The Scout Report -- Volume 23, Number 14

In the introduction to this online exhibition, the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) notes that libraries have historically been viewed as a central part of democracy: "The ability to access free information has become a core ideal of what it means to be an American citizen, despite periods of historic inequality." This tension between the democratic ideal of public libraries and the realities of ongoing inequality in the United States is the center of this exhibition about the history of libraries in the United States. This exhibition is organized into seven thematic sections, such as Beginnings (which features a digitized copy of the Library Company of Philadelphia's 1754 charter); A Profession for Women (which includes numerous photographs from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including a snapshot of a "packhorse library carrier" from Kentucky); and Segregated Libraries (which highlights a recorded interview with librarian and activist Annie L. McPheeters, who worked for the Atlanta Public Library between 1934 and 1966 and ran an adult education program at the Auburn branch library). Collectively, the thoughtfully annotated items in this collection illustrate the diversity of libraries throughout American history and the role that American citizens have played to ensure that libraries meet the needs of their communities. [MMB]

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In 1752, a team lead by Swiss architect and engineer Karl Weber, excavated the Villa dei Papiri, "the only sizable library from the ancient world to emerge intact." This ancient library had been discovered two years earlier in Herculaneum, a town destroyed, along with Pompeii, during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The Villa dei Papiri contained hundreds of ancient scrolls, many of which scholars of antiquity have long hoped may contain long-lost texts by writers including Aristotle and Epicurus. However, while a number of these scrolls have, remarkably, survived the centuries since their creation, many have also been damaged in previous attempts to read them. In this fascinating 2015 piece from The New Yorker, John Seabrook writes about contemporary efforts to use digital restoration techniques to restore damaged scrolls and make them legible again. These techniques were first proposed by University of Kentucky software engineer Brent Seales at a 2005 conference for Herculaneum scholars and enthusiasts. Since then, papyrologist Daniel Delattre of the Institut de France and others have attempted to utilize these new technologies. Seabrook's essay weaves together the complex history of the Villa dei Papiri scrolls alongside a profile of Delattre and his quest to bring some of these scrolls to light. [MMB]

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Over the past century and a half, the introduction of new technologies has dramatically changed the ways that sound, moving images, and data are recorded. These changes have rendered a number of objects and devices obsolete, from the Ambrotype (a photographic technique used between 1855 and 1865) to Little Marvel Records (a distinctive type of record sold only in Woolworth's Department stores between 1921 and 1922) to the Dragon 32 home computer (sold in Wales between 1982 and 1984). The Museum of Obsolete Media, curated by UK-based librarian Jason Curtis, highlights such materials via four collections: Audio Formats, Video Formats, Data Formats, and Film Formats. Within each collection, visitors may view photographs of dozens of obsolete media items. Each item is accompanied by an image and a brief description of its production, use, and eventual demise. Visitors may also enjoy browsing this collection by a series of Lists, which include Formats by Decade of Obsolescence, 10 Sony Formats that Failed, and 1980s Music Gallery. [MMB]

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Photographs offer a powerful way to observe how libraries have changed over time, capturing the various ways these institutions have adapted to meet the needs of their patrons, evolving social roles, and even architectural trends. With the New York Public Library Visual Materials collection, visitors can browse hundreds of images taken at a variety of New York branch libraries over the past two centuries. One such image is an historic etching of the architecturally distinct Astor Library, which opened in 1854. Another striking photograph, dated from 1902, depicts a crowded room of children at the Chatham Square Library (some of these youth appear distracted by the camera, while others are engrossed in their books). Meanwhile, a 1952 postcard offers Christmas Greetings from Great Kills Library, alongside an image of three children peering into the library's windows. This extensive collection of unique images offers a glimpse into the diverse roles played by public libraries throughout history [MMB]

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Since 1996, the Internet Archive Wayback Machine has been dedicated to preserving public websites for generations to come. As the team behind the Wayback Machine explains, "Most societies place importance on preserving artifacts of their culture and heritage...Our culture now produces more and more artifacts in digital form." As of this write up, the Wayback Machine includes over 284 webpages. New pages are added to the Wayback Machine in two ways. Most sites are added via web crawlers, which are set up to track a variety of websites of interest. Users are also invited to save additional webpages for posterity via the Save Page Now button. To use the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, visitors simply type in the URL of a website of interest (e.g. whitehouse.gov; nytimes.com). Next, users will see a calendar of archived webpages, organized by date. Users will also find a series of special collections here, including Understanding 9/11 (an archive of over 3,000 media reports of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center) and the Live Music archive. [MMB]

