Caribbean Connector

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 01:53:00 +0000

THE BIGGEST LIBRARY CONFERENCE IN THE CARIBBEAN

Save the date for the 52st edition of the most extensive library conference in the Caribbean, hosted this year at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel. This conference is for all librarians, archivists, museum personnel, information specialists, exhibitors, and other information professionals who want to be inspired, learn, and move forward.

Call for Papers:

https://acuril.org/2023/03/10/extension-deadlines-call-for-papers-workshops-posters/

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 16:44:00 +0000

ACURIL 2022 - THE LARGEST LIBRARY CONFERENCE IN THE CARIBBEAN

#ACURIL2022

Join us for the 51st edition of the Caribbean's largest library conference, held this year on the island of Curaçao. This conference is for all librarians, archivists, museum staff, information specialists, exhibitors, and other information professionals who want to be inspired, learn, and advance.

ACURIL 2019 CONFERENCE

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Thu, 02 May 2019 19:12:00 +0000

CONFERENCE THEME

ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL: CARIBBEAN LIBRARIES, ARCHIVES AND MUSEUMS SUPPORTING THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) is pleased to announce that its 49th Conference, to be held from June 2-9, 2019, on the happy island of Aruba, will focus on the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDG’s ) which are the framework of the UN 2030 agenda.

Conference Sub-Themes

The ACURIL 2019 ARUBA Conference Program Committee invites proposals for paper, and poster presentations which explore the following Sub-themes:

1. Information services aimed at poverty alleviation and food security

Topics : Employment information services, Library services for the homeless, Drug prevention, Social inclusion, Sustainable agriculture, Nutrition information.

2. Promote literacy and lifelong learning

Topics : Literacy programs for all ages; Digital literacy programs for low-income residents, children, special needs population, immigrants, mobile library services, collaboration with local government and non-profit organizations to offer literacy programs, Makerspaces, literacy programs to support teaching, learning and research.

3. Libraries and sustainability

Topics : Green libraries, Heritage Libraries, Library programs aimed at awareness of climate change, energy/environmental conservation and resource management, Preservation of indigenous knowledge, Conservation, Recycling, institutional and other data repositories.

4. Libraries contributing to peaceful and just societies

Topics : Library services promoting peace, ethics, transparency and good governance; Public access to information; Intellectual Property Rights.

5. Integrated strategies to achieve multiple SDGs

Topics : Information services promoting sustained and inclusive economic growth, library projects promoting social development and environmental protection, programs which benefit all including women, children, youth

Conference website: http://acuril2019aruba.com

ACURIL 2018 : Open Access in Caribbean Libraries, Archives and Museums: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 14:44:00 +0000

CALL FOR PAPERS: http://libguides.uwi.edu/c.php?g=738476&p=5312468

The Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) is excited to announce that its 48^th Conference, to be held from June 3 – 7, 2018 in beautiful Dominican Republic, will focus on the theme Open Access in Caribbean Libraries, Archives and Museums: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions.
Globally, Libraries, Archives and Museums are challenged to manage their operational budgets, engage their user communities, develop innovative services and function as a gateway to open access resources. Caribbean Libraries are not immune to these challenges. In this information society, open access technologies provide opportunities for Caribbean Libraries, Archives and Museums to rise above these challenges and still achieve these respective goals.
Through dynamic presentations, poster sessions, workshops and the exhibitors fair, the 2018 ACURIL Conference seeks to:

Open a discourse amongst Caribbean information professionals about the relevance of the open access movement and its future directions.
Allow delegates to exchange information, experiences and best practices.
Provide an opportunity for delegates to learn how to develop skills and competencies to use open access tools and technologies.
Foster collaboration with ACURIL's Exhibitors and other stakeholders to develop new platforms to enhance service delivery.
Establish a registry of open access projects in Caribbean Libraries, Archives and Museums.

The ACURIL XLVII 2018 Conference Programme Committee invites proposals for paper, workshop and poster presentations which explore the following Sub-themes:

Open Access (OA): Global/Caribbean Context

Presentations which explore the debates in the open access field and provide interpretations and different perspectives on issues surrounding OA are especially welcomed. Participants are encouraged to share their Caribbean case studies on managing open access issues.

Key topics: Experiences of publishers, informational professionals and other stakeholder in managing open access issues; Types of open access resources/initiatives that have been developed and are being used and managed to achieve institutional goals.

Policy, Strategy and Advocacy

Key topics: How is OA impacting on copyright, public rights, and intellectual rights?; Disaster management and preservation of digital content as a result of natural disasters; New media/social media and its relation to OA; Managing open access portfolios; Creating policies and workflows; Budgeting for open access; Academic ranking and open access;

Professional Development and User Education

Key topics: Quality control of open access resources and implications for user education; Open education: experiences in learning and opportunities for librarians; Grantsmanship: funding the enterprise.

Innovation and Trends

Key topics: Digital humanities; Data management; Open Journal Systems; Institutional repositories; Open source software usage/initiatives and management in libraries, archives and museums

ACURIL 2017, June 2-8 - Promotional Video - Register today!

