Category «Libraries»

I Was Wrong About the Death of the Book And Umberto Eco was right.

The Atlantic [read free]: “Fifteen years ago, in What Would Google Do?, I called for the book to be rethought and renovated, digital and connected, so that it could be updated and made searchable, conversational, collaborative, linkable, less expensive to produce, and cheaper to buy. The problem, I said, was that we so revered the …

Subjects: Education, Internet, Libraries, Search Engines

Project Gutenberg turned ebooks in its digital library into audiobooks without any need for human voices

Quartz: “The oldest digital library in the world, Project Gutenberg, has transformed thousands of ebooks into audiobooks using AI—bypassing the longer (and more expensive) process of hiring a human reader to do the job. It’s exactly the kind of AI application that actors, who are currently on strike in the US for the first time …

Subjects: AI, Freedom of Information, Internet, Libraries

ALA Report – Texas leads the nation in book ban attempts

“ALA compiles data on book challenges from reports filed by library professionals in the field and from news stories published throughout the United States. Because many book challenges are not reported to the ALA or covered by the press, the 2022 data compiled by ALA represents a snapshot of book censorship throughout 2022. A challenge …

Subjects: Censorship, Courts, Education, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries, Social Media

How commuter boredom turned audiobooks into a billion-dollar industry

Quartz: “Thomas Edison dreamed of audiobooks. When Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, he tested his new device by reciting the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” That wasn’t highbrow literature, but Edison felt that the recorded form would lend itself well to full-length books, too—and that some books, perhaps, were meant to be …

Subjects: E-Commerce, Education, Internet, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Accidental Government Documents Librarian: Secrecy 101: Classification and Executive Order 13526

Date & Time: Sep 27, 2023 02:00 PM in Eastern Time Description: The classification of government information is an essential part of national security. In this webinar, we will learn how government information is classified and the efforts made to reduce overclassification. The webinar will discuss classification categories, who is authorized to classify information, classification …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

The Truth About Hallucinations in Legal Research AI: How to Avoid Them and Trust Your Sources

Rebecca Fordon – AI Law Librarians – “Hallucinations in generative AI are not a new topic. If you watch the news at all (or read the front page of the New York Times), you’ve heard of the two New York attorneys who used ChatGPT to create fake cases entire cases and then submitted them to …

Subjects: AI, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

Libro for audiobook

“Libro.fm is an employee-owned Social Purpose Corporation that shares profits from your audiobook purchases with your chosen bookstore, giving you the power to keep money within your local economy. Whether you are paying for monthly membership, giving an audiobook gift to a friend, or buying audiobooks for yourself or your organization, Libro.fm shares the profit …

Subjects: Digital Rights, Libraries

Conservative book ban push fuels library exodus ALA

AP: “After parents in a rural and staunchly conservative Wyoming county joined nationwide pressure on librarians to pull books they considered harmful to youngsters, the local library board obliged with new policies making such books a higher priority for removal — and keeping out of collections. But that’s not all the library board has done. …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Libraries

AI Policies Across the Globe: Implications and Recommendations For Libraries

AI policies across the globe: Implications and recommendations for libraries, Leo S Lo, OnlineFirst. Published August 27, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352231196172 – This article examines the proposed artificial intelligence policies of the USA, UK, European Union, Canada, and China, and their implications for libraries. As artificial intelligence revolutionizes library operations, it presents complex challenges, such as ethical …

Subjects: AI, Education, Internet, Knowledge Management, Libraries, Privacy

Federal judge temporarily blocks new Texas book-rating law for schools

San Antonio Press News: “A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked a new Texas law that would establish a book-rating system and ban or restrict books with sexual content from Texas public schools.  Austin-based Judge Alan D. Albright told lawyers that the state could not enforce the law Friday, when it was planned to take …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Courts, Education, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research, Libraries

AI Can’t Read Books. It’s Reviewing Them Anyway

Wired (free to read): “ChatGPT-powered avatars recently gushed over a new book—unconvincingly. But if AI develops actual opinions, authors might be in for a shock…a PR release I received last week. The subject line: “AI book reviewers?” The press release touted “the first book to ever be reviewed by AI avatars.” I’ve written book reviews, …

Subjects: AI, Copyright, Internet, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Report: Surge of Intrusive Legislation to Intimidate Teachers, Drive Self-Censorship in Schools

Pen America: “A wave of state legislation sweeping the nation is creating the conditions to intimidate educators into self-censorship in schools, according to a new PEN America report released today. “Educational Intimidation: How ‘Parental Rights’ Legislation Undermines the Freedom to Learn” examines the rise of what PEN America has dubbed “educational intimidation bills,” a category …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries