Thursday 31 August 2017
Wednesday 30 August 2017
Pepe the Frog’s Creator Gets Alt-Right Children’s Book Pulled, Vows to ‘Aggressively Enforce His Intellectual Property’
Matt Furie seems like a good guy and he doesn’t deserve any of this
I need a hero
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Tuesday 29 August 2017
Me right now, trying to get the library ready for them young...
Me right now, trying to get the library ready for them young ’uns.
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Canadian cops scrambled to get approval for cellphone surveillance hardware they were already using
This past April, when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police finally admitted they rely heavily on powerful and controversial surveillance hardware, police forces across Canada scrambled to get legal approval from Ottawa to use the same technology.
“Given recent media events my inspector has asked that I make an official request … for an authorization,” writes a member of the Calgary Police Electronic Surveillance Team on April 6 of this year. “There is some urgency to try and get this authorization in place as we are currently using the device.”
The device in question is an International Mobile Subscriber Identity-catcher — known more commonly as an IMSI catcher, a Mobile Device Identifier, or by the brand name Stingray. The device can track the locations of individual cellphones and scrape identifying information from kilometers away, and have been used aggressively in a variety of criminal cases. Some models are able to intercept calls and messages, although not the ones owned by Canadian cops.
Police forces have been loath to tell the public that they are in possession of the devices.
In documents obtained this week through an access to information request, representatives from Calgary police, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the RCMP all sent letters to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, or ISED, to seek permission to continue using the surveillance equipment.
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curlyhumility: girlactionfigure: A.C. Strip has long...
A.C. Strip has long understood the significance of the diary his older brother kept as they fled the Holocaust with their parents. He turned it into a self-published book that he gave to his brother as a 90th birthday gift.
But Strip never considered the diary to be an important historical document. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is making him rethink that.
Strip’s brother’s journal is one of more than 200 diaries written by Holocaust victims and survivors the museum hopes to digitize and make available to the public with the help of its first crowd-funding campaign. The museum is seeking $250,000 for the project and will begin soliciting donations through Kickstarter on Monday, the birthday of the most famous Holocaust diarist, Anne Frank.
Read More: Here
Donate here: http://ift.tt/2sS05tl
If their goal is reached, their entire diary collection will be catalogued, translated, and published online for EVERYONE. They hope to stem holocaust denial by the power of so many readily-available firsthand accounts.
Please signal boost even if you can’t spare $5 to donate!
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Monday 28 August 2017
Sunday 27 August 2017
tanzanitedepths: Fanfiction Club: The Rules This idea came to me...
Fanfiction Club: The Rules
This idea came to me when I woke up first thing this morning.
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macleod: People in the middle of Hurricane Harvey and in distress can call the following numbers...
People in the middle of Hurricane Harvey and in distress can call the following numbers for the US Coast Guard for help!
281-464-4851
281-464-4852
281-464-4853
281-464-4854
281-464-4855Share and reblog!
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"A book, too, can be a star, ‘explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly,’ a..."
- Madeleine L’Engle
(via lawrencepubliclibrary)
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Saturday 26 August 2017
10 Books With Well-Developed, Complex Afro-Latino Characters
Loving all the diversity in children’s and young adult literature. Here is a cool article on the importance of diversity in children’s and young adult lit from SLJ (School Library Journal).
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Friday 25 August 2017
Today one of the teachers dropped by with her 4-year-old to check out the new learning commons...
Today one of the teachers dropped by with her 4-year-old to check out the new learning commons space. Her kid immediately made a beeline for the nearest box full of picture books and burrowed in to see what she could find, in true bookworm style.
Nearing the end of the conversation between me and her mom, she let out an excited shout of “Maman!” and held up a copy of Stellaluna, looking absolutely thrilled at her find.
Little kids getting excited about books is always so delightful to see.
Definitely the highlight of my day. :)
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School Libraries, mlis, librarians, librarylife, libraryland
Non-librarians: Librarianship is such a sedentary job. Me: *spends literally the entire work day...
Non-librarians: Librarianship is such a sedentary job.
Me: *spends literally the entire work day carrying half my body weight in books to put away*
Me: …Are we talking about the same profession?
