Library Stuff

“There is consternation at Wikipedia over the discovery that hundreds of novelists who happen to be female were being systematically removed from the category “American novelists” and assigned to the category “American women novelists.” Amanda Filipacchi, whom I will call an American novelist despite her having been born in Paris, set off a furor with an opinion piece on the New York Times website last week. Browsing on Wikipedia, she had suddenly noticed that women were vanishing from “American novelists”—starting, it seemed, in alphabetical order.” (via The New York Review of Books)

“The vast majority of parents of minor children — children younger than 18 — feel libraries are very important for their children. That attachment carries over into parents’ own higher-than-average use of a wide range of library services.” (via Pew Internet Libraries)

“If Palo Alto’s Main Library was a book, its binding would be falling apart, its pages worn and tattered.

But that won’t be the case for much longer. On Tuesday, the city closed the branch at 1213 Newell Road for an 18-month renovation project. The aim is to upgrade the 55-year-old building’s “bones” — the structural, electrical and mechanical systems — while preserving the integrity of architect Edward Durrell Stone’s iconic design.” (via San Jose Mercury News)

“WRESTLING with my newspaper on the subway recently, I noticed the woman next to me reading a book on her smartphone. “That has to hurt your eyes,” I commented. Not missing a beat, she replied, in true New York style, “My font is bigger than yours.” She was right.” (via NYTimes.com)

“By Design’s Janne Ryan spoke with architecture critic Elizabeth Farrelly and architect Tone Wheeler about the powerful connection between knowledge and the design of libraries. As the digital world changes our lives, so too do the design of our libraries and their role. Are they still important?” (via Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

“Hachette Book Group, one of the largest and most successful publishers in the world, will make its entire digital catalog of more than 5,000 eBooks available to libraries and schools via OverDrive. Beginning May 8, loyal readers at OverDrive-powered libraries and schools in the U.S. and Canada will have access to popular and award-winning authors such as David Baldacci, Sara Zarr, Sandra Brown, James Patterson, David Sedaris and Kate Atkinson. OverDrive supplies Next Generation digital library services for more than 22,000 libraries and schools worldwide, with support for all major eReading devices, including iPadR , NookR and KindleR .The addition of the entire Hachette Book Group eBook catalog to OverDrive — which already carries Hachette Book Group audiobooks on the same lending platform — enhances the largest catalog for libraries and schools of more than 1 million eBook, audiobook, music and video titles.” (via WSJ.com)

“Love taking photos on your smartphone? Now you don’t need to wait to get home to upload your high quality educational photos to Wikimedia Commons, the free image repository used by Wikipedia and many other projects. The official Wikimedia Commons app for iOS and Android allows you to quickly and easily upload your photos to Commons. You can also upload multiple files and add categories (Android only so far) and share your uploads through your favorite image sharing sites. Your contributions to Commons can help illustrate the world’s largest encyclopedia and make knowledge come to life for millions of readers around the globe.” (via Wikimedia blog)

“The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said states are free to allow public records access only to their own citizens, delivering a blow to freedom of information advocates who had challenged a Virginia law. In a unanimous ruling, the court said two out-of-state men did not have a right to view the documents. Various other states, including Tennessee, Arkansas and Delaware, have similar laws, although some do not enforce them.” (via Reuters)

“After more than 35 years at the Oxford English Dictionary, chief editor John Simpson has announced his retirement. He is only the seventh editor of the dictionary since the project’s beginning in 1879. He speaks with Robert Siegel about his tenure and what he sees for the future of the OED.” (via NPR)

“A bill in the California legislature would require state-funded research to be made public free of charge within a year of its publication. If it passes, the bill would create an open access policy for California’s state-funded research similar to a policy announced earlier this year by the Obama administration. The federal policy, which is not yet finalized, would apply to most federally supported non-defense research. California is not the only state moving to make public the published research it helps to fund; Illinois is weighing a similar proposal.” (via Inside Higher Ed)