C&RL News seeks cover art

College & Research Libraries News is looking for images from library collections to feature on upcoming covers

Piped music in libraries may encourage young people in, but it risks forcing older readers out

"A spokeswoman described it as "quiet background #music"; a user said it was a song by the Sugababes. It is not for me to decide whether or not the two claims are compatible. The debate was about the decision by the Gloucestershire libraries service to introduce piped music into some of its libraries. The majority of visitors enjoyed the atmosphere, the spokeswoman said, and the library at the centre of the alleged Sugababes outrage has been "very busy since we introduced music". The complaining borrower, however, aged 76, found that she couldn't concentrate on choosing her books because of the thumping background beat." - The Guardian

Judy Krug Memorial 1940-2009

A memorial video to intellectual freedom legend Judith Krug, the long-time director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom and Freedom to Read Foundation, featuring messages from colleagues, interviews featuring Judy, and photos of Judy from throughout her career.

Earth Day 2009

"Earth Day, celebrated April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year. This date is Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere"

Bards in the Bog update

"Launched in February 2009, the Bards in the Bog project displays original poetry in Shetland's public toilets. Poet Jen Hadfield has selected the first six poems. They are published here as well as on the toilet doors. The standard was extremely high, with entries from around the world. Congratulations to our published poets. There will be two more chances to submit poems for Bards in the Bog - advertised later this year"

PulpFest 2009

PulpFest 2009 "is a new and improved version of the venerable convention catering to fans and collectors of vintage popular fiction" - July 31 to Aug 2 - Columbus, Ohio, USA. Subscribe to the RSS feed

RecordKeeping magazine - April 2009

The April 2009 edition of RecordKeeping magazine is now available to download. This quarterly magazine is aimed at archivists, records managers, and everyone involved and interested in archives and records. Highlights of this issue include:
* BT Archives launches its online catalogue
* Supporting religious archives in the UK
* Digital preservation roadshow 2009

Marsh's Library: a mirror on the world

Marsh's Library: a mirror on the world: Law, learning and libraries, 1650–1750. Muriel McCarthy & Ann Simmons, editors. In 1707 an act of parliament established Marsh’s Library as 'a publick library for ever'. This volume contains the papers presented at a conference to commemorate the 1707 act which took place in the library in October 2007. The topics covered were 'Parliament and Legislation', 'Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment' and 'Collectors and Collections'. Muriel McCarthy has been Keeper of the library since 1989. The second edition of her book on the library, Marsh's Library: all graduates and gentlemen, was published by Four Courts Press in 2003. Ann Simmons has worked at Marsh's Library for fifteen years and is Deputy Keeper of the library

CLIR Issues - Number 68

CLIR Issues - Number 68, March/April 2009 - is now available from the Council on Library and Information Resources

2009 Pulitzer Prizewinners and Nominated Finalists

The 2009 Pulitzer Prizewinners and Nominated Finalists have been announced

2009 Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award announced by the Canadian Library Association

"The Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques has announced that the 2009 Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award is being presented to Barbara Clubb. The Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award is generously sponsored by Bowker. As noted by one nominator, 'For many people, Barbara Clubb's name is synonymous with outstanding service to libraries. There is no type of library or library service that is not of interest to her. Barb combines great intellect, energy and curiosity, all in support of providing the best possible service to library users. She is a library advocate at every opportunity, great or small.' The fact that the Award Committee received two independent nominations for Ms. Clubb for this award, both heaping praise on her long list of accomplishments, is further testament to her leadership and vision in a career spanning over forty years in Canadian libraries."

Google News Timeline

Google News Timeline - "a new feature on Google Labs that organizes many different types of search results on a zoomable, graphical timeline. Google News Timeline presents search results from a wide range of sources. You can search and browse results from Google News, including headlines, quotes, photos from Google's Hosted News partners, and YouTube partner videos. You can also search for thousands of archival newspapers and magazines from Google News Archive Search and Google Book Search"

The World Digital Library is now live

The World Digital Library makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world. The principal objectives of the WDL are to:

* Promote international and intercultural understanding;
* Expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet;
* Provide resources for educators, scholars, and general audiences;
* Build capacity in partner institutions to narrow the digital divide within and between countries.

LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #68

LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #68. "This week's episode of LISTen is dedicated to recently departed freedom crusader Judith Krug. A news analysis is presented relative to a censorship matter. Coming back from a stand-down, the episode is kept short intentionally". Previous Podcasts can be found here

Pulitzer Prize First Edition Collecting Guide

The Pulitzer Prize First Edition Collecting Guide provides all the details necessary to help you identify first edition Pulitzer Prize for Fiction books

28th Annual Course on International Law Librarianship

28th Annual Course on International Law Librarianship - 11-15 October 2009 - Istanbul, Turkey

2009 Indies Choice Book Award winners (USA)

"The American Booksellers Association has announced the winners of the inaugural Indies Choice Book Awards. Formerly the Book Sense Book of the Year Awards, the new Indies Choice Book Awards reflect the spirit of independent bookstores nationwide through new categories and a broader range of winners and honor books"

