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Featured Link: World Book Trade (e-books, awards, videos)

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Current Cites - February 2010

Current Cites (edited by Roy Tennant) - February 2010 is now available

OverDrive releases BlackBerry audiobook app

OverDrive has announced the public beta release of an audiobook app for BlackBerry smartphones. OverDrive's BlackBerry audiobook app enables the wireless download of MP3 audiobooks from more than 10,000 libraries and major online retailers, including BarnesAndNoble.com, BooksOnBoard.com, and Borders.com

I-CHORA 5: Fifth International Conference on the History of Records and Archives

I-CHORA 5: Fifth International Conference on the History of Records and ArchivesI-CHORA 5, organised by The National Archives of England, Wales and the United Kingdom, the Liverpool University Centre for Archive Studies and the Department of Information Studies at University College London, will address the subject of 'Records, archives and technology: interdependence over time'. The conference will explore this subject from a historical perspective, but will interpret it as broadly as possible - 1-3 July 2010 - London, UK

Podcast: Kindertransport: Britain's rescue plan

The Wiener Library holds many personal accounts of children evacuated from Nazi Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia between December 1938 and September 1939. Using individual first-hand accounts sourced from The Wiener Library and documents held at The UK National Archives, this talk gives insights into how Britain dealt with the refugee children who arrived on the Kindertransports and the difficulties they faced

Collaborative Librarianship - Volume 2, Number 1, 2010

Collaborative Librarianship - Volume 2, Number 1, 2010 is now available. The journal is sponsored by: Colorado Academic Library Consortium, Colorado Library Consortium, Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, Regis University, and the University of Denver

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice

Recent Patents on Signal Processing

Fauna Norvegica

Intergenerational Justice Review : IJGR

Journal of Biochemical Technology

GRETA Journal

International Online Journal of Educational Sciences

Nurture

Revista de Investigación en Educación

Schweizer Archiv fur Neurologie und Psychiatrie

Selçuk Journal of Applied Mathematics

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Alexander Street partnering with NINES

"Alexander Street is partnering with Networked Infrastructure for Nineteenth-Century Electronic Scholarship (NINES), a scholarly organization devoted to forging links between the material archive of the nineteenth century and the digital research environment of the twenty-first. Several core Alexander Street Press nineteenth century collections are now searchable via the NINES site, including:

* Irish Women Poets of the Romantic Period
* Scottish Women Poets of the Romantic Period
* The American Civil War: Letters and Diaries
* Coming soon, we will add The Romantic Era Redefined

These Alexander Street collections are now completely cross-searchable within the NINES interface. Access to Alexander Street search results at the document level are available only to institutions subscribing to the collections, but NINES users are able to view contextual snippets"

Wellcome Library - Item of the Month - February 2010

Wellcome Library - Item of the Month - February 2010"It is rare to find a manuscript from the early 15th century that combines folk remedies with religious iconography and a royal heritage to boot - even more rare is to find one that has been heavily defaced. Such a manuscript exists in the Archives and Manuscripts collection at the Wellcome Library - MS.5262. Lara Artemis, former conservator at the library, uncovered the manuscript as part of her MA in Medieval History. In the process, she unpeeled the layers of what turned out to be a fascinating and possibly unique insight, not only into medieval medicine, but of religious symbolism at a time of particular spiritual turmoil - the reformation"

The Magic of the Library - A Fun Presentation of The University of Bergen Library

This version is dubbed into English from the original Norwegian:

New Report, "Over, Under, Around, and Through: Getting Around Barriers to EAD Implementation"

"This report frames obstacles that archivists have experienced adopting Encoded Archival Description (EAD). It also suggests pathways to help archivists get out of the ruts, around the roadblocks and on the road to success. Written by Michele Combs from Syracuse University, Mark A. Matienzo from Yale University, Lisa Spiro from Rice University and Merrilee Proffitt from OCLC Research, the objective of the report is to communicate EAD's value as a key element of successful archival information systems and help archivists overcome potential barriers to its implementation. This work is an output of the Barriers to Using EAD project undertaken by OCLC Research and the RLG Partnership"

Podcast: Fashion or ration: Hartnell, Amies and dressing for the Blitz

"How did the fashionable woman of the Second World War and post war era manage to remain chic in a climate of rationing? Using sources from The UK National Archives this talk will consider the fashion industry of the time, and reveal how designers Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies not only contributed to the war effort, but made a lasting impact on British style"

Steve Shadle receives Ulrich's Serials Librarianship Award

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALTCS) has named Steven C. Shadle the 2010 recipient of the Ulrich's Serials Librarianship Award. This award for distinguished contributions to serials, presented by the Continuing Resources Section of ALCTS, consists of a citation and $1,500 donated by ProQuest through its Serials Solutions business unit

Friday, February 26, 2010

McMaster University Academic Librarian Association formed (Canada)

"The librarians at McMaster University (Hamilton, ON) have broken off from the faculty association to form their own union. On February 10, they filed with the Ontario Labour Relations Board for certification, followed by a majority vote last week in favor of the certification. The new association is called the McMaster University Academic Librarian Association (MUALA)"

UK Web Archive

UK Web ArchiveThe UK Web Archive contains websites that publish research, that reflect the diversity of lives, interests and activities throughout the UK, and demonstrate web innovation. This includes "grey literature" sites: those that carry briefings, reports, policy statements, and other ephemeral but significant forms of information. There are millions of UK websites. They are constantly changing and even disappearing. Often they contain information that is only available online. Responding to the challenge of a potential "digital black hole" the UK Web Archive is there to safeguard as many of these websites as practical. Its purpose is to collect, preserve and give permanent access to key UK websites for future generations. Contributors to the UK Web Archive seek permission from the website owner for every website it archives. This is costly and difficult (many owners simply don't respond to the request) so we have been lobbying for the necessary Government regulation to gather all in-scope UK websites automatically. The British Library and other "legal deposit libraries" have this right in principle under the Legal Deposit Libraries Act (2003) but need a further legal regulation to go ahead. Because websites are revisited and snapshots ("instances") are taken at regular intervals, readers can see how a website evolves over time. The archive is free to view, accessed directly from the Web itself and, since archiving began in 2004, has collected thousands of websites

UK government publications - 22-26 February 2010

The latest round up of new UK government publications this week - 22-26 February 2010 from Intute and the LSE Library

Text Mining - unlocking the literature in STM publishing

Text Mining - unlocking the literature in STM publishing: "Academic publishing is no longer solely about publishing for human readers. Increasingly, researchers are employing text mining technology to analyse the latest published research and identify items of interest. This ALPSP workshop will inform publishers about how content can be enhanced through the integration of text mining services, as well as examine how text miners and publishers can work together to provide services and standards that will support the next generation of scientific, life sciences and pharma publishing"- 11 May 2010 - London, UK

A Guide to Distributed Digital Preservation

"Authored by members of the MetaArchive Cooperative, A Guide to Distributed Digital Preservation is the first of a series of volumes describing successful collaborative strategies and articulating specific new models that may help cultural memory organizations work together for their mutual benefit. This volume is devoted to the broad topic of distributed digital preservation, a still-emerging field of practice for the cultural memory arena. Replication and distribution hold out the promise of indefinite preservation of materials without degradation, but establishing effective organizational and technical processes to enable this form of digital preservation is daunting. Institutions need practical examples of how this task can be accomplished in manageable, low-cost ways. This guide is written with a broad audience in mind that includes librarians, archivists, scholars, curators, technologists, lawyers, and administrators. Readers may use this guide to gain both a philosophical and practical understanding of the emerging field of distributed digital preservation, including how to establish or join a network"

Digital Repositories infoKit (UK)

The Digital Repositories infoKit is a practical 'how to' guide to setting up and running digital repositories. The kit contains information on a broad range of topics running from the initial idea of a digital repository and the planning process, via detailed sections on repository set up and promotion, through to the maintenance and ongoing management of the repository. The main focus is on institutional repositories and the kit reflects current repository community best practice. This resource has been written for repository administrators. It assumes no prior knowledge of repository matters and, more importantly, assumes no prior technical knowledge. The kit can be used by anyone who needs an introduction to any of the topics covered.

