Monthly Archives: March 2013
Journal of Library Administration editorial board resigns
Journal’s Editorial Board Resigns in Protest of Publisher’s Policy Toward Authors March 26, 2013 By Jake New The editor and the entire editorial board of the Journal of Library Administration have resigned in response to a conflict with the journal’s publisher over an author agreement that they say is “too restrictive and out of step […]
West Africa in Mexican rice cultivation and gastronomy
“Chef Marco,” aka Marco Polo Hernández Cuevas is soon to publish a chapter titled, “West Africa in Mexican rice cultivation and gastronomy” in The Afro-Mexican ancestors and the nation they constructed (Negritud Editions). I’m excited to find the book for my library! The [chapter] reveals that, among others, rice, rice cultivation, and a major part of rice […]
Who is afraid of Open Access?
From the H-NET List for African History and Culture is a discussion thread initiated by Marin Dacos, Director – OpenEdition, titled Who is afraid of Open Access?, which includes the following: The French newspaper Le Monde has published a public statement, signed by sixty members of the academic community (Presidents of universities, Librarians, Journals, publishers and researchers) under the title […]
Providing low cost fast Internet
A nice vignette of this group’s work in Kansas City, featured in Harper’s blog: The Free Network Foundation‘s philosophy: “is that the Internet should be treated as a commons, the same way that we treat our sidewalks or our air or our water. Everybody’s got a right to use it on the same terms.”
Purpose of copyright
@Repositorian: Copyright is about promoting public access to information — Peter Jaszi, Librarians Code Capstone Retreat #copyright #fairuse https://twitter.com/repositorian/status/315088317148438528 Jaszi is author of the 2011 book Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright with Patricia Aufderheide. From reviews on Amazon “Here, [Aufderheide and Jaszi] offer sound advice on users’ rights to copyrighted […]
US Senate amendment prevents NSF funding political science research
This advocacy page at the American Political Science Association website provides comprehensive links to more coverage. From the APSA site: A modified version of the Coburn amendment (SA 65 to H.R. 933) was submitted Tuesday. The stated purpose is: “To prohibit the use of funds to carry out the functions of the Political Science Program in […]
Chinua Achebe has died
One of Africa’s best known authors (for his 1958 debut novel Things Fall Apart), Chinua Achebe has died at the age of 82. According to a BBC post this morning: “The Anambra state government in Nigeria first made the announcement about his death.” Read this article by Jonathan Kandell in the New York Times.
Cory Doctorow on copyright and electronic media
From his presentation “A Digital Shift: Libraries, Ebooks and Beyond” at the US Library of Congress: “Cory Doctorow discusses the challenges facing authors and cultural heritage institutions with the increasing use of electronic texts.” I just watched this hour long talk on video from October 17, 2012–a well-reasoned, passionately delivered, engaging argument for open access to creative works. […]
Lost Butterfly Species Rediscovered in South Africa
Google Earth Inspires Rediscovery of Lost Butterfly Species Scientific American Blog Extinction Countdown John R. Platt March 14, 2013 A South African butterfly species that lepidopterists feared had gone extinct more than a decade ago has been rediscovered after a search on Google Earth revealed a habitat much like the insect’s former home. That tip refocused […]
Afropop’s Hip Deep Kickstarter campaign
From the organizers of this worthwhile project: Despite all challenges to arts funding and public radio, Afropop’s Hip Deep marches on. The NEH grant we won this past summer continues a great new tradition for the series we began in 2011: combining scholarship with original field work. Next month, we will travel to Ghana to research […]
African Studies library 