Thursday, April 30, 2015

Why the U.S. Copyright Office Wants to Run Away From Home; National Journal, 4/30/15

Kaveh Waddell, National Journal; Why the U.S. Copyright Office Wants to Run Away From Home:
"A federal office that has taken on the role of digital custodian and is now in charge of such 21st-century regulatory activities as approving mobile-phone jailbreaking and setting royalty rates for Internet radio says it needs out of its 19th-century home.
The U.S. Copyright Office has been part of the Library of Congress since 1897, and the office's director, Maria Pallante, told a congressional panel Wednesday it's time for a change, saying her office's hands are often tied as a part of the Library of Congress.
"The office's current organizational structure is under strain because the copyright system has evolved and because digital advancements have changed the expectations of the public," Pallante said in a written statement. She asked the committee to codify the Copyright Office's independence.
In many ways, an independent Copyright Office would operate much like it does now, Pallante said. Although part of a legislative-branch entity, the Justice Department has recognized that the Copyright Office behaves like, and should be treated like, an executive-branch agency.
In its current form, the office's uncertain legal status and subordination to the Library of Congress can create problems. A Government Accountability Office report last month found that the library's IT services, which the Copyright Office relies on, are stuck in the past and are detrimental to its work. And Pallante says it's difficult for her to hire the staff her office needs because of the conflicts between the mission—and the budget—of the Copyright Office and that of the Library of Congress."

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Less Noise but More Money in Data Science; New York Times, 4/28/15

Steve Lohr, New York Times; Less Noise but More Money in Data Science:
"There is an apparent contradiction between the buoyant job market for big data practitioners and Gartner’s judgment that, on the perception scale, big data has moved from high expectations to what Gartner calls the “trough of disillusionment.” But, in fact, it fits a familiar pattern of technology absorption and use. Significant new technologies always take time to move into the mainstream as people and organizations learn to exploit them. It takes years.
The classic study of the phenomenon, “The Dynamo and the Computer: An Historical Perspective on the Modern Productivity Paradox,” by Paul David, an economic historian at Stanford University, was published in 1990. In it, Mr. David noted, the electric motor was introduced in the early 1880s, but its real payoff in productivity was not evident until the 1920s. It took that long for businesses to reorganize work around the industrial production line, the efficiency breakthrough of its day, made possible by the electric motor.
Similarly, it took a while for personal computers and the Internet to deliver big gains. And so too for big data, which harnesses computing, modern digital data and the software tools of artificial intelligence.
A report this week from Forrester Research described the challenge ahead. “Businesses are drowning in data but starving for insights,” the report began. “Worse, they have no systematic way to turn data into action.”"

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Podcast: The New Yorker’s Susan Orlean on leadership; Washington Post, 4/24/15

Lillian Cunningham, Washington Post; Podcast: The New Yorker’s Susan Orlean on leadership:
"This week our podcast is with Susan Orlean, a writer at The New Yorker magazine and an author of several nonfiction books, including The Orchid Thief and Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. (Orlean is also the co-host of a podcast called "Crybabies," which explores the many and varied things that make people cry.)
In this conversation, Orlean talks about the craft of writing, how she transformed into a better storyteller, what frustrates her about the publishing industry, and her advice for finding your own narrative voice.
You can subscribe to our On Leadership podcast on iTunes to hear all of our weekly conversations on life, character and advice, featuring influential figures from across business, politics, science and the arts."

Friday, April 24, 2015

Recipients of Nation’s Highest Museum and Library Honor Announced; Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), 4/21/15

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS); Recipients of Nation’s Highest Museum and Library Honor Announced:
"The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced the recipients of the 2015 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The National Medal is the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries for service to the community. For 21 years, the award has celebrated institutions that present extraordinary and innovative approaches to public service to make a difference for individuals, families, and communities. The award will be presented at an event in Washington, D.C., on May 18.
These ten honorees exemplify the nation’s great libraries and museums and demonstrate outstanding impact and quality of programs, services, and partnerships, exceeding the expected levels of community outreach. They were selected from thirty finalists that were among institutions from across the country that were nominated for the honor.
The 2015 winners of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service are..."

