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Weekly News Digest
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June 23, 2020 — 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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COVID-19 NEWS: 'Data Reveals 60 Percent of People Want to Stay at Home After COVID-19'
Adzooma released the findings of a survey of nearly 450 anonymous workers that show that working remotely “could be the new normal, killing the traditional office as we know it.” Adzooma concludes, “Even after the pandemic has passed the worst, social distancing and hygiene rules will change the way an office will look and work.”The company “interviewed dozens of businesses about their current plans and opinions. In addition, we also asked key experts Professor Irene Hardill, Dr Daniel Wheatley and psychotherapist Paul Ansorge for their thoughts on what’s in store and how this will affect workers both physically and mentally.” This infographic sums up the findings. For more information, read the blog post.
EveryLibrary Institute Launches Count Week Project to Help Libraries Prove Their Value
The EveryLibrary Institute, which “is committed to helping libraries clearly demonstrate their value in the digital sphere during the COVID-19 shutdown and beyond,” announced the following:In collaboration with Counting Opinions, we are hosting the eMeasures Snapshot Survey and Count Week, a new reporting and comparison tool designed to capture your library’s digital activity and community contributions, along with several retrospective shutdown-specific questions. … The eMeasures Snapshot Survey is uniquely focused on helping you capture and compare your digital and online activities for reporting, planning, advocacy, marketing, and partnerships. The survey questions cover synchronous and asynchronous digital and online programs, services, collections, and interactions across your website, social media channels, wifi sessions, and other virtual interactions. … The survey is designed to be used during a ‘Count Week’. Our goal is to help you compile an immediately useful dataset by collecting one week of library service usage levels at a self-selected point between June 17th and August 31st, 2020. Participants will receive free access to infographic reports of their data after completing the survey, as well as summary reports and an analysis of the findings as they become available from Counting Opinions. For more information, visit the website.
Librarians and Bookstores Support Black Lives Matter
At the beginning of June, Publishers Weekly (PW) put out a list of Black-owned bookstores, noting, “Activists across the United States are encouraging book lovers who want to show support for the ongoing protests against police violence to buy books from black-owned and African American-focused bookstores. PW has compiled a list of black-owned stores for readers to shop at. Any of the following stores would surely appreciate the business.”Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, Calif., also released a list of Black-owned bookstores, saying, “We appreciate the large amount of orders for anti-racism books that we have received! Thank you so much for the support! But we also encourage you to purchase anti-racism books, or ANY books for that matter, from Black-owned bookstores. This ensures the money you are spending on anti-racist learning goes towards supporting Black communities.” In related news, NPR released an interview with Boston librarian Stacy Collins, “How Libraries Are Supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement.” If you have any resources to add, please share in the Comments section below.
COVID-19 NEWS: 'Research Shows Virus Undetectable on Five Highly Circulated Library Materials After Three Days'
IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) published findings from the Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) Project, which is “designed to generate scientific information to support the handling of core museum, library, and archival materials as these institutions begin to resume operations and reopen to the public.” As part of the first phase of the project, “scientists have found that the virus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 is not detectable on five common library materials after three days.” The virus was tested “on a variety of surfaces, in environments with standard temperature and relative humidity conditions typically found in air-conditioned office space. Materials tested in phase one included the cover of hardcover books (buckram cloth), the cover of softback books, plain paper pages inside a closed book, mylar protective book cover jackets, and plastic DVD cases.”For more information, read the press release.
U.S. Copyright Office Will Host a Virtual Public Forum on IT Modernization
The Library of Congress’ (LC) Office of the Chief Information Officer and the U.S. Copyright Office are holding a virtual public forum on Copyright Office IT modernization on July 16, 2020, at 10 a.m. EDT.Maria Strong, Acting Register of Copyrights, and Bernard A. Barton Jr., LC’s CIO, will offer an overview of the office’s “new Enterprise Copyright System that is being developed and the technical, user experience design, and IT security approach guiding this joint effort. … This forum will be an opportunity to share information and receive feedback from stakeholders and the public on current Copyright Office IT modernization progress and future milestones.” There will also be a question-and-answer section so participants can interact with the Acting Register, CIO, and other presenters. For more information, read the news item.
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Brandi Scardilli
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