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Digital humanities is an emerging field in which scholars draw on multimedia technologies in order to analyze and present their work in new ways. The field encompasses the use of text-mining technology in literary research, the publication of born-digital dissertations and manuscripts, and the use of interactive maps to engage readers with historical data. As the field continues to gain popularity, the use of new technologies has sparked conversation and debate amongst scholars. To document these debates, The University of Minnesota Press created Debates in the Digital Humanities, a book series that "brings together leading figures in the field to explore its theories, methods, and practices and to clarify its multiple possibilities and tensions." Each annual edition includes both traditional scholarly articles as well as shorter think-pieces and blog posts that have shaped the field in a given year. The complete open-access edition of the 2016 Debates in the Digital Humanities can be found here. Readers may browse entries by topic, including Digital Humanities and its Practices, Digital Humanities and its Critics, and Histories and Futures of the Digital Humanities. In keeping with the spirit of open conversation, readers are invited to comment on entries and highlight passages of interest. The 2012 edition is also accessible from this website. [MMB]

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Librarians April Aultman Becker and Veronica Arellano Douglass (who work as a medical librarian and a reference and instructional librarian, respectively) note that "[m]uch of the work we do as librarians involves creating flyers, displays, handouts, websites and other designs that convey helpful information while looking good." Whether promoting a community event or providing a tutorial for using a new database, design matters in the library world. Librarian Design Share provides a space for librarians of all stripes to talk about graphic design and share their work. This blog was created specifically for those without a formal background in graphic or web design but who would like to pick up some new skills and ideas. On this website, visitors can get inspired by browsing Designs by Type (including Displays, Infographics, and Webdesign) or Designs by Software (including Adobe InDesign, Google Slides, MS Word, and Pixlr). Readers are invited to help build this collection by submitting their own designs. [MMB]

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Makerspaces, part of the larger Maker Movement, are essentially "community centers with tools." They are designed to engage learners of all ages with tools and technologies as a way to craft new things and promote collaboration and mentorship. Participants may engage in activities that range from bookbinding to construction to coding. These makerspaces (sometimes referred to by different names, including library labs and tinker studios) are becoming increasingly common sights at public libraries. The University of Alberta's Teacher-Librarianship by Distance Learning (TLDL) program provides this helpful, detailed guide to the maker movement. Originally designed to accompany a university course, this guide may appeal to those new to the idea of makerspaces, as well as those who are more familiar with this growing movement and want to implement makerspaces into their library, community center, or school. The Background section is a great place to start and includes a detailed description of different kinds of makerspaces along with links to numerous articles and other resources about the movement. Meanwhile, in the Application section, visitors will find a number of materials to aide in setting up a makerspace. These materials include handouts and posters that define a makerspace and outline the respective role of students and mentors in such spaces, a short Prezi presentation, and a collection of links to outside resources that may ignite future project ideas. [MMB]

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Depending on where you live, you may have noticed Little Free Libraries cropping up on lawns around your neighborhood. These small, enclosed bookshelves, often built to look like a miniature, old fashioned library, provide a way for neighbors to easily share books with one another. Little Free Library is a non-profit organization founded in 2009 to facilitate this unique book sharing program. Today, there are over 50,000 Little Free Libraries, and they can be found in all 50 U.S. states and in 70 countries. On this website, visitors can learn about how to use and host a Little Free Library. To see if there is a Little Free Library in your area, check out the Map tab and simply type in your address or zip code. Interested in hosting a library yourself? This website provides a detailed how-to guide for becoming a Little Library Steward, including advice on dealing with zoning laws. In addition, the Little Free Library website also features a blog that highlights Little Free Library stories from around the world. Here, visitors can check unique Little Free Library designs and learn about the work of Girl Scouts across the U.S. in building and promoting Little Free Libraries. [MMB]

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Founded in April of 1800, the Library of Congress is one of the oldest federal institutions in the United States. Today, the Library of Congress continues to serve as a the central national library for a number of important government documents and materials. The library offers access to its varied materials and resources via its Online Catalog, which may be easily browsed or searched. Furthermore, readers will find links to Additional Catalogs & Research Tools on this page, including the E-Resources Online Catalog, which directs readers to a number of free databases on topics ranging from Law to Science and Technology. Another resource of interest is the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, which includes dozens of image collections that will be of interest to researchers as well as members of the general public. These collections include the Abdul Hamid II Collection (portraying photographs of the late nineteenth century Ottoman Empire); Cartoon Prints, American and Cartoon Prints, British (featuring over 500 cartoons and caricatures published from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries); and the Look Collection (sharing images from Look magazine, published between 1952 and 1971). [MMB]