How to Help Someone Develop Emotional Intelligence; Harvard Business Review, 4/24/15

Annie McKee, Harvard Business Review; How to Help Someone Develop Emotional Intelligence:
"If you are one of the unlucky people who must deal with a clueless colleague or a brutish boss, you’re not alone. Sadly, far too many people at work lack basic emotional intelligence. They simply don’t seem to have the self-awareness and the social skills that are necessary to work in our complicated multicultural and fast-moving companies. These people make life hell for the rest of us.
What can you do to turn these folks around and make work a healthier, happier, more productive place to be? Whose job is it, anyway, to fix these people?
If one of these socially awkward or downright nasty people works directly for you, it is indeed your job to do something. They ruin work teams and destroy productivity, not to mention morale. They’re little time bombs that go off when you least expect it — sucking up your time and draining everyone’s energy. They need to change, or they need to leave."

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Ford’s ‘Right Way’ for Ethics and Compliance; Wall Street Journal, 4/21/15

Ben DiPietro, Wall Street Journal; Ford’s ‘Right Way’ for Ethics and Compliance:
"Raphael Richmond, Ford Motor Co.’s global director of compliance, has progressed from defending the company in court to working on its compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission rules to overseeing compliance for the company’s 187,000 employees worldwide. She talks to Risk & Compliance Journal about how the company instills ethics and compliance–“The Right Way”–throughout its workforce.
What is ‘The Right Way’ and how does the new ‘Right Way’ app change the way the company spreads compliance?
Ms. Richmond: Our global brand promise is ‘Go Further’–Ford Motor Co. will go further for our customers. When we thought about raising awareness within the company about compliance and ethics, we decided to build on that brand promise–go further the right way. We communicate around that idea with video messages from our CEO and other key executives.
We are relying on the app because we’ve got a global workforce with lots of different levels of experience with the company, in lots of different countries and markets. Most people carry their phones with them pretty constantly–our philosophy is less-effort compliance, let’s make it easy for you to do the right thing and more difficult for you to go outside the bounds and do something we wouldn’t approve of. I can train you over and over again on warning signals to look for for in business transactions, then what I need is for you to have this app handy so when you see warning signals you have a way to connect to get policy summaries that are bite-sized and easily digestible.
We’ve got information on gifts and favors, specific anti-bribery and anti-corruption advice, information on working together, and we even managed to include information about signs to look for with regard to human trafficking. The app launched [in March]. We’re aiming it at our workforce but also suppliers, dealers, anyone who might have an interest in seeing how we are doing things."

Sunday, April 19, 2015

How to solve Silicon Valley's diversity challenges? Google has ideas; CNet, 4/18/15

Richard Nieva, CNet; How to solve Silicon Valley's diversity challenges? Google has ideas:
"But fixing Silicon Valley's preference for white males won't happen immediately.
"We have a lot more work to do," said Laszlo Bock, Google's head of people operations (Google parlance for human resources). "For a long time we'll have a lot more work to do."
But now the question is how, and he mentions part of it in a book on management he released this month called "Work Rules!" In it, he talks about the nuances of working and management at Google, including how the company nudges women to nominate themselves for promotions, as it is done in the engineering world. In an interview, another program he also talked about was a "Googler in Residence" initiative started with historically black colleges."

Saturday, April 18, 2015

The Best or Worst Moment to Take a Risk?; Wall Street Journal, 4/14/15

Clare Ansberry, Wall Street Journal; The Best or Worst Moment to Take a Risk? :
"At uncertain times, why take a risk? When unmoored by illness, loss, or divorce, people tend to avoid further disruptions and cling to what anchors them—from relationships to routines to places. It is “especially hard to let go when you don’t know what [is] going to come next,” the late William Bridges, an author and consultant, wrote in his book “The Way of Transition: Embracing Life’s Most Difficult Moments.” Yet taking a risk is often what people need to move forward.
For some, uncertainty itself becomes a motivator. “If I’m going to do what I want to do, I better do it now,” says Susan Bridges, who was married to Mr. Bridges and is president of the consulting firm William Bridges & Associates, based in Larkspur, Calif., which helps people and organizations deal with change."

