Category «Education»

How the well-connected Panorama Project could help give us a national library endowment

David H. Rothman advocates on behalf of the Panorama Project which he says is not just an effort of librarians even though it’s benefiting from the input of Alan S. Inouye, the ALA’s director of public policy. Among the others involved have been people from the Book Industry Study Group, independent booksellers, Penguin Random House, and OverDrive, the largest supplier of books for libraries and schools. One of the recurring themes in the project’s research is that synergies can exist not only between books and other media, but also between the library and retails models. For example, among several thousand readers surveyed, “38.31% of respondents had bought a book online that they first found in a library (within the last 12 months.” Local bookstores also benefited, and the project intends to explore this further. The findings are just preliminary, but based on earlier work by researchers for OCLC and OverDrive, Rothman doubts there will be surprises in regard to synergies between libraries and retail.

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Subjects: E-Books, Economy, Education, KM, Libraries & Librarians

COVID-19 masks FAQs: How can cloth stop a tiny virus? What’s the best fabric? Do they protect the wearer?

Face masks reduce the spread of viruses passed on from respiratory secretions. While cloth masks are imperfect, widespread use of an imperfect mask has the potential to make a big difference in transmission of the virus. Professors Catherine Clase, Edouard Fu and Juan Jesus Carrero started reading the research on cloth masks and face coverings at the start of the pandemic, looking for ways to protect our vulnerable dialysis patients and our dialysis staff. We found a total of 25 studies, advocated for mask use and summarized our findings in a peer-reviewed publication. We also created an evidence-based, plain-language website to help people navigate this area. Although mask use has been widely adopted, many people still have questions about them, and we provide answers in this guide.

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Subjects: Education, Health, Healthcare, KM

Increased ebook lending popularity leaves publishers worried, librarians still dissatisfied

Chris Meadows was Editor and Senior Staff Writer at TeleRead, a site focusing on e-book and library news. It is with sadness that I share one of his last articles – he passed away last week after a hit and run accident. Chris was an expert on all facets of digital content issues, and the son of two librarians. I have included more information in my editor’s note at the end of the article. He will be missed. My deepest condolences to his family.

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Subjects: Copyright, E-Books, Education, Gadgets/Gizmos, Health, Healthcare, Libraries & Librarians, Library Marketing, Library Software & Technology, Publishing & Publishers (Legal), Technology Trends

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 18, 2020

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Amazon’s Latest Gimmicks Are Pushing the Limits of Privacy; Data Security: Recent K-12 Data Breaches Show That Students Are Vulnerable to Harm; How to Implement implement zero trust without impacting productivity; and ‘So hard to prove you exist’: Flawed fraud protections deny unemployment to millions.

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Subjects: Congress, Criminal Law, Cybercrime, Cyberlaw, Cybersecurity, E-Commerce, Education, Email Security, Encryption, Legal Research, Legal Technology, Privacy, Telecommuting

Investing in Libraries is the Right Thing for Administrators To Do, Even if There Are Fewer Resources Overall

Todd A. Carpenter advocates for libraries at this critical juncture when remote learning is now pervasive for academic institutions around the country. Although digitized resources delivered via IP-based authentication were the norm before the pandemic, users of library resources were only vaguely aware that the services they regularly use are provided by the library because of IP-based authentication. Carpenter argues that the need for budget cuts must be weighed against the expanded and critical need for students and faculty to have uninterrupted access to digital resources provided by their libraries.

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Subjects: Distance Learning, Economy, Education, KM, Libraries & Librarians, Reference Resources, Reference Services, Technology Trends, Telecommuting, Virtual Library

Internet Archive Open Library lawsuit moves forward; arguments set for November 2021

Chris Meadows discusses the ongoing case by four publishers, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons and Penguin Random House, against the Internet Archives Open Library respective to the scanning, public display, and distribution of entire literary works. As noted, this is “a potentially sensitive, and complex litigation.” The future of the Internet Archive may hang in the balance. This case is shining light on the heightened importance of evaluating fair use during a pandemic that is keeping vast books collections out of users reach for the unforeseeable future, while most education is confined to distance learning.

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Subjects: Business Research, Competitive Intelligence, Distance Learning, Education, KM, Legal Research, Libraries & Librarians, Search Engines, Virtual Library

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, September 12, 2020

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Even a Federal Judge Agrees That the FBI and NSA Are Flouting Civil Liberty Safeguards; Chinese hackers go after UNC for COVID-19 vaccine info; COVID-19 and Emerging Global Patterns of Financial Crime; and The State Of Identity Security, 2020.

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Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cyberlaw, Cybersecurity, Economy, Education, Financial System, Government Resources, Health, Legal Research, Privacy

Statistics Resources and Big Data on the Internet 2020

This expansive listing by Marcus P. Zillman focuses on statistics and big data datasets available free on the internet, covering multiple disciplines, for teaching, learning and reference. These data are published and maintained by sources that include: the U.S. and foreign governments, academic, corporate, NGOs, and open source communities.

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Subjects: AI, Business Research, Competitive Intelligence, Economy, Education, Financial System, Legal Research, Open Source, Search Engines

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 29, 2020

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: How Smartphone Location Tracking Works, and What You Can Do About It; Deep Fakes and National Security; How Facebook and Other Sites Manipulate Your Privacy Choices; and Voice phishing attacks on the rise, CISA, FBI warn private sector.

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Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Education, Email Security, Encryption, Gadgets/Gizmos, Health, KM, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

Student Research Resources 2020

This timely and extensive guide by Marcus Zillman includes resources for students, teachers and parents who together begin this school year with most, or in many cases, all of their courses conducted via online distance learning. The guide includes a wide range of links to augment and expand your current toolkit, including: open textbooks and learning resources for all subjects; free online courses; tutorial resources; educational search engines; video lectures and talks; tools to capture and organize ideas; comparing prices on new an used textbooks; and strategies for organizing notes for comprehensive exams.

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Subjects: Distance Learning, Education, Internet Resources - Web Links, KM, Open Source, Reference Resources, Search Engines, Search Strategies, Technology Trends
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