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: National Gallery. "Credo has added more than 2,000 images from England's National Gallery in London. To celebrate, here's a brainteaser about the National Gallery and some of its pictures" Answers here.

1. In 1821, who painted "The Hay Wain", which is in the National Gallery.
2. The National Gallery has a painting called "Sunflowers" - one of several of this subject produced in 1888 by which artist?
3. In which London square is the National Gallery?
4. Who famously painted water-lilies at his garden at Giverny?
5. When an extension was proposed to the National Gallery, Charles, Prince of Wales, described it as putting "on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend" a monstrous...what?
6. What kind of animal was "Whistlejacket", painted by Stubbs in about 1762?
7. "Marriage A-la-Mode" was a series of satirical engravings about the upper echelons of society made by which artist?
8. Was the picture called "Les Grandes Baigneuses" painted by Manet, Cezanne or Seurat?
9. Which ship, tugged to her last berth in 1838 and painted by J. M. W. Turner, was the subject of the picture voted "The Greatest Painting in Britain"?
10. An 18th-century portrait of "Mr and Mrs Andrews" is the masterpiece of which artist's early years?

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Advance Journal of Food Science and Technology

Educational Policy Analysis and Strategic Research: An International Journal

Energeia

HAYATI Journal of Biosciences

Kriminologija i Socijalna Integracija

Open Access Journal of Forensic Psychology

Revista Peruana de Epidemiologia

Acta Physica Polonica A

Aria

Dancecult : Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture

ITF Coaching and Sport Science Review

Lecture Notes in Engineering and Computer Science

Revista Obets. Revista de Ciencias Sociales

Suvremene teme : Contemporary Issues

Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog - February 24, 2010 update

The February 24, 2010 edition of the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog from Charles W. Bailey, Jr. is now available. It provides information about new works related to scholarly electronic publishing, such as books, e-prints, journal articles, magazine articles, technical reports, and white papers

2010 Commonwealth Writers' Prize regional winners' shortlist announced

The shortlist for regional winners has been unveiled in the race to win the influential 2010 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. The Prize is presented by the Commonwealth Foundation with support from the Macquarie Group Foundation. The final programme, starting on 7 April in Delhi, India will bring together the finalists from the different regions of the Commonwealth, and the two overall winners will be announced there on 12 April. The regional winners shortlisted are:

Africa
The shortlisted writers for Africa's Best Book are:
Trespass by Dawn Garisch (South Africa)
The Double Crown by Marié Heese (South Africa)
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
Eyo by Abidemi Sanusi (Nigeria)
Tsamma Season by Rosemund Handler (South Africa)
Refuge by Andrew Brown (South Africa)
Kings of the Water by Mark Behr (South Africa)

The shortlisted writers for Africa's Best First Book are:
I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (Nigeria)
The Shape of Him by Gill Schierhout (South Africa)
The Shadow of a Smile by Kachi Ozumba (Nigeria)
Come Sunday by Isla Morley (South Africa)
Sleepers Wake by Alistair Morgan (South Africa)
Jelly Dog Days by Erica Emdon (South Africa)
Harmattan Rain by Aysha Harunna Attah (Ghana)


Caribbean and Canada
The shortlisted writers or the Caribbean and Canada Best Book are:
The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels (Canada)
February by Lisa Moore (Canada)
Euphoria by Connie Gault (Canada)
Goya's Dog by Damian Tarnopolsky (Canada)
Galore by Michael Crummey (Canada)
The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon (Canada)

The shortlisted writers for the Caribbean and Canada Best First Book are:
Under this Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell (Canada)
Daniel O'Thunder by Ian Weir (Canada)
The Island Quintet: Five Stories by Raymond Ramchartiar (Trinidad)
Diary of Interrupted Days by Dragan Todorovic (Canada)
The Briss by Michael Tregebov (Canada)
Amphibian by Carla Gunn (Canada)


South Asia and Europe
The shortlisted writers for South Asia and Europe Best Book are:
Solo by Rana Dasgupta (Britain)
For Pepper and Christ: A Novel by Keki Daruwalla (India)
The Beijing of Possibilities by Jonathan Tel (Britain)
Heartland by Anthony Catwright (Britain)
Another Gulmohar Tree by Aamer Hussein (Pakistan)
The Immortals by Amit Chaudhuri (India)

The shortlisted writers for South Asia and Europe Best First Book are:
The Hungry Ghosts by Anne Berry (Britain)
Arzee the Dwarf by Chandrahas Choudhury (India)
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin (Pakistan)
Among Thieves by Mez Packer (Britain)
An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay (Britain)
Tail of the Blue Bird by Nii Parkes (Britain


South East Asia and Pacific
The shortlisted writers for South East Asia and Pacific Best Book are:
Summertime by J.M Coetzee (Australia)
A Good Land by Nada Awar Jarrar (Australia)
The Adventures of Vela by Albert Wendt (Samoa)
Singularity by Charlotte Grimshaw (New Zealand)
The People's Train by Thomas Keneally (Australia)
Parrot and Oliver in America by Peter Carey (Australia)

The shortlisted writers for South East Asia and Pacific Best First Book are:
The Ice Age by Kirsten Reed (Australia)
After the fire, a still small voice by Evie Wyld (Australia)
Look Who's Morphing by Tom Cho (Australia)
Document Z by Andrew Croome (Australia)
Come Inside by Glenys Osborne (Australia)
Siddon Rock by Glenda Guest (Australia)

National Bookmobile Day 2010 (USA)

National Bookmobile Day 2010 (USA)"During National Library Week, join the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Service (ABOS), and the Association of Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) as we commemorate the first annual National Bookmobile Day on Wednesday, April 14, 2010! National Bookmobile Day is an annual celebration of the contributions of our nation's bookmobiles and the dedicated professionals who make quality bookmobile outreach possible in their communities"

2009 Asian/Pacific American Award For Literature winners selected

The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), an affiliate of the American Library Association, has selected the winners of the 2009 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature. The awards promote Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage and are awarded based on literary and artistic merit. The Awards are given in four categories, with Winner and Honor books selected in each category

The changing landscape of search: essential new tools for finding information

The changing landscape of search: essential new tools for finding information - "The major search engines are playing leap-frog in an effort to out-do each other with new search features. Google is personalising everyone's search. Bing is taking over Yahoo. Exalead Labs is busy experimenting with new approaches to search. Image search options are expanding: creative commons, colour, similar images. More specialist search tools for the 'hidden web' are emerging, and social networks and Web 2.0 are now an essential part of the search mix. This workshop will look at the new services that are emerging and how to use them effectively to find relevant information" - 14 July 2010 - Manchester, UK - Course Presenter: Karen Blakeman

FreePint Newsletter 296

FreePint Newsletter 296 - 25 February, 2010 now available

Balisage: The Markup Conference 2010

Balisage is an annual conference devoted to the theory and practice of descriptive markup and related technologies for structuring and managing information. The conference takes its name from the French term for 'markup', in a friendly gesture towards the city of Montréal, where for years people interested in markup have met each August for informed technical discussion, occasionally impassioned debate, good coffee, and the incomparable ambience of one of North America's greatest cities. (Despite the Francophone name, however, conference sessions, events, and publications are in English.) - August 3-6, 2010 - Montréal, Canada

EBSCO Information Days 2010 - UK & Ireland

EBSCO UK is organising 7 information days aimed at all information professionals on the topic "Building the library of the future":

Birmingham, The Studio, 4 March 2010
Dublin, Guinness Storehouse, 9 March 2010
Edinburgh, The Signet Library, 11 March 2010
Cardiff, National Museum Cardiff, 15 March 2010
Leeds, Royal Armouries Museum, 15 March 2010
Bath, Bath Assembly Rooms, 16 March 2010
London, The British Library, 25 March 2010

2010 Antiquarian Book Seminar (USA)

"Now in its 32nd year, the Antiquarian Book Seminar provides an opportunity for leading specialists to share their expertise and experience with booksellers, librarians, and collectors in a comprehensive survey of the rare book market, both antiquarian and modern" August 8-13, 2010 - Colorado College, Colorado Springs, USA

