Friday Video: Julian Assange @ SXSW 2014

Recorded on Mar 8, 2014

With recent disclosures about online surveillance, Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, continues his dedication to the pursuit of individual privacy and transparency.

Labeled everything from martyr, anarchist, whistle-blower, hero or tyrant, Assange has ignited international headlines over the past six years, arguably becoming one of the most polarizing and provocative figures of our time.

During this one-on-one conversation with The Barbarian Group’s Benjamin Palmer, Assange will discuss the importance of online privacy, the ethical and political implications of releasing classified information into the public realm, and the concept of the “Internet Nation”.

The interview will also address subjects including the relationship between government surveillance and national security, the implications of online democracy, and the future of the Internet.

Text via SXSW.

Posted in Politics & Law, video Tagged with: privacy, secrecy, sxsw, wikileaks

Friday Video: Edward Snowden and ACLU at SXSW

Streamed live on Mar 10, 2014

Posted in Politics & Law, video Tagged with: privacy, security, sxsw

More on Librarians @ SXSW

Janie rocks!

Janie Hermann has worked in libraries for almost twenty years, in the areas of technology training, business outreach and research. Currently, she serves as Public Programming Librarian at the Princeton Public Library. She is always seeking new partnerships and ways to keep libraries relevant. This year at SXSW Interactive, Hermann will speak on the panel, “The New Startup Garage for Innovation? Libraries!” Check out this installment of the Session Spotlight to learn more.

SXSW: Why are libraries the new startup garage?
Hermann: Libraries as the epicenter of innovation, technology and economic recovery? You bet your assets they are! By finding creative ways to bring together techies, entrepreneurs, makers, and sometimes even angel investors, today’s libraries are able to inspire real life action that jumps off the page and into startup success. Find out how Princeton Public Library (NJ) is leveraging community collaborations with groups such as the Princeton Tech Meetup., Python Users Group in Princeton, the Princeton Chamber of Commerce and many more to create unique opportunities for social good and local growth. This conversation will challenge you to rethink the role of the library in your community and encourage you to explore how libraries can be a focal point of insights, ideas and innovation. If you have been seeking a “real world” social platform that has the ability to bring together a mix of thinkers, tinkerers, coders and investors the library just might be your answer!

Read the full interview with Janie @ sxsw.com.

Posted in Libraries Tagged with: librarians, sxsw

Librarians @ SXSW

AUSTIN (February 5, 2014) – Representatives from the library industry’s leading organizations and associations are attending SXSW Interactive to raise awareness of the ways librarians are already supporting emerging entrepreneurs and tech businesses across the country. The goal is to get more entrepreneurs to recognize how librarians can help them scale their businesses. Through the support of Innovative, the leading provider of technology solutions and services to libraries, these organizations will be represented at the Innovative booth for libraries (#1036) during the SXSW Trade Show.

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Librarians For Open Data and Civic Hacking

Rebecca Stavick, staff development specialist at Omaha Public Library, is one of the four founders of Open Nebraska, a citizen-led organization dedicated to pushing the open data movement in Nebraska. Open Nebraska’s mission is to solve community problems through civic application development, open data advocacy and tech education. The group organized Hack Omaha, a weekend hackathon they hosted in November 2013, which attracted around 30 participants. Stavick contends there are so many elements of civic hacking that are a direct reflection of librarianship. The library, she says, is one of the few places with the space and the Internet access that makes these types of events possible.

“Lack of access to local data is of direct concern to libraries. If libraries are supposed to provide open access to information, then any kind of public data would fall within that realm,” says Stavick. “Curating local information so that it’s more accessible to the public is a common goal of both librarians and civic hackers, with the intended result of informing citizens so they can make their own decisions.”

Open Nebraska is launching Hack Lincoln, the first-ever civic hackathon in Lincoln, Neb., this March and is aiming to plan another hackathon around National Civic Hacking Day in June.

Read the full article @ sxswLAM.

Posted in Libraries Tagged with: nebraska, omaha, opl, sxsw