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Daily Archives: April 13, 2015

New State of America’s Libraries Report finds shift in role of U.S. libraries

ALA News: “According to The State of America’s Libraries Report released today by the American Library Association (ALA), academic, public and school libraries are experiencing a shift in how they are perceived by their communities and society. No longer just places for books, libraries of all types are viewed as anchors, centers for academic life and research and cherished spaces.   This and other library trends of the past year are detailed in ALA’s State of America’s Libraries Report 2015, made available during National Library Week, April 12–18, both as an American Libraries digital supplement, as well as on the ALA website at ala.org/americas-libraries and as a PDF file. As society continues to change the way it consumes information, our nation’s libraries, librarians and library workers continue to mirror the needs of their communities.  From offering free technology workshops, small business centers and 24/7 virtual access to e-Books and digital materials, libraries are transforming communities, schools and campuses. Public libraries and librarians are viewed as change agents by addressing unique needs and identifying trends that impact the community. The majority of public libraries offer neutral space for patrons, residents and students to discuss and resolve critical issues. For example the fatal shooting of Michael Brown brought chaos to Ferguson, Missouri. Protests divided residents and caused schools and city services to shut down—but the Ferguson Municipal Public Library stayed open, providing a much-needed safe haven for the community and served as an ad hoc school.  Learning is a 24/7 enterprise for students today, and school libraries continue to become invaluable anchors for education environments. Certified school librarians play an essential part in nurturing   21st-century information literacy skills.  From collaborating with classroom teachers to design inquiry-based learning, school librarians are teaching students critical thinking, technology and information literacy skills.”

Fair Copyright Reform for Libraries and Archives in Europe

The London Manifesto: “Fair copyright across Europe is essential. Without it we will fail to adequately support research, innovation and growth, and hinder the ambition for a digital single market. With it we will better foster knowledge across borders, meet the needs of disabled people and take full advantage of the digital age. We are… Continue Reading

U.S. Federal Funding for HIV/AIDS: The President’s FY 2016 Budget Request

Kaiser Fact Sheet: “President Obama’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 federal budget request, released on February 2, 2015, includes an estimated $31.7 billion for combined domestic and global HIV efforts. Domestic HIV is funded at $25.3 billion and global at $6.3 billion in the request.  The FY 2016 request represents a 3.1% increase ($956 million) over… Continue Reading

The Economy Goes to College: The Hidden Promise of Higher Education in the Post-Industrial Service Economy

College-Educated Workers Now Produce More Than Half of the Nation’s Annual Economic Value, According to New Georgetown University study: “The findings contradict the fear that good manufacturing jobs of the past are being replaced with low – paid, dead-end service jobs (Washington, D.C., April 13, 2015) – College-educated workers make up only 32 percent of… Continue Reading

Financial malware explained

IBM Software Thought Leadership White Paper. Financial malware explained – Explore the lifecycle of fraudulent transactions and how to take action against emerging threats. December 2014. “Financial malware—that is, malicious software designed to enable fraudulent transactions—is a growing concern for line-of- business executives, heads of retail and commercial banking, readers of global compliance operations, and… Continue Reading

H.R. 1560, Protecting Cyber Networks Act

“H.R. 1560 would establish within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) a center that would be responsible for analyzing and integrating information from the intelligence community related to cyber threats. In addition, the bill would require the government to establish procedures for sharing information and data on cyber threats between the federal… Continue Reading

New GAO Report – Education Could Better Support Grantees, Survey of School Districts’ Capacity to Implement Reform, Federal Agencies Differ in the Data They Collect on Grant Applicants

Race to the Top: Education Could Better Support Grantees and Help Them Address Capacity Challenges, GAO-15-295: Published: Apr 13, 2015. Publicly Released: Apr 13, 2015. Race to the Top: Survey of School Districts’ Capacity to Implement Reform (GAO-15-317SP, April 2015), an E-supplement to GAO-15-29, GAO-15-317SP: Published: Apr 13, 2015. Publicly Released: Apr 13, 2015. Race… Continue Reading

Watering a Lemon Tree: Heterogeneous Risk Taking and Monetary Policy Transmission

Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Papers – Watering a Lemon Tree: Heterogeneous Risk Taking and Monetary Policy Transmission. April 2015   Number 724. Dong Beom Choi, Thomas M. Eisenbach, and Tanju Yorulmazer. “We build a general equilibrium model with financial frictions that impede the effectiveness of monetary policy in stimulating output. Agents with heterogeneous productivity can increase… Continue Reading

Nonlinearity and Flight to Safety in the Risk-Return Trade-Off for Stocks and Bonds

Federal Reserve Bank of New York /staff Reports – Nonlinearity and Flight to Safety in the  Risk-Return Trade-Off for Stocks and Bonds. April 2015. Number 723. Tobias Adrian, Richard Crump, and Erik Vogt. “We document a highly significant, strongly nonlinear dependence of stock and bond returns on past equity-market volatility as measured by the VIX. We propose a… Continue Reading