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Tuesday, February 01, 2022
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Beyond Banning: New Challenges to the Right to Read
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by Amy Affelt
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I have been hearing and reading this adage from Jo Godwin since before I went to library school: "A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone." For information professionals, our mission is to provide impartial, nonjudgmental access to materials. At the same time, we are pretty used to content challenges and attempts to ban books. Interestingly, according to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, executive director of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, ... 2021 saw an unprecedented volume of challenges, including a 60% increase in the month of September alone. Furthermore, the types of challenges being brought forward are unprecedented as well.
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Apple Celebrates Black History Month With Exclusive Content and Curated Collections
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Apple announced that across its product line, it is spotlighting Black businesses and innovations—and amplifying Black voices—in honor of Black History Month. Here are some examples.
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Two More States Attempt Library Ebook Bills
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Andrew Albanese writes the following for Publishers Weekly: "Illinois has become the latest state to introduce a library e-book bill, with state legislators last week introducing the Equitable Access to Electronic Literature Act. In addition, Rhode Island legislators have re-introduced their library e-book bill in the new legislative session after a previous effort stalled last year."
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ALA and ATALM Applaud FCC for Expanding E-rate to Tribal Libraries
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ALA issued a press release praising the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its unanimous decision to expand E-rate program eligibility to tribal libraries. This means they will be allowed to join the federal program that offers libraries and schools up to a 90% discount on telecommunication and internet access costs.
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Kudos and Impact Science Launch the Coronavirus Knowledge Cooperative
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Kudos and Impact Science are building on the model of their Climate Change Knowledge Cooperative and creating the Coronavirus Knowledge Cooperative. The launch partners are the American Chemical Society, de Gruyter, Hindawi, SAGE, the University of Toronto Press, and Wolters Kluwer.
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Accessible Archives Caters to Fans of The Gilded Age
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Obsessed with Julian Fellowes' new show The Gilded Age? Accessible Archives can give you some insight into the show's time period during the weekly wait between episodes.
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GPO Task Force Studies the Possibility of an All-Digital FDLP
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The director of the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), Hugh Nathaniel Halpern, has appointed a task force to look into the feasibility of making the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) all digital.
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Access Partnership Releases a Report on Current Tech Policy Trends
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Access Partnership published "Tech Policy Trends 2022" (registration required), a report sharing forecasts and predictions for the top trends of this year.
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What’s New With Public Library Ebook Vendors
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by Brandi Scardilli
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Library ebook vendors sign contracts with publishers to get books delivered to their platforms and then sell their licenses to public libraries at the prices the publishers set. The pandemic has accelerated patron use of ebooks, which has brought the fight for fair prices back into the spotlight. While public libraries and publishers are hashing out what ebooks should cost, the vendors have been working to provide public libraries and their patrons with the best user experience possible (and make a profit themselves, of course—with the notable exception of The Palace Project). Let's take a look at what's new with some of the major library ebook vendors.
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If you regularly read blogs, add these to your reader:
ITI Conferences (libconf.com): covering ITI’s library conferences worldwide
ILI365/InfoToday Europe (infotoday.eu): news and ideas for, and by, innovative info pros from around the world, throughout the year
Streaming Media (streamingmedia.com/Articles/Blog): the go-to destination for opinion, analysis, and insights into the entire online video ecosystem
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