NTIS Technical Reports Newsletter - April 2009

NTIS Technical Reports Newsletter - Volume 1, Number 10, April 2009 is now available from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA, USA

Warminster’s new mobile library van takes to the roads (UK)

"Wiltshire Council will be helping to make a difference for people in the Warminster area when a brand new mobile library vehicle with additional facilities takes to the roads. The new van will be launched on Friday April 24 at Sutton Veny School at 9.45am. The Warminster mobile library route is concentrated in the west and south of the county and visits over 70 locations, including, Bishopstrow, Tilshead, Dilton Marsh and Staverton. It visits 12 village schools and is used by hundreds of school children. The new mobile library has a computer terminal on board with internet access for the public to use at the longer stops, and holds over 2,000 items. These cover reading for all ages from picture books, to books in large print, audiobooks and DVD’s. It has over 1,500 members and issues more than 30,000 items per year"

Iran National Library to boost ties with Asian, European institutions

The Iran National Library and Archive will sign memorandums of understanding with libraries in several Asian and European countries in near future, INLA director Ali-Akbar Ash'ari told ISNA. INLA will sign the MOUs with Austria, Macedonia, China and Ukraine in the near future to boost cultural ties between Iran and the other countries, he said. The director of the Austrian National Library and the delegation will travel Tehran to visit INLA and sign agreements with the library in the near future, he said. Despite the negative propaganda of the western media, Iran is ready to sign agreements with other countries to manifest Iran's capabilities and present a true picture of the country, he mentioned - NetNative

Tenso via Project Muse

Tenso, published by Société Guilhem IX, is now available via Project Muse

OCLC presents outcomes from Symposium for Publishers and Librarians

OCLC recently hosted a Symposium for Publishers and Librarians to explore metadata needs and practices. View the report and outcomes

All 1911 census records for England now online

The 1911 census records for Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland - 443,204 new records - are now available to search and download on 1911census.co.uk. The records for Gateshead have also been added to the county of Durham. With completion of work on these counties, the service now covers the whole of England. The Welsh counties will be added soon; the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as naval and overseas military records, will be made available over the coming months. 1911census.co.uk is run by findmypast, in association with The National Archives

Podcast: Naturalisation and alien registration (UK)

Using records at The National Archives, this talk examines the various Alien Acts that affected the status of foreigners resident in the UK from the 19th century, and the reasons why so many chose to become naturalised British citizens

EDUCAUSE Review March/April 2009

EDUCAUSE Review Volume 44, Number 2, March/April 2009 is now available online

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

International Journal for Researcher Development

Sustainability

ASEAS : Österreichische Zeitschrift für Südostasienwissenschaften

Acta Cientifica Estudiantil

Science of Tsunami Hazards

Doctor Virtualis

International Journal of Wine Research

International Medical Case Reports Journal

Journal of Asthma and Allergy

Journal of Inflammation Research

Journal of Pain Research

Medical Devices: Evidence and Research

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis in Social Sciences

Technology Interface Journal

InDret

Bangladesh Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Clinical and Experimental Gastroenterology

Clinical Epidemiology

Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology

Facta Universitatis : Series Physical Education and Sport

Infection and Drug Resistance

Journal of Automation, Mobile Robotics & Intelligent Systems

Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies

Transformative Works and Cultures

International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Computational Biology and Chemistry : Advances and Applications

Éducation et Francophonie

Human Genomics and Proteomics

Revista de História Regional

Stem Cells and Cloning : Advances and Applications

Digital Repositories Research Group (DR-RG)

"The goal of the Digital Repositories Research Group (DR-RG) is to analyze how digital repositories can be built on top of federated storage infrastructure, focusing on the exploitation of existing data-related standards and the identification of need for new or revised data-related standards"

Groups on WebJunction

WebJunction members have created nearly 100 groups. They are now listed on a single page. WebJunction is an online community where library staff meet to share ideas, solve problems, take online courses

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Animals. Answers here.

1. Is a "merino" a type of cow, goat or sheep?
2. The ostrich cannot fly. Is this true or false?
3. Is someone who studies butterflies and moths called an entomologist, a lepidopterist or an ornithologist?
4. What is the usual word for the larva of a frog or toad?
5. Which German breed of dog has a name which means "badger dog"?
6. If a horse is "piebald", its coat has large patches of which two colours?
7. Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" is about a group of four humanlike animals. What are three of the four animals?
8. Which is normally taller and heavier: the Indian elephant or the African elephant?
9. Aardvarks exist mainly on a diet of which other animal?
10. There are two species of camel: the Arabian and the Bactrian. Which of these species has only one hump?