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Starving for Wisdom; New York Times, 4/16/15

Nicholas Kristof, New York Times; Starving for Wisdom:
"“We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.”
That epigram from E.O. Wilson captures the dilemma of our era. Yet the solution of some folks is to disdain wisdom...
So, to answer the skeptics, here are my three reasons the humanities enrich our souls and sometimes even our pocketbooks as well...
First, liberal arts equip students with communications and interpersonal skills that are valuable and genuinely rewarded in the labor force, especially when accompanied by technical abilities.
“A broad liberal arts education is a key pathway to success in the 21st-century economy,” says Lawrence Katz, a labor economist at Harvard. Katz says that the economic return to pure technical skills has flattened, and the highest return now goes to those who combine soft skills — excellence at communicating and working with people — with technical skills...
Third, wherever our careers lie, much of our happiness depends upon our interactions with those around us, and there’s some evidence that literature nurtures a richer emotional intelligence."

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

New State of America’s Libraries Report finds shift in role of U.S. libraries; American Library Association (ALA), 4/12/15

Macey Morales, American Library Association (ALA); New State of America’s Libraries Report finds shift in role of U.S. libraries:
"According to The State of America’s Libraries Report released today by the American Library Association (ALA), academic, public and school libraries are experiencing a shift in how they are perceived by their communities and society. No longer just places for books, libraries of all types are viewed as anchors, centers for academic life and research and cherished spaces.
This and other library trends of the past year are detailed in ALA’s State of America’s Libraries Report 2015, made available during National Library Week, April 12–18, both as an American Libraries digital supplement, as well as on the ALA website at ala.org/americas-libraries and as a PDF file."

Friday, April 10, 2015

Can You Learn to Lead?; New York Times, 4/7/15

Duff McDonald, New York Times; Can You Learn to Lead? :
"Business schools’ foray into the teaching of leadership can be traced to mid-1977, when Abraham Zaleznik, a Harvard professor, published a paper entitled “Managers and Leaders: Are They Different?” The answer was an emphatic yes. Leaders were visionaries who got the troops excited to march into battle. Managers were platoon sergeants who actually marched them into battle.
But the questions were obvious from the start: Is leadership an emergent quality, both situational and context-specific? Or is it something you can actually teach? That is, can you be a leader without ever leading something? Business schools insist you can."

Interviewing While LGBTQ: The questions and issues you should think about on the academic job market; Chronicle of Higher Education, 4/6/15

Richard D. Reitsma, Chronicle of Higher Education; Interviewing While LGBTQ: The questions and issues you should think about on the academic job market:
"When I entered the academic job market I made a personal choice to be open but not chatty about my sexuality. That was partly necessitated because my teaching and research focuses on LGBTQ issues. I never hid my sexual orientation on my application materials, yet neither did I state it directly. I left it to search committees to infer.
Over the years, I have spoken to LGBTQ colleagues who took a variety of approaches on the academic job market. Some chose to be even more direct than I was, mentioning their sexual orientation and their partners in their cover letters and during interviews. Others chose to be discreet — and discrete — presenting a professional self neatly divorced from the personal. They had both a regular CV that listed everything about them, and a "closeted" CV on which all references to anything remotely LGBTQ-oriented (conferences, workshops, courses, publications) were scrubbed from the professional narrative.
Being LGBTQ on the academic market was a far more sensitive issue 10 years ago, yet it remains dicey for candidates in large swaths of the country. To help other LGBTQ people struggling through the interview process, I’d like to offer the following tips."

