Facebook

The Library has a facebook group: I Love NU Libraries!  Joining is a great way to stay up to date on Library events, as well as show your support for the Library.  Join and invite student and faculty friends to do the same.  You can also see promotional videos, along with photos and recordings of past events.  For the fall semester, were going to be looking to increase discussion about our program authors and their books, through the facebook group.  Stay tuned!

All Things Considered

How is everyone commuting these days? The price of gas is going up, and I keep reading articles about people who are switching to bicycles and scooters and public transportation for their commutes. Not sure I’m seeing much difference in bike/foot traffic around here, since I think many people switch to bikes in the summer anyway.  I usually take the T myself, but what prompts me to think about change is that today I decided to try a different route that took me directly to the Orange Line. Turns out that was a great plan on two fronts: it was a shorter commute AND there was a fire or something at Porter Square that caused a lot of delays on the Red Line. Too bad I didn’t think about checking for alternative routes earlier! Anyone else making a change?

Britannica to launch collaborative site

Britannica logo Britannica has just announced that it’s developing what seems to be a parallel site in which end-users can contribute content to the Encyclopedia as they do in Wikipedia. It looks like the user-contributed content will appear side by side with their original content (which will be marked “Britannica checked” to distinguish it from the flotsam and jetsam of the hoi polloi). A beta version of the new Britannical Online is available. It’s not clear to me exactly how the user-contributed content is going to be associated with the regular academic Encyclopedia Britannica, which NU has already by subscription. When I go to the new site it thinks I’m logged in, and recognizes me as “Northeastern University,” although I don’t seem to be able to actually contribute anything (not that I’m sure what I could/would contribute). I have some quarrels with the new site, notably the insufferable amount of advertising especially for a subscription service. Some small things, like a “return to home page” button have probably just been overlooked since this is still beta. I like the article layout better than the traditional encyclopedia site. Another good thing and a plus over Wikipedia is that all the content will be signed and contributors (yes, that means you!) will submit a profile, no anonymous posting allowed.

Joan Krizack named Fellow of Massachusetts Historical Society

Joan Krizack
From an announcement today by Acting Dean of Libraries Will Wakeling: I am excited to be able to tell you all of a great honor which has been bestowed on one of our colleagues and co-workers. Joan Krizack, University Archivist and Head, Special Collections Dept., has been elected a Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society. The Fellows, elected by their peers, comprise ” a special body of those who have excelled in preserving and making available the history of our state.” Congratulations to Joan for this eminent recognition of her distinguished and continuing contribution. (image courtesy of Society of American Archivists)