Welcome to the December edition of the Libfocus link-out, an assemblage
of library-related things we have found informative, educational,
thought-provoking and insightful on the Web over the past while.
“Our job is to fight against entropy”: Narayan Khandekar on the Straus Center and the Forbes Pigment CollectionRead or listen to this interview with the director of the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies. Learn how the center's research reveals the artistic processes used to create the works of art in the Harvard Art Museum collection as well as the best ways to preserve them.
Margaret Kellerman, MRIA, Professor of LiteratureMargaret Kellerman looks back at the year-long fellowship she completed at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library (NYPL). She describes her research and often moving discoveries among the papers of Irish literary figures Mary and Padraic Colum.
Exploring the challenges and opportunities of research data management (RDM)Sobering summary of challenges that RDM practitioners face when they run data management services. Hope comes via imagining how a better RDM ecosystem could work.
Open access at a crossroads: library publishing and bibliodiversityThis opinion piece argues that the gold open access model is destructive to the knowledge production ecosystem by addressing the importance of
bibliodiversity and the ways in which library publishing can contribute to sustainable and equitable knowledge production.
Developing a library strategic response to Artificial Intelligence.As libraries move to adopt AI, it will impact services in different ways - a working document from
IFLA provides considerations when developing a strategic response.
2024 guide to Instagram for LibrariesSocial media platforms can provide a valuable form of outreach for libraries - here are some tips to maximise the audience.
Not your mother's Library: how libraries are evolvingWith resources that range from teaching kitchens to 3D printers, libraries across the U.S. are innovating to meet the changing needs of urban communities.
2023 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers.It's that time of the year... Holiday gift guide for librarians and book lovers.
Low level of expenditure on Irish language books in libraries ‘disgraceful.Éanna Ó Caollaí looks at a report from an Oireachtas sub-committee looking into Irish language written media. It includes criticisms on library spending on Irish language materials and the absence of a dedicated Irish language policy in the National Strategy for Public Libraries 2023-2027.
How to teach primary source literacy skills in universities.Read about primary source literacy instruction using Special Collections and how it is instrumental in teaching transferable critical thinking and research skills that help prepare students for their academic careers and real-life scenarios.
Everyday Evidence-Based Practice in Academic Libraries: Case Studies and Reflections.
Wherein Claire Walker Wiley, Amanda B. Click, and Meggan Houlihan collect solid, thorough examples of evidence-based practice across functional areas of academic libraries, including many evidence types in a variety of contexts. Five sections are under scrutiny: Understanding Users, Leadership and Management, Instruction and Outreach, Collections, Open Initiatives.
How American Librarians Helped Defeat the Nazis.In war, as in everything, information is power. And for the United States and its allies in World War II, an epic battle from an analogue age that meant obtaining and transmitting by hand useful intel. This included information about the development of destructive new weapons - before the Nazis could prevent their enemies from getting it. Enter the librarians, tapped by US government officials to help in this effort. These librarians adopted technology from other fields to photograph an array of documents, including those that were rare and/or archival, and found means of sending them across continents. They used both microfilm and microphotography - technologies that came to play a key role in the wars of the twentieth century.
Posts
