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Lee Raine – “The Pew Research Center’s studies about libraries and where they fit in the lives of their communities and patrons have uncovered some surprising facts about what Americans think of libraries and the way they use them. As librarians around the world are gathered in Las Vegas for the American Library Association’s annual conference, here …
News release: “Terrorist activity, the number of conflicts fought, and the number of refugees and displaced persons were the key contributors to the continuing deterioration in global peacefulness last year. This confirms a seven year gradual, but significant downward slide, which overturns a 60-year trend of increasing global peacefulness dating back to the end of …
Project Leads: Neil Selwyn, Scott Bulfin – “Mainstream news media have restricted public understanding of MOOCs to a set of concerns relating to the ‘economics’ of higher education (i.e. massification, marketization and monetization), while marginalizing debate of ‘educational’ and ‘technological’ issues such as online learning and pedagogy, instructional design and student experience.”
Via LLRX.com – National Digital Library Endowment Plan Makes New York Times of Philanthropy – David Rothman encourages Librarians and friends to think like Willie Sutton, who supposedly said he robbed banks because “That’s where the money is.” Rothman is quick to say the quote in fact is iffy, but he wants us to focus on the logic behind …
“OCLC Market Research teams have been studying the habits and perceptions of information consumers for a decade. In this latest report to the OCLC membership, At a Tipping Point: Education, Learning and Libraries, OCLC explores the information consumer’s behaviors, beliefs and expectations for online learning. Fueled by mobile devices, new learning platforms and economic incentives, learners are trying …
“A level playing field is key for global participation in science and scholarship, particularly with regard to how scientific publications are financed and subsequently accessed. However, there are potential pitfalls of the so-called “Gold” open-access (OA) route, in which author-paid publication charges cover the costs of production and publication. Gold OA plans in which author …
All via Friends of the Earth – “A new study shows that 36 out of 71 (51 percent) of garden plant samples purchased at top garden retailers in 18 cities in the United States and Canada contain neonicotinoid pesticides — a key contributor to recent bee declines. Some of the flowers contained neonic levels high enough to …
Brookings Center on Education Policy – Beth Akers and Matthew M. Chingos, June 2014 “College tuition and student debt levels have been increasing at a fast pace for at least two decades. These well-documented trends, coupled with an economy weakened by a major recession, have raised serious questions about whether the market for student debt is …
Do the Benefits of College Still Outweigh the Costs? by: Jaison R. Abel and Richard Deitz “In recent years, students have been paying more to attend college and earning less upon graduation—trends that have led many observers to question whether a college education remains a good investment. However, an analysis of the economic returns to college since the 1970s demonstrates that the …
“Millions of people live in poverty in this country. They suffer not only material deprivation, but also the hardships and diminished life prospects that come with being poor. Childhood poverty often means growing up without the advantages of a stable home, high-quality schools, or consistent nutrition. Adults in poverty are often hampered by inadequate skills …
Foreword from Arts Council England, Final Report June 2014: “Every day, across England a wide range of people walk into their library, or visit their library online to do an extraordinary range of things: borrow a book or DVD, attend a training session, track down some crucial information, meet a friend or client, study quietly and …
“How does a fixed rate mortgage compare to a variable rate mortgage? What can you do about a store that doesn’t honor its refund policy? What if you have a complaint about an insurance company? The world can be a tricky place for consumers. It takes time and energy to research companies, compare products, and stay up-to-date …
