Category: August 2013

Voltaire’s Fanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet: A New Translation

by RoryLitwin

Voltaire’s Fanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet: A New Translation Author: Voltaire Translation and Introduction: Hanna Burton Preface: Malise Ruthven Price: $15.00 ISBN: 978-1-936117-81-9 Published: September 2013 Printed on acid-free paper. Voltaire’s play Fanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet was controversial in its own day, and has stirred up controversy in recent decades as attempts to mount … Read more Voltaire’s Fanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet: A New Translation

Robert Darnton on “5 Myths About the Information Age”

by RoryLitwin

The Chronicle of Higher Education published this succinct editorial by Robert Darnton, noted defender of the book and of libraries, titled, 5 Myths About the “Information Age.” Nicely, this is freely available on the web, not just for people whose institutions have access to the Chronicle. You might know Robert Darnton for his The Case … Read more Robert Darnton on “5 Myths About the Information Age”

Interview with Annie Downey

by RoryLitwin

Annie Downey tught a class for Library Juice Academy recently, titled, Techniques for Creative Problem Solving in Libraries. Next month she will be teaching another one for us: Academia 101: A Crash Course on How Colleges and Universities Work. She did a second interview with me, about the new class being offered in September.

Interview with Jeremy McGinniss

by RoryLitwin

Jeremy McGinniss is the Library Director at Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Clarks Summit, Pennyslvania. He is the instructor for the Library Juice Academy offered next month on Student Staff Development. Jeremy agreed to an interview to give people more of an idea of the content of this course and his background as the … Read more Interview with Jeremy McGinniss

Democracy and Big Data

by RoryLitwin

NSA Data Center — Bluffdale, Utah In a recent post to this blog, I outlined how the debate regarding the National Security Administration’s data gathering activities pitted privacy against national security and sought to “balance” the two competing values.  I suggested that framing the debate in these terms misses the more important concern that the … Read more Democracy and Big Data

Facebook Group for “Philosopher Librarians”

by RoryLitwin

There is a Facebook group that will serve as the start of a network for librarians with philosophy backgrounds. It is called Philosopher Librarians. Join if this description works for you: Welcome, librarians who have degrees in philosophy, whether they be undergraduate degrees, masters degrees, or phds. We’re here because of what we have in … Read more Facebook Group for “Philosopher Librarians”

Solidarity Statement from Librarians and Archivists to Palestine

by RoryLitwin

Librarians and Archivists to Palestine has just published a post-delegation statement (reproduced in full below). The statement has also been posted on the widely-read Middle East website Mondoweiss, where there is some additional discussion and context in the comments (one commenter even wrote, “Once again, it is librarians who step up where others fear to … Read more Solidarity Statement from Librarians and Archivists to Palestine

Privacy and National Security

by RoryLitwin

The recent revelations that the National Security Administration has been collecting metadata for the phone calls of American citizens and that they have been acquiring data from Google, Yahoo!, facebook, and other internet companies comes as no big surprise to many. Sen. Frank Church’s investigation in the 1970s into government surveillance revealed a long history … Read more Privacy and National Security