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

2010 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction finalists

"Judges have selected five books published in 2009 as finalists for the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America's largest peer-juried prize for fiction. The nominees are Sherman Alexie for War Dances (Grove Press); Barbara Kingsolver for The Lacuna (Harper); Lorraine M. López for Homicide Survivors Picnic and Other Stories (BkMk Press); Lorrie Moore for A Gate at the Stairs (Knopf); and Colson Whitehead for Sag Harbor (Doubleday). The winner, who will receive $15,000, will be announced on March 23; the four finalists will receive $5,000 each. In a ceremony that celebrates the winner as "first among equals," all five authors will be honored during the 30th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award ceremony at the Folger Shakespeare Library, located at 201 East Capitol Street, SE on Saturday, May 8, at 7pm"

New report, '"Capture and Release": Digital Cameras in the Reading Room'

This report, by Lisa Miller, Steven K. Galbraith, and the RLG Partnership Working Group on Streamlining Photography and Scanning, presents a core of suggested practices for allowing the use of digital cameras in special collections reading rooms

Spoons, Chihuahuas, and Autonomous Robots make Odd Title shortlist

Spoons, Chihuahuas, and Autonomous Robots make Odd Title shortlist"Nazi spoons, murderous cyborgs and the musings of an invertebrate hunter are among the subjects tackled in the books nominated for the latest installment of the Diagram Prize. The prize, which celebrates the oddest book title of the year, received a record number of submissions in 2009, with 90 books suggested to 2008's 32. After an intensive judging process, the "Very Longlist" was whittled down to a more palatable six by The Bookseller's diarist and prize custodian Horace Bent.Voting has opened on the six books at www.thebookseller.com. The winner will be announced on 26th March". The shortlist:

* David Crompton's Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter (Glenstrae Press)
* James A Yannes' Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich (Trafford)
* Daina Taimina's Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes (A K Peters)
* Ronald C Arkin's Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots (CRC Press)
* Ellen Scherl and Maria Dubinsky's The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (SLACK Inc)
* Tara Jansen-Meyer's What Kind of Bean is This Chihuahua? (Mirror)

Allison Sloan: Paraprofessional of the Year 2010 (USA)

"They call them 'paralibrarians' in Massachusetts now. The main reason for that is Allison Sloan, the 2010 winner of LJ's Paraprofessional of the Year Award, sponsored by DEMCO, Inc. Her outstanding service and her championship of the term paralibrarian illustrates her passionately held and most fundamental belief: 'This is not just a nice job, this is a career.'"

University of Washington Libraries joins Flickr Commons

"University Libraries Special Collections and Digital Initiatives have announced the launch of a partnership with Flickr online image resource and management service, beginning February 10 with a collection of images from the Libraries on the theme of 'Winter Sports in the Northwest'"

Kobo launches UK eBook store

"On the heels of a major funding announcement and re-brand, Kobo (previously Shortcovers) has launched in the UK. Kobo is an eReading service for smartphones, tablets, netbooks, laptops and eReaders. Kobo's use of open standards like EPUB and its unique cloud-based service enables consumers to build their ebook libraries without being locked in to any one device. Kobo also keeps all of a reader's devices in sync, enabling them to read from device to device. Since it launched in North America in early 2009, Kobo has been downloaded by more than one million users in 200 countries. The UK launch is the first region-specific launch for Kobo outside of North America. Kobo features eBooks from leading UK publishers such as Random House UK, Penguin Group UK, Bloomsbury, Simon & Schuster UK and Faber & Faber. With these partnerships Kobo will have nearly two million titles available in the UK - with bestsellers from £8.99 and less. Kobo is working with the Independent Publishers Guild to ensure that regional and independent presses are represented alongside major publishing houses. The service will include a bestseller list unique to the UK store and UK titles featured prominently on the site"

Flat World Knowledge launches innovative intern program

"Flat World Knowledge has announced the launch of an innovative campus internship program that gives college students - those most affected by skyrocketing textbook prices - an active role in impacting the way faculty think about textbooks. Like its disruptive business model aimed at revolutionizing the college textbook market, Flat World is taking a counter approach to the usual adversarial relationship between textbook publishers and college students. The company's open publishing license and online platform enable students to access its books for free online, or purchase low-cost print-on-demand, audio and downloadable versions, and study aids at a fraction of the cost of traditional textbooks. Faculty can choose to use the books as-is or customize the content"

Oral History of British Science

Oral History of British Science"The voices, memories and experiences of hundreds of British scientists are being captured by a major new initiative at the British Library. An Oral History of British Science, led by National Life Stories, is the first project of its kind in Britain and will gather 200 audio-visual interviews with the British scientists who have led the world in scientific innovation. Genetic engineering, the internet, and climate change are topics that make media headlines around the world. Yet little is known about the journey behind the important scientific and technological advances made in Britain that have transformed our world. No archive recordings exist of some of Britain’s most esteemed scientists of the twentieth century, including Alan Turing (1912-1954), codebreaker and pioneer in the history of computing, and the physiologist A.V. Hill (1886-1977), whose work on muscles was recognised by the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1922. Even those associated with iconic British inventions, such as Christopher Cockerell (1901-1999) who invented the hovercraft, appear to have left no substantial oral testimony documenting their life and work. Remarkably few living British scientists, including several Nobel laureates, have been interviewed at length. No comprehensive historical survey of British scientific endeavour and discovery exists which draws on personal memory and experience. An Oral History of British Science will interview both the well-known names of British science as well as lesser-heard and neglected voices such as technicians and women scientists, to ensure their memories are preserved for historians of the future. This oral history programme will capture the culture of science in Britain since the Second World War through 200 audio interviews, each averaging 10-15 hours in length, complemented by some shorter video recordings to document key events, instruments and locations. The archive is organised around four themes to reflect the character and emerging issues of science in the twentieth century"

London Word Festival (UK)

"London Word Festival is a pioneering, annual celebration of words, text and language; daring in its approach to cross-artform programming, commissioning new work and exploring non-traditional spaces. Established in 2007 and based in London's vibrant East End, the Festival has featured a wide range of artists from the fields of music, literature, comedy, theatre and live art. 7 March to 1 April 2010" RSS Feed

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Chopin: The Romantic Refugee - British Library

"British Library sheds new light on the life of Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin from Poland to Britain in a new exhibition to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth. Opening on 1 March in the Folio Society Gallery at the British Library, Chopin: The Romantic Refugee examines the ways in which Chopin's music displays his Polish patriotism in the context of the political sympathies for Poland that were current in France and England during his lifetime. Born 200 years ago, Chopin was a child prodigy whose brilliance as a pianist quickly spread beyond his native Poland, and a tour of Europe at the dawn of his career cemented his reputation as a composer of startlingly original piano music"

The London Collection at Findmypast.co.uk

"Findmypast.co.uk is pleased to offer a collection of records to help people track down their London-based ancestors and unearth the milestone events of famous Londoners from the past. The London Collection includes records of baptisms, marriages and burials which date back to 1538. These include significant dates in the lives of famous Londoners including Charles Dickens' marriage in Chelsea in 1836, captured in the West Middlesex Marriage Index, and William Blake's somewhat mysterious burial in 1827 at Bunhill Fields, detailed in the City of London Burial Index. The collection also includes the records of baptisms in London's Docklands, some of which provide a fascinating insight into popular baby names of the 1700s, including exotic-sounding names such as 'Hephzibah', 'Delight' and 'Philadelphia'." The findmypast.co.uk 'London Collection' includes:

* City of London Burial Index - records from all the churches in the City of London from 1813 to 1890
* West Middlesex Marriage Index - detailing 84,863 marriages in 61 parishes from 1538 to 1837
* London Docklands Baptisms - comprising 407,558 baptisms for London's docklands areas 1712 to 1933
* London and West Kent Probate Indexes - mainly detailing wills and administrations from 1750 to 1858
* The Matchworkers' Strike - listing participants of the strike of over 700 men, women and teenage boys and girls working at the Bryant and May factory in East London in 1888, the same year as the Jack the Ripper murders

