Featured Link

Featured Link: World Book Trade (e-books, awards, videos)

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Our Londinium 2012 (UK)

Our Londinium 2012 (UK)Opening in time for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Our Londinium 2012 is the largest update to the Museum of London's Roman gallery since it opened in 1994 and explores the parallels between Roman London and the today's modern capital. The updates range from video installations to rarely-seen Roman artefacts, including a bust of Hadrian which was found on the Thames foreshore and is now in the British Museum's collection. The bust will be on display at the Museum of London until January 2013

OverDrive introduces browser-based eBook reader

OverDrive has announced plans to launch later this year a new eBook reading platform, "OverDrive Read." Based on open standards HTML5 and EPUB, OverDrive Read creates a fresh, direct and immersive reading experience offering significant benefits for publishers, booksellers, libraries and schools. Unlike eBook apps or devices, OverDrive Read enables readers using standard web browsers to enjoy eBooks online and offline without first installing any software or activating their device. OverDrive will demonstrate this new eReading platform at Book Expo America, in New York City, June 5-7, 2012 (Booth #4340), as well as at the American Library Association annual conference in Anaheim, Calif., June 22-25

Video: OCLC WorldShare Management Services: A new approach to managing library services cooperatively

Andrew K. Pace explains how OCLC is leveraging the library community, WorldCat, new technologies and data to create OCLC WorldShare

Library self-funding at $1.50 a book (New Zealand)

Borrowing a library book would need to cost $1.50 a time if the Timaru library was to pay its own way. The Pleasant Point Community Board wants those using the Timaru library to pay for their books, as well as suggesting entry fees be charged at both the Aigantighe Art Gallery and South Canterbury Museum. The money saved could then be spent in rural areas on road maintenance and seal extension. Sealing a kilometre of unsealed road costs between $150,000 and $180,000. The district's three libraries will cost $1.94 million in 2012-13

Business Research Plus (UK)

Business Research Plus - research expertise from the manchester Business School Library Service of The University of Manchester Library

'Dickens and his World' exhibition opens June 2, 2012 (UK)

'Dickens and his World' exhibition opens June 2, 2012The Bodleian Summer exhibition opens to the public this Saturday, 2 June. Celebrating the bicentenary of Charles Dickens, the exhibition illustrates the relationship between the fictional worlds Charles Dickens created in his novels and the historical reality in which he lived.

Drawing on the Bodleian's unparallel collection of printed ephemera, the Dickens and his World exhibition depicts in a unique way the life and times in which the novels and stories of this great writer were set.

On display will be playbills, advertisements, murder sheets, maps, panoramas, sheet music, playing cards and prints which will aim to recreate Dickens’ world and take the visitors on a journey back in his time. These items will be accompanied by quotations from Dickens' novels, thus revealing how the historical reality of the Victorian times is mirrored in his writings.

There will be sections on Victorian London and its amusements; the coming of the railways; domestic entertainment; and school life for children. The exhibition will also look at the many stage adaptations that were often performed before the novels had completed their serialization and the plays Dickens produced and acted in, sometimes privately

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Library and Archives Canada launches its Portrait Portal

Library and Archives Canada has launched its online Portrait Portal, making available more than nearly 15,000 high-quality digitized images from the national portrait collection. "I would like to invite Canadians, wherever they live, to visit the Portrait Portal and experience the thousands of works of art that tell our stories and help define our Canadian identity," said the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. "This digital approach allows greater access to our national documentary heritage." The Portrait Portal showcases the largest collection of portraits in the country, which includes works acquired since the 1880s. This collection is comprised of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, caricatures, medals and other works representing historical figures who played an important role in Canada's development as a nation. "This digitization initiative now makes available to Canadians across the country many thousands of works by renowned Canadian artists, ranging from portraits made by Yousuf Karsh to those of William Topley," said Deputy Head and Librarian and Archivist of Canada, Daniel J. Caron. "Hockey fans can even find rare hockey cards, circa 1910, from the C.J. Haynes collection." In addition, many works by Arnaud Maggs are now accessible on the Portrait Portal

InSITE: A Current Awareness Service of Cornell Law Library - Vol. 17, No. 14, May 29, 2012

InSITE: A Current Awareness Service of Cornell Law Library - Vol. 17, No. 14, May 29, 2012 is now available. Contents:

* B'Tselem: the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
* Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT)
* Center on Wrongful Convictions

Libraries Change Lives Award 2012 shortlist (UK)

Libraries Change Lives Award 2012 shortlist (UK)The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) has announced the shortlist for this year's Libraries Change Lives Award. The winner will be announced by Culture Minister Ed Vaisey on Tuesday 26 June at a special ceremony in the Houses of Parliament. Celebrating its 21st birthday this year, the Libraries Change Lives Award is open to all UK libraries and serves to recognise positive achievements and promote outstanding library-based initiatives enriching lives and strengthening communities

Campaigners condemn council after Kensal Rise library is emptied at night (UK)

Campaigners condemn council after library is emptied at night (UK)Campaigners fighting the closure of a London library opened by Mark Twain in 1900 have accused the Brent council leader of betrayal after the library was stripped of books and other property in the middle of the night. Workers assisted by police officers entered Kensal Rise library between 2am and 3am on Tuesday, removing furniture, murals painted in the 1930s for the library and plaques commemorating the library's opening by Twain along with the books, according to campaigners

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

2012 The National Poetry Competition (UK)

The National Poetry Competition is currently accepting entries. The closing date is 31 October 2012 (midnight, UK time).

First Prize: £5000
Second Prize: £2000
Third Prize: £1000
Seven Commendations: £100

The top-three winning poems will be published in Poetry Review. The winner is also invited to read at the Ledbury Poetry Festival in July 2013. Up to 150 entrants will also be offered a discount on selected activities from the Poetry School. Winning and commended poems will be published on the Poetry Society website when the competition prizes are announced in spring 2013

Coming August 2012: The Churchill Archive

The Churchill Archive is a unique resource that brings nearly one million documents amassed by Winston S. Churchill throughout his life online for the first time

Opening up Archives project receives additional funding (UK)

Opening up Archives, The UK National Archives' project to tackle skills shortages in the wider archives sector, has been allocated additional funding of over £250,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Speaking about the additional funding, Nick Kingsley, Head of Archives Sector Development, The National Archives, said: 'This is fantastic news for the archives sector. HLF's continued support and financial backing for this essential project helps us open up a career in archives to a wider, more diverse group of individuals.' The extension grant awarded as part of HLF's Skills for the Future programme will guarantee that a third year of the project runs in 2013

Royal College of Psychiatrists Antiquarian book collection catalogue loaded

The Royal College of Psychiatrists Antiquarian book collection catalogue has been loaded on to Copac. The Antiquarian book collection consists of English, German and French language books which were donated to the predecessor bodies of the College between 1895 and 1971. Some of the books in the collection date back to the 15th century. Most of the books are from the working libraries of doctors Daniel Hack Tuke, J. R. Lord, C Lockhart Robertson and J. R. Whitwell, T Hyslop, P.W. MacDonald, H. H. Newington, Professor Pighini, R. H. H. Sankey, G Smith, W Starkey, H Yellowlees, and others. The books were either written or edited by notable authors such as Daniel Hack Tuke, Forbes Winslow, Henry Maudsley, John Connolly, Emil Kraepelin and many others

Libraries and Leadership Twitter chat

Tonight's #UKLibChat Twitter discussion is on Libraries and Leadership. Join us from 6.30 to 8.30 pm (GMT) tonight to discuss issues around leadership in libraries including the role of professional bodies and how to develop leadership skills

Monday, May 28, 2012

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #199

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #199. "This week's episode is varied as it is released during a holiday weekend in the United States.". Previous Podcasts/Programs can be found here

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Combating the tsetse fly: rare historical reports now available (UK)