The CEO Who Took On Indiana's Anti-LGBT Law -- And Won; Huffington Post, 4/7/15

Alexander C. Kaufman, Huffington Post; The CEO Who Took On Indiana's Anti-LGBT Law -- And Won:
For Marc Benioff, the fight against Indiana's widely criticized "religious freedom" law was personal.
The Salesforce CEO was a leading voice in the national outcry against Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed last month. Critics argued that the original version of the RFRA would have permitted businesses to discriminate against LGBT people.
Benioff said his advocacy was an effort to help his employees and customers whom the law might have affected, something he describes as being key to his personal philosophy.
“I’m all for a healthy mind and a healthy body, but I’m also about having a healthy planet and a healthy country and taking care of others that don’t have as much,” Benioff, a habitual meditator, told The Huffington Post on Monday from his vacation home in Hawaii...
Benioff has long practiced the "stakeholder theory," a philosophy advocated by World Economic Forum founder and chairman Klaus Schwab, among others. The ideology views shareholders as second to employees, customers, suppliers, communities, trade unions and others who are affected by a company’s commerce. Imbued with a strong sense of corporate responsibility and connected with its community, a firm that's guided by these principles might, the philosophy suggests, earn greater profits over time, translating into higher returns for investors. It’s the corporate equivalent of building good karma."

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

How to Be Emotionally Intelligent; New York Times, 4/7/15

Daniel Goleman, New York Times; How to Be Emotionally Intelligent:
"What makes a great leader? Knowledge, smarts and vision, to be sure. To that, Daniel Goleman, author of “Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence,” would add the ability to identify and monitor emotions — your own and others’ — and to manage relationships. Qualities associated with such “emotional intelligence” distinguish the best leaders in the corporate world, according to Mr. Goleman, a former New York Times science reporter, a psychologist and co-director of a consortium at Rutgers University to foster research on the role emotional intelligence plays in excellence. He shares his short list of the competencies."

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

The Authenticity Paradox; Harvard Business Review, January-February 2015

Herminia Ibarra, Harvard Business Review; The Authenticity Paradox:
"Authenticity has become the gold standard for leadership. But a simplistic understanding of what it means can hinder your growth and limit your impact...
Why Leaders Struggle with Authenticity
The word “authentic” traditionally referred to any work of art that is an original, not a copy. When used to describe leadership, of course, it has other meanings—and they can be problematic. For example, the notion of adhering to one “true self” flies in the face of much research on how people evolve with experience, discovering facets of themselves they would never have unearthed through introspection alone. And being utterly transparent—disclosing every single thought and feeling—is both unrealistic and risky."

4/7/15 3 PM EDT Webinar: Breaking Barriers: How Academic Librarians Can Communicate More Effectively with Faculty

[4/7/15 Webinar: Breaking Barriers: How Academic Librarians Can Communicate More Effectively with Faculty]
"Title: Breaking Barriers: How Academic Librarians Can Communicate More Effectively with Faculty
Date: Tuesday, April 07, 2015
Time: 03:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time...
Summary
Every aspect of the higher education ecosystem is changing—from libraries, to faculty, to administration, to publishers. Breaking down the barriers between these groups will inform a more collaborative partnership focused on managing change together. Through engagement with both librarians and faculty, some key themes appear to be emerging, such as a need for on-campus task forces, a realignment of the library’s role as resource center, and the increased responsibility of librarians to advise faculty on matters, such as copyright and various publication processes. Understanding these developments will allow librarians and faculty to communicate more effectively with each other and collectively achieve their institution’s mission.
Join us for a stimulating and perhaps challenging, but necessary discussion."

Heinz warns Kraft employees...‘Change is never easy,’ says Heinz CEO amid speculation; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/7/15

[From staff and wire report] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Heinz warns Kraft employees...‘Change is never easy,’ says Heinz CEO amid speculation:
"Bernardo Hees, who cut more than 7,000 jobs at H.J. Heinz Co. after his investment firm took the Pittsburgh company private, has a message for Kraft workers: Change is hard...
There’s been speculation that jobs will be cut at Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft. “In many places, our similarities will create synergies and our differences will open up opportunities,” Mr. Hees said in a video message released to Kraft employees on Monday. “But we all understand that change is never easy and brings with it a lot of uncertainty and questions.”"

