Top 10 IT Issues, 2020: The Drive to Digital Transformation Begins | EDUCAUSE Review

The EDUCAUSE 2020 Top 10 IT Issues describe the start of the higher education drive to digital transformation, as colleges and universities work to simplify, sustain, and innovate.

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Colleges and universities today face numerous and varied challenges, as Susan Grajek and the 2019–2020 EDUCAUSE IT Issues Panel reports.

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Higher education leaders know that with so much at stake, perhaps even their own institution's survival, transformational change is needed. Leaders are hoping to serve different types of learners, offer more flexible credentials and learning opportunities, expand research efforts, and develop new partnerships with employers, industries, and local schools and communities. They are, in short, seeking to adapt and even radically alter their business models and the value delivered by their colleges and universities.

Technology has a significant role to play. In the past twenty years, digital technology has advanced rapidly enough to evolve from enabling back-office operations to expanding access to businesses and institutions, delivering new kinds of products and services, adapting offerings to specific needs and interests, and generally providing a competitive advantage to organizations that can use technology innovatively and well. This use of technology is being described as digital transformation (aka Dx). Higher education too is embarking on Dx, which EDUCAUSE defines as "a series of deep and coordinated culture, workforce, and technology shifts that enable new educational and operating models and transform an institution's operations, strategic directions, and value proposition."¹

The EDUCAUSE 2020 Top 10 IT Issues tell a story of how higher education is beginning its digital transformation journey. Colleges and universities are working to unmake old practices and structures that have become inefficient and are preparing to use technology and data to better understand and support students and to become more student-centric...

For higher education to meet these challenges, nothing less than transformative change will do. Dx is the mechanism for such change. The journey will be long and unpredictable. It begins with shoring up existing foundations via simplification and sustainability. It picks up speed with innovation. The integrative CIO will help ensure a smooth ride to the right destination. Thus the drive to digital transformation begins. 
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Source: EDUCAUSE Review

Reading Textbooks: The College Plague | Effective Teaching Strategies - Faculty Focus

First, let’s acknowledge this universal epidemic. College students despise reading textbooks and e-books that cover content with academic information by Dimple J. Martin, PhD, assistant professor of early childhood education and faculty professional development at Miles College.

Reading Textbooks: The College Plague
Photo: Faculty Focus

Fortunately, I discovered a cure for the reading plague that only requires five teaspoons of ingestion: 1) survey 2) question 3) read 4) retrieve and 5) review. In my class, I have found the SQ3R Method to be a step-by-step approach to learning and studying from textbooks. 

Although it took my students time and practice to master this method, it has been valuable in regards to preparing students for more content-driven class discussions, increased retention and understanding of information, strategic study skills, and test preparation.

At the beginning of each semester, I introduce to my students the SQ3R Method—it was originally devised to read college textbooks in a systematic approach. Students need to understand that this approach is completely different from casual reading; instead, it is a strategy for productive academic reading. In my attempt to get students to be more intentional and actively engaged, I began to embed the SQ3R Method into my instruction...

From my students’ feedback, I can conclude that the SQ3R Strategy has been effective in my classes. In order to generate its effectiveness, I had to guide my students through consistent rehearsals which required repetition. This allowed information to convert from short-term memory to long-term memory. However, to my chagrin, I was surprised that students did not transfer the use of the SQ3R Strategy to other classes.  
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Source: Faculty Focus

48 hours left on early-bird pricing to TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2020 | TechCrunch

Just two days stand between you and serious savings on tickets to TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2020, according to Emma Comeau, U.S. Director of Events.

This annual day-long event draws the most innovative and visionary technologists, researchers and investors from two game-changing industries — last year we hosted 1,500 attendees. Make a smart investment.  
Buy an early-bird ticket before prices go up on January 31 and save $150.

Looking for exposure? We have two fantastic ways to put your early-stage startup in front of a highly influential group of VCs and technologists. Check this out...

TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2020 takes place on March 3, but early-bird tickets disappear in just two days. Remember the deadline: January 31. Get the most out of your startup dollars — buy a ticket now and save $150.
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Source: TechCrunch

Deep neural networks are coming to your phone | Machine learning & AI - Tech Xplore

Laura Castañón, Northeastern University summarizes, How does a self-driving car tell a person apart from a traffic cone? How does Spotify choose songs for my "Discover Weekly" playlist? Why is Gmail's spam filter so effective? 

Yanzhi Wang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, has devised a way to run deep neural networks on mobile devices like the average cell phone.
Photo: Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

The answer is a type of artificial intelligence known as deep neural networks. These networks are very good at recognizing and classifying data, but they tend to take a lot of computing power and memory to run—too much to work quickly on something like your average smartphone.

Now researchers at Northeastern have demonstrated a way to run deep neural networks on a smartphone or similar system. Using their method, the networks can execute tasks up to 56 times faster than demonstrated in previous work, without losing accuracy. They will be presenting their work at a conference on artificial intelligence next month in New York.

"It is difficult for people to achieve the real-time execution of neural networks on a smartphone or these kinds of mobile devices," says Yanzhi Wang, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern. "But we can make most deep learning applications work in real-time."...

Wang and his colleagues have devised a way to both reduce the size of the neural network model and automatically generate code to run it more efficiently. This work could allow deep neural networks to be implemented in off-the-shelf devices that may not have consistent internet access. And that has uses far beyond hands-free communication with your phone.
Read more... 

