Social network market: Storytelling on a web 2.0 original literature site

This article looks at a Chinese Web 2.0 original literature site, Qidian, in order to show the coevolution of market and non-market initiatives. The analytic framework of social network markets (Potts et al., 2008) is employed to analyse the motivations of publishing original literature works online and to understand the support mechanisms of the site, which encourage readers’ willingness to pay for user-generated content. The co-existence of socio-cultural and commercial economies and their impact on the successful business model of the site are illustrated in this case. This article extends the concept of social network markets by proposing the existence of a ripple effect of social network markets through convergence between PC and mobile internet, traditional and internet publishing, and between publishing and other cultural industries. It also examines the side effects of social network markets, and the role of market and non-market strategies in addressing the issues

The UJI Aerial Librarian Robot: A Quadcopter for Visual Library Inventory and Book Localisation

Over time, the field of robotics has provided solutions to automate routine tasks in different scenarios. In particular, libraries are awakening great interest in automated tasks since they are semi-structured environments where machines coexist with humans and several repetitive operations could be automatically performed. In addition, multirotor aerial vehicles have become very popular in many applications over the past decade, however autonomous flight in confined spaces still presents a number of challenges and the use of small drones has not been reported as an automated inventory device within libraries. This paper presents the UJI aerial librarian robot that leverages computer vision techniques to autonomously self-localize and navigate in a library for automated inventory and book localization. A control strategy to navigate along the library bookcases is presented by using visual markers for self-localization during a visual inspection of bookshelves. An image-based book recognition technique is described that combines computer vision techniques to detect the tags on the book spines, followed by an optical character recognizer (OCR) to convert the book code on the tags into text. These data can be used for library inventory. Misplaced books can be automatically detected, and a particular book can be located within the library. Our quadrotor robot was tested in a real library with promising results. The problems encountered and limitation of the system are discussed, along with its relation to similar applications, such as automated inventory in warehouses.Support for the research conducted at UJI Robotic Intelligence Laboratory is provided in part by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (DPI2015-69041-R), by Universitat Jaume I (UJI-B2018-74), and by Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2020/034, GV/2020/051)

Book review: from spinster to career woman: middle-class women and work in Victorian England by Arlene Young

In From Spinster to Career Woman: Middle-Class Women and Work in Victorian England, Arlene Young explores changing perceptions of women’s work in mid-Victorian England and the lingering anxieties surrounding the growing cultural acceptance of the figure of the middle-class working woman. This book offers a fresh perspective on the Victorian period and will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of anyone interested in women’s history, British history and labour studies, recommends Katelan Dunn

Increasing emergent literacy skills in children with autism

Examines and rationalizes the instructional strategies used to teach young children with autism early literacy skills using a balanced, multilevel approach to reading. Explores the five domains of reading in a way that brings light to the areas of reading deficits in young children diagnosed with autism. Additionally, attempts to bring the concept of best reading practices to the attention of educators who serve children with autism. The project provides a handbook of literacy activities geared towards children with autism and other developmental disabilities