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 13:42:00 +0000

ACURIL Conference home page

ACURIL - Call for Papers

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 20:16:00 +0000

ACURIL 2017

Conference Information

CONFERENCE THEME

Multidisciplinary Research in the Caribbean: A Collaborative Approach

Conference website: https://acuril2017puertorico.com/welcometoacuril2017pr/

The goal of this conference is to bring together the community of researchers and practitioners who are interested in studying the diverse issues of the region. The intention is both to assemble the existing community as well as to invite those with emerging interests in this area. A secondary goal is to focus the attention of the Caribbean community on the tremendous collaborative opportunities for research in the region.

Research in the Caribbean region disciplines depends on the availability of representative samples. These samples serve as fundamental references for generating new knowledge on the region, contribute to its growth and bring to forth a deeper understanding of the processes that created and shaped it, and to assess the availability of resources.

The program, therefore, aims to bring together multidisciplinary research being conducted in the region, offering opportunities to present a wide range of topics from diverse research areas, particularly to:

strengthen the scientific knowledge base on and about the Caribbean;
encourage collaboration and partnerships between Caribbean colleagues, research institutions and Caribbean partner organizations;
foster sustainable development and innovation in the Caribbean region;
contribute to the regional capacity development by engaging regional colleagues (e.g., students, professionals) and organizations in joint research projects.

Request is made for the participation from all disciplinary areas to make this conference a complete success.

Sub- Theme I: Multidisciplinary Research in the Caribbean.

Sub- Theme II: Innovative Research in Caribbean Libraries, Archives and Museums

Sub- Theme III: Research in the Caribbean Sociology, Economics and Politics

Sub – Theme IV: Radical Change in Research with Digital Information Technologies and Knowledge Management.

Vacancy - Campus Librarian - University of Bahamas

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 13:27:00 +0000

CAMPUS LIBRARIAN - LIBRARIAN II - NORTHERN BAHAMAS

Institution: University of The Bahamas

Location: Nassau, Bahamas

Category: Admin - Libraries

Application Due: 03/06/2017

Type: Full Time

The University Libraries is seeking a full-time Librarian to lead the strategic development of library services at its Northern Bahamas Campus. The incumbent will be a dynamic, innovative individual with strong communication, analytical and interpersonal skills that engender excellence in librarianship, customer service, collegiality and professionalism.

The successful candidate will demonstrate sound understanding of emerging technologies and trends in library and information science and their application in an academic library environment, along with a strong commitment to developing excellent and innovative integrated library services within the institution. The duties of the Librarian will include but not be limited to leadership in planning, budgeting, monitoring and assessing library services delivery; policy development and facilities management; supervision and training of library staff; engagement in library related research; liaising with all academic units, and performing evening and weekend reference desk assignments (on rotation); and performing other related duties as assigned to support the ongoing development of the University Libraries. Successful candidates must have an earned Master's degree in Library and/or Information Science from an accredited university; and a minimum of five (5) years' experience in an academic library which includes management and leadership of a library branch/unit.

Submission of Materials:

Materials should be submitted electronically, attention Office of Academic Affairs, University of The Bahamas via e-mail at facultyapply@ub.edu.bs by March 6, 2017. Send all documents together, including: 1) cover letter describing academic philosophy and vision, research and publications; 2) curriculum vitae; 3) sample course syllabus; 4) official copy of all academic records; 5) representative sample of research, publication or creative work; 6) at least one letter of recommendation; and 7) a UB application form. Note the position in the subject field of the email. Hard copy submissions will not be accepted. Incomplete files will not be considered.

Application Information
Contact: Provost, Office of the Provost, University of The Bahamas

Online application form: http://www.ub.edu.bs/about-us/career-opportunities/faculty

Email Address: facultyapply@ub.edu.bs

2017 IFLA/OCLC Fellowship

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 15:07:00 +0000

Application for the 2017 IFLA/OCLC Fellowship is currently open. Deadline for submissions is February 12 2017. This program provides early career development and continuing education for library and information science professionals from countries with developing economies. It is jointly sponsored by IFLA and OCLC. Up to five individuals are selected to participate in the intensive four-week Fellowship program.

View this video to learn more as last year's Fellows share their experiences.

Click here to learn more and download application

OCLC Research publishes 'The Library in the Life of the User'

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 14:01:00 +0000

OCLC Research has published a new compilation, The Library in the Life of the User: Engaging with People Where They Live and Learn, which represents more than a decade of collaborative work studying the information-seeking behaviors of library users.

Compiled and co-authored by Lynn Silipigni Connaway, findings from The Library in the Life of the User articulate the need for the design of future library services to be focused on the library user. The compilation is intended to provide a sequential overview of the findings of user behavior research for librarians, information scientists, and library and information science students and researchers as they think about new ways to provide user-centered library services.

"It is important to think of the library in the life of the user instead of the traditional model of the user in the life of the library," according to Lorcan Dempsey, Vice President, OCLC Research and Chief Strategist. The findings in these studies illustrate how some library user behaviors have changed as new technologies emerge, while other behaviors remain constant.
Among the findings:

People associate the library with books and do not consider the library in relation to online resources or reference services.
People may not think of using libraries to get their information because they do not know that the services exist, and some of the existing services are not familiar or do not fit into their workflows.
The context and situation of the information need often dictate how people behave and engage with technology.
Engagement and relationship building in both the online and physical environments is important for the development of successful and effective services.