Quintura relaunches its Quintura.com search destination homepage

"Quintura, a visual-based search engine, has announced the re-launch of its search destination homepage, Quintura.com. The new homepage on Quintura.com simplifies access to online search services offered by Quintura such as web search, site search and kids-friendly search. The new 'look and feel' of Quintura.com is fueled by demand from Quintura users including online publishers, web masters and search engine industry professionals"

Primary Source - April 2009

Primary Source - April 2009 issue now available from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Washington, DC, USA

Boards recommend NELINET join Lyrasis

"The Boards of Directors of NELINET and Lyrasis approved a resolution to recommend NELINET join Lyrasis. Together, Lyrasis and NELINET will comprise the largest membership collaborative of its kind serving more than 4,500 libraries and cultural heritage institutions in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Southeastern United States. The leadership of both organizations recognize this is an exciting opportunity for these successful, membership-driven organizations to join together to serve their diverse library communities."

FreePint Newsletter 275

FreePint Newsletter 275 - 16 April, 2009 now available

Copyright and E-learning A guide for practitioners by Jane Secker

Copyright and E-learning: A guide for practitioners by Jane Secker. This book is essential reading for anyone working in education including learning support staff and teachers using e-learning, learning technologists, librarians, educational developers, instructional designers, IT staff and teachers. It is also relevant for anyone working in the education sector from school level to higher education, and those developing learning resources in commercial organisations and the public sector including libraries, museums and archives, and government departments. Published in December 2009

CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award 2009 finalists

"Leeds librarians help and support local families whose children have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with advice and the use of picture communication software; an Edinburgh initiative encourages and promotes reading as a normal activity for vulnerable young people in residential care; and a national project that involves a range of local libraries to give book-shy adults the chance to enjoy reading for pleasure are all in the running for the 2009 CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award. The winner of the award will be announced by the 2008-2009 Poet Laureate and Chair of the Museums Libraries and Archives Council, Andrew Motion, on 15 July 2009 at CILIP's biennial Umbrella 2009 conference, held at The DeHavilland Campus, University of Herfordshire in Hatfield"

The State of America's Libraries Report 2009

"The value of libraries in communities across the country continued to grow in 2008 - and accelerated dramatically as the national economy sank and people looked for cost effective resources in a time of crisis, according to the American Library Association's annual State of America's Libraries report, released as part of National Library Week, April 12-18, 2009. U.S. libraries experienced a dramatic increase in library card registration as the public continues to turn to their local library for free services. More than 68 percent of Americans have a library card. This is the greatest number of Americans with library cards since the American Library Association started to measure library card usage in 1990, according to a 2008 Web poll conducted by Harris Interactive. The report also says library usage soared as Americans visited their libraries nearly 1.4 billion times and checked out more than 2 billion items in the past year, an increase of more than 10 percent in both checked out items and library visits, compared to data from the last economic downturn in 2001"

Early Manuscripts of Anselm: a discussion with five manuscripts

The Bodleian Library, Lambeth Palace Library, and Trinity College Cambridge present Early Manuscripts of Anselm: a discussion with five manuscripts - Bodleian Library, Oxford, Monday, 27 April, 2009 10:30 am-4:30 pm, New Library Seminar Room. The manuscripts themselves will be present. It is intended that there should be ample opportunity for discussion

Books lent out to Tube commuters (UK)

Books are being loaned to commuters on the London Underground in a scheme aimed at giving readers an alternative to free newspapers. Novels are handed out free to commuters outside five Tube stations once a month in the Choose What You Read scheme. They are returned the following month or to a central London "drop" box. Co-founder Alfie Boyd said: "Everyone enjoys reading a nice story rather than about a useless celebrity that no-one really cares about too much." He began the scheme with friend Claire Wilson to give commuters an alternative to the "tonnes of free newspapers dished out and thrown away every day" - BBC. The Choose What You Read website is here

The David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy shortlist

The shortlist for The David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy has been announced:

* Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
* Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
* The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
* Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
* The Way of Shadows by Brent Week

Librarians' Internet Index - New This Week

Librarians' Internet Index - New This Week - April 16, 2009

The Bloomsbury Library Online

A message from Colin Midson, Acting Publicity Director, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, UK:

Bloomsbury is set to transform the relationship between publishers and libraries, and between libraries and readers, with an innovative development in public lending: The Bloomsbury Library Online. At a time when the British library system is under pressure to reach larger audiences with tighter budgets, and when the reading public is feeling the pinch, Bloomsbury is launching a unique, affordable and user-friendly online initiative. In association with www.exacteditions.com and using existing technology in libraries across the country, Bloomsbury is rolling out a groundbreaking e-lending strategy which will allow readers to read collections of bestselling books at local library terminals or with the use of a library card on home computers and internet enabled devices.

The Bloomsbury Library Online will consist of a number of themed shelves: children's books, sports titles, international fiction, Shakespeare plays, reference books and more. They will launch with a shelf of Book Group titles including Galaxy Book of the Year, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, by Kate Summerscale, Orange Prize longlisted Burnt Shadows, by Kamila Shamsie, word-of-mouth phenomenon The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer, and international bestseller The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri. Embracing the advantages of the online format, users will be able to read the book, search the text, access author interviews, reviews, press features, and links to specially commissioned reading group guides.

