Link Smorgasbord, June 2015

Long Before Snowden, Librarians Were Anti-Surveillance Heroes
On the privacy efforts by librarians over the past decade.

The quest to save today’s gaming history from being lost forever
Digital preservation is a huge challenge, bit loss, planning for accessibility, and for format and technology obsolescence.  On top of that copyright law actively interferes with independent efforts to copy and preserve.  Video games that often have patches and expansions that result in profound changes to the game itself.  Add in the different platforms, add-ons, social aspects, and even the different modes of play (including private servers for MMOs), its a bit of a tangle.

Recently Discovered Original Script For STAR WARS Finally Confirms Who Shot First
Librarians for Han Shot First.

“Let's talk about genre”: Neil Gaiman and Kazuo Ishiguro in conversation 
"The two literary heavyweights talk about the politics of storytelling, the art of the swordfight and why dragons are good for the economy."

‘Putting Readers First’ At BEA: Gatekeepers, Curators, And ‘Too Many Books’ 
BookExpo America is an event I absolutely love attending, it's also grown from just an industry event to an event for the public and readers with BookCon.  

History of LGBT Characters at DC



Why Science Fiction Is a Fabulous Tool in the Fight for Social Justice 
The socio-political commentary/exploration of Science Fiction is one of the things that I've always loved about the genre.  In particular this article discusses Octavia Butler.

What Google’s Algorithm Change Means for Library Websites
Not just for library websites, but for research in general.

College Student Wants Four Graphic Novels “Eradicated from the System”
What makes me saddest about this is the statement that she wants the four graphic novels "eradicated from the system."  I'm familiar with the graphic novels mentioned, and I can't help be puzzled at the accusations of "pornography."  More to the point, I can think of many staples of literary education that are far more explicit that any English major can expect to encounter, let alone numerous Young Adult romance novels that are more explicit.

50 thought-provoking quotes about libraries and librarians
A pretty good collection, including many of the more well known quotes about libraries.

Libib
An app I'm definitely considering playing with, just haven't yet.  I'm a little concerned that it seems to be focused on items owned, because of how many books I read that I don't own.

I Read The New “Fifty Shades” Book, And It Is Absolutely Batshit
This book was already on my "do not want to read" list, but at the same time, I'm really glad someone else has read it and has shared the torment with us all.  I highly look forwards to more lambasting as others take on the task of sharing their read throughs.  I know this book will be in high demand in the libraries, because a lot of people really do like Fifty Shades, and that ultimately means I will likely need to read this just because of the sheer number of reader's advisory queries I will get.

University of Iowa Receives 18,000 Volume Science Fiction Library
Not going to lie, working for a Science Fiction Library/Special Collection would be a dream job for me.

Pratchett’s Daughter Says No More Discworld Books and That’s OK
I love Discworld, but I am glad that someone else won't try to add to them.  Even his last books which he effectively had a co-author I felt suffered from the change of voice.

Piktochart Design Series: With These 8 Articles You Can Now Design Like a Pro
On the art of infographic creation.

The 2015 open source summer reading list
Some great books (not all of them computer science either!), and a give-away.

Adding The Sandman to Your Library or Classroom Collection
Resources for defending the collection choice of this excellent and highly challenged graphic novel (one of my favorites, and what got me into comics in the first place).

Hiring: The First Librarian of Congress for the Internet Age
On the impending new Librarian of Congress.

2015 Locus Awards Winners
Well, hello expanding reading list.  Every book that I have read that is on this list was excellent, and I'm really happy to see one of my favorite publishers (Angry Robot) represented.

The weird worlds of African sci-fi
More reading to seek out.

The Essential Cyberpunk Reading List
Excellent collection.

Genre Wars, Amazon, and the Market for Heart: Where Do We Go From Here?
Worth a read.

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