Our Londinium 2012 (UK)

Opening in time for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Our Londinium 2012 is the largest update to the Museum of London's Roman gallery since it opened in 1994 and explores the parallels between Roman London and the today's modern capital. The updates range from video installations to rarely-seen Roman artefacts, including a bust of Hadrian which was found on the Thames foreshore and is now in the British Museum's collection. The bust will be on display at the Museum of London until January 2013

OverDrive introduces browser-based eBook reader

OverDrive has announced plans to launch later this year a new eBook reading platform, "OverDrive Read." Based on open standards HTML5 and EPUB, OverDrive Read creates a fresh, direct and immersive reading experience offering significant benefits for publishers, booksellers, libraries and schools. Unlike eBook apps or devices, OverDrive Read enables readers using standard web browsers to enjoy eBooks online and offline without first installing any software or activating their device. OverDrive will demonstrate this new eReading platform at Book Expo America, in New York City, June 5-7, 2012 (Booth #4340), as well as at the American Library Association annual conference in Anaheim, Calif., June 22-25

Video: OCLC WorldShare Management Services: A new approach to managing library services cooperatively

Andrew K. Pace explains how OCLC is leveraging the library community, WorldCat, new technologies and data to create OCLC WorldShare

Library self-funding at $1.50 a book (New Zealand)

Borrowing a library book would need to cost $1.50 a time if the Timaru library was to pay its own way. The Pleasant Point Community Board wants those using the Timaru library to pay for their books, as well as suggesting entry fees be charged at both the Aigantighe Art Gallery and South Canterbury Museum. The money saved could then be spent in rural areas on road maintenance and seal extension. Sealing a kilometre of unsealed road costs between $150,000 and $180,000. The district's three libraries will cost $1.94 million in 2012-13

Business Research Plus (UK)

Business Research Plus - research expertise from the manchester Business School Library Service of The University of Manchester Library

'Dickens and his World' exhibition opens June 2, 2012 (UK)

The Bodleian Summer exhibition opens to the public this Saturday, 2 June. Celebrating the bicentenary of Charles Dickens, the exhibition illustrates the relationship between the fictional worlds Charles Dickens created in his novels and the historical reality in which he lived.

Drawing on the Bodleian's unparallel collection of printed ephemera, the Dickens and his World exhibition depicts in a unique way the life and times in which the novels and stories of this great writer were set.

On display will be playbills, advertisements, murder sheets, maps, panoramas, sheet music, playing cards and prints which will aim to recreate Dickens’ world and take the visitors on a journey back in his time. These items will be accompanied by quotations from Dickens' novels, thus revealing how the historical reality of the Victorian times is mirrored in his writings.

There will be sections on Victorian London and its amusements; the coming of the railways; domestic entertainment; and school life for children. The exhibition will also look at the many stage adaptations that were often performed before the novels had completed their serialization and the plays Dickens produced and acted in, sometimes privately

Library and Archives Canada launches its Portrait Portal

Library and Archives Canada has launched its online Portrait Portal, making available more than nearly 15,000 high-quality digitized images from the national portrait collection. "I would like to invite Canadians, wherever they live, to visit the Portrait Portal and experience the thousands of works of art that tell our stories and help define our Canadian identity," said the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. "This digital approach allows greater access to our national documentary heritage." The Portrait Portal showcases the largest collection of portraits in the country, which includes works acquired since the 1880s. This collection is comprised of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, caricatures, medals and other works representing historical figures who played an important role in Canada's development as a nation. "This digitization initiative now makes available to Canadians across the country many thousands of works by renowned Canadian artists, ranging from portraits made by Yousuf Karsh to those of William Topley," said Deputy Head and Librarian and Archivist of Canada, Daniel J. Caron. "Hockey fans can even find rare hockey cards, circa 1910, from the C.J. Haynes collection." In addition, many works by Arnaud Maggs are now accessible on the Portrait Portal

InSITE: A Current Awareness Service of Cornell Law Library - Vol. 17, No. 14, May 29, 2012

InSITE: A Current Awareness Service of Cornell Law Library - Vol. 17, No. 14, May 29, 2012 is now available. Contents:

* B'Tselem: the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
* Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT)
* Center on Wrongful Convictions

Libraries Change Lives Award 2012 shortlist (UK)

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) has announced the shortlist for this year's Libraries Change Lives Award. The winner will be announced by Culture Minister Ed Vaisey on Tuesday 26 June at a special ceremony in the Houses of Parliament. Celebrating its 21st birthday this year, the Libraries Change Lives Award is open to all UK libraries and serves to recognise positive achievements and promote outstanding library-based initiatives enriching lives and strengthening communities

Campaigners condemn council after Kensal Rise library is emptied at night (UK)

Campaigners fighting the closure of a London library opened by Mark Twain in 1900 have accused the Brent council leader of betrayal after the library was stripped of books and other property in the middle of the night. Workers assisted by police officers entered Kensal Rise library between 2am and 3am on Tuesday, removing furniture, murals painted in the 1930s for the library and plaques commemorating the library's opening by Twain along with the books, according to campaigners

2012 The National Poetry Competition (UK)

The National Poetry Competition is currently accepting entries. The closing date is 31 October 2012 (midnight, UK time).

