Dani Guzman, Product Marketing Director, Ex Libris
Librarians are congratulating each other over the nomination of Dr. Carla Hayden as the United States Librarian of Congress, seeing as she would be, perhaps surprisingly, the first actual librarian in that position since the early 1970’s. Her confirmation would also mark a few other dramatic firsts.
Other novel developments in the library sciences – and academia generally – are the Open Syllabus Project and open access digital publication. The strengths, weaknesses and future of both are addressed in two very good articles. Finally, we listen in on part of a discussion about how libraries can secure their future by venturing down some new roads – with a passion.
Obama Has Nominated Carla Hayden to Head the Library of Congress (video)
On 24 February 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Carla Hayden, currently the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, to head the United States Library of Congress. In reaction news of the nomination, Aimée Lutkin wrote on the Jezebel website, “She just wants everyone to read, I’m actually weeping now.” As the President commented, “Dr. Hayden has devoted her career to modernizing libraries so that everyone can participate in today’s digital culture.” If confirmed, Dr. Hayden will be the first woman and the first African-American to serve as Librarian of Congress. Is it a coincidence the nomination took place during Black History Month? Read more>>
On 24 February 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Carla Hayden, currently the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, to head the United States Library of Congress. In reaction news of the nomination, Aimée Lutkin wrote on the Jezebel website, “She just wants everyone to read, I’m actually weeping now.” As the President commented, “Dr. Hayden has devoted her career to modernizing libraries so that everyone can participate in today’s digital culture.” If confirmed, Dr. Hayden will be the first woman and the first African-American to serve as Librarian of Congress. Is it a coincidence the nomination took place during Black History Month? Read more>>
The Open Syllabus Project, Altmetrics, and a New Dataset
In a Scholarly Kitchen article, Joseph Esposito extols the virtues of the Open Syllabus Project (which we referred to in our Initiatives blog just this month). He also defends the metrics it uses, although noting that it needs refining. More intriguing are the unexpected and valuable possibilities Esposito sees in the Open Syllabus Project. Read more>>
In a Scholarly Kitchen article, Joseph Esposito extols the virtues of the Open Syllabus Project (which we referred to in our Initiatives blog just this month). He also defends the metrics it uses, although noting that it needs refining. More intriguing are the unexpected and valuable possibilities Esposito sees in the Open Syllabus Project. Read more>>
Jisc, the UK’s education-focused nonprofit for digital services and solutions, carried an interesting article on its website regarding open access academic publications. The author, Torsten Reimer, asks: “Is open access complicated?” If so, he argues, it is because of a lack of consistency across systems and policies. But it need not be so. Reimer provides some insight for a more unified open access ecosystem. Read more>>
Elisabeth Doucett, director of Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine, looks to the future of libraries in “a technology-driven, digitally dominated future.” As part of her out-of-the-box approach, Doucett discusses “what libraries can learn from the rest of the world” with Margot Atwell, publishing outreach lead at Kickstarter. They focused on the need to convey, enthusiastically and broadly, the role of the library as a source of human interconnectedness. Doucett lays out some suggestions. Read more>>
You might also be interested in
![](https://exlibrisgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/YoelsBlogF.png)
COVID-19
Librarianship
April 28, 2021 |
11 min read
Trends in Physical and Electronic Resource Usage in U.S. Academic Libraries
![](https://exlibrisgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/NationalLibraryWeekF.png)
COVID-19
Librarianship
April 09, 2021 |
5 min read
National Library Week: Recognizing Libraries as a Reliable and Resilient Force
![](https://exlibrisgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/AlmaSML4F.png)
Alma
Librarianship
April 06, 2021 |
6 min read
Centralizing, Optimizing and Cutting Costs
Great library experiences start with software
Download whitepaper
![](https://exlibrisgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/AlmaSML3F-1.png)
Alma
Librarianship
March 09, 2021 |
7 min read
Finding the Best Integrated Library System for Small and Medium Library Collections and Management
![](https://exlibrisgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/smallibrariesfeatured-1.png)
Alma
Librarianship
February 16, 2021 |
6 min read
A Small Library Staff Can Do Much More Than You Think
![](https://exlibrisgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Big-Challenges-of-Small-Libraries-image.jpg)
Alma
Librarianship
November 11, 2020 |
5 min read
The Big Challenges of Small Libraries
![](https://exlibrisgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Diversity-Equity-and-Inclusion-Dr-Safiya-Umoja-Noble-Chats-with-Ex-Libris-image.jpg)
Community
Librarianship
October 14, 2020 |
3 min read
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble Chats with Ex Libris
![](https://exlibrisgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/A-Unique-Approach-to-Memorializing-COVID-19-through-Alma-and-Primo-University-of-Chile-image.jpg)
Alma
Primo
Community
COVID-19
Librarianship
August 13, 2020 |
2 min read
A Unique Approach to Memorializing