LJAN Resources

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Welcome to LJAN Resources, our new monthly academic content roundup. We’ll be curating standout InfoDocket posts and nonfiction LJ book reviews on the last Thursday of every month for quick access to news and reviews you can use.  
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From InfoDocket:
From The Daily Californian: The UC Berkeley Library began a project Aug. 15 to archive websites at risk of erasure under Taliban rule.

Librarian for East European Central Asian studies collections Liladhar Pendse initiated the project when the Taliban first breached the presidential palace in Kabul, according to Pendse and campus South Asia curator and cataloger Adnan Malik.     
From The Daily Tar Heel: The Carolina Latinx Center’s latest project to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month is a collaboration with University Libraries, compiling a collection of 85 audiobooks and ebooks that highlight the Latinx experience. Many of the books are written by authors from the Latinx community.

The project was created by CLC Assistant Director Marcela Torres-Cervantes, along with UNC Libraries’ Media Center Manager Katelyn Ander, Acquisitions and Serials Coordinator Melissa Salvanish, and Associate University Librarian for Special Collections and Director of Wilson Library Maria Estorino.
From the National Archives and Records Administration: Civil War era and related maps from the Army Corps of Engineers have been digitized and are available to view and download from the National Archives Catalog. The records are part of the Civil Works Map File series from Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers. The records make up the Z file unit.

The records in the Civil Works Map File comprised the main map collection for the Corps of Engineers during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. They include manuscript maps forwarded to headquarters by Corps of Topographic Engineers and Army Engineer surveyors and cartographers in the field, and published editions of selected maps.  
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From SPARC: Today, SPARC releases the results of its COVID Impact Survey, which was undertaken to better understand academic libraries’ pandemic-related budgetary challenges and approaches, with a focus on understanding how they affected attitudes towards content, collections, and open initiatives.

Among the findings of the study:

  • Nearly 80% of libraries had to contend with budget cuts as a result of COVID; over 20% reported having experienced a cut of 10% or more; the vast majority of those who experienced cuts anticipate that these reductions will likely be permanent.  

  • Many libraries reported renegotiating publisher agreements or unbundling a Big Deal, or were strongly considering doing so. That said, in some cases, the need to act quickly and efficiently served to protect major long-term contracts (including some Big Deals), while leaving smaller publishers and one-time purchases (like monographs) exposed as easier to cut with fewer immediate repercussions.
From the Society for Scholarly Publishing: SSP is pleased to announce the second annual edition of the Professional Skills Map. Many thanks to all who participated in the survey in late 2020! The Professional Skills Map is the first of its kind in the scholarly publishing space: Users at any career stage can discover roles across scholarly publishing and make direct comparisons about the necessary elements for success.

This powerful tool is designed for users to explore individually or with a mentor to identify necessary skills for a current or desired role. At the industry level, the map helps identify trends over time, showing which skills are emerging and increasingly in demand as the field of scholarly publishing evolves.     
From Research Libraries UK: Librarians and archivists at CILIP, Research Libraries UK, and SCONUL stand in solidarity with fellow librarians and archivists in Afghanistan.

We are gravely concerned at the threat to the safety and security of librarians and archivists resulting from the change of regime in Afghanistan. They have dedicated their professional lives to serving the people and institutions of Afghanistan and we call on the new regime to guarantee their ability to carry out their professional duties without threat or coercion.

Of particular concern is the place of women librarians and archivists. They are a key part of the profession in Afghanistan, and are vital to encourage women to make use of library and archival services and to ensure that they feel safe to do so. They must be allowed to return to their institutions, and continue to work without any barriers.   
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Ex Libris How Libraries Can Increase Student Engagement with Course Materials

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From LJ Reviews:
HISTORY 
PREMIUM

The Writing of the Gods: The Race To Decode the Rosetta Stone
By Edward Dolnick 
Dolnick presents a fast-paced intellectual adventure for general readers that surveys the invention of writing and the processes of deciphering and decoding. Highly recommended for anyone who relishes challenging puzzles.
PREMIUM
Conquistadores: A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest
By Fernando Cervantes
A richly provocative retelling of the deeds of the conquistadores and the spirit of their age. Cervantes is a gifted scholar and storyteller who offers readers no easy moral clarity.
PREMIUM
The Greeks: A Global History
By Roderick Beaton 
The book’s wide historic focus offers something for general readers interested in any period of Greek history; particularly good for enthusiasts of Greek antiquity who want to expand their knowledge. 
POLITICAL SCIENCE 
PREMIUM
An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World

By Patrisse Cullors 
A useful and surprisingly personal handbook for activists. Recommended for all readers interested in social change activism, particularly prison reform and the defund-the-police movement.   
PREMIUM
Russia Upside Down: An Exit Strategy for the Second Cold War
By Joseph Weisberg 
Fans of The Americans, readers interested in U.S.–Russia policy, and anyone wishing to learn more about the topic will enjoy this insightful, thought-provoking book.
SOCIAL SCIENCES 
Race Relations in America: Examining the Facts
By Nikki Khanna & Noriko Matsumoto  
A balanced and thorough look at the United States’ most important contemporary race issues, with timely content and excellent supporting documentation.
PREMIUM
Sunbelt Blues: The Failure of American Housing
By Andrew Ross 
This book will have particular interest for libraries in the Sunbelt, but it’s not just about Florida: full-time minimum wage workers can barely afford rent anywhere in the nation. Ross calls to end market-driven housing and empower residents to make reform; for dwellers and policy-makers, reading this book may be a first step toward that empowerment.  
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City
By Andrea Elliott
An unforgettable account, both heartrending and heartbreaking, of structural racism and inequality. Like Matthew Desmond’s Evicted, Elliott’s tour de force is destined to become a classic.
image ACADEMIC BESTSELLERS: African History
By LJ Reviews

Apollo’s Arrow, Anti-Vaxxers, COVID-19, Diabetes, the Doctors Blackwell and More in medicine titles: September 2020 to date as identified by GOBI Library Solutions from EBSCO.

1. Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live.
Christakis, Nicholas A.
Little, Brown
2020. ISBN 9780316628211. $29.00

2. Anti-Vaxxers: How to Challenge a Misinformed Movement.
Berman, Jonathan M.
MIT Press
2020. ISBN 9780262539326. $19.95

3. COVID-19: The Pandemic that Never Should Have Happened and How to Stop the Next One.
Mackenzie, Deborah
Hachette Books
2020. ISBN 9780306924248. $27.00 
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