– The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the Future Publishing and Accessibility Conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 13-14, 2013.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the Future Publishing and Accessibility Conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 13-14, 2013.
Design/methodology/approach
This report provides a general overview of events at the conference as well as its main topics and outcomes
Findings
The report reveals the current challenges facing all involved in providing accessible materials to persons with print disabilities. Not only is the number of titles currently fully accessible an issue, but the digital era and electronic publishing bring their own issues. Speakers each offered their own views on potential solutions
Originality/value
This report provides librarians and researchers with a general summary of the issues surrounding accessibility and the current publishing industry as they were discussed at the conference.
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The issues raised in this chapter are primarily those of obfuscation regarding social and economic inequality in the UK. The chapter is about the way discourse in various forms…
Abstract
The issues raised in this chapter are primarily those of obfuscation regarding social and economic inequality in the UK. The chapter is about the way discourse in various forms serves to disguise and justify the huge inequalities in this society; legitimising and ‘naturalising’ them, or in Arendt's words ‘lying’ about them so that they are seen as ‘natural and self-evident’ (Alvesson & Deetz, 2006, p. 261). Issues looked at are the institutional arrangements by which government ministers give or withhold resources to and from certain categories of its citizens. This includes the UK Treasury in relation to which economic groups the Chancellor of the Exchequer decides how much to tax or not to tax. In particular what are examined are the discourses justifying these measures and establishing certain ‘truths’ about how things are economically and socially; which categories are entitled to or deserving of certain kinds of resources and which are not – argued here as constituting obfuscations of the ‘actual’ situation. Obfuscation has been defined as the action of making something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible. This, arguably, is not far removed, from the action of being deliberately untruthful or lying. The question then arises as to how close these discourses come to lying and how serious the inequalities are.
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HIS holidays over, before the individual and strenuous winter work of his library begins, the wise librarian concentrates for a few weeks on the Annual Meeting of the Library…
Abstract
HIS holidays over, before the individual and strenuous winter work of his library begins, the wise librarian concentrates for a few weeks on the Annual Meeting of the Library Association. This year the event is of unusual character and of great interest. Fifty years of public service on the part of devoted workers are to be commemorated, and there could be no more fitting place for the commemoration than Edinburgh. It is a special meeting, too, in that for the first time for many years the Library Association gathering will take a really international complexion. If some too exacting critics are forward to say that we have invited a very large number of foreign guests to come to hear themselves talk, we may reply that we want to hear them. There is a higher significance in the occasion than may appear on the surface—for an effort is to be made in the direction of international co‐operation. In spite of the excellent work of the various international schools, we are still insular. Now that the seas are open and a trip to America costs little more than one to (say) Italy, we hope that the way grows clearer to an almost universal co‐working amongst libraries. It is overdue. May our overseas guests find a real atmosphere of welcome, hospitality and friendship amongst us this memorable September!
Asks on whose behalf the black woman poet in the USA speaks, what type of language she uses and what audience she has. Points out that an earlier lack of tradition meant that…
Abstract
Asks on whose behalf the black woman poet in the USA speaks, what type of language she uses and what audience she has. Points out that an earlier lack of tradition meant that originally white styles of language were used and aimed at the white audience. Looks at the rise of the blues era and the “blueswoman”. Considers the work of Phillis Wheatley, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Anne Spencer and Angelina Grimke together with Margaret Walker and singers such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Finally, outlines the development of a political era and the growing sexual freedom of black women and the impact their writings.
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Of the 17,000 churches and chapels in England nearly half survive from the Middle Ages and the duty of continuing the care that has preserved them for so long largely falls on the…
Abstract
Of the 17,000 churches and chapels in England nearly half survive from the Middle Ages and the duty of continuing the care that has preserved them for so long largely falls on the current generation of parishioners and their advisers — an increasingly onerous task as the numbers of communicants diminish and funds become accordingly scarce.
ALL the auguries for the Bournemouth Conference appear to be good. Our local secretary, Mr. Charles Riddle, seems to have spared neither energy nor ability to render our second…
Abstract
ALL the auguries for the Bournemouth Conference appear to be good. Our local secretary, Mr. Charles Riddle, seems to have spared neither energy nor ability to render our second visit to the town, whose libraries he initiated and has controlled for thirty‐seven years, useful and enjoyable. There will not be quite so many social events as usual, but that is appropriate in the national circumstances. There will be enough of all sorts of meetings to supply what the President of the A.L.A. describes as “the calling which collects and organizes books and other printed matter for the use and benefit of mankind and which brings together the reader and the printed word in a vital relationship.” We hope the discussions will be thorough, but without those long auto‐biographical speeches which are meant for home newspapers, that readers will make time for seeing the exhibitions, and that Bournemouth will be a source of health and pleasure to all our readers who can be there.
