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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.Libology Blog
Established July 2006
ISSN: 1946-1852
by Rick Mason
Category Archives: Government
healthcare.gov likes Opera
Even though I am not currently working in the library field (and am not following library-related news as closely), I have been following the implementation and rollout of the Affordable Care Act somewhat closely. I think libraries have an important … Continue reading
Posted in Government, Libraries, Medical, News, Online Services, Software, Web Design
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Long Copyrights Kill Books
This. The Hole in our Collective Memory : How Copyright made Mid-Century Books Vanish These are frightening numbers, and they should force us to consider the negative effects of longer copyright terms. The publication of knowledge and creativity blossomed during … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Copyright, Ethics, Government, OCLC, Publishing
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Libraries and the Affordable Care Act
Some interesting news will be announced at the American Library Association (ALA) conference in Chicago: the ALA will be coordinating an effort to have libraries nationwide assist people who will be signing up for insurance beginning October 1st under the … Continue reading
Posted in Conferences, Government, Libraries, News, Online Services, Training
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Mapping Libraries (and Museums)
Justin Grimes, of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, has created a couple of interactive maps that detail the saturation of libraries and museums across the United States: Peruse the Map of Public Libraries for a few minutes, and … Continue reading
Posted in Google, Government, Groups, Libraries, Maps
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Google Books Unsettled
The Google Books Settlement was tossed out by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin, arguing that it gave too much power to Google in allowing the company “significant rights to exploit entire books.” The major problem appears to be the issue … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Copyright, Government, News, Publishing
Tagged Copyright, copyright law, Denny Chin, Fair Use, Google Book Search, Google Inc., Orphan works
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Google Election Maps
The mid-term elections are shaping up to be quite dramatic (although not quite the roller-coaster ride that we had with the 2008 election season). And Google has come up with a new way to visualize the flood of data that … Continue reading
Posted in Google, Government, History, Maps, Online Services, Politics, Web Design
Tagged 2010 Election, election, Google, Google Maps, Government, History, Politics
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How the Digital Revolution Changed Our World
An visual chart in the current Newsweek sums up many of the changes we have seen over the past decade: Exactly How Much Are The Times A-Changin’? The categories that are in decline speak volumes: The US Postal Service is … Continue reading
Posted in Blogs, Books, Google, Government, History, News, Periodicals, Publishing, Statistics, WebSearch
Tagged Blogs, Books, Google, History, News, Newsweek, Publishing, Statistics
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Political Dictionary
Political Dictionary is one of those resources to make a note about, as it contains words and phrases unique to the political environment without being politically charged in defining them. Interesting terms include: Full Ginsberg Mugwumps Recess Appointment Vote-a-rama
Posted in Blogs, Definitions, Government, History, Language, Politics
Tagged Blog, definitions, dictionary, Ginsberg, Government, Human Interest, Mugwumps, Politics
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How to Respond to Bad Press, continued
In a post a few days ago I referred to a letter written by Mary A. Dempsey, Commissioner for the Chicago Public Library, as a response to a Fox Chicago News story that asked Are Libraries Necessary, or a Waste … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Government, Groups, History, Libraries, News, Online Services
Tagged Anna Davlantes, Anthony Bourdain, Author, California State Library, Chicago, Chicago Public Library, city services, Commissioner, DC, Digital media, e-book, Education, English as a second language, Google Books Library Project, Harold Washington Library Center, hour Internet sessions, Illinois, job search assistance, journalist, librarian, Library, Library and information science, Library Board, Library Board of Directors, MacArthur Foundation, marketing, Mary A. Dempsey, online information, online research collections, pdf, Public Library, School library, Science, Talking Book Center, the Ravinia Music Festival, USD, Walter Cronkite, Washington, WFLD
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How to Respond to Bad Press
Mary A. Dempsey, Commissioner for the Chicago Public Library, responded exceptionally well to a story on Fox Chicago News that suggested that the $120 million spent on the library was a waste, given the amount of information on the internet … Continue reading
The Scope of the Illinois Crisis
The New York Times is running an article in today’s edition that highlights just how poorly the state budget in Illinois has been managed: Payback Time : Illinois Stops Paying Its Bills, but Can’t Stop Digging Hole The article doesn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Government, Libraries, News, Politics
Tagged Business/Finance, Comptroller, Daniel Hynes, Government of Illinois, Illinois, Illinois Comptroller, library systems, The New York Times, The New York Times Co, Triage, United States
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I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a library today…
Another method of dealing with fiscal woes is beginning to impact library organizations. My former state of residence, Illinois, has always for years run several months behind in payments to state-funded organizations. I know this from keeping an eye on … Continue reading
Posted in Government, ILL, Libraries, News
Tagged Business/Finance, Elizabeth Neill, ILL, Illinois, Judy Hoffman, Libraries, Library, library systems, News, Sara Long
1 Comment
Public Domain Manifesto
The Public Domain Manifesto is an effort to describe the strengths of public domain, and to encourage support. Some of the general principles: The Public Domain is the rule, copyright protection is the exception. Copyright protection should last only as … Continue reading
Posted in Copyright, Government, History, Libraries, Licensing
Tagged Copyright, Manifesto, public domain, Public Domain Manifesto
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RECAPing PACER
PACER is the online access portal for “U.S. Appellate, District, and Bankruptcy court records and documents nationwide”. Because the documents it provides are created by the federal judiciary, they are not copyrightable; because PACER is the only place to obtain … Continue reading
Posted in Archival, Copyright, Government, Online Databases, Online Services, Open Access, Open Source, Software
Tagged appellate court, Bankruptcy court, federal government, firefox, Government, Internet Archive, Legal research, Open Access, Open Source, PACER, Public records, RECAP, United States copyright law
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NASA Educator Resource Centers
With NASA in the news so much lately(1, 2, 3, 4), it seems a good reminder that the organization has nearly 70 Educator Resource Centers across the country. These are fantastic resources to tap for information relevant to a wide … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Government, Libraries, Medical, News, Science, Space
Tagged Education, Educator Resource Center, Kennedy Space Center, Libraries, Medical, NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Science, Space
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Ohio Gets A Budget
The deal has finally been closed, and the state of Ohio has a new two-year budget. The proposed cuts to libraries were scaled back by two-thirds, to about 11%. All told, library funding is expected to drop between 25-30% from … Continue reading
Posted in Government, Libraries, News, Politics
Tagged elections, fiscal crisis, Libraries, News, Ohio, Politics, social services, Ted Strickland
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Strickland Gets Strict
Last Saturday, Governor Ted Strickland suggested that Ohio Librarians ought to take a pay cut rather than be critical of his budget proposal: As for libraries, which, in Strickland’s original budget framework were slated for a 30 percent cut in … Continue reading
Posted in Government, Libraries, News, Politics
Tagged budget crisis, Government, Libraries, Library, News, Ohio, Politics, Ted Strickland
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