OverDrive announces new eBook & digital distribution services for 2010

"OverDrive has announced new services that will significantly expand its digital distribution network for copyrighted digital media. New digital book formats, streaming content services, and title discovery and fulfillment enhancements will be available in 2010, which will help OverDrive's publishing partners, retailers, and libraries capitalize on accelerating market demand"

Read to a Million Kids (UK)

'Read to a Million Kids', sponsored by Renaissance Learning, is a brand new initiative for World Book Day 2010. The 11 GBP1 Book stories, read by their authors or actors, will be broadcast online during World Book Day. Available exclusively to schools and libraries in the first instance, and supplemented with a fun quiz about the reading, please visit www.readtoamillionkids.co.uk to find out more and to register to participate

World Book Day 2010

World Book Day 2009World Book Day is the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK and Ireland, and takes place Thursday 4 March, 2010

LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #107

LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #107. "Technical issues continue to plague us at Erie Looking Productions. LISTen #107 is a lost episode as there will be no recorded audio for this one. The unedited script that has none of the usual handwritten corrections or any ad-libs by the presenter is instead released for consideration. Links to matters referenced are shown as footnotes in the attached PDF file. This peculiar release is made under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. While we plan to release LISTen #108 on March 1st, this is dependent upon us chasing down electrical shorts and other complications. Thank you for your patience and cooperation in this difficult time.". Previous Podcasts can be found here

Historic Libraries Forum Workshop 2010 (UK)

"An Historic Libraries Forum workshop on the importance of researching and recording the provenance of books will be held on April 29th 2010 at the Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, London. Speakers will include the acknowledged authority David Pearson, Director of Guildhall Libraries, Alison Walker, David Shaw and Alison Wilson. Places are limited to 15 people. The cost for the day, excluding lunch, will be GBP35"

Get It Loud In Libraries (UK)

"This March sees the national roll-out of Get It Loud In Libraries. The award winning programme of live music in public libraries has witnessed incendiary performances from critically acclaimed artists such as Adele, Bat For Lashes and Florence + The Machine, reverberate amongst the traditionally quiet bookshelves. Kicking off the month of music will be the talented 16 year old pop starlet, Daisy Dares You who is due to storm the UK's libraries bookshelves on a six date tour. Get It Loud In Libraries originates from libraries in Lancashire, where the tiny stage has showcased the talents of The Blackout, British Sea Power and Juliette Lewis. The project was conceived by Stewart Parsons of Lancashire Libraries to allow more relevant cultural access to libraries for young people who love music but don't necessarily use libraries. It is proving a popular, original format for delivering the traditional library brief to entertain, inform and educate"

OCLC eNews - February 2010

OCLC eNews: Newsletter for Europe, Middle East & Africa - February 2010 now available

Anger at writer exhibit while library faces axe (Southampton, UK)

Anger at writer exhibit while library faces axe (Southampton, UK)" Campaigners have criticised Southampton culture chiefs for welcoming an exhibition of pictures of inspirational writers while shutting a city library. Southampton is to host the touring display featuring a world-famous portrait of William Shakespeare never before seen outside London. The Chandos portrait, named after a previous owner, is usually housed in the National Portrait Gallery and is considered to be the only portrait of Shakespeare painted from life. But the announcement of the exhibition, titled Writers of Influence: Shakespeare to JK Rowling, comes as Tory councillors voted to shut a library on the Millbrook estate"

Thriving or Surviving: National Library of Scotland in 2030

Thriving or Surviving: National Library of Scotland in 2030 by David Hunter and Karen Brown includes two pieces of original material commissioned by NLS which are published as part of this report. These are firstly, a piece looking at developments in digital libraries, and secondly, a record of a series of interviews with a number of influential library thinkers around the world on the opportunities and challenges they see for smaller national libraries in 2030

Read an E-Book Week 2010

Read an E-Book Week is a not-for-profit week set aside to inform the public about the pleasures and advantages of reading electronically. Authors, publishers, vendors, the media and readers world-wide are welcome to join in the effort. We encourage you to promote electronic reading with any event. These could include: public readings, library displays, reading challenges, school visits, newspaper and blog articles, chat show appearances, internet radio interviews, e-book give-ways, and banners on your website. 7-13 March 2010"

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

"Constantin Brancusi" University's Annals, Letters and Social Sciences Serie

Genre, sexualité et société

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology

Revista Educación física y deporte

Yüzüncü Yil Üniversitesi Tarim Bilimeri Dergisi

International Journal of Educational Sciences

Journal of Life Sciences

Cuadernos de Derecho Transnacional: CDT

Journal of Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons

156th ARL Membership Meeting

156th ARL Membership Meeting - Globalization of Higher Education and Research Libraries - April 28–30, 2010 - Seattle, USA

Kelley McGrath wins Esther J. Piercy Award

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services has named Kelley McGrath, cataloging & metadata services librarian (audio-visual) at Ball State University, Muncie, Ind., the winner of the 2010 Esther J. Piercy Award. The award will be presented on Sunday, June 27, at the ALCTS Awards Ceremony during the 2010 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

Ross Atkinson Lifetime Achievement Award to Peggy Johnson

Peggy Johnson, associate university librarian for access services at the University of Minnesota libraries, is the recipient of the 2010 Ross Atkinson Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is sponsored by EBSCO Information Services and honors the recipient with $3,000 and a citation. Johnson will receive her award at the ALCTS Awards Ceremony, Sunday, June 27, during the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

e-Journals are forever? (UK)

e-Journals are forever? - Preservation and Continuing Access to e-journal Content (A DPC, EDINA and JISC joint initiative) - 26 April 2010 - London, UK

Monday, February 22, 2010

DynamicBooks

"DynamicBooks was launched by Macmillan Publishers Ltd. of London. DynamicBooks continues a tradition of excellence with the first completely interactive textbook site, designed to deliver high-quality content at affordable prices for students. A rapidly growing number of instructors and institutions are adopting DynamicBooks titles, and our unique online presentation of course material creates new opportunities for authors to bring their work to market quickly while incorporating rich content and interactive capabilities to enhance learning. DynamicBooks is leading the way to where textbooks are going next"

Winners of the AHRC's GBP4m digital programme announced

"The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has released details of the winners of its 'Digital Equipment and Database Enhancement for Impact' scheme. 21 projects have been funded at a value of just over GBP4m by the AHRC in this scheme focusing on research that will lead to enhanced access to leading edge digital technologies and facilities by arts and humanities researchers and for many of the projects non-academic audiences. In addition the projects aim to enhance impact from digital research outputs, such as databases, established with current or past AHRC support"

InSITE - February 22, 2010

InSITE: A Current Awareness Service of Cornell Law Library - Vol. 15, No. 13, February 22, 2010 is now available. Contents:

# Archive-It
# Electronic Legal Resources on International Terrorism
# Hague Justice Portal

1812 History (Canada)

1812 History is a new website where Niagara museums have put on line digitized material that would typically not be on display. More than 700 items from area museums are displayed in more than 22,000 digital images

New blog: Libraries and Transliteracy

"Libraries and Transliteracy is a joint effort of Bobbi Newman, Buffy Hamilton and Tom Ipri. Our goal is to be an ongoing resource for those interested in libraries and transliteracy. We will be sharing information related to transliteracy (the new literacies, media literacy, digital literacy, 21st century literacies)"

Aye Write! - Glasgow's Book Festival (Scotland)

Aye Write! - Glasgow's Book Festival (Scotland)"From it's inception in 2005, the Aye Write! Book Festival has embraced the great tradition of writing in Glasgow and Scotland, bringing together the best undiscovered local talent from sources such as Glasgow University's Creative Writing School with a wealth of established writers from the city, nation-wide and much further afield! Thanks to the ongoing investment of Glasgow City Council, Scottish Arts Council, Waterstone's Bookshops and The Herald newspaper the festival continues to celebrate writing and publishing, promote reading and encourage debate on all things literary in the city. The festival is committed to developing the next generation of readers and writers with a free children's festival running in tandem with the main Festival. This year's festival once again takes place in the magnificent Mitchell Library, the city's cultural hub and one of Europe's premier libraries - a fitting home for a festival which last year saw nearly 200 authors participating and over 28,000 people attending. Aye Write! 2010 takes place from Friday 5th March until Saturday 13th March"

