Weekly Reader

Academic Freedom or Educational Malpractice?
"It is time for NYU to take action to silence Andrew Ross.  His encouragement of students to default on their loans is irresponsible and reckless—an act of educational malpractice I would argue—and something that should not be tolerated from anyone on the staff of an institution of higher education.  Academic freedom does not give Dr. Ross the right to knowingly advise students to do something that will harm them for years to come, and that violates a legal contract between the borrower and ultimately the federal government.  Does he also suggest that they steal and evade taxes?" -- Diane Auer Jones,  Brainstorm / The Chronicle, 12/1/11

Cambridge U Press Would Like to Rent You and Article
"Will researchers pay for short-term access to journal articles? Cambridge University Press is about to find out. The publisher has just announced a rental program for articles from the more than 280 peer-reviewed journals it publishes. For just £3.99, $5.99 or €4.49, users are now able to read single articles online for up to 24 hours, a saving of up to 86% compared with the cost of purchasing the article,” the press said in an announcement. “After registration and payment, the reader is e-mailed a link, through which they can access and read the article in PDF format as often as they wish during the subsequent 24 hours.” -- Jennifer Howard, Wired Campus, 11/30/11

Announcing YouTube Analytics: The Next Generation in Insight
"Video can transcend language and cultural barriers. It can showcase real human moments all across the globe, even the silly ones. Take the video of the talking twin babies. That video was shot in Brooklyn, and has been viewed more than 10M times in the US and 30M times outside the U.S. 5% of its views came from Brazil, another 5% from Russia. Turns out, 1 out of 100 people in the Philippines watched these two babies from New York. One of the great joys of a global platform is finding out that people from afar can relate, connect, and appreciate your videos." -- Ted Hamilton, YouTube Blog, 11/30/11

Social Networking: Making the World Smaller One Tweet at a Time
" I am not a social media expert. I just wanted to get that out of the way.  I know that this title exists, that people give talks on social media and companies are hiring people to Tweet for them and to set up blogs.  I’m not that person.  I’m just an author who uses social media to connect with other people in the reading and writing community." -- E. Kristin Anderson (Guest Contributor), ALSC Blog, 11/30/11