The Library in the Life of the User includes a collection of work completed in the OCLC Research user studies theme. It represents more than a decade of work with colleagues from The Ohio State University and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and with Jisc, in collaboration with Oxford University and the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

Click on report here: The Library in the Life of the User: Engaging with People Where They Live and Learn

PEW Report - Technology Device Ownership: 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 13:44:00 +0000

A recent report from Pew Research Center on technology device ownership in 2015 states the following:

Today, 68% of U.S. adults have a smartphone, up from 35% in 2011, and tablet computer ownership has edged up to 45% among adults, according to newly released survey data from the Pew Research Center. Smartphone ownership is nearing the saturation point with some groups: 86% of those ages 18-29 have a smartphone, as do 83% of those ages 30-49 and 87% of those living in households earning $75,000 and up annually.

At the same time, the surveys suggest the adoption of some digital devices has slowed and even declined in recent years.

Read full report here:

Google's Massive Book-Scanning Project Is Legal

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 18:59:00 +0000

Reposted from Huffington Post

Article by Joseph Ax

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that Google's massive effort to scan millions of books for an online library does not violate copyright law, rejecting claims from a group of authors that the project illegally deprives them of revenue.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York rejected infringement claims from the Authors Guild and several individual writers, and found that the project provides a public service without violating intellectual property law.

The authors sued Google, whose parent company is now named Alphabet Inc, in 2005, a year after the project was launched. They claimed that the scanning illegally deprived them of revenue.

But Google argued that the effort would actually boost book sales by making it easier for readers to find works, while introducing them to books they might not otherwise have seen.

A Google spokesman and a lawyer for the authors both did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Google had said it could face billions of dollars in potential damages if the authors prevailed.

Circuit Judge Denny Chin, who oversaw the case at the lower court level, dismissed the litigation in 2013, prompting the authors' appeal.

Chin found Google's scanning of tens of millions of books and posting "snippets" online constituted "fair use" under U.S. copyright law.

A unanimous three-judge appeals panel said the case "tests the boundaries of fair use," but found Google's practices were ultimately allowed under the law.

"Google’s division of the page into tiny snippets is designed to show the searcher just enough context surrounding the searched term to help her evaluate whether the book falls within the scope of her interest (without revealing so much as to threaten the author’s copyright interests)," Circuit Judge Pierre Leval wrote for the court.

The 2nd Circuit had previously rejected a similar lawsuit from the Authors Guild in June 2014 against a consortium of universities and research libraries that built a searchable online database of millions of scanned works.

Google Books began after the company agreed with several major research libraries to digitize current and out-of-print books from their collections.

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 13:48:00 +0000

Syncing for Success: Social Media & Mobile Apps: Tips & Tools for Innovative Services

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Summary:

As the volume of free online resources continues to grow exponentially, so do the challenges faced by librarians and other information professionals in their task of finding, evaluating, and facilitating community access to this free content. This presentation promotes free social media tools and mobile apps and shows how these can be successfully applied in libraries and other working environments. Developed specifically for “info pros” who want to use tech tools to innovate, improve, and add value to services, it focuses on innovative concepts and trends that are rapidly being “mashed up” and adopted in the library world. Learn about tools and apps supporting the latest trends in cloud storage, crowdfunding, ebooks, makerspaces, MOOCs, news aggregation, photo and video sharing, self-publishing, social networking and bookmarking, video conferencing, visualization, and wearable technology.

This presentation can be found on the Computer in Libraries 2015 conference page

Announcing The Cybrarian's Web Vol 2

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 13:39:00 +0000

Finally I can announce the completion of the second volume of The Cybrarian's Web 2 (TCW2). Similar in purpose, organization, and content to the first version, TCW2 provides in-depth summaries and analysis of free resources on the web and the practical application and implementation of these resources in libraries and other work environments. While the first volume was written as a starter guide to social media tools, catering mainly to the needs of an audience with limited technological knowledge (for example, brief overviews and library use of popular tools such as Blogger, Delicious, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and YouTube), TCW2 focuses on lesser-known tools successfully implemented by libraries. Another major divergence is the extensive coverage given to ebooks, ebook collections and ebook readers.

TCW2 also focuses on innovative concepts and trends that are rapidly being mashed up and adopted in the library world. Readers will learn about these in chapters that cover topics such as self-publishing, cloud storage and hosting, crowdfunding, mobile applications (apps), makerspaces, massive open online courses (MOOCs), social news aggregators, social media management services and visualization tools. Readers are also introduced to wearable technology in the form of Google Glass.

I hope that this book, like the first volume will serve a wide cross section of readers in multiple communities supporting productivity, collegial collaboration, and self-development, and that readers discover its usefulness as a guide and learning tool to innovate, improve, and add value to library services in the digital age.

Learn..Experiment...Share

Order from the Information Today Bookstore.