How will it work?
• The Bloomsbury Library Online will be sold on subscription - libraries will subscribe to a bookshelf for a year at a time and will pay according to the size of population served.
• New titles will be added on a continuous basis - free of charge within the subscription year.
• Users will click through from the Library terminals or through an online portal accessible via any web browser (including those found on iPhone and Blackberry) anytime, anywhere in the UK.
• Text accessible through screen readers and therefore available to blind and partially-sighted users.

Bloomsbury Executive Director Richard Charkin said "Libraries are hugely important to readers, communities and authors and are under severe financial constraints. While never forgetting the importance of books themselves, they're also being pressured to adapt to the demands of the 21st century: bridging the digital divide, serving multicultural communities, attracting new users and reaching into homes. The Bloomsbury Library Online serves to fill that hole and will hopefully blaze a trail for similar developments in the library system."

Kate Summerscale added: "I'm delighted that The Suspicions of Mr Whicher will be part of The Bloomsbury Library Online - it sounds a great scheme, especially for book groups."

The system is set to go live on May 4th 2009.

For further information please contact Colin Midson on +44 207 494 6054 or email on colin.midson@bloomsbury.com
To find out more about Exact Editions, please contact Daryl Rayner on +44 207 554 8632 or email on daryl.rayner@exacteditions.com

The Crystal Palace Children's Book Festival (UK)

The Crystal Palace Children's Book Festival takes place 24-26 April 2009 at the Upper Norwood Joint Library in London. Authors include:
* Alex Milway
* Alexander Gordon Smith
* Guy Bass
* Sarah Horne
* Sarwat Chadda
* Sue Eves
* Viviane Schwarz

International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics via Project Muse

International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, published by Indiana University Press, is available via Project Muse

The complete works of Mendelssohn online at the Bavarian State Library

The complete works of Felix Mendelssohn are available online at the Bavarian State Library through a partnership with Google Books

Reality Bites: Periodicals Price Survey 2009

Library Journal: "As waves of grim economic news wash over state and federal governments here and abroad, libraries of all types and sizes are bracing for budget cuts the likes of which have not been seen in three generations. Unlike most financial crises, this one is ubiquitous, with all but a handful of states in the red and getting redder. Globally, the meltdown is playing havoc with currencies, and the cost of journals priced in currencies other than the pound, the euro, or the U.S. dollar have skyrocketed. Severe losses in endowment revenue, which in the past insulated materials budgets to a degree, have left even larger and wealthier libraries facing cuts..."

Cites & Insights 9:6 (May 2009)

Cites & Insights 9:6 (May 2009) is now available for downloading

The University of Ottawa's Cochrane Center now offers Canadians free access to the health information found in The Cochrane Library

"The Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre has announced that everyone in Canada with access to the Internet will be able to view the full content of The Cochrane Library, an on-line resource that provides evaluations on health treatments

What future for Digital Information - order or anarchy?

What future for Digital Information - order or anarchy?: "Librarians, information professionals and publishers all face major new challenges and opportunities as they meet increasing demand for high-quality digital content. To help them find a way through the digital maze, CILIP has launched a major new conference for all those affected by the impact of this irreversible trend" - 17 November 2009 - London, UK

RFID in Libraries Conference 2009

RFID in Libraries Conference 2009 - November 10, 2009 - London, UK

The Newbery and Caldecott Awards: A Guide to the Medal and Honor Books, 2009 Edition

"ALA Editions, the publishing imprint of the American Library Association, is releasing The Newbery and Caldecott Awards: A Guide to the Medal and Honor Books, 2009 Edition by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). This annual guide covers the most distinguished American children's literature and illustration. Librarians and teachers everywhere have come to rely on updated content for quick reference, collection and curriculum development and readers' advisory. With a fresh look and format, locating information on the award-winning books is easier than ever before"

Celebrate National Bookmobile Day during National Library Week 2010

From ALA: "Bookmobiles and direct-delivery outreach services are an integral, vital part of libraries around the country. Their contribution to public life will be recognized during National Bookmobile Day, Wednesday, April 14, 2010, as part of National Library Week. National Library Week is an annual celebration of the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate. For more than 100 years, bookmobiles have served rural, urban, suburban and tribal areas, bringing access to information and life-long learning resources to all classes and communities as a central part of library service. National Bookmobile Day will serve to highlight their value and extend their reach."

Digital Library Federation to continue programs in Council on Library and Information Resources

"The Board of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) has voted to merge the Digital Library Federation (DLF) into CLIR as a program of the Council, starting July 1, 2009. The vote follows recommendations by a DLF Review Committee in March 2009 to merge the two organizations, and a unanimous vote of consent by the DLF Board on April 8. With the merger, DLF's current members will become "charter sponsors" of the DLF program at CLIR. CLIR will hire a program officer to lead DLF initiatives. CLIR will continue to convene forums and will also convene special thematic sessions, with a goal of more in-depth exploration of collaborative activities."

