries framework, and urged senior librarians to contribute to discussions on how it can be achieved. The framework could set out guidelines on how public libraries are structured and what they offer. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers in the US including Hachette Book Group, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster are making $250m (£163m) in free ebooks available to low-income students as part of a scheme announced today (30th April) by President Obama. The new ebook commitments, to cover a three-year... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The government will provide funding to give wi-fi access to all public libraries across England, chanceller George Osborne revealed yesterday (18th March) is his pre-election budget speech. The budget document said that £7.4m would be provided to fund wi-fi. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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