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librarylife, libraryland, librarians, libraries
11 Books Like 'Wonder Woman' To Read After Watching (And Re-Watching) The Movie
THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas is one of the books to read if you loved Wonder Woman! Do you think she and Aelin would be friends?
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humanities-trash:The main reading room of the Czech National...
The main reading room of the Czech National Library is probably one of my favourite places in the world ♡
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Thursday 24 August 2017
Wednesday 23 August 2017
What the last Nuremberg prosecutor alive wants the world to know
It is not often you get the chance to meet a man who holds a place in history like Ben Ferencz. He’s 97 years old, barely 5 feet tall, and he served as prosecutor of what’s been called the biggest murder trial ever. The courtroom was Nuremberg; the crime, genocide; the defendants, a group of German SS officers accused of committing the largest number of Nazi killings outside the concentration camps – more than a million men, women, and children shot down in their own towns and villages in cold blood.
Ferencz is the last Nuremberg prosecutor alive today. But he isn’t content just to be part of 20th century history – he believes he has something important to offer the world right now.
EVERYONE, absolutely everyone should read this.
Great article. Take a few minutes to read it.
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seti-fan: egberts: wordsmythologic: egberts: im really pissed that palindrome isnt palindrome...
im really pissed that palindrome isnt palindrome backwards
Ah, yes but emordnilap is a word!
An emornilap is any word that, when spelled backwards, produces another word. Examples of emordnilap pairs include:
- desserts & stressed
- drawer & reward
- gateman & nametag
- time & emit
- laced & decal
- regal & lager
And therefore “emordnilap palindrome” is an emordnilap palindrome.
Which I, for one, think is really frickin’ cool.
dude
You know that bothered someone else in history so much they had to make the word emordnilap something so that palindrome could be used in a palindrome.
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Tuesday 22 August 2017
"Neutrality denies our authority and ability to share information with context or history."
- Stacie Williams
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the-adhd-society: superheronamesforspoonies: Here’s a thing...
Here’s a thing that is helpful and free! It’s a plugin that uses a dyslexic-friendly font and color coding to make reading easier for everyone, but especially for those of us with dyslexia, ADHD, or other learning disabilities.
Above text reads: “Make reading easier and faster with BeeLine Reader! BeeLine uses a color gradient to guide your eyes from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. This seemingly simple tweak makes reading substantially easier and faster because it allows you to transition between lines quickly and effortlessly. Thousands of people have taken our online diagnostic test, and over 90% of them saw a benefit from BeeLine. Many people are able to read 20% or 30% faster with BeeLine, even on their first try.
Our Chrome extension works great on news articles, wikipedia pages, and other text-heavy websites. You can choose between several different color schemes, and more features will be coming soon.”
Always reblogg. I love this program so much.
Another great resource for dyslexics is OpenDyslexic, a free font designed for dyslexics by dyslexics.
It can be used on phones and computers and canbe set to be your device’s go-to font for everything.
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Reblog if you think public libraries are important and should be maintained.
tbh, I think libraries of all kinds (but public ones especially) are as important to a thriving, healthy society as public hospitals and schools.
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queerrobbiereyes: christopher-pine: getting ready for defenders...
getting ready for defenders like
Here’s the link if you feel like you’re missing out on sth: http://ift.tt/2o1qMZp
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A question for 3D printer-savvy people
I’m looking into 3D printers in order to see whether to recommend the school get one for the learning commons, and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions of which model to go with.
My main concerns are that it be as enclosed as possible to avoid curious little fingers from making an unfortunate acquaintance with hot filament (the school is pre-K to Grade 12, so being as kid-safe as possible is a must). Obviously, something reliable and with the least amount of errors would be best, and a good printing speed would also be good.
So far I’m swaying between Bq’s Witbox and Ultimaker (unsure of which UM model I’d go with, though).
Thoughts? Suggestions?
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3d printing, Library Science, school library, 3d printers, libraryland, librarylife, library stuff, library sciences
as-warm-as-choco: Don’t throw your ECLIPSE GLASSES in the...
Don’t throw your ECLIPSE GLASSES in the trash.
You can donate them for other kids and humans to watch the 2019 eclipse!!!
