Author archives

How to block and report text spam

The Verge – [instructions cover both iPhone and Android] “No strategy is 100 percent effective, but you can stop much of it. Spam texts can be incredibly irritating — you get a notification and stop what you’re doing to check your phone, only to find somebody is trying to sell you something you don’t want. …

Subjects: Privacy

The Difference Between Terracotta, Ceramic, and Plastic Pots, and Why It Matters to Your Plants

Life Hacker: “Different pots have different uses for your home plants and planters. Plants behave differently in plastic containers than they do in glazed ceramic pots, and each pot has its own set of care instructions. So what is the difference between these various pots and planters? It comes down to breathability and moisture retention. …

Subjects: Knowledge Management

The Library of Congress is a surprising lesson in digital government

Washington Post Editorial Board – “One of the country’s oldest cultural institutions is now writing the book on how to adapt to a brave new world. Only a few years after being labeled a digital laggard, the Library of Congress is bringing its hundreds of millions of documents’ worth of history to citizens across the …

Subjects: Congress, Education, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

Why some biologists and ecologists think social media is a risk to humanity

Vox/Recode: “Social media has drastically restructured the way we communicate in an incredibly short period of time. We can discover, “Like,” click on, and share information faster than ever before, guided by algorithms most of us don’t quite understand. And while some social scientists, journalists, and activists have been raising concerns about how this is …

Subjects: Health Care, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

Postal banking could provide free accounts to 21 million Americans who don’t have access to a credit union or community bank

Via LLRX – Postal banking could provide free accounts to 21 million Americans who don’t have access to a credit union or community bank – About a quarter of census tracts with a post office don’t have a community bank or credit union branch, suggesting postal banking could provide a financial lifeline to the millions …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System

A Framework for Measuring Relevancy in Discovery Environments

Galbreath, B. L., Merrill, A., & Johnson, C. (2021). A Framework for Measuring Relevancy in Discovery Environments. Information Technology and Libraries, 40 (2). https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v40i2.12835 – “Discovery environments are ubiquitous in academic libraries but studying their effectiveness and use in an academic environment has mostly centered around user satisfaction, experience, and task analysis. This study aims …

Subjects: AI, Education, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Non-Library Jobs & Advice on How to Get One: an introduction to INALJ’s series of interviews

Via LLRX – Non-Library Jobs & Advice on How to Get One: an introduction to INALJ’s series of interviews – Naomi House was inspired to do this series because of the drastic changes to the availability of traditional library jobs during this pandemic. She highlights library and information professionals who work outside libraries but use …

Subjects: Education, Knowledge Management, Libraries