(30 Aug 2021) An open version (CC BY-NC 4.0) of Leveraging Wikipedia: Connecting Communities of Knowledge, edited by Merrilee Proffitt (OCLC Research) is now available for free download via the OCLC website. The book was first published by ALA Editions in 2018. The vision statement of the Wikimedia Foundation states, “Imagine a world in which every single…
Library staff work to remove the need for police officers within libraries and focus on de-escalating training. (23 Aug 2021) There is a growing national movement of abolitionist library workers who want law enforcement out of libraries, and it has seen some success in St. Louis County, Mo. For years, county librarians worked alongside armed, uniformed,…
(25 Aug 2021) An issue of a little-known English-language newspaper published here in the 1850s is one of more than 27,000 items of historical interest that have been donated to the National Library Board (NLB) in the last two years. The Bintang-Timor, a weekly publication from 1858 to 1859, had gone unrecorded by public institutions…
(27 Aug 2021) In a hope to boost readership and library use, Auckland Council Libraries is cancelling all existing fines for overdue books. The initiative, which will see the debts of all library users wipes on September 1, was approved by councillors in June. Over $500,000 is owed to Auckland Libraries in late returns. …
(23 Aug 2021) China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has just announced that, from October 1, any music that breaches a fresh set of government rules will be banned from being played within the country’s near-50,000 karaoke venues. According to a direct translation of the new government rules (via Reddit), music that is in contravention of…
(22 Aug 2021) Qatar National Library (QNL) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Library of Korea (NLK) to promote knowledge and learning through cultural exchanges and events. Both libraries will work together to enhance research projects for the wider communities that they serve. The collaboration includes the exchange of educational,…
(20 August 2021) The winners of the IFLA Green Library Award 2021 competition are: Category “Green Library” Canada, Edmonton, The Edmonton Public Library— “Edmonton Public Library” Category “Green Library Project” Finland Oulu, Oulu City Library— “A Responsible Library as Promoter of Environmental Awareness” Both winners will receive an award certificate, signed by ENSULIB Chair…
(23 Aug 2021) The latest issue of the IFLA Asia & Oceania Regional Newsletter is now available. In this issue: UN SDGs: Better Beginnings’ Boosts Early Literacy And Helps Children Prepare For School In Western Australia Library Resources and Services Increase Output of Institution’s Urbanisation Research Neighbourhood Libraries In People’s Homes Promotes Reading and Community…
(19 August 2021) LIBER and COAR have signed a partnership agreement with the aim of strengthening the role of repositories in Europe. This new agreement provides a framework for joint strategic actions that will reinforce the important role of libraries in sustaining and advancing open repositories in the region. “Repositories are critical infrastructure components…
(24 August 2021) Scholarly data has become one of the most important components of Open Science. Governments and funders are mandating that researchers deposit their data in repositories and supply supporting metadata. This extra work will only get done if researchers are given proper credit for their data outputs. But, how prepared is the scholarly…