Combating the tsetse fly: rare historical reports now available (UK)Brian Hursey was an international expert on the control of tsetse flies, the vector of African trypanosomiasis or "sleeping sickness" in man and animals. As a student, he specialised in the study of tsetse flies and, upon graduation in 1964, he took up a post in Kenya as a Tsetse Officer. This was the beginning of a highly successful career during which he worked in various parts of Africa, planning and supervising ground spraying, eradicating the tsetse fly from huge areas. At the 50th anniversary conference of the International Scientific Council for Trypanosomiasis Research and Control, he was awarded a "certificate of appreciation" on behalf of the people of Africa. By the time Brian Hursey died in 2008 he had collected documents spanning 80 years, much of it "grey literature" or report material of the kind that is often difficult to obtain and can be easily lost to researchers. This material is now safely stored and accessible to users of the Wellcome Library. The books and reports include some of Hursey's own publications. Some typescript and unpublished material forms a small archive collection

"E-content: The Digital Dialogue" from ALA (USA)

The American Library Association has released a new report examining critical issues underlying equitable access to digital content through our nation's libraries. In the report, entitled "E-content: The Digital Dialogue," authors explore an unprecedented and splintered landscape in which several major publishers refuse to sell ebooks to libraries; proprietary platforms fragment our cultural record; and reader privacy is endangered

Jubilee museum exhibit (UK)

Jubilee museum exhibit (UK)To complement The National Archives' online exhibition, the Royal Archives has loaned four of Queen Victoria's schoolroom exercise books for display in The National Archives' museum. This is the first time these books will have been seen in public. The loan is one of a number of projects relating to Queen Victoria, including the digitisation of her private journals, which have been undertaken by the Royal Archives to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Royal Archives is working in partnership with several organisations, including The National Archives, to make the material it holds more widely available. The exercise books will be on display at The National Archives in Kew until 18 August

Podcast: The Golden Stool: cataloguing Colonial Office records from 1900 (UK)

In 1900, war broke out between the British and the Ashanti in the Gold Coast. The Colonial Office records from this year have recently been catalogued by volunteers at The National Archives. This talk, given by the volunteers themselves, shares some of their most interesting finds and experiences of the CO 96 series and the 'War of the Golden Stool'. The four volunteers - Mahesh Gami, Gina Murgatroyd, Becky Senghore and Rebekah Simpson - working on the Gold Coast 1900 project are students or recent students of history with an emphasis on African history. Their research in these records, which some have used for their own studies, has brought the project to life

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Free e-journals from De Gruyter

De Gruyter has added 19 political science journals to its journal collection, and are offering a free taste of the newest titles – all articles published in 2011 and 2012 are now available for free

iConference 2013 (USA)

The iConference is an annual gathering of scholars and researchers concerned with critical information issues in contemporary society. iConference participants advance the boundaries of information studies, explore core concepts and ideas, and create new technological and conceptual configurations - all situated in interdisciplinary discourses. These issues will be addressed during our four-day event in Fort Worth, Texas, February 12-15, 2013. The conference theme is Scholarship in Action: Data • Innovation • Wisdom

UCSF implements policy to make research papers freely accessible to public (USA)

The University of California, San Francisco Academic Senate has voted to make electronic versions of current and future scientific articles freely available to the public, helping to reverse decades of practice on the part of medical and scientific journal publishers to restrict access to research results. The unanimous vote of the faculty senate makes UCSF the largest scientific institution in the nation to adopt an open-access policy and among the first public universities to do so

2012 West Virginia Library Association Conference (USA)

2012 West Virginia Library Association Conference - October 10-12, 2012 - Stonewall Jackson Resort, Roanoke, WV

E-News for ARL Directors - May 2012

E-News for ARL Directors - May 2012 is now available online from the Association of Research Libraries

ACRL 2013 registration now open (USA)

Registration materials are now available for the ACRL 2013 conference to be held April 10-13, 2013, in Indianapolis.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Governance and Recordkeeping Around The World - May 2012

"Governance and Recordkeeping Around The World is a free newsletter published on a regular basis by Library Archives Canada that explores and highlights issues pertaining to government and recordkeeping practices in the public and private sector. This collaborative tool was designed to help readers stay up-to-date with the latest news, events, trends, products and publications in the field of public administration and recordkeeping" - May 2012 issue now available

SAGE Publications renews partnership with HighWire

SAGE Publications has renewed its partnership with HighWire

IEEE Computer Society launches Digital Library mobile app

The IEEE Computer Society is offering a free mobile application that will let subscribers to the Computer Society Digital Library use their iPads to access the collection

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - May 25, 2012

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Animals in Books. "This week's brainteaser is about animals who appear in various books" Answers here.

1. In Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book", the boy Mowgli was raised by what kind of animals?
2. In E. B. White's novel "Charlotte's Web", what kind of animal was Charlotte?
3. What was the title of Beatrix Potter's first book: "The Tale of..."?
4. In the stories about Tintin by the Belgian artist Hergé, what was the name of Tintin's faithful dog in the English versions?
5. Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" relates the adventures of a group of four animals. Name three of the four kinds of animal.
6. Which 1945 novel includes animals called Napoleon and Snowball?
7. In Edward Lear's "Nonsense Songs", which two animals "went to sea / In a beautiful pea-green boat"?
8. In Hugh Lofting's "Doctor Dolittle" series of books, was Polynesia a pig, a parrot or a porcupine?
9. Who wrote a 1933 book called "Flush", the fictional biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's spaniel?
10. In Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels", what kind of animals were the Houyhnhnms?

Gallica digital library - over a million books and documents accessible for free

Gallica digital library - over a million free documents accessible for free: books, manuscripts, maps, images, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, sound records, music, scores, e-books...

Thursday, May 24, 2012

EZproxy 5.6 now available

New features added to EZproxy 5.6 increase the system's ease of use, including the following:

* Beta EZproxy implementations now no longer require a license—the betas will simply "expire' which makes it easier for libraries to try things out

* A new way to detect and resolve crashes, down to identifying the actual machine instruction that caused it

* In the Administration Screen, Server Status, the display now shows detailed information about the "Option Cookie" directives that are in place for each database definition on the "Extended Information" display

Criminal Justice and Public Safety in Video collection

Criminal Justice and Public Safety in Video collectionCriminal Justice and Public Safety in Video from Alexander Street Press, is a landmark collection that illustrates the strategies, techniques, and experiences of professionals serving on the front lines of justice and public safety. At completion, the collection will offer 500 hours of high quality content essential to the core curriculum. The wide range of topics covered includes international coverage, allowing for a comparative view of criminal justice systems

Yahoo's Axis offers visual results to search requests

Yahoo has launched new search software which offers results as a swipeable string of webpage previews rather than a list of links. Called Axis, the service is being released as an app for Apple's iPads and iPhones, and as a plug-in for web browsers

Glendale Public Library adds interactive music blog (Arizona)

Glendale Public Library has a new, interactive music blog focusing on genres ranging from Delta Blues to music of the Caribbean, folk music in the United States and Arizona's musical legacy. "Spotlight on Music," authored by Adult Services librarian Michael Schmidt, presents a different musical topic every month along with audio samples, recommended listening and links to the library catalog for ease in placing items on hold

HM the Queen launches online resource of all Queen Victoria’s journals

HM the Queen launches online resource of all Queen Victoria’s journals Her Majesty The Queen has launched a unique online resource that makes available all the personal journals of Queen Victoria. The Bodleian Libraries working in partnership with The Royal Archives and information company ProQuest, have for the first time ever, made the private records of one of the world's most influential public figures available for the public to access at www.queenvictoriasjournals.org. The journals, which span Victoria's lifetime and consist of 141 volumes numbering over 43,000 pages, have never been published in their entirety and previously were only accessible by appointment at the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle. In addition to autograph diaries begun by the youthful Princess Victoria, there are edited versions from her later years, redacted and transcribed by the Queen's daughter, Princess Beatrice

InTech launches International Journal of Regenerative Medicine

InTech has announced the launch of the new peer-reviewed Open Access journal International Journal of Regenerative Medicine which is now accepting submissions