Meet the Candidates: ALA President 2016–17; Library Journal, 4/6/15

Lisa Peet, Library Journal; Meet the Candidates: ALA President 2016–17:
"Voting for the American Library Association (ALA) 2016–17 presidential campaign has opened, and ALA members in good standing can cast their ballots through May 1. In order to offer voters some additional insight into the candidates’ opinions and plans, LJ has asked them to weigh in on some key issues facing the president-elect and general items of interest. The four candidates—Joseph Janes, associate professor and chair of the MLIS Program, University of Washington Information School, Seattle; James LaRue, CEO of LaRue & Associates, Castle Rock, CO; JP Porcaro, librarian for acquisitions and technological discovery at New Jersey City University Library, Jersey City, NJ; and Julie Todaro, dean of library services at Austin Community College, TX—have given their responses below. Full biographies of the candidates can be found on ALA’s Election Information page."

New GAO Report: Strong Leadership Needed to Address Serious Information Technology Management Weaknesses at Library of Congress; Library Journal, 3/31/15

Gary Price, Library Journal; New GAO Report: Strong Leadership Needed to Address Serious Information Technology Management Weaknesses at Library of Congress:
"The following GAO (Government Accountability Office) was published today.
From the Highlights Document:
Strategic planning: The Library does not have an IT strategic plan that is aligned with the overall agency strategic plan and establishes goals, measures, and strategies. This leaves the Library without a clear direction for its use of IT...
Leadership: The Library does not have the leadership needed to address these IT management weaknesses. For example, the agency’s chief information officer (CIO) position does not have adequate authority over or oversight of the Library’s IT. Additionally, the Library has not had a permanent CIO since 2012 and has had five temporary CIOs in the interim. In January 2015, at the conclusion of GAO’s review, officials stated that that the Library plans to draft an IT strategic plan within 90 days and hire a permanent CIO. If it follows through on these plans, the Library will be in a stronger position to address its IT management weaknesses and more effectively support its mission."

Friday, April 3, 2015

Card expired: The head of the Library of Congress must go; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/3/15

Editorial Board, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Card expired: The head of the Library of Congress must go:
"In a scathing report issued this week, the federal watchdog agency assigned much of the blame for the library’s inefficiency to director James H. Billington, an 85-year-old Ronald Reagan appointee who rarely uses a cell phone, does not use email and does not keep abreast of technological change. Mr. Billington’s annual salary is $179,700, so his reluctance to step down is partly understandable.
But the Library of Congress has a $630 million annual budget and 3,200 employees whose primary task is to run the Copyright Office and provide Congress with research and legal advice. Among the problems identified in the GAO report is the institution’s lack of a chief information officer.
Mr. Billington and his lieutenants have not moved to appoint anyone to this crucial role. They continue to run what is supposed to be one of the most important sources of information in the nation as if it were a neglected school library in rural America. The library doesn’t keep track of costs or log or respond to complaints...
Mr. Billington should retire honorably and make way, after three decades, for fresh, tech-savvy management."

Nation dates: Library of Congress criticized; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/1/15

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Nation dates: Library of Congress criticized:
"The federal government’s watchdog agency released a critical report Tuesday on the Library of Congress’s long-standing failures to manage the complex computer systems that are vital to its mission.
The result of a yearlong investigation by the Government Accountability Office, the report reveals a work environment lacking central oversight and faults Librarian of Congress James Billington for ignoring repeated calls to hire a chief information officer, as required by law.
These findings repeat the conclusions of previous reports dating back 20 years. Taken together, the reports reveal library mismanagement costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars."

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Carnegie Library, recently in crisis mode, reports surplus, passes fundraising goal; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 3/31/15

Tony Raap, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; Carnegie Library, recently in crisis mode, reports surplus, passes fundraising goal:
"The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh had a $151,000 budget surplus in 2014 and exceeded its fundraising goal by $800,000, board members said Tuesday at their annual public meeting in Squirrel Hill...
The 19-branch library system had an operating budget of $30.59 million in 2014. Its expenses totaled $30.44 million, leaving a six-figure surplus.
“That really shows the library staff does an excellent job of managing the funds that are given to them to fund the library system,” said Greg Zovko, chair of the library's finance committee...
The state contributes about $3.3 million, but that funding has been flat the past four years, said Mary Frances Cooper, the library system's president and director.
The system's biggest expense is salaries and benefits, which total $18.39 million, or about 59 percent of its budget."