Links - Week of June 15

One-Third of U.S. Doesn’t Have Broadband
This is a big issue for the US. It also reports "3 percent of Internet subscribers say broadband is not available in their area."

And in the same vein, Free broadband won't entice all It is a British source (BBC), but these two quotes jumped out at me:

"Some 42% of adults said that they had no interest or need for the internet. This so-called self-excluded group tended to be older or retired, with 61% confessing to never having used a computer."

and

"For 30% of those currently offline the main reasons given for that choice was financial or lack of skills."

I have been reading Nicole Engard for several years now, she had two great posts recently:
Librarians as Writers
Phonebook on Facebook

ALA Council has been talking about standards for accreditation off and on for several years. At Midwinter, we passed competences for librarianship, and also sent to the Executive Board a document requesting revisions in the accreditation rules. It is only recently that library educators have sat up to take notice of what was passed, and for some reason, are upset. (Why weren't they upset when a public library director said that he would note hire an LIS grad from his state's flagship university -- and ALA accredited program -- because they did not know enough about libraries!) Here is where you can read and comment about the standards revisions.

I also read Roy Tenant (in print and electronically). He has some interesting comments on Google's new service.

I don't blog anonymously, but there are those who are anonymous/pseudonymous. Here is an interesting controversy in the law library world. And here is another take.

Every once in a while I hear the old story about how Texas could decide to become five (5) states if they want. (Which while it is technically true it is unlikely.) This article talks about another way to "break up" the US (and they call it: devolution).

Whither file sharing, and will the RIAA and music industry ever learn? An old case resurfaces.

Here is an interesting search engine which focuses on credibility, using librarians!!

Good budget news from NYC: Speaker Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg Announce Budget Agreement Council restorations preserve funding for firehouses, 6-day library service and ACS case workers
And in the press release, libraries come ahead of the firefighters!