Library Journal eBook survey

Library Journal invites U.S. libraries to take an ebook survey. The survey will be open until June 30 and LJ is offering an iPad incentive for answering. This is their third annual survey, and times series data for the three years will be reported

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Barbecued otter, sautéed tortoise, sparrows on toast and live frog pie - a new publication from the British Library reveals weird and wonderful recipes throughout history

Barbecued otter, sautéed tortoise, sparrows on toast and live frog pie - a new publication from the British Library reveals weird and wonderful recipes throughout historyFrom the frugal to the fantastical, The Curious Cookbook: Viper Soup, Badger Ham, Stewed Sparrows & 100 More Historic Recipes contains some of the most unusual recipes from historic cookery books, from the Middle Ages to the Second World War. Collected by subject expert, Peter Ross, the book includes recipes from the earliest manuscript and printed cookery books in the English language and takes the reader through the lavish gastronomic spectacles of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the austerity of the Victorian kitchen and the imaginative ration-book cookery of wartime 1940s Britain. In this cookbook there is far more to food than just taste. Some of the most outlandish recipes, such as a pastry stag that ‘bleeds’ and pies containing live frogs, were clearly designed to dazzle guests

Credo Reference launches Amazing Stories contest

In celebration of the forthcoming launch of the new Literati Public, Credo wants to highlight the true tales of the library - what makes them so special

Kathryn Suárez appointed Publisher of Libraries Unlimited

ABC-CLIO has announced the appointment of Kathryn Suárez as Publisher of its professional development publishing program for librarians and information professionals

LibraryThing: State of the Thing - May 2012

New this month: twelve million records from Harvard University are now included in LibraryThing. We announce the winners of our edible books contest, and we're now offering free lifetime account to booksellers who want to catalog their reference libraries. We're also looking for a summer intern or two. We have author interviews with Hilary Mantel, Naomi Novik, Jonathan Gottschall, and a special Lisa Carey interview with Melissa Coleman. There are 2,841 free Early Reviewer books and thousands of Member Giveaway books available in May

Brooklyn Public Library wins $250,000 to restore historic entrance (USA)

Brooklyn Public Library has received $250,000 to repair the Art Deco entrance to its Central Library at Grand Army Plaza

Recordings by Donna Summer, Prince and Dolly Parton named to the National Recording Registry (USA)

The voices of former slaves, the sounds of Native American culture, the creative wordplay of Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper’s Delight," Donna Summer's electric 1977 hit, and the only surviving recording of a stage icon are among the sound recordings selected for induction into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Marking the 10th anniversary of the registry, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington selected 25 sound recordings that will be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures for generations to come

FreePint Newsletter 351

FreePint Newsletter 351 - 24 May 2012 now available

Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives News - May 2012

The May 2012 edition of Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives News is now available

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Images in new online archive mark 75th anniversary of child refugees coming to UK

Archives of material about child refugees evacuated to the UK to escape the Spanish Civil War 75 years ago have gone online at the University of Warwick, as part of the largest English-language digital collection on the conflict. This week marks the 75th anniversary of the arrival of around 4,000 children from the Basque region of Spain. The youngsters left Bilbao by boat and arrived in Southampton on 23rd May 1937. Over the past 13 months more than 13,000 pages of documents relating to the Spanish Civil War have been digitised by the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick. The online collection contains letters, reports and publicity material from the Trades Union Congress files and other key archive collections. Among the documents are reports and photographs of a makeshift refugee camp set up for the Basque children who were evacuated to the UK

New Report: "A Crosswalk from ONIX Version 3.0 for Books to MARC 21"

This report describes the crosswalk developed at OCLC for mapping the bibliographic elements defined in Version 3.0 of ONIX for Books to MARC 21 with AACR2 encoding. It is an update to the previous report, Mapping ONIX to MARC, which was published in 2010 and focused on ONIX 2.1.

Treasure trove uncovered in a Russian library

While preparing for a massive renovation of its 100-year-old facility, librarians at the Russian State Polytechnical Museum found more than 30,000 pre-revolutionary books and magazines

LibLime announces public release of LibLime Koha 4.10

LibLime, a division of PTFS, announces the public release of LibLime Koha 4.10. LibLime Koha 4.10 has been in beta production release among sponsoring libraries since February, 2012

Historic Welsh events online

Historic Welsh events onlinePeople's memories of watching television footage of some of the most significant events in Wales from 1950 - 2000, can now be viewed on a new website funded by Jisc for researchers, teachers and the general public. Historical events such as the Aberfan disaster in 1966, the Miners' Strike in 1984 and the Queen's Coronation in 1953 are some of the important events to have been documented and placed on the website, created by Aberystwyth University as part of Jisc's investment in opening up valuable content online. Paola Marchionni, programme manager at Jisc, said: "The TV audiences that our popular programmes enjoy today is nothing like the peak figures reached by the nation's favourite programmes in the eighties and nineties. The television was a really key part of our culture. Jisc's suite of work to support the digitisation of collections like this one and the gathering of people's memories of these events, shows our commitment to preserving our national treasures and opening them up for the benefit of education and research."

New military nurses records spanning 110 years (UK)

New military nurses records spanning 110 years (UK)You can now find out if your ancestors are among the 8,969 people who were awarded the Royal Red Cross nursing award. These records span the period 1883 to 1994. The Royal Red Cross was first awarded in 1883 'for special exertions in providing for the nursing, or for attending to, sick and wounded soldiers and sailors'. The award was so special that only 246 women had been considered worthy of the honour by the start of WWI. This rose to 6,741 by 1922, when new classes of medal were introduced. New military nurses records spanning 110 years on findmypast.co.uk. Men became eligible for the first time in 1976, so it's possible to find both male and female ancestors in these records. This release follows the publication of five other sets of military nurse records on findmypast.co.uk in November 2011

Monday, May 21, 2012

Credo Reference presents The Religion Collection

Credo's Religion Collection is composed of thirty-two best-of-breed, award-winning reference works from six different academic publishers such as Brill, Blackwell and Routledge. Coverage ranges from titles on the world's major religions, such as The Blackwell Companion to Catholicism, to comprehensive and comparative works like The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion, and even to interdisciplinary topics such as Religion and Politics. This collection is an essential resource for a major in Religion or a researcher just starting out in the field. Combining authoritative content with innovative, customizable technology that links users of reference through to all their library resources, the collection is available for perpetual purchase or subscription, stand-alone or alongside a subscription to Credo General Reference

New LITA Webinar: Social Networking the Catalog

LITA has announced the availability of a new webinar, "Social Networking the Catalog: Community Based Approaches to Building Catalogs and Collections," presented by Margaret Heller (Dominican University) and held June 7, 11:00 am – Noon CDT. This presentation will introduce the Read/Write Library Chicago, a new model for libraries that exists to illuminate and create connections between people, materials, and institutions in the city of Chicago

Research4Life expands peer reviewed research available to developing world

Research4Life partners have announced that the content available through its collaborative public-private partnership has dramatically increased since 2011 to reach 17,000 peer reviewed scientific journals, books and databases. Research4Life provides over 6,000 institutions in more than 100 developing countries with free or low cost access to peer-reviewed online content from the world's leading scientific, technical and medical publishers. The recent sharp increase in content is primarily a result of Elsevier's contribution of 7,000 books in 2011-2

Program for Cooperative Cataloging at Library of Congress launches RDA cataloger training

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging Secretariat staffed by the Library of Congress has launched a free, comprehensive and authoritative web-based training series for catalogers making the transition to the new Resource Description and Access (RDA) protocol

The Changing Academic Library, Second Edition: Operations, Culture, Environments

The Changing Academic Library, Second Edition: Operations, Culture, Environments by John M. Budd - a completely revised, enhanced, and updated edition of John M. Budd's The Changing Academic Library (PIL # 56, 2005). This book has been completely updated and revised to reflect the dynamic states of higher education and academic libraries. It presents a critical examination of major issues facing colleges and universities and the unique challenges that their libraries must come to grips with. Current practice is reviewed, but it is examined in the broader context of educational needs, scholarly communication, politics and economics, technology, and the nature of complex organizations. The book may be used as a text in library and information science courses, as well as an introduction for new professionals and academic administrators