ISN’T THAT RAD!? Wait for info by The Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) : https://twitter.com/awb_org (I will edit this post as well)
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Monday 21 August 2017
How to Review a Trans Book as a Cis Person
I have seen countless reviews written by cisgender people that as a trans person make my stomach turn. In the majority of reviews written by cisgender readers, the trans characters are misgendered, transness itself is sensationalized, and the cisgender author is commonly called “brave” for writing about “such a controversial issue.” To top it off, most of these reviews contain the phrase: “this book opened my eyes so much!” It hurts to see these. It makes me feel so helpless to see people who care about trans people accidentally spread harmful misconceptions that contribute to transphobia.
Most of these harmful reviewing methods come from confusion and misinformation, not ill intent. The layers of complexity around transness can be incredibly difficult to understand. Learning about and understanding transness is a process—I’m trans, and I’m still confused about some things, and learning lots of stuff! So I am not here to point fingers or blame anyone. My intention is only to educate.
I think that a major source of misinformation for readers can come from the book’s blurb and marketing material. Whichever way the blurb/marketing material describes transness is often (understandably) seen by many readers as an appropriate way to talk about it. Unfortunately, most blurbs of trans books are written by cis people and are often transphobic (for an extreme example, a transphobic slur is used in one of the recs on the jacket copy of I Am J). So the fact that problematic reviews have become commonplace is understandable.
Why is it important that reviews get better? Because trans books do not exist in a vacuum and neither do reviews. If a cis person reads a book with a trans character and it opens their eyes—great. But that’s not enough. That newfound inner understanding and empathy needs to be translated into outward actions. A really big part of treating trans people right has to do with the language you use. If you don’t do things as simple as referring to trans people by the correct pronouns, and by their chosen name, you are not treating trans people with respect.
It’s also about changing the culture of the YA community, and ensuring that it is a respectful and safe place for trans people. Because, right now, it’s not. I and so many other trans people can barely stomach reading the reviews of trans books by cis readers, and don’t even want to touch discussions of trans representation that are led by cis people. Transphobic reviews and language make us uncomfortable in a place that should first and foremost be for us. That just shouldn’t be the case, not in an area that’s full of people claiming to understand and support us.
So, this is my guide to reviewing trans books as a cis person. I’m not the only trans person out there, obviously, and there are for sure many other trans people whose opinions differ from my own. So I offer this guide as a starting point to shifting the conversation to a trans person’s perspective, and encourage you to listen to the perspectives of other trans people as well.
1) Use the right pronouns. Even if it is never explicitly discussed in the book. For example, in Gracefully Grayson, Grayson never specifically she says that she wants she/her pronouns. But it is clear that she is a trans girl, and while there are certainly cases of trans people not wanting to change pronouns until they’ve transitioned, that is a personal choice and not an OK method of referring to trans people as a whole.
I cannot overstate the importance of this. Using “he” for someone whose pronoun is “she” or vice versa is saying that you don’t see them as the gender they are, which is one of the major catalysts of transphobia.
If the character is genderfluid, genderqueer, nonbinary, or a similar identity and hasn’t stated a pronoun preference, use they/them, other gender neutral pronouns, or simply the character’s name.
2) Use the right name. This is as important as using the right pronouns. Never use a character’s birth name (often referred to by trans people as their dead name) to refer to them, unless they have not picked a different name. So, for example, it’s okay to refer to the trans girl in Gracefully Grayson as Grayson— she never talks about a different name that she’d like to use. But referring to Gabe in Beautiful Music for Ugly Children as Elizabeth, or Luna in Luna as Liam is not ok: those characters have stated a new name for themselves.
3) How do you describe a character being trans?
Here’s a brief guide from GLAAD that should help. After you read that (and seriously—read it. Especially the “Terms To Avoid” section. It’s short, yet very very important) here are my own additions:
My general thoughts on language—the simpler the better. It’s not necessary to be flowery when explaining that a character is trans. You can simply say “This character is [a trans girl/a trans boy/nonbinary]” or “she is a girl that the rest of the world sees as a boy.” Trans people are trans people—it’s not necessary to use flowery language to describe them being trans, like “when Grayson looks in the mirror and spins around, he sees a girl looking back at him.” Simply say that the character is trans!