Gates Foundation and OCLC will develop community-based awareness campaign to increase support for libraries

"The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a $5 million grant to the OCLC library cooperative to develop a public information campaign that will help public library leaders heighten awareness of the needs of local libraries and increase support for the services they provide during these challenging times. OCLC will pilot the campaign in select areas of Georgia and Iowa starting this summer as well as a limited number of other communities which will be selected later this spring. Later in the year, OCLC will make available community awareness campaign materials and other guides to assist library leaders throughout the country in their efforts to strengthen support for local libraries."

Wales' past to go online

"GBP2m will be allocated from the Assembly Government's Strategic Capital Investment Fund specifically to digitise 2 million pages of newspapers and magazines relating to Wales. The publications date as far back as the 18th century and covering up to 300 titles from children's magazines like Cymru'r Plant to popular newspapers such as the Star of Gwent, Tarian y Gweithiwr, Herald y Rhos and the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. Readers will be able to read first-hand accounts of events like the Chartist march on Newport, the Rebecca riots, early rugby and football matches and vital snippets which could help with vital clues for family and local history. The site will form an easily accessible teaching and research library for every university, school, college and home across Wales. It will help to address the shortage of online learning materials relating to the culture, history and identity of Wales and will create the largest body of Welsh language material yet published online"

Public Library Journal articles available online (UK)

To improve accessibility and attract new readers, Public Library Journal is making all its articles fully available online, nine months after publication of the print version. Articles from Spring 2008 are now available

Library Connect - January 2009

Library Connect Volume 7, No 1, January 2009 is now available from Elsevier

Library 2.0 Gang Podcast: April 2009: The mess of ERM

"Electronic Resource Management has evolved alongside Integrated Library Systems over the last decade, reaching a point today where many would agree it is a bit of a mess." - Richard Wallis

Librareo 2009 "Power to the user" Ad Madness

"This year's Librareo video contest challenges you to create a one-minute commercial describing how libraries bring needed services to communities in challenging times"

Credo Reference content expands to include EBSCO Publishing linking

"Customers of Credo Reference and EBSCO Publishing now have access to more content thanks to a new custom linking agreement. Mutual customers of Credo Reference and EBSCOhost are now able to expand their searches and easily link from one resource into the other.Credo Reference is now able to offer custom linking results to related subjects in EBSCOhost. The linking agreement will allow Credo Reference customers to start a search in Credo Reference and continue the same search into EBSCOhost. In Credo, users will see a link in the result list that says 'continue search in EBSCOhost' while in EBSCOhost, users will see a link in the result list that says, "Search for related subjects through Credo Reference.""

DSpace 1.5.2 stable released

This release is primarily a bug fix release incorporating numerous bug fixes and enhancements:

- SWORD module/version 1.3.1 supporting the sword standard version 1.3
- cocoon upgraded to 2.2
- fix for the UTF-8 issues with the XMLUI
- new authentication methods: Hierarchical LDAP and Shibboleth
- full update translations: German, Italian for both XMLUI and JSPUI and Ukrainian for JSPUI
- new translations for 1.5.x: Greek and Thai
- graceful resolver for urn in the item page for the JSPUI

Specify 6

"After more than twelve developer years of design and engineering and over two million USD of investment, the Specify Software Team is delighted to release Specify 6 for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux desktops. Specify is a client-server database platform for museums and herbaria which processes specimen information for computerizing holdings, managing collection management transactions, and for mobilizing species occurrence data to the web. Specify is free and open source software licensed under the GNU GPL2. Downloadable installation packages for all three desktop flavors as well as Specify's Java source code are linked to this site. Specify is an integration platform that will transform biological collections computing. Specify's network savvy and pluggable architecture is designed for adding web service links and functional extensions. With our open source model, we look forward to community software development collaboration to extend Specify to bring specimen data to broader computational research and networking initiatives in the environmental sciences"

ACRL launches redesigned web site

"The update is the result of an extensive planning and redesign process in order to better serve the information-seeking needs of the ACRL membership and general public. The results of an ACRL membership survey informed the redesign process, with many suggestions on usability incorporated into the final design"

Electronic Collection Development for the Academic E-Library

Electronic Collection Development for the Academic E-Library: An ACRL Online Seminar - May 18 to June 6, 2009. "In this hands-on course you will learn to create an academic e-library collection development plan for free and fee-based Web-accessible resources for a patron community of your choice. Students will focus on developing a collection plan for one library patron group of their choice. Patron groups may include: faculty, students, researchers, general public, subject specialists, etc. This collection plan will be developed in five parts. Each part includes lecture, discussion and hands-on activities that will step participants through creating or assessing a collection plan for developing a e-library collection"

Radio LPL at Live365.com (Liverpool Public Library, NY)

"Radio LPL is produced by Liverpool Public Library in Liverpool, New York. Tune in for selections from the library's collection of music recordings. We feature classical, jazz, popular, folk, musicals, new age, soundtracks, and local artists"

Webcast: Podcasting for Libraries

Podcasting for Libraries - Live Webcast - June 2, 2009 - 11 a.m Pacific; 12:00 p.m. Mountain; 1:00 p.m. Central; 2:00 p.m. Eastern - 1.5 hours. "Webcast description: Podcasting is like an Internet radio show, or a blog with audio. It uses the power of RSS syndication to automatically deliver new episodes to listeners. There are millions of podcasts available, covering nearly any topic imaginable. Any library can produce a podcast using free software and inexpensive hardware. If you can post to a blog and talk into a microphone, you can create a podcast. How can your library use podcasting as a tool for teaching, promotion, outreach and programming?"