RNIB National Library Service; Make a noise in libraries fortnight 2012

RNIB National Library Service: Make a noise in libraries fortnight - 11-24 June 2012. Join us in bringing together public libraries and blind and partially sighted people to improve access to books and information

Events include open days, taster sessions, author readings, poetry, eBooks and more

To find out what's happening near you, contact your local library or visit rnib.org.uk/manil

RNIB National Library Service enables blind and partially sighted people to discover a world of reading and information in a range of accessible formats

BioResearch Open Access has launched

BioResearch Open Access, a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal, provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including but not limited to molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, bioengineering, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience. Volume 1, Issue 1 now available

The Charleston Advisor - April 2012

The Charleston Advisor Volume 13, Number 4, April 2012 is now available online. "The Charleston Advisor publishes critical reviews of online resources for libraries"

GNARP Scholarship 2012 winners announced

The German North-American Resources Partnership, Bibliothek & Information International (BII) - the standing committee for the promotion of international professional exchange of Bibliothek & Information Deutschland, the Federal Association of German Library and Information Associations - and the Goethe-Institut New York have announced the recipients of the GNARP Scholarship 2012. This scholarship supports the efforts of these three organizations to promote and intensify professional exchange between librarians from Germany and North America

The British Library marks the centenary of Brazil's most famous writer Jorge Amado

This year sees the 100th anniversary of the birth of acclaimed Brazilian novelist Jorge Amado. The British Library will be celebrating with a day of literary and cultural reflections about his life and work on Friday 8 June, with guest scholars, writers and artists from around the world in attendance

Guide for residential schools research now available online (Canada)

Library and Archives Canada has announced that Conducting Research on Residential Schools: A Guide to the Records of the Indian and Inuit Affairs Program and Related Resources at Library and Archives Canada is now available online. The guide explains how to find and consult the records that are available in LAC's collections about Indian residential schools, with a focus on records created by the Department of Indian Affairs (RG 10 / R216). The guide also identifies types of archival records created about residential schools by federal departments, gives search techniques for finding these records, and explains how to access them. It also lists finding aids that are useful for residential schools research, non-governmental records in LAC's collections with information about the schools, and websites and other sources of information about the residential school system and its legacy

Archives from the pioneers of modern genetics to be brought together for the first time (UK)

Archives from the pioneers of modern genetics to be brought together for the first timeThe Wellcome Library is to bring the papers of the pioneers of modern genetics together in one place for the first time as part of a ground-breaking digitisation project, "Modern Genetics and its Foundations". Tens of thousands of notes, letters, sketches, lectures, photographs and essays, produced by the key players in the discovery of the structure of DNA and the development of genetics - including Francis Crick, James D Watson, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins - will be freely available online. These vast collections contain iconic documents, everyday exchanges, complex research notes and personal ephemera and highlight the extraordinary networks of insight and inspiration behind pivotal moments of scientific discovery. The material will be released in phases from autumn 2012

Political and Tariff Reform Posters (UK)

Political and Tariff Reform Posters (UK)This collection covers the period c1892-1910 and consists of 88 posters produced for the Conservative and Unionist Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Party, the Liberal Unionist Council and the Tariff Reform League. In the main they cover the period when Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Arthur Balfour, Henry Campbell-Bannerman and Herbert Asquith successively held the post of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The main themes of this collection are the Second Boer War (1899-1902), Tariff Reform and the conflict between Protectionism and Free Trade, the question of Irish Home Rule and issues around Immigration. They have been arranged by political party rather than in the themes of the collection. LSE Digital Library

Get Into Reading (UK)

Get Into Reading groups are led by trained project workers and volunteers, meeting each week to read books and poems together in locations such as care homes, libraries, prisons, mental health drop-in centres, community centres, schools, hostels, refugee centres and workplaces. Get Into Reading works because we go to where people are

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #198

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #197. "This week's episode contains a telephone interview discussing the digital divide in John Lennon's hometown of Liverpool and a news miscellany". Previous Podcasts/Programs can be found here

Freading

FreadingThe Freading Ebook Service is a download Ebook service sold to Libraries for free use by its registered cardholders. The service is only available to subscribing libraries and members, and you must enter the Freading Site via the Library URL. The Freading Ebook Service is operated by a private company, Library Ideas, LLC of Fairfax, Virginia

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Pythagoras

Dos Algarves : a Multidisciplinary e-journal

Revista Colombiana de Estadística

Revista Colombiana de Matemáticas

Revista Colombiana de Entomología

International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains

Revista Colombiana de Cirugía

Hacia la Promoción de la Salud

Folios

Estudios Políticos

Educación y Educadores

Cuadernos de Administración (Universidad del Valle)

Avances en Enfermería

Biotecnología en el Sector Agropecuario y Agroindustrial

Actualidades Biológicas

Journal of Behavioral Science

Revista Clínica de Periodoncia, Implantología y Rehabilitación Oral

Revista de Derecho (Coquimbo)

Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review

Archeomatica

Jurisprudence

Obras y Proyectos

Flora Montiberica

Latin American Journal of Economics

Cubo : A Mathematical Journal

Cuadernos de historia

Boletín del Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino

Barnolipi

Cadernos do Logepa

Journal of Applied Economics and Business Research

United Academics Journal of Social Sciences

Kinesiologia Slovenica

Podcast: The Olympic Record (UK)

Sarah Hutton, records specialist at The UK National Archives, said: 'These files show the impact the Olympic movement has had on our history in the 116 years since the modern Games were revived. From a brief dispatch in 1896 to the huge online presence today, the records reflect the growth of the Games throughout the 20th century as well as its remarkable survival through two world wars, political turmoil and boycotts'

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Alan Turing's Second World War research papers released online (UK)

Alan Turing's Second World War research papers released online (UK)To commemorate the centenary of of Alan Turing's birth, GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) has released two of his mathematical research papers, believed to have been written at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, to The National Archives

One Day in the City (UK)

One Day in the City is a celebration of London and Literature organised by the Department of English, at University College London. The day and evening is free to the general public and is a rare opportunity to listen to and share thoughts with authors, poets, and academics in all things London

Black Country Libraries’ BIG Book Fortnight 2012 (UK)

The 8th Black Country Libraries' BIG Book Fortnight takes place between 19 May and 2 June. Don't miss out on meeting some fabulous authors - download the leaflet here or pick up a copy from your nearest Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall or Wolverhampton library

Portage library to offer telescope for patrons to check out (USA)

Portage library to offer telescope for patrons to check out (USA)When the stars come out, patrons of the Portage District Library will be able to see them more clearly. The library is the first in the state to offer a telescope that library card holders can check out thanks to a donation by the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. The KAS has donated an Orion Starblast 4.5" reflector telescope to the Portage District Library's collection. Beginning Tuesday, May 22, patrons will be able to check out the sturdy, tabletop telescope and gaze at the stars and planets from home

Library opened by Mark Twain falls victim to austerity cuts (UK)

A British library opened more than a century ago by one of America's greatest writers is being closed because of austerity budget cuts. Kensal Rise public library, in north-west London, was unveiled in 1900 by Mark Twain while he was living in the city. He donated five of his own works to its initial collection, which had been established in celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. But 112 years later - and days away from the Diamond Jubilee of Victoria's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II - the library is facing its end as part of spending cuts by the local council

Saturday, May 19, 2012

SLA Europe Conference Award 2012 Winner: Anneli Sarkanen

Anneli Sarkanen has won the SLA Europe Conference Award 2012. Anneli Sarkanen works as Information Officer at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, where she is highly regarded by the lawyers she works for. Among Anneli's innovations has been the introduction of an internal wiki which is used as a communication tool, a knowledge repository and to facilitate project management within the Field Fisher Waterhouse Library and Information Services team

Search new Plymouth and Devon records for 3.5 million people (UK)

Search new Plymouth and Devon parish records covering 3.5 million people and five centuries on findmypast.co.uk. These records include baptisms, marriages and burials from 1538 to 1911, making it easier than ever before to trace your Devonshire ancestors before the first census and the start of birth, marriage and death records in the 19th century

Gale and Wolper Information Services partner to enhance distribution of electronic and print resources to libraries

Gale and Wolper Information Services have announced a partnership to distribute Gale subscription products and major reference works in print and electronic form into the special library market. Wolper, the first subscription agency to sell Gale products, will expand distribution of key resources by offering them to libraries and individuals within corporations, medical and healthcare facilities, government agencies and non-profit institutions

Friday, May 18, 2012

Digital edition of Music Week now available via Exact Editions

Digital edition of Music Week now available via Exact EditionsMusic Week is the UK's leading music business magazine with extensive coverage of news, analysis, charts and events for music in all genres. If you would like digital access while you're on the move, why not download the Music Week app for the iPhone and iPad? 30 day and annual app subscriptions are available via an in-app purchase on the A to B app. Digital subscribers can also read the magazine in the 'Exactly' Android app
The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Triple Treat. "Here is a general knowledge quiz in which you have to choose the correct answer from three possibilities" Answers here.

