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Weekly News Digest
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March 27, 2018 — 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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Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter as Media Entities
According to Mathew Ingram, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, “After coming under fire for promoting fake news, conspiracy theories, and misinformation around events like the Parkland school shooting, YouTube says it will take a number of steps to fix the problem. But the Google-owned video platform still seems to be trying to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to being a media entity. … In other words, Google wants to benefit from being a popular source for news without having to assume the responsibilities that come with being a media entity.”For more information, read the article.
Suffragette Papers Digitized at the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LC) announced that the papers of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are now online. The collections include their correspondence, speeches, and materials from the Seneca Falls Convention, as well as other documents related to women’s suffrage and the women’s rights movement. They comprise about 1,500 items that mostly date from 1840 to 1906. View Anthony’s collection here and Stanton’s collection here.For more information, read the press release.
IMLS Gets Budget Increase for Various Programs
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) received a funding increase for the rest of FY2018. The president signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill into law that funds the federal government until the end of September 2018, and $240 million of that budget is allocated to IMLS. At $9 million higher than the funding for FY2017, the law increases funds for programs such as Grants to States, Native American Library Services and Native Hawaiian Library Services, and Museum Grants for African American History and Culture.For more information, read the press release.
IFLA Leads Effort to Increase Global Literacy
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), and the International Literacy Association (ILA) signed a joint memorandum of understanding to work toward increasing global literacy rates to 100%. The organizations will “share knowledge, work together, and participate in each other’s congresses to stress the importance of reading and access to information, and find practical ways of making this a reality,” according to the press release.“Universal literacy remains one of the great challenges of our time. Truly sustainable, bottom-up development depends on everyone having the ability to read and engage with information. In signing this memorandum with IBBY and ILA, I look forward to continuing a partnership that is making a real difference for people and communities around the world,” says Gerald Leitner, IFLA’s secretary general. For more information, read the press release.
Manuscript Submission Systems Integrate With Kudos
Kudos announced a series of new integrations that help publishers incorporate Kudos fields into their manuscript submission systems. Allen Press’ AllenTrack and Clarivate Analytics’ ScholarOne, among other systems, now offer the option to submit plain-language summaries to Kudos so authors can start the process of sharing their research prior to publication. This gives them greater impact potential and means one less step to take when disseminating their work. Any manuscript submission or review system can integrate with Kudos as long as it can “add a ‘Kudos’ field; export its contents in either JSON or Excel format; and transfer this to Kudos via either API or email.”For more information, read the blog post.
SAGE Research Methods Rolls Out New Video Collection on Research Skills
SAGE introduced Practical Research and Academic Skills, a new SAGE Research Methods streaming video collection on foundational skills for researchers at any level. It features 440 videos and 62 hours of content that provide instruction on completing research projects and skill-building for accelerating professional development. Topics covered include writing a research proposal, writing for publication, computer applications, presenting at conferences, and building networks.For more information, read the press release.
Gale Small Business Builder Gets Update
Gale Small Business Builder will offer integrated access to Gale’s business and legal resources, including DemographicsNow and Gale LegalForms. Libraries that subscribe to one or more of these products can get the business and legal content via Gale Small Business Builder, giving patrons access to it directly from their business planning workflow. By linking users to the content they need, business planning becomes more actionable, and patrons need less help from library staffers as they create business plans.For more information, read the press release.
APA Speaks Out Against New Limits on Transgender Military Members
The American Psychological Association (APA) released a statement from its CEO, Arthur C. Evans Jr., about the president’s new limits on transgender people serving in the military:The American Psychological Association is alarmed by the administration’s misuse of psychological science to stigmatize transgender Americans and justify limiting their ability to serve in uniform and access medically necessary health care. … No scientific evidence has shown that allowing transgender people to serve in the armed forces has an adverse impact on readiness or unit cohesion. What research does show is that discrimination and stigma undermine morale and readiness by creating a significant source of stress for sexual minorities that can harm their health and well-being. For the rest of the statement, read the press release.
GPO Publishes Congressional Pictorial Directory
The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) rolled out the Congressional Pictorial Directory (also available in print), a compendium of photos for each member of the House of Representatives and the Senate that records their length of service, party affiliation, and congressional district. It also features photos of the president, vice president, and House and Senate officers and officials.For more information, read the press release.
ALA, PLA, and OCLC Introduce Report on Public Libraries
The ALA Office for Library Advocacy (OLA), the Public Library Association (PLA), and OCLC released a joint report, “From Awareness to Funding: Voter Perceptions and Support of Public Libraries in 2018.” This update of OCLC’s 2008 study on topics such as voter perceptions, attitudes toward libraries, and library funding shows the following (among other findings):- a majority of U.S. voters believe public libraries are essential to communities and a source of civic pride;
- voters still highly value traditional library services such as free access to books and quiet areas, but also increasingly value the library as a community hub.
- a majority of voters still do not realize that the primary source of library funding is local.
“Just as a decade ago, this new data offers critical insights that will inform strategic planning at the local, state and national levels for years to come,” says Pam Sandlian Smith, PLA’s president. “I hope [the report] will serve as a catalyst for important conversations and creative engagement across the public library community.” For more information, read the press release.
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Brandi Scardilli
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