Royal College of Music Library loaded on Copac

"The holdings of the Royal College of Music Library are now on Copac. The Library contains a wealth of material, over 400,000 items, ranging from rare, early 16th-Century printed music to standard musical repertoire and from 78 rpm recordings to compact discs and DVDs. The collections of music literature include much rare material as well as all the major encyclopaedias, bibliographies, catalogues and standard works in most musical genres, as well as over 600 music periodical titles"

Sunday, February 21, 2010

e-commerce for museums, libraries, and archives

e-commerce for museums, libraries, and archives - 2 March 2010 - London, UK - "E-commerce has gone from a niche activity of on-line start-ups to an essential part of many organisations income generation streams. This course is aimed staff or volunteers in museums, libraries, or archives who are considering starting e-commerce operations; want to know what benefits e-commerce can bring to their organisation; or would like to consolidate their knowledge and understanding of e-commerce. The day will cover a number of aspects of e-commerce and how the cultural heritage sector can apply this technology to improve their revenue streams and improve their digital offer to service users. The day will consist of a mixture of presentations, facilitated discussion, and group exercises so delegates will leave with an greater knowledge of the ins-and-outs of e-commerce. The day will be led by Simon Tanner of King's Digital Consultancy Services at King's College London. Simon is a leading thinker and consultant in how the digital domain relates to museum, library and archive sectors."

2010 Writers Guild Awards winners

The winners of the 2010 Writers Guild Awards have been announced in Los Angeles, USA

Canadian Academic Libraries Network on Ning

All those interested in Canadian academic libraries are invited to join the Canadian Academic Libraries Network to discuss issues and share information

Web of Knowledge being enhanced

"On February 22nd, exciting enhancements in Web of Knowledge will allow you to search, analyze and use your results more efficiently than ever. Plus, enhancements to ResearcherID and Endnote Web will boost online collaboration and help build more robust portfolios"

Liverpool University Press and Metapress

Liverpool University Press is the latest publisher to launch its journals electronic content management and hosting services via the MetaPress platform

Oxford Journals adds two top economics journals

Oxford Journals, a division of Oxford University Press, has announced two new publishing partnerships with the Quarterly Journal of Economics (QJE), on behalf of Harvard University, and The Review of Economic Studies (REStud), on behalf of Review of Economic Studies Ltd

NTIS Technical Reports Newsletter - February 2010

NTIS Technical Reports Newsletter - Volume 2, Number 8, February 15, 2010 is now available from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA, USA

steppe via Exact Editions

"steppe is an eclectic and inspirational guide to the arts, history, culture and landscape of Central Asia. Printed twice a year, steppe stretches boundaries and looks beyond traditional subjects by showcasing the immense variety Central Asia has to offer - from ancient history to cuting-edge architecture; from majestic landscapes to the region's opulent interiors; from ancient rock drawings to contemporary video art; from historical figures to living legends; plus textiles, music, books, cookery and much, much more. The trial issue features an article by Josh Abrams showing that its not all 'bread and circuses' when the price of wheat rises, Robert Chandler visits the Igor Savitsky Museum and Gael Guichard ventures out onto the ice with fishermen who make their living from the Aral Sea. Other features include a review of contemporary art from Central Asia by Elena Sorokina, a report on the Desert Treasures in Berlin and Mannheim and Marinika Babanazarova describes the birth of the Uzbek School of Art and Savitsky's passion for collecting its work"

When Saturday Comes via Exact Editions

"Since its launch in 1986, the aim of When Saturday Comes has always been to provide a voice for intelligent football fans. Each issue features contributions from readers as well as professional journalists. WSC offers both a serious and humorous view of football, covering all the topics that fans are likely to talk about. The magazine has become recognised as a source of informed comment on all aspects of the game. The trial issue includes Match of the Month, Man Utd visit Fulham and are comprehensively beaten; Portsmouth pandemonium, Sarah Gilmore attempts to understand the club's rapid decline; and in an effort to control crowd trouble the Argentine authorities have embarked on a unique experiment. In Euro View, Djordje Nikolic looks at crowd control problems in Serbia; Gavin Willacy looks at two Italian clubs' abrupt collapse; once famous for their successes in Europe, Celta Vigo have suffered a dramatic reversal of fortunes, James Calder explains; and Itay Goder reports on a familiar face at Israel's Maccabi Nazareth"

Saturday, February 20, 2010

OCLC and SwissBib launch next generation meta-catalog

"Swiss university libraries, the Swiss National Library, and OCLC celebrated the official launch of SwissBib, a next-generation meta-catalog, at an event in Basel. The project has been delivered exactly one year after the initial contract was signed with OCLC to develop the system. This brings to a close the opening phase of a development; providing quick, easy and comprehensive access to scientific information in Switzerland. Users now have the opportunity to research 14 million title records from 740 libraries via the simple and intuitive interface of the SwissBib beta-version"

Bibliothèque Nationale de France buys Casanova memoirs for GBP6 million

"Two and a half centuries after Giacomo Casanova was hounded from Paris, the Venetian adventurer returned to his adopted home when the State acquired his memoirs for GBP6 million. The only manuscript of Casanova's Histoire de ma vie, one of the literary treasures of the 18th century, was bought from the Brockhaus publishing firm in Germany, which had owned it since 1821. An anonymous 'financial enterprise' provided most of the money for the Bibliothèque Nationale de France to buy the 3,700 pages, after two years of negotiations. Frédéric Mitterrand, the Culture Minister, who signed the deal, described it as one of the most spectacular acquisitions ever made by a French library. Casanova made a hurried escape from Paris in 1760 after earning the wrath of eminent subjects of Louis XV for seducing their wives and daughters and cheating them of money" - Times

Library 2.0 Gang 02/10: The Open Source Library System Market

Library 2.0 Gang 02/10: The Open Source Library System Market - "Open Source Library Systems have definitely arrived. Nevertheless Marshall Breeding's Perceptions 2009 report seems to indicate that the interest in open source systems, by those libraries with a proprietary system, is still not very high even for those expressing dissatisfaction with their current system. At ALA Midwinter PTFS announced their intention to purchase the leading open source system support company LibLime. Just before the recording of this month's show, they announced that PTFS and LibLime could not agree upon financial terms and have agreed not to proceed with the acquisition. So who better to join us as a guest on the show, than PTFS CEO, John Yokley. We open the show with John providing an overview of PTFS, the LibLime situation, and his gerneral view of the market. Gang members Talin Bingham, Nicole Engard, and Frances Haugen, filled the positions round our virtual table for a view on how these events and survey results indicate a future for the open source sector"

UK government publications - 15-19 February 2010

The latest round up of new UK government publications this week - 15-19 February 2010 from Intute and the LSE Library

New on DailyLit: Berlitz Essential French and Berlitz Essential Spanish

DailyLit is now offering Berlitz Essential French and Berlitz Essential Spanish, each of which offer key vocabulary words and tips for travelers

SPARC enews/February 2010

SPARC enews/February 2010 is now available from SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition

Penn Libraries receive $4.25 million gift for Special Collections Center

The Penn Libraries have received $4.25 million for the renovation of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and the creation of a Special Collections Center. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a member of the Libraries' Board of Overseers. This is the largest gift to the Libraries from a living donor

Friday, February 19, 2010

Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives newsletter - February 2010 (UK)

The February 2010 edition of LHL&A News is now available

Governance and Recordkeeping Around the World - February 2010

"Governance and Recordkeeping Around The World is a free newsletter published on a regular basis by Library Archives Canada that explores and highlights issues pertaining to government and recordkeeping practices in the public and private sector. This collaborative tool was designed to help readers stay up-to-date with the latest news, events, trends, products and publications in the field of public administration and recordkeeping" - February 2010 issue now available

NASIG Conference 2010 registration

Registration for the NASIG Conference 2010 - June 3-6, 2010 - Palm Springs, CA, will soon be open

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - Winter Olympics

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Winter Olympics. "The Winter Olympic Games are taking place in Vancouver this month. Can you answer these questions about the Winter Olympics? " Answers here.