1. In which country is Bondi Beach: Australia, China or Argentina?
2. In which city was President John F. Kennedy assassinated in 1963: Memphis, St Louis or Dallas?
3. Who wrote the poem that begins "If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you": Dylan Thomas, W. H. Auden or Rudyard Kipling?
4. How many feet are there in a fathom: six, eight or twelve?
5. In a symphony orchestra, is a bassoon part of the brass, woodwind or percussion?
6. Is Father's Day in May, June or July?
7. Barsac is a wine made in which country: France, Germany or Italy?
8. Is Addis Ababa the capital of Sri Lanka, Nigeria or Ethiopia?
9. Booker T. and the Mgs was the house band for Stax Records for over ten years. Was Booker T's surname Smith, Jones or White?
10. Electrum is an alloy of which two metals: gold and silver, copper and gold, or silver and zinc?

Encyclopedia of Life reaches historic "one million species pages" milestone

The Encyclopedia of Life has surged past one million pages of content with the addition of hundreds of thousands of new images and specimen data from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Launched in 2007 with the support of leading scientific organizations around the world, the Encyclopedia of Life provides global access to knowledge about life on Earth by building a web page for each of the 1.9 million recognized species

Library and Information Week 2012 (Australia)

Library and Information Week aims to raise the profile of libraries and information service professionals in Australia. In May every year, libraries and information services throughout Australia showcase their many and varied resources and services through different programs and events targeted to a cross-section of the community. The week provides the opportunity to introduce new services and professional skills to the community, and to publicly canvas issues of importance to the provision of library and information services in Australia - 20-26 May, 2012

Unglue.it has launched

Unglue.it is a a place for individuals and institutions to join together to give their favorite ebooks to the world. We work with rights holders to decide on fair compensation for releasing a free, legal edition of their already-published books, under Creative Commons licensing. Then everyone pledges toward that sum. When the threshold is reached (and not before), we collect the pledged funds and we pay the rights holders. They issue an unglued digital edition; you're free to read and share it, with everyone, on the device of your choice, worldwide

Canadian Library Association announces the winner of the Chancellor Group Conference Grant

The Chancellor Group Conference Grant Jury of the Canadian Library Association / Association canadienne des bibliothèques has announced Carole Fleetham as the winner of the Chancellor Group Conference Grant for 2012

Radcliffe Camera celebrates its 275th anniversary (UK)

Radcliffe Camera celebrates its 275th anniversary (UK)On 17 May 1737, the foundation stone of the Radcliffe Camera was laid. Designed by James Gibbs, the building, which has become an essential part of the University Libraries and a symbol of Oxford, took twelve years to build. It was officially opened on April 1749. The Radcliffe Library was the brainchild of, Dr John Radcliffe (1650–1714), perhaps the most successful English physician of his day. He left his trustees a large sum of money with which to purchase both the land for the new building and an endowment to pay a librarian and purchase books. The site eventually chosen for the Library was to the south of the Schools Quadrangle, in the middle of a new square (Radcliffe Square) formed by the demolition of old houses in School Street and Catte Street and bounded by All Souls and Brasenose Colleges and the University Church. Here, between 1737 and 1748, the monumental circular domed building – Oxford’s most impressive piece of classical architecture – went up to the designs of James Gibbs and was finally opened in 1749

Bodleian acquires archive of pianist and composer Edmund Rubbra 9UK0

The Bodleian Libraries have recently acquired the archive of Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986), English composer, pianist, music critic and teacher. The Rubbra Archive comprises personal letters, programmes, talks, lectures and signed presentation copies of scores which give a unique insight into the life of one of the most important English composers of the 20th century. Most of this material has never been published and is unknown to the scholarly community and the general public

Challenges of 21st-Century Research Library Collections: ARL releases issue brief

The Association of Research Libraries has announced a new briefing paper for research library directors, "21st-Century Collections: Calibration of Investment and Collaborative Action."

Above the Fold - May 4, 2012

Above the Fold is a Web-based newsletter published by OCLC Research. It has been developed to serve a broad international readership from libraries, archives and museums - May 4, 2012 - Vol. 5, No. 18 now available

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Book Grocer: 16-22 May, 2012

Book Grocer: 16-22 May, 2012 - The week ahead in literary London from the Londonist blog. #books #London

Liberty Magazine Historical Archive, 1924-1950

Liberty: A Weekly for Everybody was founded in 1924 by Joseph Patterson, publisher of the New York Daily News and Robert McCormick, publisher of the Chicago Tribune and often regarded as the world's greatest publisher. From its inception, they set out to make the magazine more topical, daring and exciting than any competitors. Information was presented in a style heavily influenced by the emerging motion picture industry and focused on the most sensational and popular issues. The magazine flourished when illustrated magazines were the most important form of mass entertainment. This was an era of unique creativity and growing involvement in world affairs. During the following 26 years the magazine charted the moods, attitudes, lifestyles, fads, and fortunes of middle America through its three most significant decades. The magazine's ongoing circulation of more than 3 million weekly was founded on the high quality and originality of its art, stories, and other features. Its prominence and willingness to pay for the best attracted original contributions from the greatest artists, writers, celebrities and statesmen of the age

Paul Kelsey wins the 2012 Scholastic Library Publishing Award

The American Library Association has named Paul Kelsey the recipient of the 2012 Scholastic Library Publishing Award. The honor, which will be presented during the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif., is bestowed on a librarian whose extraordinary contributions to promoting access to books and encouraging a love of reading for lifelong learning exemplifies outstanding achievement in the profession. Kelsey will receive a citation and $1,000 prize, donated by Scholastic Library Publishing

2012 Jesse H. Shera Award recipients announced by the Library Research Round Table

The Library Research Round Table of the American Library Association has chosen the 2012 winners of the Jesse H. Shera Award for Distinguished Published Research and the Jesse H. Shera Award for the Support of Dissertation Research, which honors work that advances library research. The Jesse H. Shera Award for Distinguished Published Research is given to the author(s) of a research article published in English during the calendar year and nominated by any member of LRRT or by editors of research journals in the field of library and information studies. The 2012 recipients of the Published Research Award are Shana Pribesh, Karen Gavigan and Gail Dickinson for their article, "The Access Gap: Poverty and Characteristics of School Library Media Centers," published in The Library Quarterly 81(2): 143-160, April 2011

Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication - first issue published

The Pacific University Library has published the first issue of the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication. The Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication is a quarterly, peer-reviewed open-access publication for original articles, reviews and case studies that analyze or describe the strategies, partnerships and impact of library-led digital projects, online publishing and scholarly communication initiatives

Culture Freedom Day

Culture Freedom Day is a worldwide celebration of Free Culture. Initiated in 2012 by the same organization promoting Software Freedom it aims at educating the worldwide public about the benefits of using and encouraging Free Culture as well as providing an international day to serve as a platform to promote Free Culture artists. The non-profit organization Digital Freedom International coordinates CFD at a global level, providing support, giveaways and a point of collaboration, but volunteer teams around the world organize the local CFD events to impact their own communities

