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QOTD: Ellen Ullman “Close to the machine”
Happy friday! Here’s something to think about on this last day of the week. I’d like to think that computers are neutral, a tool like any other, a hammer that can build a house or smash a skull. But there is something in the system itself, in the formal logic of programs and data, that […]
Earthquakes, Megaquakes, and the Movies
The summer’s first big blockbuster movie “San Andreas” is out this friday. So this is a good time to get some facts about earthquakes by checking out the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. This is a great site to go to for facts, earthquake monitoring (there’s an app for that!), USGS publications and data as well […]
Libraries could outlast the internet … IF …
This article is making the social media rounds so many of you have no doubt seen it — Libraries could outlast the internet, head of British Library says – Telegraph. While I completely agree with Mr Keating, the director of the British Library, he only defined libraries in terms of vagaries like “trust” and “traditional […]
In act of cognitive dissonance, House Renews Ban on public access to CRS Reports
In a remarkable example of ironic short-sightedness, the House Appropriations Committee again banned public access and dissemination of publications from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) according to Secrecy News’ Steven Aftergood, “House Renews Ban on CRS Publication of Its Reports.” I find this particularly frustrating in light of the House recently holding its fourth annual […]
The race to preserve disappearing data
Here’s a good piece in the Boston Globe, “The race to preserve disappearing data”. While primarily focusing on the film industry, it also mentions link rot, disappearing government information in the form of Supreme Court decisions and other issues on which government information librarians should be working. I’ve said it often and I’ll say it […]
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