1. How often are the Winter Olympic Games held?
2. Which British pair of skaters won the Olympic ice dancing title in 1984?
3. Which sport, included for the first time at the Winter Olympics in 1998, involves riding across snow standing on a wide single ski resembling a small surf board?
4. The IOC is responsible for the summer and winter Olympics. What does the abbreviation "IOC" stand for?
5. Were the Winter Olympic Games first held in 1904, 1914 or 1924?
6. Where were the Winter Olympic Games held in 1984?
7. The luge was introduced into the Winter Olympics in 1964. "Luge" is French for what?
8. Name one of the three places where the Winter Olympics have been held twice.
9. How many people are there in a curling team?
10. Which skier, known as "Le Superman" in his native France, won three gold medals in Alpine ski events at Grenoble in 1968?

Digitized UNC Yearbooks bring University's history to the web

Digitized UNC Yearbooks bring University's history to the web"A slice of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill history is now online with digitized student yearbooks from 1890 through 1966 and early issues of the Carolina Alumni Review. The Hellenian and Yackety Yack yearbooks provide a rich resource for learning about student life in the past, said Nick Graham, program coordinator of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center based at UNC's Wilson Special Collections Library. The center digitized the yearbooks and published them to the Web as part of a yearbook digitization project that currently also includes Appalachian State University, Elon University, and Elizabeth City State University. Graham said that the historic yearbooks provide an interesting window on student life over the years, including the ways that attitudes and fashions evolved"

Jewish Book Week 2010 (UK)

Jewish Book Week 2010Jewish Book Week 2010 takes place February 27 to March 7 in London, UK, at the Royal National Hotel. The book fair runs throughout the week, offering all the speakers’ books as well as a selection of recent publications. On Sunday afternoons, there will be additional stalls selling books and other tempting wares. Entry is free. The Cafe Lounge is the place to meet and comment on the talks you've just heard. The Windsor Room is open daily with a wider and improved selection of kosher sandwiches, salads and light snacks, tea, coffee, wine and other refreshments. Open from 12 noon until 8.30pm during the week. Follow Jewish Book Week on Facebook and Twitter

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Newly released UFO files from the UK government - February 2010

Newly released UFO files from the UK government - February 2010"An unfortunate man from Ebbw Vale, Wales, got more than he bargained for when an unidentified 'tube of light' enveloped his car as he drove home one night, covering it in 'dust and dirt' and causing his mobile phone and radio to fail. Once home, the man was physically sick and later developed a skin condition, which required medical attention. The incident, officially reported 28 January 1997, features among the intriguing stories found in the latest instalment of UFO files released today by The National Archives. The fifth online release is the largest to date, containing 24 files and totalling over 6,000 pages of material spanning 1994-2000. The files are available to download for free for a month at nationalarchives.gov.uk/ufos. The site also hosts a videocast dramatising highlights from the files alongside a detailed guide to researching the files by Dr David Clarke"

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Ariadne - Issue 62, January 2010

Ariadne - Issue 62, January 2010 is now available. Ariadne is targeted principally at information science professionals in academia, and also to interested lay people both in and beyond the Higher Education community. Its main geographic focus is the UK, but it is widely read in the US and worldwide. Subscribe to the RSS Feed

Tales from the Terminal Room - January 2010

Tales from the Terminal Room - January 2010, Issue No. 87 is now available. Tales from the Terminal Room (TFTTR) is an electronic newsletter that includes reviews and comparisons of information sources; useful tools for managing information; technical and access problems on the Net; and news of RBA's training courses and publications. Editor: Karen Blakeman. Published by: RBA Information Services

The new IEEE Xplore Digital Library

The new IEEE Xplore Digital Library:

* Spend less time researching with a powerful, new search engine
* Find better information with faceted search results
* Personalize your account with custom saved searches, RSS feeds and e-mail alerts

Law.Gov (USA)

"Law.Gov is an effort to create a report documenting exactly what it would take to create a distributed registry and repository of all primary legal materials in the United States. By primary legal materials, we mean all materials that have the force of law and are part law-making including: briefs and opinions from the judiciary; reports, hearings, and laws from the legislative branch; and regulations, audits, grants, and other materials from the executive branch. Creating the system from open source software building blocks will allow states and municipalities to make their materials available as well. Law.Gov would be similar to Data.Gov, providing bulk data and feeds to commercial, non-commercial, and governmental organizations wishing to build web sites, operate legal information services, or otherwise use the raw materials of our democracy"

MUDL: Managing and Understanding Data in Libraries (UK)

The MUDL (Managing and Understanding Data in Libraries) group brings together interested parties including librarians, publishers, aggregators, and other relevant groups to work for improvements in the quality, consistency and comparability of management data available to managers in HE libraries

Libraries and Cultural Resources (Calgary, Canada)

"Libraries and Cultural Resources (LCR) brings together the University Library, Archives and Special Collections, The Nickle Arts Museum, and the UofC Press. LCR develops, preserves, and provides access to large collections of print, digital and three-dimensional objects, and archival materials. This unique organizational structure provides a key strategic advantage to researchers and makes information - regardless of format - readily available"

Surrey libraries children's book festival (UK)

Surrey libraries: "Our very first Children's Book Festival starts on Thursday 4 March, World Book Day, and will run for four fun-filled weeks. This year, libraries in the boroughs of Elmbridge, Runnymede and Spelthorne will be holding a host of exciting events for children of all ages":

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

JISC Podcast/Press Release: Sharing and re-using catalogue records in a Web 2.0 world

The internet has made sharing library catalogue records easier for libraries and users – but with it comes a new set of challenges surrounding the legal implications. A new JISC toolkit helps librarians navigate the legal minefield of making their catalogue records available to others. "There are now so many ways in which catalogue records can be re-used on the Web outside the formal library catalogue,” says Ben Wynne, the JISC programme manager responsible for this guidance. “This is great news for libraries and their users but, as in so many other areas, when it comes to copying and sharing data you need to be clear what you can and cannot do within the law."

Krafty Librarian to host Medlib Blog Carnival March 9, 2010

The Medlib Blog Carnival is a collection of blog posts on things pertaining to medical libraries. Each month a new collection of posts are hosted at a different blog site for others to read. March is the turn of Krafty Librarian to host. Submissions must be made by March 6, 2010

EDUCAUSE Review January/February 2010

EDUCAUSE Review January/February 2010EDUCAUSE Review Volume 45, Number 1, January/February 2010 is now available online. Follow EDUCAUSE Review on Twitter

Pandia's all-in-one search tool collection has been updated

Pandia has updated its All-in-One list of search engines. "There are separate categories for tools for web search, directories, local search, social search, microblogs, reference and dictionaries, online books, music, radios, rss and blogs, software, people, and much more"

BookExpo America 2010

BookExpo America 2010 - 25-27 May, 2010 - New York City, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Advances in Decision Sciences

International Journal of Stochastic Analysis

Journal of Dental Biomechanics

Journal of Marine Biology

Journal of Medical Case Reports

Journal of Obesity

Journal of Robotics

Parkinson's Disease

Pathology Research International

Stroke Research and Treatment

Oxford University Press Spring sale 2010

The Oxford University Press Spring sale 2010 is now on, with savings of up to 65%. The Promo Code is 28514

20 Great Talks on the Future of Information

20 Great Talks on the Future of Information - a document created by Onlinecollege.org

Monday, February 15, 2010

The Big Read (UK)

"IF, with Tower Hamlets Council, the London Muslim Centre (LMC), the Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) and Muslim Aid invites you to participate in the BIG READ; an attempt to break a Guinness World Record for 'the most children reading with an adult' (Guinness Book of Records official title). The current record stands at 3,032 achieved by The Kindergarten Starters School at Global Village in Dubai, UAE, on 12 November 2008. In a 12-hour period up to 5,000 children are needed to listen to Roald Dahl's timeless classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. To qualify for the record a child has to listen to an adult read for half an hour. Schools, teachers, parents, pupils, celebrities and councillors will gather on 4th March 2010, World Book Day, to participate in this record breaking attempt which simultaneously aims to promote the importance of reading and literacy amongst children and create the largest shared reading experience in the World"