Read sample chapter on Information Today website

Read sample chapter on Scribd

Cheryl Ann Peltier-Davis

Call for Conference Papers

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 14:55:00 +0000

The Association of Caribbean Higher Education Administrators (ACHEA) will be hosting its 14th Annual ACHEA conference from July 9-11, 2015 in Trinidad and Tobago.

Conference Theme:
Re-visioning, Re-assessing and Re-committing for Success in Higher Education

Sub-themes
ACHEA invites papers which take into consideration the conference theme or address the sub-themes:

The Role and Mission of the HEIs in the 21st Century
The Ideal Administrator in Higher Education
Internationalization in Higher Education
Governance in Higher Education
Exploring the New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning Modalities
Curriculum Development (CARICOM Mandate)
Enrolment Management: Efficiency, Customer Service, and Marketing
Human Resource Management: Recruitment, Development, and Retention
Fostering Partnerships for Financing Higher Education
The Role of Succession Planning in Higher Education
Partnering with Stakeholders for Success in Higher Education
Sustainable Development in Higher Education
Facilities Management and Space Planning

Link to Call for papers (deadline date March 21, 2015)

Association of Caribbean University Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) 2015 conference will be held in Suriname on June 7 - 11.

MAIN THEME:

Collaborative Continuing Education: Learn, Act and Inspire: Professional and Personal Development Opportunities for Lifelong Learning in Libraries, Archives and Museums in the Caribbean.

Sub-Theme I
Assessing and identifying professional and personal learning needs and opportunities
Updating old skills and learning new ones. The advancement in the career ladder of information professionals rethinking and reinventing learning.

Sub-Theme II
Collaborative Learning for All: Developing and Implementing a Professional/Personal Learning Plan
Refurbishing and acquiring new competencies and cultural heritage through transdisciplinary collaboration that focuses on opportunities for knowledge workers to work in teams, communities, and organizations that encompass multiple ways of knowing and collaborating

Sub-Theme III
Evaluating Learning Outcomes and Search for New Opportunities of Continuous Learning and Performance
Improving social, professional and personal abilities (self-awareness, self-knowledge) for the joy of learning and a better quality of life.

Link to call for papers, workshops, posters

Top Ten Buzzwords of 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 18:07:00 +0000

Lucy Bernholz shares her thoughts on the top ten buzzwords of 2015

1. Internet of Things

It’s no longer just your laptop and your phone that hook you in to the online world. Digital connections are now linking our watches, shoes, refrigerators, thermostats, cars, and almost anything else that can hold a teeny-tiny chip. Each of these devices becomes a sensor—a collector and distributor—of data about our habits, our activities, and us. More promise and more peril await nonprofits and the people they serve as a result of this transformation. The Internet of Things is also known as ubiquitous computing or the "web with many things."

2. Citizen Science

As the cost of materials, equipment, and information drop, the do-it-yourself and "maker" movements are turning to garage biology, chemistry, and physics. Teenager Jack Andraka made headlines as a self-taught cancer researcher who discovered a pathbreaking way to detect pancreatic cancer early, and Public Lab has launched numerous well-known science projects for social good. Lots of people engaging in science is a good thing. On the other hand, given the ubiquity of data-collecting devices (see Internet of Things), we’ll surely have more occasions to ask, "How did they get that information?" and "Who should be monitoring the scientists?"

3. Giving Days

Dedicating a specific day to fundraising for a certain cause has a long history. Galvanizing lots of people around challenge grants has been a mainstay fundraising tool deployed by American community foundations for several years. But with the spectacular success of Giving Tuesday, a re-branding of the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving to focus on charitable giving, these events have reached a new pitch. In its third year, the event has gone global and become a much-watched case example of using social media for good.

4. A/B Testing

This is the practice of showing different interfaces or options to specific groups of people and seeing which one is best at generating the behavior you want to spark. Commonly used by direct-marketing firms, software developers, and interface designers, A/B testing entered common parlance with the Obama presidential campaign’s widespread use of it in testing fundraising emails. The 2014 Facebook "contagion" study, which used algorithmic manipulation to see whether happy or grim news changed how people behaved, reminded us that the software behind our screens is making choices about what we see.

5. Data Gender Gap

Gender disparities abound in data. Yes, even today medical research is still done mostly on men (or male mice). Many other large sets of data are used to inform policy or grant-making decisions, despite the built-in biases created by omission. Similarly, large collections of data also abound in—and can reinforce and exacerbate—racial, ethnic, linguistic, geographic, and economic biases. Look for resources on data discrimination and the built-in biases of data analytics and prediction to get far more (much-needed) attention in 2015.

6. Encryption

Human-rights activists are on the front edge of creating and using secure technologies to stay clear of corporate and government oversight. Major foundations and large nonprofits have become targets for hackers, whether they’re looking for sensitive grant information or stealing donor information. A new British nonprofit, Simply Secure, makes encrypted software for email and mobile phones easier to use and more readily available. Nowadays, security is about more than not clicking on the suspicious link in that phishing email. Nonprofits and foundations will be taking more steps to keep their abundant digital data secure.