In particular, please stay away from phrases like these (in the case of describing a trans girl): “Believed he was meant to be a girl,” “he wants to be a girl,” “a boy who is transgender”. These are not appropriate ways to explain that someone is trans. When someone is trans, it means they are the gender they feel they are. Grayson (from Gracefully Grayson) does not want to be a girl—she is a girl!
The phrase “born in the wrong body” is a highly contested phrase in the trans community. Some feel that it’s a completely inappropriate way to characterize being trans, some identify heavily with it. It’s fine for trans people to define themselves that way. I don’t think, however, that it’s an OK way to characterize transness in whole, and I think it’s inappropriate for cis reviewers to describe transness in that way.
4) Lots of reviewers will talk about how “brave” the cis author is for writing about “such a controversial issue.” (I just love being called a “controversial issue”!) Why is it brave for a cis author to write about a trans character? Being trans is not something they’ve experienced. When I see this in reviews, it makes me feel like the reviewer sees trans people as an issue, a topic, a taboo, and not as real people. It dehumanizes trans people, positions them as something to be talked around. It assumes that trans people won’t be reading the review. And it positions the cis person as doing trans people a favor, of somehow finding it in themselves to write about these freakish people.
5) Put a “cisclaimer” at the beginning of your review! Something along the lines of “Cisclaimer: I am cis! I know/don’t know [x amount] about trans issues.” This doesn’t alleviate your responsibility to refer to the character respectfully, but I believe it is an important step to show that your opinion on the book, as a cis person, is not the most important one.
6) Try to find a review of the trans YA book you’re reviewing from a trans person. Even if you don’t agree with all of it, or understand it, having the perspective is vitally important. (If you can’t find one, it doesn’t mean you can’t review the book! But please remain aware that your perspective on a trans book is not as important as a trans person’s. :))
Please, leave me a comment or tweet me @findmereading if you have any questions! Also, if any trans readers have thoughts to add, or disagree with something I said, let me know! I want to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for listening! :)
(originally posted on my blog)
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mapsontheweb: Solar Eclipse Map 2017 for Canada Time of maximum...
Solar Eclipse Map 2017 for Canada
Time of maximum eclipse for different cities in Canada on August 21, 2017.
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Sunday 20 August 2017
With the solar eclipse coming up this month, here’s some things to keep in mind
Do Not: Buy a strange looking plant from an old Chinese man running an exotic flower shop
Do: Invade the fire nation while they are at their weakest
This literally the only time to reblog this y'all
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serpensort1a: scarlettwittch: Omg so my university posted ways...
Omg so my university posted ways to relieve stress during finals week based on your Hogwarts house in all the bathrooms and
This is actually fantastic advice.
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Saturday 19 August 2017
Friday 18 August 2017
Thursday 17 August 2017
paddysnuffles: Greetings, fellow auties! I’m gonna be starting a job soon as a school librarian, and...
Greetings, fellow auties!
I’m gonna be starting a job soon as a school librarian, and as there’s a number of kids on the Spectrum at the school, I’m trying to find some kids’ and/or YA books with positive autie character representation.
The school is pre-K to Grade 12, so basically, anything for young’uns would be useful (if you know of anything in French that’d be useful as well).
If you could pass this forward I’d much appreciate it. :)
P.S. Alltistics, feel free to reblog as well.
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Wednesday 16 August 2017
"Most people don’t realize how important librarians are. I ran across a book recently which..."
- Neil Gaiman
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Library Quotes, neil gaiman, Quotable Quotes, public libraries, libraries are for everyone, libraries are cool, libraries are awesome
nonespark: a-littlebit-ofsunshine: palewansickly: OMG. This....
OMG. This. Changes. Everything.
Reblogging for my followers who might have trouble remembering whether or not they’ve taken their medicine!
OH MY GOD, THIS WILL HELP ME SO MUCH. I GET SO SCARED WHEN I DON’T KNOW IF I JUST TOOK MY MEDS TWICE.
THANK YOU, I’M ABOUT TO CRY.
Reblog to save an absentminded life
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Tuesday 15 August 2017
"When I got [my] library card, that was when my life began."