BBC Archive now available

"Explore our collective past with the BBC archives and discover themed collections of radio and TV programmes, documents and photographs. Explore who we are and see how attitudes have changed over the years through selections from an archive which began over 70 years ago. You can also go behind the scenes to find out how the BBC archives are maintained, uncover forgotten stories from the Written Archives and see how broadcasting has changed through the decades"

New content added to American History in Video

New content added to American History in Video"American History in Video was recently updated with 8 new hours of streaming video from 9 new titles. The newly added titles come from our documentary partner Media Rich Learning and their America in the 20th Century series. The entire series, covering 9 eras of American life, is available in American History in Video, and Media Rich Learning specializes in documentaries aligned to US History standards and curricula. American History in Video currently contains 1,027 hours of streaming video from 4,163 titles" - Alexander Street Press

Wellcome Library Insight - Designed Today, Gone Tomorrow (UK)

Wellcome Library Insight - Designed Today, Gone Tomorrow (UK)"This week's free Wellcome Library Insight session on Thursday 18th February explores aspects of design and social history through items from the Library's Ephemera collection. Our Insight sessions offer visitors to the Wellcome Library an opportunity to explore the variety of our holdings. Sessions are thematic in style, last around an hour and offer a chance to learn about our collections from a member of Library staff. This Thursday's session starts at 3.00pm, and tickets are available from the Wellcome Collection Information Desk from 1.30pm onwards"

LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #106

LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #106. "This week's episode brings an extended miscellany where we track down some potential trends that seem to be developing. The essay poses the concept of a print supplement to LISNews and seeks input". Previous Podcasts can be found here

Sunday, February 14, 2010

North Carolina State University gives students free access to physics textbook online

"Physics students at North Carolina State University can get their introductory-level textbooks for free thanks to a new program by the college. Each year about 1,300 students at North Carolina State take Physics 211 and Physics 212. Beginning this semester, the university's libraries and physics department have offered the courses' textbook online for free. Students can also print pages of the text or buy a printed copy at the university's bookstore for about $45. Michael A. Paesler, head of the physics department at North Carolina State, said his department wanted to find a cost-effective way for students to get course material and felt an online option might work well. The department hopes to offer more material online, including an optics text written by Mr. Paesler to be used for a course next semester"

YoungMinds calls for submissions for 2010 book award prize (UK)

"YoungMinds are asking publishers, librarians, and young people to put forward submissions for this year's YoungMinds book award. Books must be works of fiction or biography for young people aged 12+ published between 1 June 2009 and 31 May 2010, which encourage self-steem and help them to cope with the stresses and challenges of growing up. Nominations are open until 24 April 2010. 10 books will then be chosen for the longlist. Young people, children's authors and mental health professionals will then take part in the judging between May and October to choose the winner. The GBP2,000 prize, which is sponsored by the national reading charity Booktrust, will be presented at an awards ceremony in November 2010"

Geriatric Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation - new journal from SAGE

"Geriatric Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation, a new bimonthly journal being launched in September 2010 by SAGE, will address a broad range of musculoskeletal disorders in the aging patient through peer-reviewed research reports and reviews, technical perspectives, case studies, and other evidence-based articles"

National Book Tokens Gift Card (UK)

National Book Tokens Gift Card (UK)The new National Book Tokens Gift Card - the new way to share your passion for books...

* New National Book Tokens Gift Card are still the perfect gift for any book lover, on any occasion

* They are ideal for book lovers near and far as the only gift cards welcomed in bookshops across the UK

* Offering even more flexibility and convenience, what better way to give a book lover the present they really want!

* National Book Tokens Gift Cards' new contemporary look makes them ideal for all tastes and ages, especially younger recipients

IFLA Presidential Newsletter No. 1 January 2010

IFLA Presidential Newsletter No. 1 January 2010IFLA Presidential Newsletter No. 1 January 2010 from Ellen Tise, IFLA President 2009-2011

Video: Generic social outcomes in public libraries (UK)

Kathy Roddy talking about "Generic social outcomes in public libraries" training course hosted by CILIP Training & Development:

Film Institute launches first digital archive in Wales

The British Film Institute is to launch its first "digital jukebox" in Wales, allowing people to access its archive. In March, Wrexham Library will be the home of the first ever BFI Mediatheque outside England. The system allows people to watch films and TV programmes from the national archive free of charge, and there are currently 1,500 titles available

Global Knowledge Exchange Network

"The Global Knowledge Exchange Network is a community for scholars and practitioners to share and explore new ideas and emerging trends related to scholarly research or everyday practice. More specifically, the community is devoted to understanding the changing role of information - its creation, management, dissemination and use - in scholarly research, higher education and business practice. The project is sponsored jointly by the Harvard Business School Knowledge and Library Services and the Copenhagen Business School Library. The GKEN Founding Team includes Mary Lee Kennedy and Gosia Stergios (Harvard Business School), and René Steffensen and Leif Hansen (Copenhagen Business School)"

2010 ALSC "Light the Way: Library Outreach to the Underserved" grant winner named

"The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has awarded the Fayetteville (Ark.) Public Library its 2010 "Light the Way: Library Outreach to the Underserved" grant. As winner of the grant, the library will receive $3,000 to continue its exceptional outreach to underserved populations. The grant, which is presented in honor of Newbery Medalist and Geisel Honoree Kate DiCamillo, was first given in 2008 as a one-time award. Through the generous contributions of Candlewick Press, the Light the Way grant has been able to continue

Removing barriers: Open Access strategy at the SFU Library (Canada)

"This document outlines support for Open Access publishing being undertaken by the Simon Fraser University Library. In addition to describing current activities, it considers and recommends additional directions. Input was gathered from SFU librarians, and the strategy was unanimously supported by the Senate Library Committee at its meeting January 18, 2010"

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Winners of the 3rd Annual Black Quill Awards

The winners of the third annual Black Quill Awards - honoring the best work in dark horror, suspense and thrillers - were named by Dark Scribe magazine. Editors' choice and readers' choice prizes were given in each category. For novel of the year, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn was the editors' choice and Drood by Dan Simmons the readers' choice. The "Best Small Press Chill" awards went to Kelland by Paul G. Bens Jr. (editors' choice) and As Fate Would Have It by Michael Louis Calvillo (readers' choice)

2009 PROSE Award Winners

The Association of American Publishers has announced the 2009 PROSE Award Winners. "The PROSE Awards annually recognize the very best in professional and scholarly publishing by bringing attention to distinguished books, journals, and electronic content in over 40 categories. Judged by peer publishers, librarians, and medical professionals since 1976, the PROSE Awards are extraordinary for their breadth and depth"

Brown University Library Center for Digital Scholarship

"Formed in 2009 through the merger of the Scholarly Technology Group, the Women Writers Project and the Center for Digital Initiatives, the Center for Digital Scholarship has greatly expanded the Library's ability to support and explore new forms of scholarship. The CDS is developing a cohesive and far-reaching program that supports scholars engaged in creating, using and disseminating scholarly materials in a wide range of digital media. In partnership with faculty and other technology groups on campus, the CDS actively builds digital collections, creates tools for collecting, organizing, preserving, analyzing and authoring digital information and enhances the use of digital collections and related tools to generate new intellectual products. Our talented staff serve as a key resource to faculty and students across a broad range of disciplines to capture and create new knowledge, building the infrastructure and tools needed to support digital scholarship at Brown and across the academic landscape"

Music Online to triple in size (Alexander Street Press)

Alexander Street Press writes: "All of our music listening (in streaming audio) collections will nearly triple in size over the course of 2010, growing from our current total of nearly 263,000 recordings to more than 720,000 by December of this year. Online collections that will see huge increases in numbers of recordings - without a price increase - include:

* Classical Music Library will grow from roughly 64,000 to approximately 155,000 recordings
* Jazz Music Library will grow from roughly 60,000 to approximately 122,000 recordings
* American Song will grow from roughly 69,000 to approximately 114,000 recordings
* Contemporary World Music will grow from roughly 28,000 to approximately 196,000 recordings
* Subscribers to the entire Music Online Listening package (which includes the four collections above as well as Smithsonian Global Sound® for Libraries) will see their number of recordings increase by an additional 140,000 popular music recordings. New popular music content will include a wide mix of genres, from children's music, to new age, film soundtracks, hip-hop/rap, electronic, and rock with artists such as Tonya Tucker, a Flock of Seagulls, Donna Summer, Edith Piaf, Chicago, Iggy Pop, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Lou Reed, Liberace, and many more"