Open access spreads to Miami University, Ohio

The librarians of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, joined the ranks of the worldwide open-access movement May 14 by voting to make their scholarly articles freely available in the university's institutional repository, the Scholarly Commons. Based on Harvard University's model policy, MU’s open-access principles take effect immediately and make the libraries the first department on Miami's campus to successfully pass an open access policy

Wiley-Blackwell launches new open access journal: Food Science & Nutrition

Wiley-Blackwell has announced the launch of Food Science & Nutrition as part of the Wiley Open Access publishing program. The journal will provide authors with a new platform for the rapid dissemination of the latest research and will be published in collaboration with the Society of Chemical Industry, the Institute of Food Science & Technology and other prominent societies

Brill Online Books and Journals

For the first time, all of Brill's content from 20 subject specialities across three imprints (BRILL, Global Oriental and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers) is integrated within a single resource. At launch, the site includes 175 journals and 2,400 e-books, equating to over 150,000 distinct articles and chapters. The new platform is designed with a semantic architecture providing students, researchers and teachers with an enhanced user experience through enriched content and increased discoverability

Olympic records available online (UK)

Olympic records available online (UK)Hundreds of historic documents and images relating to the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been made available online by The National Archives for the first time. The new site, The Olympic Record, includes a timeline feature which enables visitors to track back through time and browse material from every summer Olympics, from Athens in 1896 to Beijing in 2008

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Teen Librarian Monthly: May 2012

Teen Librarian Monthly: May 2012 is now available for download

The Penguin Podcast: The Great British Podcast featuring The Penguin English Library and an EXCLUSIVE competition

With the Diamond Jubilee right around the corner, everyone at Penguin is feeling very proud to be British so we've got a very British podcast for you all. We've got an interview with Simon Winder, editor of The Penguin English Library series, the perfect recipe for British high tea and, if that's not enough, the chance to win FIVE titles from The Penguin English Library

SAGE partners with Simon Fraser University on SAGE Open

SAGE and Simon Fraser University have announced a partnership designed to encourage social science and humanities faculty and students at SFU to publish in SAGE Open. Launched by SAGE in 2011, SAGE Open is the first peer-reviewed, broad-based "Gold" open access social science and humanities journal. SFU will subsidize the author fee for 30 accepted papers to SAGE Open at a discounted rate. SAGE will reach out to SFU faculty and students to let them know about the subsidized fees. Additionally, SAGE will handle the billing and accounting for the fees so that it is a seamless transaction for SFU authors

Harvard University's 12 million records now in LibraryThing

Library Thing's "Overcat" search now includes 12.3 million records from Harvard University

EBSCO Publishing releases two new digital archive databases from collections at the New-York Historical Society

Gateway to America: The People, Places, and Organizations of 19th Century New York™ and Revolutionary War Era Orderly Books™ archive databases from the New-York Historical Society, are now available from EBSCO Publishing

San Diego, California: new central library taking shape

More than 35 years ago, San Diego began planning for a new central library downtown. Construction began in 2010 on the nine-story, 255-foot building being erected on Park Boulevard near Petco Park

D-Lib Magazine - May/June 2012 now available

D-Lib Magazine - May/June 2012 is now available. D-Lib Magazine is produced by Corporation for National Research Initiatives

ILL at LAC (Canada)

Karen Adams, CLA President writes: "In our recent press release on the impact of cuts at Library and Archives Canada and other federal department libraries, CLA indicated that LAC was ending ILL, which caused discussion on a number of lists. I have asked for clarification, and LAC has confirmed that it is the end of ILL as we have known it. LAC is looking at a variety of models for making their holdings widely available within their financial constraints. The current service will end February 15 2013; the successor to the current ILL program will be announced in the fall of 2012"

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Adult Learners' Week 2012 (UK)

Adult Learners' Week is the UK's largest annual festival of learning; inspiring thousands of people each year to discover how learning can change their lives. Through thousands of events and award ceremonies, Adult Learners' Week celebrates all kinds of learners and promotes the benefits of every type of learning - May 12-18, 2012

New report: "Lasting Impact: Sustainability of Disciplinary Repositories"

This report offers a quick environmental scan of the repository landscape and then focuses on disciplinary repositories - those subject-based, often researcher-initiated loci for research information. Written by Senior Program Officer Ricky Erway, Lasting Impact: Sustainability of Disciplinary Repositories is intended to help librarians support researchers in accessing and disseminating research information. The report includes profiles of seven repositories with a focus on their varied business models. It concludes with a discussion of sustainability, including funding models, factors that contribute to a repository's success, and ways to bring in additional revenue

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #197

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #197. "This week's episode talks about cookery. Yes, cookery. A news miscellany is also presented". Previous Podcasts/Programs can be found here

ARL endorses VRA statement on Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Study

On May 4, 2012, the Board of Directors of the Association of Research Libraries voted to endorse the Visual Resources Association's Statement on the Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Study

Delving into the magic of Leadmills Miners Library which was founded in 1741(Scotland)

Delving into the magic of Leadmills Miners Library which was founded in 1741(Scotland) It's one of the most important hidden gems of Scottish literature and history. Tucked away in the picturesque and rolling hills of south Lanarkshire, just far enough away from the motorway to remain quiet and undiscovered, the Leadhills Miners Library is the UK's oldest subscription library, and is now a keystone of modern Scottish culture. Founded by local lead miners in a bid to bring light into gloomy and hard-working lives, the library's admirers over the years are said to have included authors such as Burns, Wordsworth and Dickens. But for most Scots it's the greatest cultural and literary treasure trove you will never have heard of - and that's something Mary Hamilton and a hard-working group of villagers are keen to put right

2012 Kluge Prize has been awarded to Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington will award the 2012 John W. Kluge Prize for lifetime achievement in the study of humanity to Fernando Henrique Cardoso, one of the leading scholars and practitioners of political economy in recent Latin American history. His scholarly analysis of the social structures of government, the economy and race relations in Brazil laid the intellectual groundwork for his leadership as president in the transformation of Brazil from a military dictatorship with high inflation into a vibrant, more inclusive democracy with strong economic growth

Sarasota named Florida 2012 Library of Year (USA)

A new center for teenagers and a faster book processing system helped the Sarasota County Library System land the coveted title of 2012 Library of the Year from the Florida Library Association

Monday, May 14, 2012

Toronto Star publishes digital archive of Ernest Hemingway columns

In a handsome new website called The Hemingway Papers, the Toronto Star has collected the columns that Ernest Hemingway wrote for that newspaper. In doing so, it sheds much-needed light on a little-known aspect of the great writer's career, and does so in a sleek, inviting and easy-to-navigate format

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Problemata : International Journal of Philosophy

Revista Médica de Risaralda

Sunday, May 13, 2012

The Library Book (UK)

The Library Book - Famous writers on libraries real or imagined, past and future; why libraries matter and to whom. In aid of The Reading Agency. From Alan Bennett's Baffled at a Bookcase, to Lucy Mangan's Library Rules, famous writers tell us all about how libraries are used and why they're important. Tom Holland writes about libraries in the ancient world, while Seth Godin describes what a library will look like in the future. Lionel Shriver thinks books are the best investment, Hardeep Singh Kohli makes a confession and Julie Myerson remembers how her career began beside the shelves.Using memoir, history, polemic and some short stories too,The Library Book celebrates'that place where they lend you books for free'and the people who work there.All royalties go to The Reading Agency, to help their work supporting libraries

Library Worklife: HR E-News for Today's Leaders - May 2012

Library Worklife: HR E-News for Today's Leaders is a publication of the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA). The newsletter began in January 2004 and is distributed electronically on the second Tuesday of each month. ALA subscribers receive quarterly alerts highlighting the previous months' articles. Volume 9, No. 5, May 2012 now available

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Singapore National Library to have world's first green library for kids

