Cambridge University Press Expands Its OA Publishing ProgramCambridge 

University Press has entered into 129 new OA read-and-publish agreements with institutions in the U.S., including state university systems, liberal arts colleges, and major research universities. This brings the number of institutions in the U.S. partnering with Cambridge University Press in this way to more than 140—and globally, it has agreements with nearly 1,000 institutions in 34 countries.

“The sheer number of deals we have signed in the last year, against a tough economic back-drop, shows strong appetite and support for our push to transform our journals business to open,” says Chris Bennett, Cambridge University Press’ global sales director for academic publishing. “We are committed to transitioning our research journals publishing to full OA by 2025 and Transformative Agreements are an essential element of this strategy, ensuring a sustainable future for OA journals.”[Readmore]

Libraries and Pandemics: Past and Present by Julia SkinnerJulia Skinner write the following for the JSTOR Daily newsletter:

In 1918, World War I was coming to a close, and widespread changes were afoot. It was in some ways a moment similar to today: rapid technological development brought sweeping changes to workplaces and homes. … [A] pandemic began to sweep the globe, killing millions. Libraries across the U.S. helped people stay informed, entertained, and cared for as they disseminated information and resources, shifted their services, and re-imagined how they brought collections to the communities they served. …

At the time, medical research held that paper materials, including the books and newspapers at libraries, would harbor contagions from anyone who touched them, and local health officials (not librarians) determined whether or not materials would be destroyed. Librarians and library records lamented the physical loss of books, which were destroyed after being returned from influenza-afflicted homes. …

Library services began to change, too, away from a strict focus on classic literature and towards a variety of resources best suited to individual communities. Perhaps the most notable was Forrest Spaulding, a Des Moines, Iowa library director who is said to have destroyed ‘pro-German’ pamphlets by the fistful during the war, doing so at night to avoid backlash. Twenty years later, he changed course dramatically, authoring the Library Bill of Rights, which aims to ensure patrons’ access to information.[Readmore]

Oscar Nominees Through a Librarian Lens

by Brandi Scardilli

Posted On February 6, 2018

At its annual Oscars ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences typically rewards movies that address social issues in a realistic, entertaining way. Last year’s Best Picture winner, Moonlight, is about a young black man exploring his homosexuality. 2016’s Best Picture, Spotlight, tells the story of a group of journalists uncovering child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members. 2014’s 12 Years a Slave and 2010’s The Hurt Locker address slavery and war, respectively. 2015’s Birdman, 2012’s The Artist, and 2011’s The King’s Speech feature characters trying to come to terms with a changing world that might be leaving them behind (all three of those movies are about straight, cisgender white men, so make of that what you will). National Review somewhat cynically notes that “[i]t doesn’t matter how hokey, trite, didactic, or blunt [any of] these movies are if their underlying point thrills the Academy with its importance.”

Whether or not filmmakers set out to create a movie with a message, theatergoers will assign meaning to their films (or they may see messages the filmmakers didn’t intend). How can they not, when viewers always bring their own expectations, viewpoints, and biases to the experience of watching a movie?

“It’s really important for people to see themselves reflected in popular culture, to see stories that relate to them, to see actors and filmmakers that look like them or have a similar background,” says Katherine Moody, leader of Third Floor Tuhurutanga at Central Library Peterborough, Christchurch City Libraries, in New Zealand. “Films always reflect the society in some way, sometimes highlight conversations or cause a backlash that makes people think. Films can help us interpret current events or gain perspective on them, at other times they help us escape from events that we cannot control.”[Readmore]