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 ]
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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With the August recess looming and a second round of coronavirus relief in the works, $2 billion in funding for libraries hangs in the balance. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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As they try to re-open, public libraries have two big problems and three large advantages. The first problem, obviously, is that they have to be so safe that people actually want to work in and visit them. I don’t think anyone anywhere has solved that problem yet - but I’m sure there are... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-16 06:10:47 UTC ]
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Observers in recent years have argued that if public libraries didn’t already exist in America, we wouldn’t be able to invent them. In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, the question now is: Can we reinvent them? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Find out how some libraries are shifting summer reading programs into digital spaces, maintaining their communities, and learning from the process. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-26 10:33:13 UTC ]
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As states begin lifting stay-at-home restrictions, public libraries face a wide range of short- and long-term issues. How do we keep library workers safe, and employed? How will buildings be redesigned to support physical distancing? Amid the economic damage wrought by the pandemic, how will... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, another critical transformation looms for public libraries. And the American public is counting on librarians to get it right. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Every industry is experiencing a digital transformation. For some, the pandemic has accelerated this transformation. Others, like retail, travel and QSR, are trying to quickly adapt to the new criteria of our on-demand world. Consumers are permanently changing their online consumption habits,... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2020-05-07 14:20:39 UTC ]
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The beginnings of Poems on the UndergroundPoems on the Underground started life in 1986 as an experiment by three friends, me (the writer Judith Chernaik) and the poets Cicely Herbert and Gerard Benson, all of us keen poetry lovers. We persuaded London Underground to post a few poems on its... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-05-04 14:39:46 UTC ]
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The value of public libraries is rarely questioned in times of crisis—think of the New Orleans Public Library after Hurricane Katrina, or the Ferguson Municipal Public Library during the unrest there. But this crisis is different. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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