Joint Conference on Digital Libraries 2009

Joint Conference on Digital Libraries 2009 - June 15-19, 2009 - Austin, Texas, USA. Conference RSS Feed

Baker & Taylor launches Digital Media Services Group

Baker & Taylor has launched its new Digital Media Services group, to better support the escalating demand from its publishers and clients for bundled physical and digital media distribution services

University of Kentucky Libraries' online African American history tool wins RUSA award

"Robert A. Aken II, Web administration librarian and Reinette F. Jones, diversity and multicultural activities librarian, both of the University of Kentucky Libraries, have won the 2009 Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services for the University of Kentucky Libraries' Notable Kentucky African Americans (NKAA) Database. The award is administered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) and is given to a library or library system for development of an imaginative and unique resource to meet patrons' reference needs. The NKAA Database was selected not only for its role as an important educational tool, but its unique patron-driven approach to African American history both within and beyond the state of Kentucky. In the four years of the database's existence, it has grown and adapted to meet research needs and to accommodate the voluminous contributions of both library patrons and researchers. It has also had local and national impact, easily serving a broad audience thanks to its user-friendly search interface"

Third OCLC Research Software Contest

OCLC Research is once again celebrating libraries, archives and museums, and their heritage of technological innovation, by sponsoring a software contest to encourage innovation in the use of web-based services

InSITE - April 6, 2009

InSITE: A Current Awareness Service of Cornell Law Library - Vol. 14, No. 16, April 6, 2009 is now available

"Getting Started" in HeinOnline webinar

The HeinOnline webinar, on April 15, 2009, will aid new users in the following areas:
- Logging in to the database and accessing the content
- Navigating from one collection to another
- How to navigate within the content using the interface (viewing table of contents, using search tools, finding a citation, using title lookup)
- How to use the Field and Advanced Search options providing specific examples from the Law Journal Library, CFR, and U.S. Supreme Court Libraries
- How to print/download documents
- Where to find additional help and resources for specific collections

ARL selects Research Library Leadership Fellows for 2009–10

The Association of Research Libraries has selected 21 individuals to participate in the 2009-10 ARL Research Library Leadership Fellows Program. "This executive leadership program meets the increasing demands for succession planning for research libraries with a new approach to preparing the next generation of deans and directors. Library directors are seeking a cohort of well-trained and sophisticated candidates who possess the necessary experience and perspective to succeed in premier leadership positions in large, complex institutions. The RLLF Program provides such a cohort"

Edinburgh International Book Festival 2009

Edinburgh International Book Festival 2009 - 15-31 August 2009 - Edinburgh, Scotland

Judith Krug, founder of Banned Books Week, dies

"Judith Krug, left, a director of the Chicago-based American Library Association and a founder of its Banned Books Week, has died. She was 69. Judith Platt, president of the ALA's Freedom to Read Foundation, says Krug (KROOG) died late Saturday at Evanston Hospital in suburban Chicago following a battle with stomach cancer. She says Krug had been ill for more than a year. She had been head of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom since 1967. Banned Books Weeks has been observed since 1982 during the last week of September. ALA officials say the event celebrates intellectual freedom."

ProQuest encourages libraries to explore popular advocacy program tools and dervices during National Library Week

"ProQuest is celebrating National Library Week by encouraging libraries to take advantage of the company's popular advocacy program. The program includes tools and services that help librarians connect with their user communities, free database access and scholarship support for library students, and awards to recognize outstanding library school educators and those who protect intellectual freedom."

The Edward C. Simpson Antiquarian Book Auction, 22nd April 2009

"One of the most significant private collections of rare books in Australasia is about to go under the hammer in Wellington. The collection includes a page from one of the world's first printed books and manuscripts that are nearly 1,000 years old. The books are so valuable; they are kept under lock and key. "We're talking old books and really significant from the 12th 13th century on through to the 18th century," says Anthony Gallagher, Dunbar Sloane Auction House. The books have survived plagues, book burnings and bloody wars. One of the oldest books in the collection is a Persian manuscript, written in 1059, making the pages nearly 1000 years old. Before settling in Wellington, the collection's late owner Ted Simpson was a librarian at England's John Rylands Library which holds one of Europe's best collections of rare books."

