Got a Project? Hire an MI Student!

The iSchool at the University of Toronto invites employers to submit proposals to host students enrolled in the Winter 2022 Information Professional Practicum. DEADLINE EXTENDED:Submit your proposal by Friday January 7, 2022. For questions about the practicum project timeline, project approval, and selection process, please contact the practicum course instructor, Kimberly Silk, at kimberly.silk@utoronto.ca Overview The Read More…

UC’s Deal with Elsevier is a Victory for Open Access

Fantastic news from the world of scholarly publishing! After over two years of negotiations following a broken business relationship, the University of California (UC) and Elsevier have created a transformative agreement that represents a landmark victory for open access publishing. The four-year agreement goes into effect on April 1, 2021 and restores UC access to Read More…

Finland Loves Libraries

A recent article published by The Guardian describes how Finland is aggressively investing in it’s urban libraries. At a time when most cities are struggling to keep their library doors open, Helsinki is planning to open their new central library, Oodi this December.  The article explains the love Finns have for their libraries: in 2016, Read More…

UK releases “Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016 to 2021”

In December 2014, the Independent Library Report for England called for a national strategy which articulated what public libraries in England are and why they are a force for good for all citizens.  In response, and following widespread consultation, the Libraries Taskforce has published Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016-2021. The report is endorsed and supported by central government Read More…

Brookings: How public libraries help build healthy communities

This article, published by Brookings, cites their own recent research, and that from Pew, identifying the public library as an emerging, important third place that supports community building. Third places are defined as a place that is neither someone’s home or workplace, but a third,  informal space where “both random and intentional in-person relationships are made.”  The Read More…

Facing the Future: A Vision Document for British Columbia’s Public Libraries

Prepared by Ken Roberts, B.A., M.A., M.L.S December 2012 Executive Summary It is safe to predict that libraries will soon face radical change. Despite uncertainties about exactly what services we will provide, the core mission of libraries will remain vital. Still, libraries must work together in ways that are unprecedented to ensure that ideas and Read More…

The Next Chapter for Urban Libraries is Here

by Amanda Erickson NextCity.org – August 4, 2014 Judge Nelson R. Wolff has been an avid reader for more than seven decades. He’s written four memoirs; his home library boasts an extensive collection of rare books. So he’s an unlikely leader of a movement that renounces paper and ink. But in Bexar County, Texas, Wolff Read More…