Steampunk Gypsy

It's been an up-and-down sort of day; I got my new phone battery in the mail, but the dishwasher also broke. Mostly, I just read - so, all in all, not a bad day. Links! Libraries, Books, & Writers Obama to Dems: 'Get informed, not by reading the Huffington Post'  Of course, it'd help if  TPP was available to read . How does he expect Congress to "get informed?" HuffPo and others are reporting on the information they have - leaked documents - because TPP is shrouded in secrecy; Congress is basically being pushed to approve something they've never read simply on the say-so of those who stand to benefit from restricting our rights. Psht.Not your best moment, Mr. President. Not directly about libraries, but  librarians and library associations globally are  very  concerned about TPP . As we all should be. The New York Public Library Is Using Old Maps To Create A Time Machine Of The City   Other Little Free Libraries could be ordered to cease ...

Every once in a while, I think about going back to school. Not too  often - three or four times a day, that's all. Maybe more, sometimes.  I'd like to get my PhD, and after spending some time lackadaisically fooling around online, looking at various programs, I have a short list of schools I'd really  consider applying to.  One of those schools - really, it's pretty high on the list; could be number one - is University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Library and Information Studies . Their program looks awesome - I particularly like the focus on information ethics, of course, although there are other areas that I'm also drawn to, like history of librarianship and book, print, and media studies. Anyway, I have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about this school, and what do you mean it's in trouble? Gov. Scott Walker seeks $300 million in university cuts, but $220 million to build Bucks a new arena   Priorities, people. How does th...

Links! Libraries, Archives, Books, & Writers The Loaves and Fishes Library | Best Small Library in America 2015  Small libraries can make a big difference in their communities!  Watch 'Bob's Burgers'? Now You Can Eat Them, Too  And, yes, there's a cookbook coming out! Crawford finishes AAPB digitization of 40,000 hours!   Net & Tech The real-life Matrix: MIT researchers reveal interface that can allow a computer to plug into the brain  Google: Strong net neutrality rules won’t hurt the future rollout of Google Fiber     The Digital Divide Is Not Binary   Science & Health To Protect His Son, A Father Asks School To Bar Unvaccinated Children  "Krawitt has been speaking up about vaccination for a long time now. He told me about going to a parent meeting at his daughter's school just before the start of the school year, where a staff member reminded parents not to send peanut products to school, since a child or childr...

Congress: You can’t fool the public on net neutrality   Join the Internet Countdown   Links! Libraries, Books, & Writers LSU Library offers students savings with free E-textbooks initiative   Long Beach Library Reverses Course on Police Shooting Artwork   Censorship Gone Awry in Cabbagetown Coffee Shop   Guantanamo's Detainee Library Won't Carry a Guantanamo Detainee’s Acclaimed New Book  "The book, portions of which are heavily redacted — pages 302 to 307 are entirely blacked out — recounts in vivid and harrowing detail the Mauritanian's rendition, his torture by interrogators, and the grave conditions of his confinement at the detention facility where he has been held, without charge, since August 2002. The book has been translated into 20 languages.... Turning Slahi's handwritten diary into a published book was no easy feat. His own words were considered classified, and the government argued that if what he w...

Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors In Winter, Keeping Warm With Beloved Books   Evolution for Libraries in Brooklyn  Not sure how I feel about this...gonna wait and see how it goes... T160k Crowdfunds to Help Librarians Catalog Medieval Manuscripts from Timbuktu  "Social Purpose Corporation T160k recently launched 'Cataloging the Timbuktu Libraries,' a crowdfunding effort to help train local staff in Mali and help librarians in Timbuktu's Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library catalog and preserve more than 400,000 ancient, fragile manuscripts." Related:  Cataloging the Timbuktu Libraries  "In 2012, under threat from fundamentalist rebels, a team of archivists, librarians, and couriers evacuated an irreplaceable trove of manuscripts from Timbuktu at great personal risk [ read more ]. The story didn't end there. In 2013, 1,257 funders chipped in on Indiegogo to save and preserve the libraries from the damp of their new environment in exile. Now we’r...

(Source:  15 Words You Didn't Realize Come From Books ) Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors The real science of science fiction  "There is a co-dependency between science and science fiction. Many scientists and engineers acknowledge that science fiction helped to spark their imagination of what was possible in science (immersion in the genre from a young age might help explain why I now research unconventional computers). And science fiction authors are inspired by future science possibilities. But how do novel scientific ideas get into SF authors’ heads in the first place?" Jan 25, 1759: Robert Burns' birthday   They’re Watching You Read  "According to a recent article in The Guardian , e-book retailers are now able to tell which books we've finished or not finished, how fast we have read them, and precisely where we snapped shut the cover of our e-books and moved on to something else." Highland Park ISD board delays changes to book ...

Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Brothers Grimm-Inspired Fairytale Landscapes By Kilian Schönberger  Absolutely gorgeous!  The Top 10 Ways Your Library Can Help You Keep Your New Year's Resolution   Working Poor Challenged in Highland Park ISD   Superior School District Refuses to Pull Book from Classrooms   Plans for New Barnard Library Prove Divisive  "Many of the librarians who spoke to LJ on the subject described being left out of the decision-making process as one symptom of a pervasive lack of respect for librarians in academia. As the former BLAIS librarian said, 'Stepping back from this a little bit, I don’t necessarily see this as something that’s unique to Barnard at all. For me it’s a much larger conversation about advocating for the profession.'" Cory Doctorow: A New Deal for Copyright  "Last November, I published a book-length essay about how copyright is failing to serve artists, and how it has come to present a clear and...