Fifth Annual New York Round Table Writers' Conference

Fifth Annual New York Round Table Writers' Conference - April 24-25, 2009 - New York, USA

Amazon 'glitch' removes sales rank from gay books

From AP - "A "glitch" on Amazon.com has caused the sales rank to be removed from gay- and/or lesbian-themed books by James Baldwin, Gore Vidal and others. "There was a glitch in our systems and it's being fixed," Amazon's director of corporate communications, Patty Smith, said in an e-mail Sunday. As of Sunday night, books without rankings included Baldwin's "Giovanni's Room," Vidal's "The City and the Pillar" and Jeanette Winterson's "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit." The removals prompted furious remarks on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere online. Craig Seymour, author of the gay memoir "All I Could Bare," wrote on his blog Sunday that his sales rank was dropped in February, then restored nearly four weeks later, after he was told by Amazon that his book had been "classified as an Adult product.""

SUNCAT Newsletter - March 2009

SUNCAT Newsletter - Issue 7: March 2009 is now available online. SUNCAT = The Serials Union Catalogue for the UK

Seventh International Conference on the Book

Seventh International Conference on the Book - 16-18 October 2009 - Edinburgh, Scotland

OCLC Research releases software suite to help museums exchange data

"Made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the software was released as part of the OCLC Research Museum Data Exchange project. This project supported the RLG Partnership and its art museum partners in defining the requirements for tools, and created or contracted the creation of software. The suite of tools allows museums to share information about collection items and digital images from their own institutions with other art museums, and with content aggregators such as ARTstor or OCLC. Participating museums include Harvard Art Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Art; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Princeton University Art Museum; and Yale University Art Museum"

New journals from Inderscience Publishers

International Journal of Autonomic Computing

International Journal of Computational Intelligence in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology

International Journal of Information and Coding Theory

International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation

More than 9,000 National Academies Reports now available in open access

"The National Academies has announced the completion of the first phase of a partnership with Google to digitize the library's collection of reports from 1863 to 1997, making them available – free, searchable, and in full text - through Google Book Search. The Academies hope that wider availability of its reports will be of use to scientists in developing countries as well as researchers and historians"

Canadian Library Association announces 2009 Young Adult Book Award winner and Honour Books

The Young Adult Services Interest Group of the Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques has announced the 2009 Young Adult Canadian Book Award winner and Honour Books for books published in 2008. The award is generously sponsored by Tutor.com. Chanda's Wars by Allan Stratton, published by HarperCollins, is the winner. The Honour Books are Would You by Marthe Jocelyn, published by Tundra Books, and The Apprentice's Masterpiece by Melanie Little, published by Annick Press

Atwood, Newman, Whyte vie for National Business Book Award

"Margaret Atwood, Peter C. Newman and Kenneth Whyte are among finalists for this year's National Business Book Award. Atwood is up for Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. Better known for her works of fiction than books about business, Atwood is "an intelligent outsider who seams together patterns and facts that provide context to the current crisis and where it slots into the human experience," said a statement from prize organizers. Newman is shortlisted for Izzy: The Passionate Life and Turbulent Times of Izzy Asper, Canada's Media Mogul. The book profiles the entrepreneur who founded CanWest Global Communications Corp. Whyte's book The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst looks at the American tycoon's early life and the growth of his newspaper holdings. The other finalists are Gordon Pitts for Stampede: The Rise of the West and Canada's New Power Elite and Relentless: The True Story of the Man behind Rogers Communications, written by Ted Rogers and Robert Brehl. The winner, who receives $20,000, will be announced May 7. The award is sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and BMO Financial Group." - CBC

Making Information Pay 2009

"BISG's Making Information Pay 2009 conference will feature high-level data analysis and practical advice designed to help book executives understand how to weather today's shifting sales channels and consumer trends while building a profitable business for the future. Over the past six years, Making Information Pay has become one of the book industry’s leading events for senior-level professionals seeking practical advice on real-world issues. 2009's event will be held May 7th in New York City"

2009 Charleston Conference

"The 2009 Charleston Conference is an informal annual gathering of librarians, publishers, electronic resource managers, consultants, and vendors of library materials in Charleston, SC, USA, November 4-7, to discuss issues of importance to them all. It is designed to be a collegial gathering of individuals from different areas who discuss the same issues in a non-threatening, friendly, and highly informal environment"

SOLSTICE Conference 2009

The SOLSTICE Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning at Edge Hill University is pleased to announce its 4th international conference. Enhancing learning with technologies presents many challenges for practitioners, not least in terms of how the learner's experience and behaviours can be understood and evaluated. To this end, innovation, research and development cannot exist independantly of one another. The relationship between the three is therefore a key factor in ensuring the 'intelligent' deployment of technologies. - 4 June 2009 - Edge Hill University, UK

Fundamentals of Creating and Managing Digital Collections

Fundamentals of Creating and Managing Digital Collections - May 27-29, 2009 - San Diego, California, USA - A conference presented by Northeast Document Conservation Center

Catalogue of Digitized Medieval Manuscripts

"As electronic resources continue to permeate scholarship, the challenge of keeping abreast with new developments becomes ever more pressing. The Catalogue of Digitized Medieval Manuscripts seeks to provide a technological solution to a simple and rather delightful "problem": the breathtaking increase in the number of medieval manuscripts available on the web in their entirety, but in a bewildering range of venues and formats. Digitizing medieval manuscripts and releasing the images on the web has a long history, but the number of digitized manuscripts rises swiftly as the cost of high-quality digital images decreases, and the expertise needed to create easily navigable web sites becomes more common. What has been notably lacking, however, is any centralized site to collect and disseminate basic information about what is available."

