LISNews: Librarian Blog Since 1999

As of today we are nine days into Black History Month. All over the country people are reflecting on the plight of blacks in America and the strides we have made through time. For me, those are things I think about all the time, however, I realize that may not be the case for everyone. That's why I believe having this month of remembrance and celebration is important. One way to do both — remember and celebrate — during this time is through reading.

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Remember Desiree Goodwin who sued Harvard Library and lost? She's still at Harvard and still looking for better working conditions (for the pretty?); here's her note:

Hey,

I just signed the petition "HUCTW Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, Bill Jaeger: Stand Up for Workers' Rights!" and wanted to see if you could help by adding your name.

Our goal is to reach 100 signatures and we need more support. You can read more and sign the petition here:

https://www.change.org/petitions/huctw-harvard-union-of-clerical-and-technical-workers-bill-...

Thanks!
Desiree

Ever wonder why libraries aren’t able to offer electronic content like e-books, music files and streaming multimedia as well as they offer print materials, CDs and DVDs? Library Renewal is trying to find a solution. They say it turns out, this is a surprisingly complex situation to understand, let alone improve. They do research, form strategic relationships, and create ways for you to get involved and let your voice be heard. If you believe the future of your library is tied to easy electronic content access, you have found your home base for those efforts.

Check them out at LibraryRenewal.org

Paidcontent.org story on one idea to make ebooks more readily available to libraries and readers,

"What do To Kill A Mockingbird, A Wrinkle in Time and Little House on the Prairie series have in common, besides being beloved? None of them are available legally as e-books. A new site aims to make these and other e-books available to the public (and in libraries), as DRM-free Creative Commons works, via crowdfunding.

The newly launched Unglue.it, now in alpha, is a place for individuals and institutions to join together to liberate specific e-books and other types of digital content by paying rights holders to relicense their works under Creative Commons licenses."