I recently ran across the article,  An Artist in Every Library . Here's a quote: "...[L]ibraries are facing an identity crisis: as the printed page gives way to the e-something, the role of the library as the 'keeper of the books' is fading, and in its stead libraries are looking to redefine their cultural roles."  One: Public libraries (which seem to be what the author was targeting, despite using the general term) are not facing an identity crisis - although public libraries are changing. Our "cultural role" is the same as it's been for a very, very long time - to provide information access to our communities. Public libraries evolve - it's one of the Five Laws of Library Science, "The library is a growing organism." Libraries are growing and changing to fill the information needs of their communities (and, according to their communities, doing a good job of it ). Still, the quote above not only conflates "book" with it...

Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Marcus Borg has died  He was a wonderful and thought-provoking writer; although I did not agree with him on everything, he always made me think through my beliefs.  19 Shel Silverstein Quotes That Definitely Shaped You Growing Up   American Sniper Chris Kyle was proved a liar by Jesse Ventura, and HarperCollins may owe the former governor millions   Education California community colleges board approves 15 pilot bachelor’s degrees   Net & Tech How Seizing Assets Leads To More Surveillance... And Then More Seized Assets... And Then More Surveillance... And Then...  "According to data compiled by the Washington Post for the years 2008-2013, law enforcement agencies around the country collectively spent $121 million of federal asset forfeiture funds on electronic surveillance equipment, an annual nationwide average  $20.2 million." People are increasingly worried about privacy, say legal protecti...

Happy birthday, Tom Baker!  Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors (And Archives and Suchlike) More Progress Made Toward Learning Contents of Herculaneum Scrolls 100-Year-Old Box Of Negatives Discovered Frozen In Block Of Antarctica’s Ice   Net & Tech Zombie Cookies Slated to be Killed  Awesome! Don't forget to double tap. Always double tap zombies.  13-year-old wonder boy starts Silicon Valley company  "Shubham wants to develop a desktop Braille printer that costs around $350 and weighs just a few pounds, compared with current models that can weigh more than 20 pounds (nine kilograms). The machine could be used to print Braille reading materials on paper, using raised dots instead of ink, from a personal computer or electronic device." New police radars can 'see' inside homes  "At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies have secretly equipped their officers with radar devices that allow them to effectively peer through the walls of ho...

So enjoy some links while I try to figure out how to do this stupid hat... Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors The Lost Dr. Martin Luther King Speech: How the Pacifica Radio Archives Unearthed a Piece of History  Awesome! Jan 19, 1809: Edgar Allan Poe is born  Related:  On Edgar Allan Poe  Fascinating!  Virginian-Pilot journalists: Corporate management pressure is stifling coverage   A Self-Publishing Platform for Kids   Net & Tech John Oliver’s Net Neutrality Antics Just Inspired A Groundbreaking Bill In Washington State  "Habib's bill would allow people from anywhere in Washington state to submit testimony to Olympia over the Internet, YouTube style. Instead of having to take time off work and drive hours to get in legislators' grills, people could just record a video of themselves and hit 'send' to TVW, Washington’s equivalent of C-SPAN. Then, theoretically, legislators would watch the citizen videos connected to the bills...

Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Washington, D.C. Public Library Creates Punk Rock Archive   How Orwell's 'Animal Farm' Led A Radical Muslim To Moderation   Jan 17, 1820: Anne Bronte is born   The Guggenheim Puts 109 Free Modern Art Books Online   Net & Tech U.S. Law Enforcement Kept Database of U.S. Calls Overseas   As Cities Push For Their Own Broadband, Cable Firms Say Not So Fast  They really aren't used to competition - they don't like it. Science Pope Francis Plea for Climate Action Revives Concept of "The Commons" to Rethink Economy & Society   Giving Toddlers Autonomy May Help Their Brains Develop   Bad news:  NASA and NOAA Agree: 2014 Was Hottest Year On Record   Good news;  We're Close To Achieving The Second Ever Global Eradication Of A Human Disease   The golden ratio has spawned a beautiful new curve: the Harriss spiral  So pretty! I mean, just look at it: Who says math ...

I finished my scarf a few days ago, and started working on a matching hat. I've started and restarted it so many times I've lost count - five time tonight alone, while watching movies with my friend. I'll get the hang of it eventually, and I'll get a picture of both when it's done! We watched The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra , a movie I've seen several times and still think is hilarious. Now, we're watching  Memoirs of a Geisha  - I've never seen the movie before, although I absolutely love the book. Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Washington DC's Public Library Will Teach People How to Avoid the NSA  Nice!  Jan 15, 1831: The Hunchback of Notre Dame is finished   Forgotten fairytales slay the Cinderella stereotype   Net & Tech Google won’t fix bug hitting 60 percent of Android phones   Science Temporary Tattoo Monitors Blood Glucose Levels   Sea Level Rise Has Been Miscalculated  Apparently, it's worse than we though...

Join the Battle for Net Neutrality (Learn more about net neutrality) Links! Libraries, Books, & Authors Rise of smart phones and social media makes people crave real books, British Library report finds   An Unlikely Incubator for Female Social Entrepreneurs in Rural Asia: Libraries  "For women like Chuna, libraries like READ Centers can play the role of incubators – not just for businesses, but also for long-term social change." Why Are We Obsessed With the Great American Novel?   Archiving: Maintaining Relevance for the Future  "What the Library of Congress can teach us about preserving digital media" Requiring kindergartners to read — as Common Core does — may harm some   Charlie Hebdo: 'Blessed battle of Paris' was our work, says al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen Voltaire ‘tolerance’ book flies off shelves after Paris attacks   20 Literary Facts To Impress Your Friends With  Dangling participle aside (it ought to read "20 Liter...