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Daily Archives: July 6, 2021

So, Gutenberg Didn’t Actually Invent Printing As We Know It

LitHub – On the Unsung Chinese and Korean History of Movable Type – “The universal acclaim is, in fact, not so universal—and Gutenberg himself is a, but not the, source of printing. Rather, key innovations in what would become revolutionary printing technology began in east Asia, with work done by Chinese nobles, Korean Buddhists, and the descendants of Genghis Khan—and, in a truth Davis acknowledges briefly, their work began several centuries before Johannes Gutenberg was even born…The innovation that Johannes Gutenberg is said to have created was small metal pieces with raised backwards letters, arranged in a frame, coated with ink, and pressed to a piece of paper, which allowed books to be printed more quickly. Buta  civil minister named Choe Yun-ui did that—and he did it 150 years before Gutenberg was even born…”

Free Webinar – Foundations: Finding Resources on LOC.gov

“The Library of Congress web site  contains millions of digitized primary sources that are free to use with your students, along with many free teacher resources. In this webinar [July 13, 2-3pm ET], Library of Congress education specialists will share tips and strategies for finding resources in the Library’s extensive digitized collections by navigating the… Continue Reading

Law Professor’s Desk Reference – Introduction and Table of Contents

Garon, Jon M., Law Professor’s Desk Reference – Introduction and Table of Contents (June 11, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3865067 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3865067 “Law school faculty members are expected to be legal scholars, effective teachers, and engaged institutional partners, but the information essential to develop these skills has not been published in one single source, until… Continue Reading

What Is The Value Of Deep Automation?

Artificial Lawyer: “…As we all know (not news) lawyers are also increasingly engaged under Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs), particularly fixed fees, and certain areas of law are fiercely competitive, with clients consistently driving down prices, whilst maintaining expectations as to quality. See Richard Tromans’ article on 30 June on the rise of AFAs – AFAs… Continue Reading

Google’s been recording you: 3 ways to delete your voice history

CNET – “Find your My Activity page and purge it of all those awkward Google Home or Google Nest voice searches. People were understandably freaked out when reports surfaced in 2019 that Google and Amazon were giving human contractors access to audio clips from their customers’ Google Home (now Google Nest) and Echo devices. Google… Continue Reading

Science confirms it: Open offices are a nightmare

Fast Company: “If you’ve ever felt your noisy open-plan office makes you cranky and sends your heart racing, our new research shows you aren’t imagining it. Prior to the pandemic 70% of office-based employees worked in open-plan offices. Employee complaints about this design are rife. Yet there is little experimental research investigating the effects of… Continue Reading

TikTok is taking the book industry by storm, and retailers are taking notice

NBCNews – “BookTok has sent old books back to the top of bestseller lists and helped launch the careers of new authors. Videos with the BookTok hashtag have been viewed a collective 12.6 billion times… BookTok’s impact on the book industry has been notable, helping new authors launch their careers and propelling books like Silvera’s… Continue Reading

From Syria to Lebanon, Saving the Seeds That Could Save Humanity

Newslines – “The story behind the seed genebank, or “doomsday vault,” and how it thrives despite war and displacement seeds that could save humanity were in a vault in Syria. Then the war came, and the seeds were relocated to Lebanon for safekeeping. The move was actually a return to Lebanon, where ICARDA was first… Continue Reading

Library of Congress Adds ‘A Century of Lawmaking’ to Congress.gov

Update Increases Accessibility, Readability of Bills and Resolutions Dating from 1799 – “The Library of Congress announced today that U.S. congressional records dating back to the days of printing presses and the telegraph are now easily accessible on mobile devices. With this latest update of Congress.gov — the official website for U.S. federal legislative information… Continue Reading

New York Times is using Instagram slides and Twitter cards to make stories more digestible

Neiman Lab: “…At the Times, using slides and cards on social became more of a priority around the beginning of the pandemic last year. The audience team wanted to have a more “visual presence” on Times platforms and wanted to make more use of the maps and data visualizations that lived on the website. “It… Continue Reading