Weekly Reader

'Librarians vs Search Engines' in UC Berkley Report
"New Chancellor Nicholas Dirks should spend more money on the library at the University of California, Berkeley, as its books, services and space will be more important than ever over the next two decades.So, at least, says a report this week from a faculty committee tasked by the previous chancellor, Robert Birgeneau, with figuring out the library's place on the university campus of the future." -- Steven E.F. Brown, Bay Area Biz Talk, 10/18/13

Learning from Experience: Why Personal Narratives Can Be Scholarly
"Pedagogical scholarship has been criticized for its focus on experience. A faculty member has an issue with students (say they aren't doing the reading), implements a solution (some sort of quizzing mechanism), and decides it works because the quiz scores are high. Thanks to the scholarship of teaching movement, these kinds of reports are pretty much gone from the literature. The goal has been to replace them with research—various forms of systematic inquiry." --  Maryellen Weimer, Teaching Professor Blog, 10/16/13

Flipping the Library: Tips from Three Pros
"Through the use of innovative technologies and online resources, school libraries can now be available to students wherever—and whenever—they need them. “Flipped” or blended learning offers students the power of personalized instruction, through a mix of virtual and face-to-face interactions, at a student’s own pace. Embracing this concept is a must for student engagement and the future of the profession, say school librarians Joyce Valenza, Brenda Boyer, and Michelle Luhtala." -- Sarah Bayliss, The Digital Shift | SLJ, 10/21/13

Open Access Week 2013 Starts Today [10/21]
"Here at Prof Hacker we've published many posts about open access, “the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need.” -- George Williams, ProfHacker, 10/21/13

Open Access Week 2013: The Time for Reform is Now
"Today kicks off the sixth annual global Open Access Week. Open Access Week is at once a celebration and a call to action. Universities, libraries, organizations, and companies are hosting events all around the world to promote the ideals of open access: free, online availability of and unfettered access to scholarly works." -- Adi Kamdar, Electronic Frontier Foundation, 10/21/13

26 Tips for Overcoming Bloggers Block
"Have you struggled getting that blog idea written? While most of us aren’t immune to writer’s block, there are ways to work through the block until the words flow again. In this article, we’ll discuss 26 Tips, an A-Z guide for bloggers to overcome writer’s block and generate new ideas." -- Debbie Hemley, Social Media Examiner, 10/22/13

Turning a Page Inside a Rural One-Room Library
"There's one state highway running through Myrtle, Mo. It's a sleepy town in the Ozarks, population about 300. There's no bank or restaurant here, but enormous oak and persimmon trees loom over a small stone building right next to the road. Half of it is a post office; the other half, a one-room public library." -- Jennifer Davidson, NPR Arts & Life, 10/21/13