School Library Media Month 2009 (USA)

"Libraries are at the heart of the learning experience for almost 44 million elementary, middle and high school students. During the entire month of April, parents, students and library media specialists will celebrate the value of our nation's school library media centers with School Library Media Month. Once stocked mainly with books and other print materials, today's school libraries have been transformed into learning centers with a full range of multimedia and emerging digital information resources. From virtual homework help to wireless environments, school library media centers are dynamic places. According to the 2009 State of America's Libraries Report, released annually by the American Library Association, individual visits to school library media centers increased significantly in 2008, up more than 22% compared with data gathered in 2007"

American Libraries - April 2009

American Libraries - Volume 40, Issue 4, April 2009 - is now available

Rockefeller University Press freezes journal prices

Responding to the squeeze placed on library budgets by the economic slump, Rockefeller University Press has decided to freeze its 2010 journal subscription rates at 2009 levels

LibraryThing podcast 2: Unstructured yapping

"A 50-minute kaffeeklatsch between LibraryThing employees. Topics:

* The Kindle
* Comic books
* Academic publishing
* Archaeology
* Newspapers
* O'Reilly books
* Marginalia
* Female archaelogists who wear plants
* Why Chris Holland is above CSS books
* Internet Explorer 6
* Bad collections forecasting

Arcadia gives $5 million to support core collections, services in the Harvard Libraries

"Britain's Arcadia Fund has awarded $5 million to the Harvard University Library. Arcadia's five-year grant will provide flexible support for the Library's core functions: acquisitions, access, preservation, and dissemination. University Library Director Robert Darnton announced that, initially, Arcadia's grant will be used to strengthen the Library's print collections, to support processing of 17th- and 18th-century collections in the Archives, and to underwrite conservation treatments for fragile or damaged material from 17th- and 18th-century collections."

Canadian Library Association's Children's Book of the Year Award 2009 announced

The winner of the Canadian Library Association's Children's Book of the Year Award 2009 is The Shepherd's Granddaughter by Anne Laurel Carter, published by Groundwood Books

Book groups launch new effort to amend Patriot Act

"Organizations representing booksellers, librarians, publishers, and writers today launched the latest phase in their five-year campaign to restore the reader privacy safeguards that were stripped away by the USA Patriot Act. Since 2003, the Department of Justice has used its expanded power under the Patriot Act to issue more than 200 secret search orders under Section 215 and more than 190,000 National Security Letters (NSLs). Despite several efforts to reform the Patriot Act, the FBI can still search any records it believes are "relevant" to a terrorism investigation, including the records of people who are not suspected of criminal conduct."

George Bush releases new promo video for his Library, highlighting 9/11 and largely ignoring Iraq

"Former deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel has posted a new video of President Bush promoting his presidential library. In the five-minute video, there are a full 35 seconds of clips of 9/11 and Bush's subsequent reaction. However, there is just one mention of Iraq in the entire piece. Additionally, Bush promises to use his library 'policy center' to be 'front and center' pushing for another attempt to privatize Social Security"


George W. Bush Presidential Center from laura crawford on Vimeo

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: All at Sea. Answers here.

1. Which is the largest of the world's five oceans?
2. Which sea is bounded by the Strait of Gibraltar in the west?
3. What name is given to the roughly triangular area of the Atlantic bounded by Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico?
4. Which ocean has the longest coastline?
5. In 1998, what destroyed two villages in Papua New Guinea?
6. The rivers Danube and Volga flow into which sea?
7. What name is given to the clockwise ocean current carrying warm water from the Gulf of Mexico across the Atlantic to the British Isles and Scandinavia?
8. Oceania is a name for the groups of islands in the southern and central areas of which ocean?
9. What kind of thing is the Maelstrom off the north-western coast of Norway?
10. Which ocean was known in ancient times as the Erythraean Sea?

ProQuest boosting local, regional, and military news coverage with exclusive access to 85 Gannett titles

"ProQuest has signed a long-term agreement to be the exclusive provider of 85 full-text newspaper titles from the world-leading news and information provider Gannett Company, Inc. An additional 7 U.S. military newspapers will be available from ProQuest to libraries and educational institutions worldwide on a non-exclusive basis. These titles will be made available through ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest Archiver, and ProQuest's Newspapers in Microfilm, and as an add-on package to ProQuest Central. Six of the largest Gannett titles are also slated to be produced as ProQuest Historical Newspapers"