The market cross was a common structure and symbol used in early markets in England and Scotland. Although its precise origin is obscure, its use appears to be connected with…
Abstract
The market cross was a common structure and symbol used in early markets in England and Scotland. Although its precise origin is obscure, its use appears to be connected with religious traditions. Early markets in medieval Britain, especially rural markets with no central authority present, likely faced obstacles in serving as places of trade between strangers. Many market towns and trading centers did exist at church or religious gatherings, but these might have followed pre-Christian or pagan sites, and similarly, the market cross itself may be related to the pre-Christian practice of constructing stone pillars to create trade sanctuaries or to represent a divine witness. Such structures used as religious symbols, therefore, are likely to have facilitated the emergence of impersonal markets of exchange.
Within the past few years, responsible educators, librarians, parents, counselors, social workers, therapists, and religious groups of all sexual persuasions and lifestyles have…
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Within the past few years, responsible educators, librarians, parents, counselors, social workers, therapists, and religious groups of all sexual persuasions and lifestyles have recognized the need for readily available reading material for lesbian and gay youth. Unfortunately, this material is often buried, because it is embedded in larger works. To meet this need, I have compiled and annotated 100 of the best works for young homosexuals, bisexuals, and heterosexuals. I have also included a few of the best works currently available on heterosexuality as a much needed source of knowledge for all young adults whether they are gay or straight, whether they remain childless or eventually become parents.
Mike Pearce, Margot Lindsay, WA Munford, Brian R Howes and Elizabeth Ward
SOME twenty five years ago, in my late teens, poking about in a very dirty second hand bookshop of the sort which seem virtually to have disappeared nowadays, I came across a…
Abstract
SOME twenty five years ago, in my late teens, poking about in a very dirty second hand bookshop of the sort which seem virtually to have disappeared nowadays, I came across a volume which had been very lovingly, and very clumsily rebound by hand in orange and brown morocco. It stood out from the nineteenth century sermons and the early twentieth century adventures in the Raj like some exotic tropical fruit. I took the book from the shelves and found that the front cover had on it a rather roughly executed plant design in blind. The raised bands of the spine were finished off with a small leaf design, and at the top of the spine on a dark brown and heavy label which I discovered later covered a messy attempt at tooling was the title of the book, The roadmender, in gilt. The title was also in blind on the front cover at the top and slightly askew. It was a dull day outside, and in the gloom of the shop, lit by one measly unshaded bulb, the book actually did seem to take on a luminous quality, but it was the fact that someone had clearly spent so much loving time on rebinding that made me buy it. I reasoned that if someone cared so much for what the contents had to say, either to rebind the book specially, or have to rebind it because of wear and tear, it might be worth reading. It was priced at one shilling—more than I was used to forking out in that type of shop where twopence (d) was the sort of money I anticipated paying in the days before inflated book prices. The title of the book meant nothing to me, and the name of the author—Michael Fairless—rang no literary bell in my head. But I bought it, and took it home.
Evaluates changes in the welfare system in Sweden, the UK and the USA over a decade, basing arguments on the divergence of economic globalization and domestic forces. Presents…
Abstract
Evaluates changes in the welfare system in Sweden, the UK and the USA over a decade, basing arguments on the divergence of economic globalization and domestic forces. Presents brief economic snapshots of each country, stating quite categorically that the welfare state is an impediment to capitalist profit‐making, hence all three nations have retrenched welfare systems in the hope of remaining globally economically competitive. Lays the responsibility for retrenchment firmly at the door of conservative political parties. Takes into account public opinion, national institutional structures, multiculturalism and class issues. Explores domestic structures of accumulation (DSA) and refers to changes in the international economy, particularly the Bretton Woods system (Pax Americana), and notes how the economic health of nations mirrors that of the US. Investigates the roles of multinationals and direct foreign investment in the global economy, returning to how economic policy affects the welfare state. Points out the changes made to the welfare state through privatization, decentralization and modification of public sector financing. Concludes that the main result has been an increase in earnings inequality and poverty.