We’re in Google Ebooks
If you want to buy ebooks from Google Ebooks, you can now find our publications there. Library Juice Press and Litwin Books…
Progressive Librarian in full text
Folks at the Progressive Librarians Guild have put the full text of back issues of their journal, Progressive Librarian, online. Coverage goes back to issue number one, from 1990. I was on the editorial board of Progressive Librarian for a number of years, and consider them an important venue for library literature that works to … Read more Progressive Librarian in full text
Google’s new “reading level” filtering
Google has added a feature to its advanced search form that allows you to filter results by reading level or add information about a page’s reading level to the information in the results. Reading level is indicated as “basic,” “intermediate,” or “advanced.” Like most of what goes on underneath the Google hood, we aren’t given … Read more Google’s new “reading level” filtering
West Publishing to pay 2.5 million in an interesting case of false attribution of authorship
Just a brief item of interest. West Publishing is being forced to pay $2.5 million in damages to two authors who had stopped updating their legal treatise, but were named by West as authors of a new update that contained virtually no new material. Sounds like an example of a business practice that could be … Read more West Publishing to pay 2.5 million in an interesting case of false attribution of authorship
Introduction to Beyond Article 19
We have posted the introduction to Beyond Article 19: Libraries and Social and Cultural Rights to our website. Julie Edwards’ introduction is a good read in itself regarding the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Articles 19 and 27. We know about Article 19 as a fundamental support for intellectual freedom, but there is … Read more Introduction to Beyond Article 19
NYRB blog: WikiLeaks in the Moral Void
Christian Caryl has an insightful post on the NYRB blog, “WikiLeaks in the Moral Void.” As he astutely says about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, In practical terms it seems to boil down to a policy of disclosure for disclosure’s sake. This is what the technology allows, and Assange has merely followed its lead. I don’t … Read more NYRB blog: WikiLeaks in the Moral Void
Petition to support NARA’s investigation into CIA destruction of records pertaining to torture sites
Recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) decided to not bring criminal charges against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for the destruction of federal records: videotapes of the torture of detainees at CIA black sites. The destruction of these records is a clear violation of the Federal Records Act, which DOJ should have pursued. The decision … Read more Petition to support NARA’s investigation into CIA destruction of records pertaining to torture sites
Bitch Magazine reviews She Was a Booklegger: Remembering Celeste West
Ashley McCallister, librarian and library blogger at Bitch Magazine, has just posted a nice review of She Was a Booklegger: Remembering Celeste West, edited by Toni Samek, K.R. Roberto, and Moyra Lang, and published by Library Juice Press earlier this year. We’re very happy to see a review in Bitch Magazine, which has offered a … Read more Bitch Magazine reviews She Was a Booklegger: Remembering Celeste West
Call for Papers: MiT7 – unstable platforms: the promise and peril of transition
MiT7 unstable platforms: the promise and peril of transition CALL FOR PAPERS Submissions accepted on a rolling basis until Friday, March 4, 2011. Conference dates: May 13-15, 2011 at MIT. Conference website: web.mit.edu/comm-forum/mit7/ Has the digital age confirmed and exponentially increased the cultural instability and creative destruction that are often said to define advanced capitalism? … Read more Call for Papers: MiT7 – unstable platforms: the promise and peril of transition
Three attitudes toward the Internet
From Philippe Breton’s The Culture of the Internet and the Internet as Cult: Social Fears and Religious Fantasies, forthcoming from Litwin Books: One may distinguish three positions grosso modo: first the “Internet-for-everything” militants, proselytes (sometimes unknowingly) of a new cult. Then there are the technophobes, hostile to all technology. Finally, there are those who think … Read more Three attitudes toward the Internet
So You Want To Be a Librarian – Testimonials Wanted
Have you or someone you know been helped by Lauren Pressley’s book, So You Want To Be a Librarian? We are interested in testimonials by people who have read the book and found it helpful to them in deciding on or planning for a career in librarianship. In exchange for a testimonial of 300 words … Read more So You Want To Be a Librarian – Testimonials Wanted
Call for Chapters: Gender, Sexuality, Information: A Reader
Call for Chapters: Gender, Sexuality, Information: A Reader While information needs and behavior have become a central research concern in library and information studies, the particularities of gender and sexuality have yet to be centered in the field. Bringing queer and feminist theories into conversation with current LIS research, Gender, Sexuality, Information: A Reader addresses … Read more Call for Chapters: Gender, Sexuality, Information: A Reader
Why you should renew your ALA membership
Yes, it is that time of year again. Soon, your American Library Association membership renewal form will be arriving in the mail. Receipt of this renewal notice prompts many ALA members to ask themselves, why should I keep up my membership? What do I get out of it? What I want to say about membership … Read more Why you should renew your ALA membership
Terrorists meeting at the Capitol Building today? Government information and alternative media
I was discussing the free press with a Russian friend once, and she told me that the main difference between Soviet Russia and the contemporary USA was that Russians knew they were being lied to, while Americans have naively believed that what the news says is the truth. Amusingly, right wing skeptics are presently doubting … Read more Terrorists meeting at the Capitol Building today? Government information and alternative media
Library Juice Press and Litwin Books on LibraryThing
Library Juice Press and Litwin Books now have “publisher pages” on LibraryThing (the links go there). There are links to the books, tags, reviews, and (soon) links to LibraryThing users who own our books. Check it out if you are a LibraryThing user…
Ai Weiwei
A conflict over intellectual freedom of potential historical import may be taking shape in China surrounding China’s most famous (globally famous) artist, Ai Weiwei. Ai Weiwei is politically active as well as being a challenging and innovative artist whose work responds to the contemporary world, so it is not surprising that the Chinese government is … Read more Ai Weiwei
Library Juice Press Gift Certificates
Library Juice Press / Litwin Books gift certificates are great as personal gifts or as library-related awards. You can pay for a gift certificate in an amount of your choosing with funds in your PayPal account or with a credit card.
Modern art was CIA ‘weapon’
This article feels like another nail in the coffin of what we thought we knew of the past: Modern art was CIA ‘weapon’. Or a ramping-ing up of the general weirdness of the times. Here is the start of the article in the Independent, by Frances Stonor Saunders: For decades in art circles it was … Read more Modern art was CIA ‘weapon’
Americans largely mistaken about Obama’s record… librarians included?
I don’t read a lot of blogs so I don’t know, but I would guess this story is being blogged like crazy: Yesterday the Washington Post reported a Bloomberg National Poll: “Poll shows Americans don’t know economy expanded with tax cuts.” The story starts: The Obama administration cut taxes for middle-class Americans, expects to make … Read more Americans largely mistaken about Obama’s record… librarians included?
Institutions are switching to Gmail, but are they discussing the fine print?
Many large institutions, such as universities, are beginning to contract their email services out to Google. At the university where I work, we are in the process of switching our accounts over to Google now. All of our students, faculty, and staff will access their university email accounts through a Google interface. In order to … Read more Institutions are switching to Gmail, but are they discussing the fine print?