7. Artivists

Take art, mix it with activism, and you get artivists. Whether it’s posters and sculptures in public squares or the artistic protest associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement, artivists are stepping out of the shadows and into the limelight. There’s a book of case studies, Beautiful Trouble, to help inspire and coach. Art played a role in the 2014 Hong Kong protests and is part of an effort by cyclists in Germany to connect crowdsourced data on biking routes to public art projects, all in the name of changing public policy.

8. Wearables

Bracelet-style fitness monitors, upmarket pedometers masquerading as jewelry, and digital-sensor-enabled clothing to monitor sweat patterns or heart rhythms are just the latest ways people are wearing devices to connect them to the Internet. Opportunities to donate to charity based on your "steps walked" emerged almost instantly after Fitbit tracker became popular. These devices also fed a widely publicized data visualization of how the 2014 Napa Valley earthquake disturbed sleep, which may be a harbinger of how big data will be used. The data from these devices have already made it into courtroom battles. The more common these devices become, the more people resemble walking, talking cheap data points.

9. Smart Cities

More and more of the world’s population now lives in cities. Cheap materials and improved data-collection processes mean our cities are filled not only with more people but with more sensors, cameras, parking-space sensors, tollgate passes, building codes, heat meters, you name it. If it’s being built into today’s cityscape, it probably gathers data ("senses") and sends that information somewhere.
The goal is to use all this remotely gathered information to improve municipal services, making our cities "smart." Smart will require that we set the right rules for what is gathered and what is done with it.

10. Iterate

The dictionary tells us that iterate means to do again and again. In its buzzword guise, it is one of many design terms that has jumped the rhetorical fence, pulled along by related terms like "innovate," into philanthropy. Sexier than your grandmother’s pilot program, iterations mean trying something small, learning from it, and improving as you go along.

Reposted from The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Announcing ... The Cybrarian's Web 2

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 19:58:00 +0000

TCW2 also focuses on innovative concepts and trends that are rapidly being mashed up and adopted in the library world. Readers will learn about these in chapters that cover topics such as self-publishing, cloud storage and hosting, crowdfunding, mobile applications (apps), makerspaces, massive open online courses (MOOCs), social news aggregators, social media management services and visualization tools. Readers are also introduced to wearable technology in the form of Google Glass.

I hope that this book, like the first volume will serve a wide cross section of readers in multiple communities supporting productivity, collegial collaboration, and self-development, and that readers discover its usefulness as a guide and learning tool to innovate, improve, and add value to library services in the digital age.

Learn..Experiment...Share
Cheryl Ann Peltier-Davis
Available soon from Information Today Inc.

Mobile Apps and Social Media Tools for Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 16:24:00 +0000

Yahoo Directory - Retired!

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 12:48:00 +0000

Reposted from Search Engine Land. Click here for full story.

For some, it may seem like there has always been Google, and it’s always been the main way people have found things on the web. But before Google, there was the Yahoo Directory and its hand-compiled list of websites, organized into topics. Now, the venerable Yahoo Directory is closing.
Yahoo shared the news today, a short paragraph that’s part of announcing two other closures, under a headline of “Progress Report: Continued Product Focus.” That sure fails to give the Yahoo Directory its proper due. From Yahoo’s post:

Yahoo was started nearly 20 years ago as a directory of websites that helped users explore the Internet. While we are still committed to connecting users with the information they’re passionate about, our business has evolved and at the end of 2014 (December 31), we will retire the Yahoo Directory. Advertisers will be upgraded to a new service; more details to be communicated directly.

It’s about as terrible a send-off as Yahoo gave AltaVista, another pioneering search resource that Yahoo closed last year. AltaVista got a single sentence to cover its coming death.

I get that companies might not want to celebrate the closure of products. But there had to be something less shameful than the way Yahoo announced the coming closure of the directory from which Yahoo literally takes its name.

When Yahoo Ruled The Web

When Yahoo began in 1994, the most common way people found websites was to browse through lists, where sites were often organized into topics.
Founders Jerry Yang and David Filo quickly realized their own list needed a better name than “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web.” They settled on Yahoo! (with exclamation mark). That stood for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle” — a reference to organizing sites in a hierarchical order.
Yahoo quickly became the most popular search engine on the web. By search engine, I mean the generic term of any service that helps you locate information, rather than the more technical one of a service that locates information by “crawling” pages automatically and allowing you to keyword search to find any pages that match your keywords.
The distinction is important, because it lead to Yahoo’s eventual downturn as a search resource and directly to the coming closure of the Yahoo Directory that was announced today.
A “directory” relies on humans to review websites, summarize them with short descriptions and organize them into a categories. When Yahoo started, this system was effective, because there weren’t that many pages on the web (relatively speaking) and automated search technology to organize websites wasn’t very good.
That contributed in a big way to Yahoo’s popularity over traditional search engines like InfoSeek or Excite that used automation. Yahoo had better relevance. You could find what you were looking for.

