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Weekly News Digest
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October 24, 2017 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today.
CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.
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Accessible Archives to Finish American County Histories Collection
Accessible Archives, Inc. will complete its digitization of page images for all books in its American County Histories collection by the end of 2017. So far, 34 states’ documents have been completed. They cover topics such as geography, Revolutionary and Civil War participants, churches, industry and manufacturing, schools, family histories, and health and vital statistics. When the collection is complete, users will be able to search by individual county, across a state or region, or throughout the entire country.For more information, read the press release.
Pew Looks at 'The Future of Truth and Misinformation Online'
Pew Research Center’s Internet & Tech division published “The Future of Truth and Misinformation Online,” which reports, “Experts are evenly split on whether the coming decade will see a reduction in false and misleading narratives online. Those forecasting improvement place their hopes in technological fixes and in societal solutions. Others think the dark side of human nature is aided more than stifled by technology.”The findings are based on a summer 2017 survey of 1,116 technologists, scholars, practitioners, strategic thinkers, and others who were asked to respond to the following question: In the next 10 years, will trusted methods emerge to block false narratives and allow the most accurate information to prevail in the overall information ecosystem? Or will the quality and veracity of information online deteriorate due to the spread of unreliable, sometimes even dangerous, socially destabilizing ideas?
Of the two answer options, 51% chose “The information environment will NOT improve,” and 49% chose “The information environment will improve.” The respondents then justified their answers. Read more in the report’s summary.
Amazon Introduces Affordable Security Camera
Amazon Cloud Cam is a new intelligent indoor security camera designed for customers who want to “check on the pets from work, monitor the front door while traveling, or look in on the kids’ room from the kitchen,” according to the press release. It has “1080p Full HD resolution video, night vision, two-way audio, a wide viewing angle, and activity clips from the last 24 hours via the Amazon Cloud Cam App—all for only $119.99.” Shipping to U.S. customers will begin Nov. 8.For more information, read the press release.
ByWater Solutions and Catalyst Announce White Paper on Koha and FOLIO
ByWater Solutions and Catalyst produced an 8-page white paper, “Koha Plus FOLIO: A Solution for Connected Library Services,” to “explain how Koha and FOLIO can work together to benefit libraries. It will also set out specifications for some ways Koha could connect to FOLIOs and therefore enhance library services.”For more information, read the announcement.
IFLA Acknowledges Results of Global Vision Voting Response
Gerald Leitner, secretary general of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), released a statement thanking voters for contributing to the IFLA Global Vision discussion initiative. He noted that when the voting period ended on Oct. 16, there had been 22,000 votes from 213 countries and areas. “You have made this a truly global conversation with votes coming from every single continent,” he said. “Next March, at the IFLA President’s meeting, we will launch the IFLA Global Vision report. Then we will discuss with you how we can bring the vision to reality. This has been an enormous success and a wonderful journey.” For more information, read the press release, and tweet using #iflaglobalvision.
The Library of Congress Announces Congressional Data Challenge
The Library of Congress started its Congressional Data Challenge, a competition for anyone looking “to leverage legislative data sets on congress.gov and other platforms to develop digital projects that analyze, interpret or share congressional data in user-friendly ways.” By April 2, 2018, interested participants can submit entries such as interactive visualizations, mobile or desktop applications, or a tool to improve congressional and public websites. First prize of $5,000 will be based on the entry’s usefulness, creativity, and design.“There is so much information now available online about our legislative process, and that is a great thing,” says Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “But it can also be overwhelming and sometimes intimidating. … I hope this challenge will spark an interest in the legislative process and also a spirit of information sharing by the tech-savvy and digital humanities pioneers who answer the call. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.” For more information, read the press release.
Remarq Offers Browser Extension for Easier Collaboration
RedLink launched a free browser extension for Remarq, its scholarly collaboration network. Remarq Lite—designed for Chrome but compatible with Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari—helps users integrate notes and highlights from online sources into their Remarq profile, create and join public and private collaboration groups, and enhance collaboration between students and teachers in the classroom. For example, teachers can create private classroom groups, and students can create private groups to work on projects.For more information, read the blog post.
VitalSource Updates Its Content Experience Platform
VitalSource rolled out a new version of its professional learning platform, the VitalSource Content Experience Platform, which has reached more than 1 million users.“We believe learning matters everywhere,” says Eric Kuennen, VitalSource’s VP of professional learning. “To that end, it is exciting to be able to share the news of our revamped VitalSource Content Experience Platform that puts high-quality content in the hands of learners. No matter where learners may live or travel, we have tools for learning organizations and companies to create, curate, deploy and measure content securely and at any scale.” For more information, read the press release.
EBSCO Opens Submissions for Graphic Novel Award
EBSCO Information Services is now accepting submissions for its second annual SEE-IT (Stories Engagingly Expressed-Illustratively Told) Award. Given in partnership with the Graphic Novel Committee of the Children’s Book Council (CBC), this award honors “the outstanding achievements of authors and illustrators in youth graphic novels.” It aims “to highlight and promote the positive influence that youth graphic novels have on young readers,” says Ken Breen, EBSCO’s VP of book strategy and product management. “We’ve seen the growth of youth graphic novels first-hand as a major provider of readers’ advisory services and book recommendations. The SEE-IT Award celebrates author and illustrator excellence in the genre. …”Publishers can submit titles for consideration until March 9, 2018. The winner will be announced at ALA’s annual conference in June 2018. For more information, read the press release.
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Brandi Scardilli
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