- Rita Mae Brown
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At the Library: Westerly Library’s 125th gives glimpse into facility’s — and town’s — rich history | The Westerly Sun
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news article, news articles, libraries
Clay Commission explores possibility of new regional library
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library and information science, Library Science, library news, news article
Saginaw public libraries a finalist for Governor's Energy Excellence Awards
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news article, news and updates, public libraries, library science
Monday 14 August 2017
Indigenous writers recommend books to read during Indigenous Book Club Month
“Every day during Indigenous Book Club Month, CBC Books is publishing a recommendation from an Indigenous writer to read a book by another Indigenous writer.“
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Sunday 13 August 2017
Saturday 12 August 2017
Friday 11 August 2017
Thursday 10 August 2017
What to Do if Local Police Ask About Your Immigration Status
Know your rights!
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Wednesday 9 August 2017
digitalpubliclibraryofamerica: Happy National Book Lovers...
digitalpubliclibraryofamerica:
Happy National Book Lovers Day!
Celebrate reading with this collection of vintage literacy posters found in DPLA from University of Wisconsin Digital Collections via Recollection Wisconsin!
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mesogeios: “What is strongerthan the human heartwhich shatters over and overand still lives” - Rupi...
“What is stronger
than the human heart
which shatters over and over
and still lives”- Rupi Kaur, from Milk and Honey
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Tuesday 8 August 2017
Solar eclipse: 12 Valley libraries offering resource kits, glasses at events
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state, solar eclipse, United States, us news, public libraries, public library
Creative Connections at the Library
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news article, nova scotia, public libraries, canada, canadian
thequarkside:The Perseids peak this weekend, so don’t forget to...
The Perseids peak this weekend, so don’t forget to look up!
For any astronomy fans out there. :)
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Drag Queen Storytime comes to Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System
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drag queen, public libraries, news article, public library, United States, us news, american news, libraries, Story Time
Monday 7 August 2017
Amid growing demand, GTA libraries are helping to fill a social-services gap
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social services, canada, canadian, news article, public libraries, canadian libraries, public library, globe and mail, greater toronto area, toronto, ontario
Sunday 6 August 2017
Saturday 5 August 2017
Friday 4 August 2017
Thursday 3 August 2017
DisabledWriters.com: Increasing disability diversity in journalism
“DisabledWriters.com: Increasing disability diversity in journalism”
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superbooked: printedwordsonuncutpages: I love how book lovers reward themselves with finishing a...
I love how book lovers reward themselves with finishing a book by buying more books.
Sometimes we don’t even finish before buying more. We tend to congratulate our selves for buying books by buying more books.
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Wednesday 2 August 2017
"Literature: clever lies which secretly say the truth."
- Simone de Beauvoir.
(via mysharona1987)
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teenlib: kaylapocalypse: mugasofer: Return from the Stars, by...
Return from the Stars, by Stanislaw Lem, published 1961.
this is wild
What the 20th and 21st century have taught us, is that the future is shaped by science fiction.
@teenlib Very true! If you look at things in older sci-fi you find tons of things that make you go “lol I love how they thought that was futuristic back then” (or, alternatively, “OMG, WE HAVE THAT NOW!!!! :D”).
Star Trek’s a great example of this:
- The comms used in the original series for communication during away missions (basically flip phones permanently set on speakerphone mode)
- Characters arguing whether print books or ebooks are better
- Video communication (aka skyping and video conferencing)
- Replicators (the mutant baby of a Tassimo drink machine with a 3D printer)
- The Holodeck and virtual reality in general (Google Cardboard and Oculus Rift)
- Universal translators (real ones like Google Translate still kinda suck and are fairly limited, but we’ll get there!)
Then there’s all the great social commentary in ST which helped shape modern society:
- The first interacial kiss on US tvs (Kirk and Uhura)
- A black woman in a position of power in a male-dominated field (Uhura was 3rd in command on the Enterprise and part of the enineering crew)
- An entire episode dedicated to a woman’s right to choose as well as right to contraceptives
- The idea that colonialism is bad (the Prime Directive, which is all about how it’s bad to interfere with the natural evolution of other peoples and their cultures
- The idea that multiculturalism is good (Gene Roddenderry has tons of quotes explicitly stating that that’s the main message of ST)
- A male protagonist who’s openly a feminist (Kirk)
- A sci-fi equivalent of a biracial/mixed race main character (Spock)
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