Google: The Yahoo Directory Killer

I don’t have time at the moment to do an extended timeline of the decline of the Yahoo Directory (as well as Yahoo as a search resource), but I’ll hit the highpoints of what led to the Yahoo Directory’s low point today.
First, Google. Google came along in 1998 and quickly proved that you could have search results generated by automation, rather than through human effort, and have better relevancy.
With Yahoo, it was as if you were searching for books in a library using an old-fashioned card catalog system, where all you knew about a book was 25 words or so describing it.
With Google, it was as if you could search through every page of every book in the library. You didn’t miss that needle in a haystack. And importantly, unlike previous search engines that used automation, you didn’t find that the “noise” of looking through all those pages drowned out the important relevancy “signal.” Google’s search algorithm was better than others.
Indeed, Google’s search algorithm was so good that in 2000, Yahoo partnered up with Google. Yahoo had long partnered with crawler-based search engines, so that if there were no matches from its own directory, the crawler search engine provided some “backup” answers. Google became Yahoo’s fourth partner: Open Text was the first, AltaVista the second and Inktomi the third.
By 2002, Yahoo realized that Google’s search results were so good that it made a dramatic shift and presented those as the main listings to searchers at Yahoo. That was effectively the start of the Yahoo Directory’s long, slow-death. If you knew where the directory was, you could search it directly. And category links from the directory were also inserted alongside Google listings when relevant. But it was pretty much an afterthought, forgotten, dethroned.
Indeed, in 2003, Yahoo completed the purchase of Inktomi, so it could have its own crawler-based listings. That led to the eventual end of its deal with Google. But by then, for Google, it didn’t matter. Google had long eclipsed Yahoo as the most popular search engine out there. Eventually, Yahoo even abandoned its own search technology and outsourced to Microsoft for it.

Department of Library and Information Studies - DLIS UWI, Mona Jamaica Summer workshops

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 15:07:00 +0000

ALA 2014 State of America's Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 15:43:00 +0000

On April 13, the American Library Association released its report on the 2014 State of America's Libraries during National Library Week, April 13–19, detailing library trends of the past year. Its findings include:

More than 90% of the respondents in an independent national survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project said that libraries are important to the community.
School libraries continue to feel the combined pressures of recession-driven financial tightening and federal neglect, according to the survey, and school libraries in some districts and some states still face elimination or deprofessionalization of their programs.
96% of Americans agree that public libraries are important because they provide tech resources and access to materials, and the same number find libraries valuable because they promote literacy and a love of reading.
More than 90% of traditional public schools have a school library, but public schools continue to struggle with the impact of funding cuts and reductions in professional staffing.

The ALA is on the forefront of efforts to shore up support for school libraries.

On another front, Banned Books Week, sponsored by the ALA and other organizations, highlights the benefits of free access to information and the perils of censorship by spotlighting the actual or attempted banning of books.

A perennial highlight of Banned Books Week is the Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books, compiled annually by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). The OIF collects reports on book challenges from librarians, teachers, concerned individuals, and press reports. A challenge is defined as a formal written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness. In 2013, the OIF received hundreds of reports on attempts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves.

The most challenged books of the year were:

The Captain Underpants series, by Dav Pilkey
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl, by Tanya Lee Stone
Looking for Alaska, by John Green
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
The Bone series, by Jeff Smith

Libraries witnessed a number of developments in 2013 in the area of ebooks and copyright issues. Ebooks continue to make gains among reading Americans, according to another Pew Research Center survey, but few readers have completely replaced print with digital editions—and the advent of digital reading brings with it a continuing tangle of legal issues involving publishers and libraries.

“Print remains the foundation of Americans’ reading habits,” the Pew researchers found. Most people who read ebooks also read print books, they reported, and only 4% of readers described themselves as “ebook only.” After years of conflict between publishers and libraries, 2013 ended with all the major US publishers participating in the library ebook market, though important challenges, such as availability and prices, remain.

In November 2013, after eight years of litigation, a federal court upheld the fair use doctrine when it dismissed Authors Guild v. Google, et al., a case that questioned the legality of Google’s searchable database of more than 20 million books. In his decision, the judge referenced an amicus brief coauthored by the ALA that enumerated the public benefits of Google Book Search. The Authors Guild has filed an appeal.

Other key trends detailed in the 2014 State of America’s Libraries report:

More and more public libraries are turning to the use of web technologies, including websites, online account access, blogs, rich site summary (RSS) feeds, catalog search boxes, sharing interfaces, Facebook, and Twitter.
The economic downturn is continuing at most institutions of higher learning, and academic librarians are working to transform programs and services by repurposing space and redeploying staff in the digital resources environment.
President Obama signed a $1.1 trillion spending bill in January that will fund the federal government through September and partially restore funding to the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA)—the primary source of annual funding for libraries in the federal budget—that were dramatically cut in the 2013 fiscal year under sequestration.

The full text of the 2014 State of America’s Libraries report is available on the ALA website. It is also available as an American Libraries digital supplement.

How the Internet Has Grown in the Last 25 years - Pew report

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:04:00 +0000

The World Wide Web turned 25 on March 12, 2014. In honor of the milestone, Pew conducted a new national survey and provided data to confirm the incredible spread and impact of the internet:

Adoption: 87% of American adults now use the internet, with near-saturation usage among those living in households earning $75,000 or more (99%), young adults ages 18-29 (97%), and those with college degrees (97%). Fully 68% of adults connect to the internet with mobile devices like smartphones or tablet computers.