The Singapore National Library will be home to the world's first green library for kids in 2013, when the kids section of the National Library is transformed into an eco-landscape. Dubbed "My Tree House", the new library section is designed with environmental sustainability in mind, from its design and infrastructure. It is modelled after an enchanted forest, with spaces for hands-on learning. The green theme will extend to the 70,000-strong book collection, of which some 30 per cent will focus on green topics such as animals, plants, nature and climate change

Purdue Libraries' Dean James Mullins honored by ARL

On April 4, the Association of Research Libraries honored Dean James Mullins and the Purdue University Libraries for their enduring commitment to ARL's Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce, and for advancing the cause of diversity and inclusion in academic and research libraries. Since 2005, Dean Mullins and the Purdue Libraries have hosted IRDW Diversity Scholars at an annual "research library visit" designed to provide an inside look at operations in a major research library in the Midwest. During the closing reception for the eighth visit, held at the Purdue Black Cultural Center, Dean Mullins was presented an engraved trophy in recognition of this continued dedication to hosting the site visit

Research Writer’s Consultations at ALA Annual Conference

The ACRL Research Program Committee is once again sponsoring Research Writer's Consultations at the ALA Annual Conference, held June 22–26, 2012 in Anaheim, California. Aimed at the new or inexperienced writer, the Research Writer's Consultations will pair new or inexperienced writers with an experienced writer or editor, who will offer guidance and critique

Friday, May 11, 2012

Podcast: Medieval queens in The National Archives (UK)

Many medieval kings still loom large in popular culture but the queens who lived and worked alongside them are often less well known. This explores the role of the queen in medieval England focusing in particular on what we can learn from records held by The National Archives. Dr Jessica Nelson is a records specialist on the Medieval team. She specialises in the high medieval period and her research interests include royal women and queenship

Salman Rushdie joins writers protesting New York library revamp

Major literary names including Salman Rushdie, Art Spiegelman and Mario Vargas Llosa are protesting the planned $300m restructuring of the iconic Fifth Avenue branch of the New York Public Library, saying it is "a misplaced use of funds in a time of great scarcity"

The 2012 Credo Reference Digital Award for Information Literacy winner

Credo Reference has announced that the Skills@Library team from the University of Leeds are the winners of the first Credo Reference Digital Award for Information Literacy for their project "Skills@Library lecturer pages". The award was presented in April at the 2012 LILAC Conference in Glasgow, Scotland

Journals and E-Resources Today (Scotland)

Journals and E-Resources Today - 14 June, 2012 - Edinburgh, Scotland. This one-day seminar aims to present a practical introductory overview of all aspects of journals and e-resources management

Ex Libris announces the launch of Rosetta 3.0

Ex Libris® Group has announced the release of version 3.0 of the Rosetta digital preservation system

All 7 Harry Potter eBooks coming to Kindle Owners' Lending Library

Amazon.com is adding all seven Harry Potter books (in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish) to the Kindle Owners' Lending Library

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Cadernos do PET Filosofia

Journal of Medical and Allied Sciences

MalaCo

Phytopharmacology

Revista Inspirar : Movimento e Saúde

Delivering Web to Mobile, JISC Observatory Techwatch Report, version 1.0, May 2012

This report is intended to help staff of UK education institutions, involved in the development of content, gain an understanding of the emerging approaches to delivering services and content for mobile devices using the Web. The use of mobile devices for the consumption and use of Web content and services has grown steadily over the last few years and continues to do so, with analysts predicting that mobile will soon exceed the traditional desktop PC as the most common means users interact with the Web and other Internet services. This report looks at the growth of mobile, the state of the Web and gives an overview of approaches to delivering content and services optimised for the mobile context. This includes approaches to Web design for responsive sites, leveraging access to device functions and capabilities and the use of Web technologies to build mobile applications

Proceedings of the 160th ARL Membership Meeting

Proceedings of the 160th ARL Membership Meeting - May 2–4, 2012 - Chicago, Illinois - Twitter hashtag: #ARL12chi

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - May 11, 2012

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Sports Venues. "Can you answer these questions about various sports venues?" Answers here.

1. Lord's Cricket Ground in London was named after Thomas Lord: true or false?
2. In which American city is the arena of Madison Square Garden?
3. In which French city is the racecourse known as Longchamps?
4. In which country is the winter-sports centre of Andermatt?
5. In which country is Monza's racetrack, the Autodromo?
6. In which country is the winter-sports resort of Lillehammer?
7. In which country is the Curragh racecourse?
8. In which country is the Formula 1 circuit at Interlagos?
9. "The Gabba" is short for the Woolloongabba Cricket Ground in which city?
10. In which city in South Africa is Ellis Park?

Thursday, May 10, 2012

SEC4LIB List

The purpose of the SEC4LIB list is to facilitate discussion and investigate existing security features and expectations of library software, services, applications, products, and solutions. This would include documenting, researching, investigating, and pen-testing

British Library Board appoints new Chief Executive

The Board of the British Library has appointed Roly Keating as the Library's new Chief Executive Officer. Keating, currently Director of Archive Content at the BBC, and a former Controller of BBC Two and BBC Four, will take up his new role on 12 September 2012

Podcast: Selling history: the role of the past at Fortnum and Mason (UK)

Founded in the year when Great Britain was created, the history of Fortnum and Mason is that of the development of British taste. It covers tea drinking, picnics, mail order, climbing Everest and knickerbocker glories. It is a history of change, and of constants. In 2012, the stories from its past are important communication and marketing tools in the battle to ensure sustainability and growth. Dr Andrea Tanner was a professional genealogist at the College of Arms for many years before undertaking academic research into poverty and sickness in London. She founded the Historic Hospitals Records Admissions Project, based at Kingston University, is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, assistant archivist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and keeper of the company memory at Fortnum and Mason. She is most proud of having been the founding secretary of the Friends of the Public Record Office (now Friends of The National Archives)

mason


The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project announces availability of free, name indexed records for six states

Six states of the 1940 U.S. Census are fully indexed, processed and ready to be searched. Records for Delaware, Colorado, Kansas, Oregon, Virginia, and New Hampshire are now searchable by name, location and family relations thanks to the efforts of more than 100,000 volunteers nationwide

Ingram Content Group launches new comprehensive ipage® search and order platform

Ingram Content Group has announced that it has launched its new comprehensive ipage® search and order platform. Created collaboratively with users, the newly designed site includes intuitive navigation, enhanced search and browsing options, and additional customization options that make finding, organizing and discovering new products easy for booksellers and libraries worldwide

Listen to books on Singapore Airlines flights

Customers on board Singapore Airlines flights can now look forward to a wider selection of audio books on KrisWorld, the Airline's award-winning in-flight entertainment system, through a collaboration with the National Library Board (NLB). They can relax and enjoy a "good read" while in the air without the hassle of packing their own books or eBook readers. The initial batch of 13 audio books includes all-time favourites such as Dracula by Bram Stoker, Wizard Of Oz by L. Frank Baum and The War Of The Worlds by HG Wells. Customers can unwind during their flights while listening to the narration of these classic tales

Book Grocer: 9-15 May, 2012

Book Grocer: 9-15 May, 2012 - The week ahead in literary London from the Londonist blog. #books #London

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Versita launches largest ever Open Access journal program

Academic publisher Versita has announced the launch of a new program of Open Access journals. 100 Emerging Science Journals are being launched in 2012. The program's focus is on young and rapidly developing fields of science, which have not yet been covered by a designated journal. The emerging topics have been identified in Life Sciences, Chemistry, Medicine, Physics and Mathematics

Gail Dickinson elected AASL president, 2013-2014

Gail Dickinson, associate professor at Old Dominion University (Va.), has been elected as the 2013-2014 AASL president. Dickinson will serve as president-elect during 2012-2013 under AASL President Susan Ballard

Carolyn Anthony chosen as 2013-2014 PLA president

Carolyn Anthony, director of the Skokie (Ill.) Public Library, has been elected the 2013-2014 president of the Public Library Association. Anthony acknowledged, "I am thrilled with the vote of confidence in my leadership abilities by the PLA membership and I look forward to orchestrating the teamwork that will enable us to address the challenges facing public libraries at the current time."

