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 ]
BookLife Elite will offer public libraries access to a curated collection of unlimited, simultaneous-use indie e-books, meaning library readers can access the books instantly—no holds lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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You can still borrow books for free even when public libraries are closed, though each personal collection has its own character. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-01-08 17:38:20 UTC ]
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If you, like me, could really use some nice library-oriented news right about now, you’re in luck. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the impossibility of going to physical libraries for much of the year, readers borrowed record numbers of ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines from public... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-07 15:34:02 UTC ]
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It’s largely accepted as a truism that libraries connect and work together—interlibrary loan, consortia, union catalogs. However, working together and connecting is not a simple task. Add in different histories, cultures, languages, political systems and you begin to get a sense of what... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Take a peek at the most popular under-the-radar books in public libraries across the United States for the 2020 third quarter. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-12-09 11:33:00 UTC ]
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The potential deal would be a breakthrough moment in the library e-book market as Amazon currently does not make its digital content available to libraries. It would also be a major coup for the Digital Public Library of America's upstart e-book platform and its SimplyE library reading app. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Demand an explanation for why Chicago Public Libraries are open to in-person services while COVID positivity rates soar above 15%. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-11-27 15:17:51 UTC ]
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My library is a response to the void of my parents’ house: there are traces of all the public libraries I’ve visited since childhood. Continue reading at The Paris Review
[ The Paris Review | 2020-11-25 15:50:04 UTC ]
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During an interview with The Washington Post, Obama revealed the books that shaped his public service and leadership. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-24 14:00:41 UTC ]
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The portrayal of Santa’s Moor servant ‘Zwarte Piet’ is widely seen as offensive. Protesters applaud the decision to remove the character from children’s books Public libraries across the Netherlands are removing from the shelves children’s books depicting a black-faced Zwarte Piet, a side-kick... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-11-15 10:10:52 UTC ]
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With the election days away, this is the perfect time to remember that public libraries exist in a political as well as a civic space. In this episode, hosts David Lankes and Nicole Cooke talk to John Chrastka, head of EveryLibrary, the country’s only political action committee for libraries,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Panorama Project, the OverDrive-funded cross-industry initiative devoted to “data-informed insights on public libraries’ role in the publishing ecosystem” has announced the appointment of Daniel Albohn as the new Project Lead, replacing Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, who has taken a full-time... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Image: Sister and Spirit: Plains horses Marvin Bell was introduced to by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke. For more than half a century, Marvin Bell has been a movable poetry feast. Everywhere he goes, every day, from The Hamburg Inn #2 to EPB, Day House, Prairie Lights, the public libraries of Iowa,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-10-03 19:00:52 UTC ]
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On Sunday, President Trump demanded that Joe Biden, his Democratic opponent, take a drug test ahead of (or just after) their first debate, which is tonight. “His Debate performances have been record setting UNEVEN, to put it mildly,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Only drugs could have caused this... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-09-29 12:19:19 UTC ]
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As the national library of the United Kingdom, the British Library’s mission is to make our intellectual heritage accessible to everyone, for research, inspiration and enjoyment. This means making our own buildings and online offers engaging for everyone, as well as working in partnership... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-24 13:05:14 UTC ]
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Autumn brings cheerful news of good footfall in bookshops, but we do not hear the same bells ringing for public libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-08 12:28:53 UTC ]
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How will public libraries handle being unable to be community centers when their communities are most in need of them? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-08-13 10:35:00 UTC ]
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Canadian librarians push back against a recently published editorial arguing that public libraries are "a net harm" to literature. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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American public libraries operate under white supremacy. It's time to dismantle it. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-07-20 10:31:00 UTC ]
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The International Publishers Association has expressed concern following reports in the Guardian, Global Times and the Wall Street Journal that certain books have have been removed from public libraries and bookshops. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-19 23:19:42 UTC ]
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