The adoption of related technologies has also been extraordinary: Over the course of Pew Research Center polling, adult ownership of cell phones has risen from 53% in our first survey in 2000 to 90% now. Ownership of smartphones has grown from 35% when we first asked in 2011 to 58% now.

Impact: Asked for their overall judgment about the impact of the internet, toting up all the pluses and minuses of connected life, the public’s verdict is overwhelmingly positive:

90% of internet users say the internet has been a good thing for them personally and only 6% say it has been a bad thing, while 3% volunteer that it has been some of both

76% of internet users say the internet has been a good thing for society, while 15% say it has been a bad thing and 8% say it has been equally good and bad.

Read more: http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/02/27/summary-of-findings-3/

Publishing Opportunities in New UWI Open Access Refereed Journal - Caribbean Library Journal

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 21:03:00 +0000

Kudos to my Caribbean colleagues for succesfully publishing the inaugural issue of the Caribbean Library Journal - an online open access peer reviewed journal published by the University Libraries at the University of the West Indies. As stated in the first ( December 2013) issue "this medium provides a forum for information professionals in the Caribbean and those who work with Caribbean materials globally to discuss their work, share ideas and experiences."

This stellar effort to give Caribbean information professionals an avenue to document and promote their publishing and creative capabilities is reflected in the topics covered in this issue:

Exploring the Use of Text Messaging to Enhance Reference Services at The University of the West Indies Library, Mona Campus, Karlene Nelson
Library Orientation at The Alma Jordan Library: The Way Forward, Tamara Brathwaite, Arlene Dolabaille
Information Literacy through E-Learning: A Case Study of IL Training to Undergraduates at The University of the West Indies (Mona), Verna George, Karlene P. Robinson
Towards Academic Library Support for Entrepreneurship: A Blueprint for Reinventing our Role, Martha Ingrid Preddie

The CLJ is an annual publication and contributors are invited to submit "new scholarly works such as academic essays, book reviews and research reports". The Editors are also interested in publications which incorporate Web 2.0 tools, videos and other innovative pieces.

With the growing popularity of the 'open access movement' this Journal provides yeoman service to 'all information professionals' in making its content openly accessible and embracing the principle that "making research freely available to the public supports greater global exchange of knowledge".

Click here to access the current issue

IT News in Review - 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 20:53:00 +0000

ITI ( Information Today, Inc.) Brandi Scardilli provides an overview of newsworthy trends, events, and topics publishde in the newsletter NewsBreak for 2013. Chick here for full posting.

News in Review

Ebooks were a hot topic yet again this year, and NewsBreaks analyzed a variety of news, from SAGE Publications’ statistics etextbook to Amazon’s patent for used digital content. Other articles in the Ebook Trends 2013 series include “The Transformation Accelerates,” “The New World of Ebook Publishing,” and “What’s Trending in Ebooks.”

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) became more popular than ever in 2013, with NewsBreaks issuing a primer (“The Wild West of MOOCs”) as well as an exploration of their impact on education (“Google Gives MOOC Development a Major Push”).

Two information companies went through major changes this year: OCLC appointed a new leader (“Skip Prichard Named OCLC President and CEO”), and EBSCO Publishing merged with EBSCO Information Services for improved product integration.

While ebooks and MOOCs continue to generate conversation in the industry, these three topics dominated NewsBreaks in 2013:

OA: It seemed the OA announcements were never-ending this year, with new initiatives and opinions coming in regularly. NewsBreaks reported on the debuts of eLife and the Open Library of Humanities. Approaches to OA were covered from the university (“OA Rules at the University of California”) and government (“Obama Administration Advances Open Data Policy”) perspectives. NewsBreaks also celebrated Open Access Week and chronicled the U.S. government’s policies about research (“U.S. Takes Huge Step Forward in Opening Access to Publicly Funded Research”; “Dialogue Over Public Access to Scholarly Publications Continues in the U.S. ”).

Acquisitions: In 2013, businesses both large and small made headlines as they joined the ranks of other companies. NewsBreaks highlighted Elsevier’s acquisitions of Knovel and Mendeley, ProQuest’s acquisition of EBL (Ebook Library) and its makeover of Dialog, Amazon’s acquisition of social reading site Goodreads and Jeff Bezos’ purchase of The Washington Post, and Nielsen’s acquisition of two Bowker product units.

Legal Issues: When it came to lawsuits, NewsBreaks was on the case. The big news to follow this year was the ebook price-fixing trial that pitted Apple against the Department of Justice. Five NewsBreaks articles reported on the trial as it happened and offered analysis once it ended (“Apple Ebook Price-Fixing Trial Underway”; “Apple Gambles on Winning Ebook Antitrust Suit”; “Apple Ebook Dealings Violated Antitrust Law ”; “DOJ Proposes Injunction on Apple Ebook Practices ”; “Federal Court Restricts Apple’s Ebook Deals”). Other legal issues in 2013 included Cengage Learning’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and the Associated Press’ lawsuit against Meltwater, an online news aggregator.

