I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post that one of the hats I wear for the company is that of an instructor. That is to say, I hold regular sessions with interns and junior staff members on topics related to our profession, much like the topics in the series of blog posts we publish. This semester I met with our 2014 fall interns to discuss [...]
by Eileen Neary My parents knew even when I was young that my career path would go one of two ways: either I’d be working with the environment or with the English language. But I only ever seriously considered one route (unless you count my proclamation at age eight that I’d be a famous dog groomer, or at ten that I’d be the [...]
There is a rather confounding dynamic currently at play when it comes to our country’s views on education. Popular opinion would categorize our colleges and universities as top-tier institutions. In contrast, however, for many years now, the condition of the United States’ K‐12 system has preoccupied many as a pressing and disconcerting issue. So are we donning rose-colored glasses when we turn our [...]
by Chris Hartman The 36th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair will be held at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, from Friday, November 14, through Sunday, November 16. There will be 134 dealers attending from the United States, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Russia. These dealers will be selling a large trove of rare, collectible and antiquarian books, illuminated manuscripts, autographs, maps, [...]
KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA Technology is at it again, folks. Exciting new advancements in GPS and mobile phone technology for the blind and visually impaired are in development and hitting the commercial marketplace. British company OwnFone launched the world’s first Braille mobile phone in Australia this year. Unlike most cell phones on the market today, this one offers a simplified design for its [...]
Learning another language is a challenging yet fun task that many adults consider but don’t actually try. It often makes its way onto many New Year’s resolutions lists but is neglected just as quickly. With easy-to-use phone apps and other software tools, excuses are disappearing. New studies show that bilinguals have a serious advantage over monolinguals. In the past, being able to speak [...]
Boredom is a normal part of life. We don’t naturally have activities to constantly amuse ourselves. In a fast-paced society, we accept the routine of being endlessly busy, and find ourselves at a loss of what to do when we are not overwhelmed with three or more tasks or thoughts at once. But is our inability to “log off” affecting our creative abilities? [...]
Although I’ve technically aged out of the young adult (YA) demographic—which, according to the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), is ages 12–18—I am still an avid consumer of the genre and admire the zeal of younger readers. To see that excitement firsthand, last month I attended the third annual Boston Teen Author Festival (BTAF), a recent addition to the Boston literary landscape. The BTAF [...]
by Nick Persad Zombies! What comes to mind? AMC’s The Walking Dead? The Resident Evil franchise? Education? Personally, I imagine the rotting flesh and deep groans of humans who now walk the Earth (extremely slowly) as the undead—acting on one impulse: to satisfy their ravenous appetite for human flesh. But, surprisingly, it is scenarios like this that are proving essential in teaching college classes about survival [...]
Almost since their inception, comic books and graphic novels had a large following, particularly among young people. In recent years, not much has changed in this regard, as the graphic novel sections have become some of the most trafficked and fastest-growing areas in many libraries. Graphic novels and comic books have likewise gained wider use in academic circles. Why are these changes taking place? The [...]