Update: Special sneak peek access to Audio Drama

* The sneak peek is now good through the end of February:

To try Audio Drama for free, go to:
http://radr.alexanderstreet.com
and sign in with these codes:
USERNAME: eviews
PASSWORD: sneakpeek

"Alexander Street and the creators of the critically acclaimed public radio series "The Play's the Thing," have just launched Audio Drama: The L.A. Theatre Works Collection, an exciting new e-resource that lets you listen to hundreds of the world’s best plays online in streaming audio. Optional downloads enable easy listening on the go! Listen to plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov, George Bernard Shaw, Arthur Miller, Bertolt Brecht, Noël Coward, Lillian Hellman, David Mamet, Carson McCullers, Joyce Carol Oates, Neil Simon, Sam Shepard, Oscar Wilde, and dozens of original docudramas. Access it now, registration-free, through Friday, February 12
S

Biblio Tech Review - February 2010

The February 2010 issue of Biblio Tech Review is now available. This issue includes:

* America's First Public Koha Library Chooses ByWater Solutions
* Civica and Bibliotheca in Technology and Commercial Collaboration
* Surpass Software releases version 6 offering newly-designed OPAC
* Relais International and LYRASIS Announce Partnership

E-books and E-content 2010 (UK)

E-books and E-content 2010 - 11 May 2010 - London, UK - "This year's econtent meeting will consider the emerging and fundamental role of data as content. Once confined to analysts and researchers, raw data in the form of databases, databanks, images and spreadsheets has become easier to store, easier to make accessible and even to publish. This in turn has led to expectations from users as to its availability and prompted the need for a range of tools and techniques to deal with the burgeoning demand. Key issues are: how can such content be managed to ensure its longevity through digital curation and systematic preservation; the need for new standards to enable links with traditional formats and the narrower world of regular scholarly publishing; metadata and taxonomy - how we describe datasets and make them accessible and searchable; and perhaps of most concern, issues of validity and accuracy"

Berghahn Books Librarian's Newsletter – February 2010

Berghahn Books Librarian's Newsletter – February 2010 issue is now available

Treasures of Lambeth Palace Library Exhibition: Summer 2010

Treasures of Lambeth Palace Library Exhibition: Summer 2010"Lambeth Palace Library is one of the earliest public libraries in England, founded in 1610 under the will of Archbishop Richard Bancroft. In celebration of its 400th anniversary in 2010, the Library is opening a fascinating exhibition to the public in the Great Hall of Lambeth Palace. The exhibition draws upon the Library's incomparably rich and diverse collections of manuscripts, archives and books, some of which will be on display for the first time. It reveals how the collections have developed since 1610 and explores the history surrounding the people who owned, studied or used them as aids to prayer and devotion" - 17 May to 23 July 2010

New UK government publications - 7-12 February 2010

The latest round up of new UK government publications this week - 7-12 February 2010 from Intute and the LSE Library

OverDrive audiobook app now available in Android™ market

"OverDrive has announced that its audiobook app for Android is now out of beta and available as a full release. OverDrive's audiobook app for Android enables users to wirelessly download MP3 audiobooks from more than 10,000 libraries and major online retailers, including Barnesandnoble.com, BooksOnBoard.com, and Borders.com. Major devices, including DROID by Motorola, DROID Eris, and Nexus One, can now be used to access OverDrive-supplied MP3 audiobooks on the go"

Blackwell Reference Online now also accessible via Reference Universe

"Paratext has announced the addition of links to 450 e-titles within Blackwell Reference Online from the Reference Universe platform. Blackwell Reference Online brings together Wiley-Blackwell's critically acclaimed Blackwell Companions and Handbooks, as well as major encyclopedias. Reference Universe is the only cross-searchable library database that supports article and index-level discovery of reference materials from more than 750 publishers and imprints"

HathiTrust Digital Library - Update On January 2010 Activities

HathiTrust Digital Library - Update On January 2010 Activities:

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Asian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Mediascape : UCLA's Journal of Cinema and Media Studies

Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences

Comparative Philosophy

Ecologia Balkanica

REVY. Tidsskrift for Danmarks Forskningsbiblioteksforening

Psychology & Society

Journal of Computing

SJWEH Supplements

Arbeitstitel : Forum für Leipziger Promovierende

Asian Journal of Medical Sciences

Current Research Journal of Biological Sciences

Chemical Bulletin of "Politehnica" University of Timisoara

Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Agricultura

Casopis Beskydy

International Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances

International Journal of Research and Reviews in Applied Sciences

Internationale Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Psychosomatik

Revista de Homeopatia

International Journal of Engineering and Technology

Archiving for the Future: using archives to enhance learning and teaching in drama and theatre studies (UK)

This event is being organised in conjunction with the Institute for Performing Arts Development at the University of East London and the CEDAR (Clustering and Enhancing Digital Archives for Research) project: a unique approach to clustering and enhancing digital theatre archives through a collaboration between UEL, Royal Holloway, Sheffield and Nottingham universities as well as Kings College, London. The day will consist of a series of presentations of good practice in using digital archives with undergraduate and postgraduate students. It will include an opportunity for delegates to experiment and reflect on the use of archives for their own practice. The target audience for the event is: drama/theatre studies lecturers, researchers, theatre historians, digital and web-practitioners, archivists, library and learning support service staff. Topics covered will include:

* The use of the East London Theatre Archive for undergraduate theatre students;
* The connection between archives and web-based platforms for learning;
* Making archives 'living' through the user-interface.

The event aims to provide an opportunity for the sharing of teaching pedagogies and an open forum for the discussion of methodological and other concerns. Date not set

CARL E-Lert # 364

CARL E-Lert # 364, February 19, 2010 from Canadian Association of Research Libraries. Some of this week's items: Action needed to recognize the value of intellectual property for Canada; Google book scanning: Cultural theft or freedom of information?; Leading Change in the System of Scholarly Communication: A Case Study of Engaging Liaison Librarians for Outreach to Faculty; When Scholars Weigh Publication Options, Tradition Counts

CARL E-Lert # 363

CARL E-Lert # 363, February 12, 2010 from Canadian Association of Research Libraries. Some of this week's items: Copyright Board makes controversial schools ruling; Ulrich Werneburg appointed Project Manager at Canadiana.org; The Anatomy of a LargeScale Social Search Engine; E-Library Economics

Friday, February 12, 2010

"What is your library doing about emerging technologies?" - call for participation

"ALA LITA Emerging Technologies Interests Group is seeking participants to a panel discussion - "What are your libraries doing about emerging technologies" at ALA Annual 2010 at Washington D.C. We are particularly interested in identifying librarians, library administrators, and technology experts who can contribute to the following (but not limited) topics:

• What do we mean when we say "emerging technologies"?
• What motivates libraries and administrators to create a new position for "emerging technologies"?
• What are the daily tasks performed or projects achieved by (emerging) technology librarians at your libraries?
• What are the challenges for emerging technologies for libraries? (From both a manager's, a librarian's, or a technologist's perspective )
• How do you evaluate, implement and adopt emerging technologies?
• What should libraries be doing about emerging technologies?"

Haringey hosts literary festival (UK)

"Book lovers both young and old have a treat in store. Haringey Council's libraries service has organised a literary festival in March, with events for both children and young people as well as for adults. From Iran to Hornsey and Xanadu to Dick Turpin, there'll be something for everyone. Award-winning authors will be talking about their work, there will be tutorials for people interested in writing, dynamic performance poetry sessions and readings from books. Film adaptations of books will also be shown during the festival, as well as music events and a book group event for blind and partially sighted people. It's the second year that a literary festival has been held in the borough. Cllr Dhiren Basu, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Lifelong Learning, said: 'This festival is a great way to encourage more people of all ages to read more and to raise interest in literature'"