Library 2.012 sessions - Archived are available for viewing

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 19:13:00 +0000

Library 2.012 sessions have been archived and are available for viewing. Altogether, there were eight conference strands covering a wide variety of timely topics, such as, MOOCs, e-books, maker spaces, mobile services, embedded librarians, and green libraries. This confernce is always well attended providing a great opportunity for professional development and global networking.

View the Conference Strands.

Archived recordings of the Library 2.012 Worldwide Virtual Conference presentations are available here

PEW Research : Future of Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Caribbean Connector) — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 19:02:00 +0000

The Pew Internet & American Life Project as a nonprofit "fact tank" continues to provide valuable information for the library community. It is the "go to" authoritative source on the evolution of the internet and data (mainly through surveys) on how Americans use the internet and how this activity affects their lives.

Here are some recent reports which provide an insight into the future of libraries in a digital world:

Books, libraries, and the changing digital landscape. In this presentation, internet researcher Kathryn Zickuhr draws on data from the Pew Research Center’s nationally representative surveys and rich qualitative material to explore not only how libraries are dealing with the changing technological environment, but also the larger context of Americans’ reading and library habits, and what they expect from libraries in the future.
The New Library Patron. Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, discusses the Project’s new research about library patrons and non-patrons: who they are, what their information needs are, what kind of technology they use, and how libraries can meet the varying needs of their patrons.
Reading, writing, and research in the digital age. Research associate Kathryn Zickuhr draws on data from the Pew Research Center’s nationally representative surveys, as well as rich qualitative material to explore not only how libraries, schools, museums, and other organizations are dealing with the changing technological environment, but also the larger context of how Americans find, consume, and share information in the digital age.
Library Services in the Digital Age. The internet has already had a major impact on how people find and access information, and now the rising popularity of e-books is helping transform Americans’ reading habits. In this changing landscape, public libraries are trying to adjust their services to these new realities while still serving the needs of patrons who rely on more traditional resources. This PEWsurvey finds that many library patrons are eager to see libraries’ digital services expand, yet also feel that print books remain important in the digital age.

Caribbean Connector

THE BIGGEST LIBRARY CONFERENCE IN THE CARIBBEAN

Call for Papers:

https://acuril.org/2023/03/10/extension-deadlines-call-for-papers-workshops-posters/

ACURIL 2019 CONFERENCE

ACURIL 2018 : Open Access in Caribbean Libraries, Archives and Museums: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions

ACURIL 2017, June 2-8 - Promotional Video - Register today!

ACURIL - Call for Papers

ACURIL 2017

Conference Information

CONFERENCE THEME

Multidisciplinary Research in the Caribbean: A Collaborative Approach

Conference website: https://acuril2017puertorico.com/welcometoacuril2017pr/

The program, therefore, aims to bring together multidisciplinary research being conducted in the region, offering opportunities to present a wide range of topics from diverse research areas, particularly to:

strengthen the scientific knowledge base on and about the Caribbean;

encourage collaboration and partnerships between Caribbean colleagues, research institutions and Caribbean partner organizations;

foster sustainable development and innovation in the Caribbean region;

contribute to the regional capacity development by engaging regional colleagues (e.g., students, professionals) and organizations in joint research projects.

Request is made for the participation from all disciplinary areas to make this conference a complete success.

Sub- Theme I: Multidisciplinary Research in the Caribbean.

Sub- Theme II: Innovative Research in Caribbean Libraries, Archives and Museums

Sub- Theme III: Research in the Caribbean Sociology, Economics and Politics

Sub – Theme IV: Radical Change in Research with Digital Information Technologies and Knowledge Management.

Vacancy - Campus Librarian - University of Bahamas

2017 IFLA/OCLC Fellowship

OCLC Research publishes 'The Library in the Life of the User'

PEW Report - Technology Device Ownership: 2015

Google's Massive Book-Scanning Project Is Legal

Syncing for Success: Social Media & Mobile Apps: Tips & Tools for Innovative Services

Announcing The Cybrarian's Web Vol 2

Call for Conference Papers

Top Ten Buzzwords of 2015

Lucy Bernholz shares her thoughts on the top ten buzzwords of 2015

1. Internet of Things

2. Citizen Science

3. Giving Days

4. A/B Testing

5. Data Gender Gap

6. Encryption

7. Artivists

8. Wearables

9. Smart Cities

10. Iterate

Announcing ... The Cybrarian's Web 2

Mobile Apps and Social Media Tools for Libraries

Yahoo Directory - Retired!

When Yahoo Ruled The Web

Google: The Yahoo Directory Killer

Department of Library and Information Studies - DLIS UWI, Mona Jamaica Summer workshops

ALA 2014 State of America's Libraries

How the Internet Has Grown in the Last 25 years - Pew report

Publishing Opportunities in New UWI Open Access Refereed Journal - Caribbean Library Journal

IT News in Review - 2013

News in Review

Library 2.012 sessions - Archived are available for viewing

PEW Research : Future of Libraries