First Prize: £5000
Second Prize: £2000
Third Prize: £1000
Seven Commendations: £100

The top-three winning poems will be published in Poetry Review. The winner is also invited to read at the Ledbury Poetry Festival in July 2013. Up to 150 entrants will also be offered a discount on selected activities from the Poetry School. Winning and commended poems will be published on the Poetry Society website when the competition prizes are announced in spring 2013

Coming August 2012: The Churchill Archive

The Churchill Archive is a unique resource that brings nearly one million documents amassed by Winston S. Churchill throughout his life online for the first time

Opening up Archives project receives additional funding (UK)

Opening up Archives, The UK National Archives' project to tackle skills shortages in the wider archives sector, has been allocated additional funding of over £250,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Speaking about the additional funding, Nick Kingsley, Head of Archives Sector Development, The National Archives, said: 'This is fantastic news for the archives sector. HLF's continued support and financial backing for this essential project helps us open up a career in archives to a wider, more diverse group of individuals.' The extension grant awarded as part of HLF's Skills for the Future programme will guarantee that a third year of the project runs in 2013

Royal College of Psychiatrists Antiquarian book collection catalogue loaded

The Royal College of Psychiatrists Antiquarian book collection catalogue has been loaded on to Copac. The Antiquarian book collection consists of English, German and French language books which were donated to the predecessor bodies of the College between 1895 and 1971. Some of the books in the collection date back to the 15th century. Most of the books are from the working libraries of doctors Daniel Hack Tuke, J. R. Lord, C Lockhart Robertson and J. R. Whitwell, T Hyslop, P.W. MacDonald, H. H. Newington, Professor Pighini, R. H. H. Sankey, G Smith, W Starkey, H Yellowlees, and others. The books were either written or edited by notable authors such as Daniel Hack Tuke, Forbes Winslow, Henry Maudsley, John Connolly, Emil Kraepelin and many others

Libraries and Leadership Twitter chat

Tonight's #UKLibChat Twitter discussion is on Libraries and Leadership. Join us from 6.30 to 8.30 pm (GMT) tonight to discuss issues around leadership in libraries including the role of professional bodies and how to develop leadership skills

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #199

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #199. "This week's episode is varied as it is released during a holiday weekend in the United States.". Previous Podcasts/Programs can be found here

Combating the tsetse fly: rare historical reports now available (UK)

Brian Hursey was an international expert on the control of tsetse flies, the vector of African trypanosomiasis or "sleeping sickness" in man and animals. As a student, he specialised in the study of tsetse flies and, upon graduation in 1964, he took up a post in Kenya as a Tsetse Officer. This was the beginning of a highly successful career during which he worked in various parts of Africa, planning and supervising ground spraying, eradicating the tsetse fly from huge areas. At the 50th anniversary conference of the International Scientific Council for Trypanosomiasis Research and Control, he was awarded a "certificate of appreciation" on behalf of the people of Africa. By the time Brian Hursey died in 2008 he had collected documents spanning 80 years, much of it "grey literature" or report material of the kind that is often difficult to obtain and can be easily lost to researchers. This material is now safely stored and accessible to users of the Wellcome Library. The books and reports include some of Hursey's own publications. Some typescript and unpublished material forms a small archive collection

"E-content: The Digital Dialogue" from ALA (USA)

The American Library Association has released a new report examining critical issues underlying equitable access to digital content through our nation's libraries. In the report, entitled "E-content: The Digital Dialogue," authors explore an unprecedented and splintered landscape in which several major publishers refuse to sell ebooks to libraries; proprietary platforms fragment our cultural record; and reader privacy is endangered

Jubilee museum exhibit (UK)

To complement The National Archives' online exhibition, the Royal Archives has loaned four of Queen Victoria's schoolroom exercise books for display in The National Archives' museum. This is the first time these books will have been seen in public. The loan is one of a number of projects relating to Queen Victoria, including the digitisation of her private journals, which have been undertaken by the Royal Archives to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Royal Archives is working in partnership with several organisations, including The National Archives, to make the material it holds more widely available. The exercise books will be on display at The National Archives in Kew until 18 August

Podcast: The Golden Stool: cataloguing Colonial Office records from 1900 (UK)

In 1900, war broke out between the British and the Ashanti in the Gold Coast. The Colonial Office records from this year have recently been catalogued by volunteers at The National Archives. This talk, given by the volunteers themselves, shares some of their most interesting finds and experiences of the CO 96 series and the 'War of the Golden Stool'. The four volunteers - Mahesh Gami, Gina Murgatroyd, Becky Senghore and Rebekah Simpson - working on the Gold Coast 1900 project are students or recent students of history with an emphasis on African history. Their research in these records, which some have used for their own studies, has brought the project to life