Steampunk Gypsy

Today's Google Doodle celebrates Ida B. Wells' 153 rd birthday! She was a fierce journalist and civil rights activist. Learn more about this amazing woman:  Fearless Journalist And All-Round Badass Ida B. Wells Honored With Google Doodle  and  Free Speech and Headlight . Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike Dreaming about School Libraries   Everything Science Knows About Reading On Screens  Very interesting!  The Gutenberg Bible turns a new page  "The Ransom Center’s two-volume Gutenberg Bible is on permanent display in the lobby. Every three months the Center’s staff changes which page of the Bible is displayed, allowing us to share different pages with our visitors, and also protect the volumes from over exposure to light, stress on their bindings, and other preservation concerns. The process of turning the Gutenberg’s pages involves staff of the conservation department, exhibition services, the curator, and of course...

In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, the individual who encounters reality is driven to help those still imprisoned in their delusions. He reenters the cave and tries to save others - but they not only refuse to leave, they turn and attack the one who would help them.  I suppose that makes him an idiot for going back, right?  I tend to think of myself as a relatively cynical person. I'd like to expect the best of people, but I don't. I expect people to be greedy, self-interested asshats. Most of the time, it isn't even a matter of people being actively hateful or purposefully hurting others - it's just that people are more interested in securing their own petty desires than in helping others. Sure, it might be a bitter laugh-off, but what else should I expect? And then there are times like this past week when I am genuinely devastated by people's asshatness, and I realize I'm not so cynical after all - I actually do expect people to be decent, which i...

Juneteenth: 150 Years Ago, Black America Got Its Own Independence Day Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike Hiring: The First Librarian of Congress for the Internet Age  "Though named by the president and confirmed by the Senate, the Librarian doesn’t change with every new White House. After being appointed, Librarians are free to serve as long as they want—that’s why there have been only 13 of them since 1802.  In other words, this will be the first time a new Librarian has been appointed since the invention of the web." CBLDF Joins Coalition Defending The Kite Runner in North Carolina School District Egypt Cracks Down on Street Art  "In June 2010, about eight months before the Tahrir Square uprising, a 28-year-old Egyptian blogger named Khaled Said was arrested and beaten to death after he posted a damning video that allegedly showed police helping themselves to the spoils of a drug bust. In the tumultuous months that followed, Said’s face ...

Links! Libraries, Books, Authors, & Suchlike The magic of libraries   Istanbul Bookstore Caters To Syrian Refugees In Need Of A Good Read   Do you like to read in the bath and/or at the beach? (Or, I suppose, the lake or any other large body of water. Or in the rain. You get what I'm saying.)  Finally, Someone Made Waterproof Books You Can Take In The Bath And To The Beach   Teacher who read gay-themed fairy tale in class resigns after protest   Charleston Charleston shooting - as it happened: Suspect Dylann Roof arrested in North Carolina as vigils are held for victims   Charleston Shooting Leaves 9 Dead at AME Church, Gunman in Custody   Charleston Shooter To Black People: ‘You’re Taking Over Our Country. You Have To Go.’   President Obama’s statement on the shooting   A Living Landmark  "Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church isn’t just a church. It is a historic symbol of black resistance to slavery and racism." Denmark ...

Newslo  has won my heart. Now, there's no excuse for falling for their satire - they have a handy "Show Facts" button that will highlight the factual information. Anything not highlighted? Satire. Very, very handy. Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike This is going to be particularly interesting for librarians, and maybe interesting only for librarians, honestly:  How Do Users Search and Discover?   Library Youth and Tech Leaders on the Hill: We Build a Bridge Between Knowledge and Passion   ALA Questions Bid for Independent Copyright Office   At-home libraries still popular for homeowners   Italian-Americans outraged over Capone books in NYC schools   Tackling a mountain of books with local hands  "If someone had told me three months ago that the hundreds of thousands of books I saw sitting unused and going to waste in the basement of Philadelphia School District headquarters would by now be almost fully catalogu...

Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike Academic publishers reap huge profits as libraries go broke   You probably remember my rant the other day over this:  Student protests graphic novels by Gaiman and Bechdel as 'garbage' . Good news!  College declines student’s request to ban ‘Persepolis,’ ‘Sandman’  In the first article I linked, though, I found one section interesting - "Shultz, 20, was joined in the protest by her parents. Her father, Greg Shultz, said, 'If they [had] put a disclaimer on this, we wouldn’t have taken the course.'" " We " - really? Is the dad enrolled in the class, too? The student is 20 years old - I have to ask again, why are her parents involved in this at all? And the prof now has to provide a "content warning" on his class. Why don't we just slap one on higher education entirely? "Warning: The Contents of This Education (If Done Right) Will Make You Think - and May Be Hazardous to Your Preco...

Well, okay, it wasn't really a surprise. Although it says  90%, after looking at the answers, there was only one  issue we actually disagreed on, and that's one where my opinion is complicated. So, I suppose I have a bumper sticker to buy? (And maybe a coffee mug...) Want to take the quiz ? I'd be interested in the results! If you're going to vote for Bernie, you should learn how and when to vote for Bernie in the primaries ! Links! Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike It's time for America to give libraries the money they need and deserve   Character education: Complaint about “The Kite Runner” raises First Amendment issues   June 15, 1300:  Dante is named prior of Florence   June 15, 1215:  Magna Carta sealed   TPP Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership Is Nearly Dead  "If the American economy continues to create a few big winners and many who feel like losers by comparison, opposition to free trade won’t be the only c...