The Helsinki public library, Re-Thinking the public library

THE HELSINKI PUBLIC LIBRARY “Re-thinking the public library” Through the last decades information has become more approachable, easy to influence and deliver; technology specifically internet has change the ways and accessibility to knowledge, if a couple of decades ago we were dependent on main stream media and traditional sources of information, now we are facing a new paradigm where the receiver can become to be a source of information through different tools such as: Tweeter, Facebook, Blogs, etc. The main sources of knowledge are now to be approached almost by anyone, any time, anywhere. Google, Wikipedia, Youtube, and many other search engines are now some how replacing our teachers, librarians and storytellers… Considering this new context, where do we position the role of the public library? The understanding of different human groups, their social circumstances and the direction where the nation may be moving to, give us some clues on where to start to dig and what are the signs we may follow. In order to maintain a meaningful role in the society, the public library needs to develop alternative functions and give attention to new user groups. The traditional way of classifying library users might be obsolete; different interest areas often related to specific personal interest are greater motivators than gender, age or ethnic background. The challenge now is to understand these new motivations and transform them into new products and services the library can offer. On this study I will describe the design process that took place reformulating the functions of the public library of Helsinki, in a process that concluded with the guidelines for future services and a new interior architecture prototype, implemented on the library of Oulunkylä neighbourhood of Helsinki. The whole project was developed in close cooperation between the library staff and administration, the design team of the company I was representing by that time, and the community of Oulunkylä. A number of meetings, workshops and consultation rounds where taking place in order to create and deliver a solution as close as possible to the expectations and needs of the different stakeholders. Various methods and tools were used to approach different matters related to the design process. By defining a new spatial program and functions was also possible to enhance the interaction between different user groups and to overcome the generational conflict that changes can produce in a public service. The library will keep on having an important role on the development of the Finnish society, certainly its function has change dramatically from a printed knowledge storage place into a experience public enabler with a strong social role to play. The challenge now for the library is to “stay tuned” to the needs and changes on the people it serves; I believe the library as well as many other public services will require constant rethinking of their functions, placing the user in the centre of any development attempt. Without exhaustive observation, understanding and the participation of different stakeholders, changes can always become to be merely aesthetic or technical “face lifts”, losing momentum and weakening institutions we all have to protect

How School Library Media Specialists Support Reading and Information Literacy Skills Instruction for English Language Learners

HOW SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS SUPPORT READING AND INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS INSTRUCTION FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS by Melinda Morin This study explored the school library media programs in four schools. The percentage of English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in each of these schools was among the highest on their respective levels in their school districts. Moreover, the percentage of ELLs in these schools who met and exceeded the standard for reading and English/language arts on the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) in the spring of 2010 was more than the Annual Measureable Objective (AMO) of 73.3% or slightly less. The participants were the school library media specialists who administered the school library media programs in these schools. This was a qualitative study. During an inductive thematic analysis, the data coalesced into four themes that corresponded with the research questions: instruction, collaboration, media/technology, and interpersonal communication. These findings were derived from the data. 1. The participants used both conventional and technology-based instructional strategies to support reading and information literacy skills instruction for all of their students, including the ELLs. 2. The school library media collections included first language, bilingual, and multicultural literatures, picture books, nonfiction books written on a lower reading level, graphic materials, Hi-Lo reading materials and other digital resources; however, the materials varied in age, suitability, and condition. 3. The school library media specialists collaborated informally with the other members of the instructional team. 4. The school library media specialists undertook other practices that support reading and information literacy skills instruction for ELLs on a discretionary basis

Book review: from spinster to career woman: middle-class women and work in Victorian England

In From Spinster to Career Woman: Middle-Class Women and Work in Victorian England, Arlene Young explores changing perceptions of women’s work in mid-Victorian England and the lingering anxieties surrounding the growing cultural acceptance of the figure of the middle-class working woman. This book offers a fresh perspective on the Victorian period and will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of anyone interested in women’s history, British history and labour studies, recommends Katelan Dunn

The Lived Experiences of High School Students Who Self-Identify as Readers: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and better understand the lived experiences of what it means to be a reader as a high school student. The literature revealed a plethora of studies and articles on various aspects of reading and many pieces from teachers, researchers, and academics’ perspectives, but there are virtually no studies that have explored what being a reader means from the high school reader’s perspective; no studies that have explored the lived experiences of what being a reader means to high school students. The central question guiding this study asked, “What is the lived experience of a self-identified reader?” I discussed and explored the lived experiences with 11 high school juniors and seniors in three high schools in a small city in the northeastern United States. The theory that guided this study was Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory; this theory is predicated on the belief that development and learning are socially situated. The three main elements of this theory, social interaction, the more knowledgeable other, and the zone of proximal development, all are related to students’ learning to read and developing as readers and are therefore related to the study’s focus. This study collected data in four ways: personal interviews, text and email messages, protocol writing, and reader-inspired photographs, pictures, and images. Data were analyzed using lean coding, thematic analysis, and phenomenological reflection