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Established in 2014, the American Library Association's Center for the Future of Libraries is dedicated to anticipating future trends and supporting forward-looking innovation in libraries. On this website, visitors can learn more about emerging library trends, keep abreast of the Center's activities via its blog, and download and read related reports. The Trends section of this website is especially interesting. Here, visitors will find information about 25 emerging movements and issues in libraries, ranging from Connected Learning to Robots to concerns about online Anonymity. Each trend includes an overview with links to related resources, and trends can also be browsed by classification (including Society, Technology, and Demographics). A specific highlight of the Library of the Future Blog, is Read for Later, "a weekly wrap-up of news and articles to help library professionals think about the future of our collections, spaces, services, partners, and roles in the community." Here, readers will find dozens of articles and resources that will be of interest to forward-looking librarians. For instance, in the March 27, 2017 Read for Later, visitors can download the New Media Consortium's Horizon Report on libraries, a sixty-page investigation of the opportunities and challenges of adopting new technologies in academic and research libraries. [MMB]

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"A forest in Norway is growing. In 100 years, it will become an anthology of books." Future Library is a unique, ongoing project headed by Scottish artist Katie Paterson that incorporates art, literature, and the natural world. As part of this project, a team planted 1,000 trees in a Nordmarka, a forest outside of Oslo, Norway. The plan? To tend to these trees until the year 2114, when they will be cut down and made into books. In the meantime, every year until 2114, a writer will donate a text to be published in one of these books in 2114. As Paterson explains, this project, which will be passed along to a new group of people every ten years until its culmination in 2114, centers on a philosophy that is central to both forestry and urban planning: that individuals and communities create things today that will ultimately benefit future generations. On this website, visitors can learn more about the Future Library project, view related photographs and a short video about the project, and follow news and press coverage related to the project. [MMB]

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Library 2.0 is an international community of librarians who are interested in "the future of libraries in the digital age." Founded in 2006 by librarian and blogger Michael Casey, Library 2.0 has grown into a global organization that offers a number of professional development opportunities, including traditional conferences, virtual conferences, and webinars. Many of these virtual conferences and webinars have been recorded over the years, and visitors may view these recordings on the Library 2.0 YouTube Channel (link provided in the Archives tab). One such conference, Libraries as Classroom, provides multiple perspectives on how different kinds of library spaces can facilitate learning. Most of the conferences and trainings on Library 2.0 are free; those interested in joining the community will need to complete a free registration. [MMB]

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Many of the individuals who will shape the future of libraries can be found at library schools around the world. For those pursuing - or interested in pursuing - graduate study in library and information science, the Hack Library School blog may be of interest. Founded in 2010 by a group of library science students interested in "taking the future of librarianship into their own hands," this blog features advice about library schools and entering the library profession (e.g. "Getting Through a Group Project" or "Tips for Attending Big Conferences"), reflections about the field (e.g. "Imposter Syndrome as a Barrier to Library Use"), and a regular Weekly Round-Up to keep readers abreast of news, conferences, and developments in the library world. While written explicitly by and for library students, the Hack Library School blog may also appeal to instructors, prospective students, or anyone interested in the state of the field through students' eyes. [MMB]

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metaLAB, or mL(at)H, is "an idea foundry, knowledge-design lab, and production studio" that is dedicated to pioneering new ways for libraries to serve communities. Based out of Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center, the metaLAB explores "the digital arts and humanities through research, experimentation, tool building, teaching, through publications in print and online, and via exhibition, performance, and social practice." Within this broad mission, the future of libraries is a special focus. metaLAB is headed by Matthew Battles, who authored the 2003 book Library: An Unquiet History. One of metaLAB's ongoing projects, Library Test Kitchen, is a series of workshops that encourage participants to rethink how libraries could function. Recent ideas that have come out of these workshops include a "Neo-Carell Sleeping Chair" (a portable carell that simultaneously serves as a chair, laptop stand, and napping spot) and a WiFi "Cold Spot" to help users disconnect. Meanwhile, other metaLAB projects and publications center on the changing nature of preserving and presenting data and objects. For example, Yanni Alexander Loukissas's Life and Death of Data, offers an interactive history of Harvard's Arnold Arboretum Archives. Visitors may scroll through a timeline to see when the Arboretum acquired certain archival materials. [MMB]

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