Issue 4 of OCLC Research Quarterly Highlights now available

This periodic bulletin gathers items from the previous quarter of work in OCLC Research, the OCLC Innovation Lab, and the OCLC Research Library Partnership. Issue 4 covers the period January - March 2012. Highlights include:

* Lorcan Dempsey on OCLC Research and linked data
* Senior Research Scientist Lynn Silipigni Connaway on her interest and work in the OCLC Research activity theme User Behavior Studies and Synthesis
* 2 featured prototypes
* 3 publications released during the quarter
* A recap of OCLC Research News, Events, Webcasts, and Presentations
* The six themes of our Shared Work Agenda, with a featured activity from each

The Life of Patrick White now open (Australia)

The Life of Patrick White now open (Australia)The Life of Patrick White, a National Library of Australia exhibition to celebrate the work of our only Nobel Laureate for Literature, is now open in Canberra. The free exhibition, which runs until 8 July 2012, looks at Patrick White in all his guises: from his unpublished manuscripts to his favourite recipes to his love of dogs. Open daily from 10am to 5pm. Exhibition Gallery, Ground Floor

NASIG selects Jane Skoric for 2012 Horizon Award

Jane Skoric has been selected the 2012 North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) Horizon Award. The award, sponsored by EBSCO, recognizes a promising new information professional; it covers the cost of travel, registration, and lodging for three nights while the recipient attends the NASIG Annual Conference in Nashville, June 7–10, 2012

ACRL 2013 Conference proposals due Friday, May 11

Friday, May 11 is the deadline for the ACRL 2013 Conference contributed paper, panel session, preconference and workshop proposals

FreePint Newsletter 350

FreePint Newsletter 350 - 10 May 2012 now available

May 2012 batch of Early Reviewer books is up at LibraryThing

The May 2012 batch of Early Reviewer books is now available at LibraryThing. There are 2841 copies of 100 books available this month

Access by Touch: Delivering Library Services Through Mobile Technologies - June 8, 2012 (Online)

Amigos Library Services will present a one day online conference "Access by Touch: Delivering Library Services Through Mobile Technologies" on Friday, June 8. The conference will cover a variety of topics, including developing a mobile website for your library, building a simple mobile-optimized web app, as well as practical usability checklists for mobile website

Remembering Sendak at the Rosenbach Museum and Library (USA)

Maurice Sendak, illustrator and author of nearly 100 books and winner of ALA's 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where The Wild Things Are, died May 8. He was 83. Creator of amazing nightmares, as the New York Times called Sendak, the artist's works live on at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia, where he contributed more than 10,000 of his illustrations and manuscripts since 1966, and was a trustee. He gained the title of honorary president in 2003

The Geek the Library project (USA)

The Geek the Library project is a community public awareness campaign aimed at spreading the word about the vital and growing role of your public library, and to raise awareness about the critical funding issues many U.S. public libraries face. The campaign hopes to inspire a conversation about our incredible public libraries and their urgent need for increased support. We hope you tell people what you geek, how the public library supports you and your community, and that everyone in your community benefits from the services your local library provides

Udini from ProQuest

ProQuest is launching an inventive new research service that provides individuals with access to premium content and cutting edge tools. Instant and on-demand, Udini™ bundles an extraordinary range of information, including peer-reviewed and trade journal articles, dissertations, international newswires, newspapers, magazines and more from thousands of publishers in a comprehensive cloud-based workflow management tool designed for individual users

First Monday - May 2012

First Monday - Volume 17, Number 5, 7 May 2012 now available. First Monday is a Great Cities Initiative of the University of Illinois at Chicago University Library, USA

Library of Congress Digital Preservation Newsletter - May 2012

The May 2012 issue of the Library of Congress Digital Preservation Newsletter is now available

Ex Libris and CLA announce the winner of the W. Kaye Lamb Award for Service to Seniors

Ex Libris Association and the Canadian Library Association have announced that the Coquitlam Public Library is the winner of the Kaye Lamb Award for exceptional library service to senior citizens for 2011/12

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Olympic philatelic collecting brought to life at the British Library

Olympic philatelic collecting brought to life at the British LibraryOlympex 2012: Collecting the Olympic Games, 25 July to 9 September, the British Library, St Pancras - admission free. The history, symbolism and personal stories of the Olympic Games will come to life through philately this summer at a special exhibition presented by the International Olympic Committee and the British Library. Olympex 2012: Collecting the Olympic Games is a visually striking exhibition that will use postage stamps, postcards, letters, programmes and maps to provide unique insights into the Olympic Games, past and present. Beginning with the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, Olympex 2012 will also focus on the London Games in 1908 and 1948, bringing the story into the present day with the London 2012 Games

The HeinOnline Newsletter - April 2012

The HeinOnline Newsletter - April 2012 - Issue #4 is now available online

Budget cuts hit 'lifeline' mobile library service (UK)

Two mobile libraries which serve residents in rural areas are being axed as part of an ongoing programme of council cuts. Cheshire East Council wants to slash its library provision to rural communities in a bid to save around £95,000-a-year. Currently, the authority's three mobile libraries make 254 stops at 130 communities and call at each stop fortnightly. The vans also deliver books to pre-school nurseries and elderly care homes

Wiley-Blackwell announces new publishing partnership with The Obesity Society

Wiley-Blackwell, the scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., has announced that it has been selected by The Obesity Society to publish their journal, Obesity. Wiley-Blackwell will begin publishing Obesity, the largest society-owned journal in the field, on January 1, 2013. Currently in its 20th volume, the journal will be edited by Dr. Eric Ravussin, Director of the Nutrition and Obesity Research Center, and Douglas L. Gordon Chair in Diabetes and Metabolism, and Dr. Donna Ryan, Professor Emeritus, at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA. Publishing 12 times a year, Obesity covers all aspects of obesity, from basic research into the causes and nature of the disease to clinical research into prevention and treatment, including nutritional, behavioural, and psychological studies

Monday, May 07, 2012

Social Science Bites: a major new podcast series

SAGE has announced the launch of a new podcast: Social Science Bites, a series of interviews with leading social scientists on different aspects of the social world. The series is produced and presented by well known authors Nigel Warburton (Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, The Open University) and David Edmonds (Senior Research Associate at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics) following the enormous success of their existing podcast series, Philosophy Bites, which has had more than 13 million downloads

Factiva extends Asia reach with coverage in Korean

Factiva has significantly extended its reach in Asia with the launch of Korean-language coverage and the addition of several leading South Korean news publications

CrossRef announces FundRef pilot to standardize funding source information for scholarly publications

CrossRef has announced FundRef, a pilot collaboration between scholarly publishers and funding agencies that will standardize the names of research funders and add grant numbers attributed in journal articles or other scholarly documents. The collaboration would allow researchers, publishers, and funding agencies to track the published research that results from specific funding bodies

Survey: People in England still love their libraries

New research by the Carnegie UK Trust shows that people in England still love libraries, with around three-quarters (74%) believing that they are either very important or essential to their community. Exactly half had used a library at least once in the last year, and just over half of those users had used it at least once a month (52%). However, the Trust, which has carried out the first survey of public attitudes towards libraries across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, argues that libraries can't stand still in a changing world. The Trust's report A New Chapter - public library services in the 21st century concludes that the public library service is at a crossroads: change is required to respond to reduced levels of public spending, the challenges and opportunities of the digital age, and changes in people's lifestyles and patterns of behaviour

Sunday, May 06, 2012

University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries receive $265,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant award

To prepare for the 450th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine in 2015, the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries has been awarded $265,000 to build an online collection of hidden and fragile resources related to colonial St. Augustine. The grant from the National Endowment for the Humanitiesis the largest and one of only four NEH grants in Florida this year. There are 34 nationally

Presentations now online from Consortia Conference 2012 (UK)

The presentations from Consortia Conference 2012 - shared services & consortia in public libraries - are now online