Little Free Libraries and Diversity

This spring and summer, I have seen many photos of little free libraries. Each one is carried for and each one is used.  However, let's think about the items in those little free libraries.

The mantra of a little free library (LFL) is: 

Take a book. Share a book.

That means that the LFL is dependent on donations. Someone may be curating the LFL, but it is unlikely that the person is filling the LFL based on a collection development policy. Even if that person does have some standards, do those standards assure diversity of content? Is the content inclusive? Is there accessible content? Does the LFL support the diversity in the community (racial, ethnic, gender, etc.)?

I've helped to install little free libraries and I've placed books in them, but the fact that they are generally reliant on donations means that a LFL may not contain the books that will resonate with the community it's in. Imagine an LFL in a Black and Hispanic community that is filled by non-Black and non-Hispanic people who don't live in that community. Will the materials in the LFL represent the community that is using it? No.

This hit home for me when I looked at a little free library outside of a food pantry and realized that the people filling the LFL were from a different demographic.

I don't know how to ensure that a little free library is filled with works that are diverse and inclusive, without causing more work and more cost. Perhaps if folks recognize the problem, that can be a first step towards making each LFL more inclusive, more diverse, and better connected with the community it serves.

If you have ideas on how to solve this problem, post a comment.

Library Futures: Copyright Booth to Go!

A few weeks ago, Library Futures released their 2022 Annual Report, which is a website that links to other resources.  Library Futures had an amazing 2022 including submitting 3 amicus briefs, hosting 18 webinars, and producing 3 research papers.

One thing that caught my eye is that:

Community Fellow Emily Finch converted the American Library Association Conference copyright booth into a portable Open Educational Resource that can be used anywhere.

You know that copyright questions often fall into specific categories and this handout captures that idea, while also provide using advice and pointing to other resources. 

Yes, use it! It's an Open Education Resource (OER), which means it is meant to be used and shared.

Article: What generative AI means for copyright

Rachel Alexander's opening text to this article gets at our fears:

Creatives are worried about being thrown out of a job by generative AI, while artificial intelligence developers leave themselves open to copyright infringement claims by training their AI on unlicensed material.

Her article is written from a UK perspective but does touch on approaches being used in the U.S. and EU. And if you're wondering why you should read it, this should capture your attention:

Generative AI presents a new scenario on which to apply questions that copyright has been grappling with for centuries such as: Who can be an author? What is original? What constitutes ‘fair dealing’ with a protected work? 

Information Age, which published this article, has a number of stories on generative AI.  If that is a topic you are following, you may want to follow Information Age.

Article: The Smithsonian Puts 4.5 Million High-Res Images Online and Into the Public Domain, Making Them Free to Use

This Open Culture article is from April, but sharing good news about public domain images is something that shouldn't be bound by time. (In other words, better late than never!)  Smithsonian Open Access provides now provides new platforms and tools, which give "easier access to more than 4.5 million 2D and 3D digital items from our collections—with many more to come. This includes images and data from across the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo." (Smithsonian) Note that you can search and retrieve only images that have CC0 licenses (free of copyright restrictions).

This is a collection that is worth bookmarking and using! Consider how you can connect images from the past to events that are happening today, which could help you broaden the media that you are using.

Controlled Digital Lending and Libraries: A follow-up to Hachette v Internet Archive

Right now libraries are under pressure from several different forces including those who want to limit access to specific topics (e.g., critical race theory, LGBTQ, parts of U.S. history, etc.) and publishers who are focused on what a library is, digitization, and digital books. You might feel like hiding your head in the sand, but not is not the time for that. Knowing what has happened and what is happening is important.  

It is with that in mind that I'm sharing these posts/articles that provide links to articles/commentary on the on Hachette v Internet Archive decision. Read them, skim them, save them for later...just don't ignore this, because we can't have publishers using this decision as a further step in limiting what libraries can do.

• Publishers Weekly. (March 2023) Hachette v. Internet Archive: All Our Coverage. 
• Laura Gibbs. (April 2023) The Battle for Libraries Has begun. 
• Gary Price (March 2023) Judge Issues Opinion in Hachette Book Group, Et Al v. Internet Archive, Et Al; Plaintiffs Motion For Summary Judgment Granted