Additional resources 
PCONV: The Missing but Desirable Sparsity in DNN Weight Pruning for Real-time Execution on Mobile Devices. arXiv:1909.05073v3 [cs.LG]:  
arxiv.org/abs/1909.05073

Source: Tech Xplore

The Role of AI and Machine Learning in Cybersecurity | Artificial Intelligence - Analytics Insight

AI and machine learning are the kind of buzzwords that generate a lot of interest; hence, they get thrown around all the time. 

AI

But what do they actually mean? And are they as instrumental to the future of cybersecurity as many believe?...

Conclusion  
 ...AI and machine learning have changed the world of cybersecurity forever. As time goes on, they will keep getting more and more refined. It’s a matter of question when it will reach the point of becoming your cybersecurity watchdog, tailored to your needs.
Read more...

Source: Analytics Insight

Demystifying artificial intelligence | Around Campus - MIT News

Doctoral candidate Natalie Lao wants to show that anyone can learn to use AI to make a better world, says Kim Martineau, MIT Quest for Intelligence.

A PhD student in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Natalie Lao has co-founded startups aimed at democratizing artificial intelligence and using AI to protect democracy by fighting false and misleading information.
Photo: Andrew Tsai

Natalie Lao was set on becoming an electrical engineer, like her parents, until she stumbled on course 6.S192 (Making Mobile Apps), taught by Professor Hal Abelson. Here was a blueprint for turning a smartphone into a tool for finding clean drinking water, or sorting pictures of faces, or doing just about anything. “I thought, I wish people knew building tech could be like this,” she said on a recent afternoon, taking a break from writing her dissertation.

After shifting her focus as an MIT undergraduate to computer science, Lao joined Abelson’s lab, which was busy spreading its App Inventor platform and do-it-yourself philosophy to high school students around the world. App Inventor set Lao on her path to making it easy for anyone, from farmers to factory workers, to understand AI, and use it to improve their lives. Now in the third and final year of her PhD at MIT, Lao is also the co-founder of an AI startup to fight fake news, and the co-producer of a series of machine learning tutorials. It’s all part of her mission to help people find the creator and free thinker within...

The HINTS team is now working with its first client, a media analytics firm based in Virginia. As CEO, Lao has called on her experience as a project manager from internships at GE, Google, and Apple, where, most recently, she led the rollout of the iPhone XR display screen. “I’ve never met anyone as good at managing people and tech,” says Tsai, an EECS master’s student who met Lao as a lab assistant for Abelson’s course 6.S198 (Deep Learning Practicum), and is now CTO of HINTS.
Read more...    

Source: MIT News

Community Chest's Professional Development Series Announces Winter, Spring Workshops | Giving Back - TAPinto.net

The Community Chest's Professional Development Workshop Series will hold four workshops during the winter and spring seasons by TAPinto.net.

Photo: The Community Chest

The following topics will be covered: communicating with adolescents, the art of "prezentation", managing the media and using social media, and human resources management.

The workshops are free and open to supervisors and middle managers working with area nonprofit organizations.  Advanced registration is required.  For information or to register, contact Karen Adler at Karen@karenadler.net.
Read more... 

About The Community Chest

Founded in 1933, The Community Chest, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, has supported local not-for-profit agencies for 86 years.  The Chest leads initiatives and supports nonprofits that make our communities stronger and benefit people in need in eastern Bergen County.  Each year, The Chest raises funds and allocates them to agencies demonstrating the capacity to provide services to local citizens.  The organization also provides coordinating and planning services in its communities, serving as a bridge between agencies and organizations and investing in the stability and quality of the service network. 

The Community Chest's Board of Managers is comprised of community leaders dedicated to improving the lives of neighbors in need.  People interested in being considered for board membership may contact.

For further information about The Chest, visit www.thecommunitychestebc.org/ or call 201-568-7474. Stay updated about the organization’s activities on Facebook and Twitter.  

Source: TAPinto.net

Georgia State’s Master’s in H.R. Management Responds to Emerging Business Needs | Georgia State University News

Atlanta – The redesigned Master of Science in Human Resources Management (MS-HRM) offered by Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business provides graduates with functional acumen in H.R. management and an understanding of people leadership strategy.

Photo: Georgia State University News

The new curriculum was developed in consultation with Atlanta-area H.R. practitioners, including program alumni, members of the Atlanta chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), and members of Robinson’s Human Resources Executive RoundTable, according to program director Thomas Conklin...

The demand for H.R. professionals is growing. According to the “Occupational Outlook Handbook” of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for H.R. managers will rise 7 percent between 2018 and 2028. By contrast, the average growth rate for all occupations between 2018 and 2028 is projected at 5 percent.

The 10-course, 12-month program meets two evenings per week at Georgia State’s Buckhead Center and prepares students to sit for the SHRM certification exam. 
Learn more at https://robinson.gsu.edu/mshrm.
Read more... 

Source: Georgia State University News

This workforce trend will redefine the 'new HR' | Employee engagement - Human Resources Director

Organizations are repositioning their HR leaders as EX engineers and architects, explains Rachel Ranosa, journalist.

This workforce trend will redefine the 'new HR'

Redesigning the workplace to become ‘employee-centric’ will be the key feature of this new decade in human capital management.

For 96% of talent professionals polled by LinkedIn, employee experience (EX) is becoming more important than ever.

And while many will proclaim there’s an altruistic reason behind companies learning how to view the workplace through the ‘lens of the employee,’ studies show positive EX also impacts the bottom line.

 

In fact, many organizations have come to reposition their HR leaders as EX engineers and architects...

Why do companies invest in good EX?
 
    To increase employee retention (77%)
    To increase employee productivity (71%)
    To meet expectations of Millennials and Gen Z (40%)
    To attract more candidates (29%)
 
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Source: Human Resources Director  

CSR News: Mobile Gaming With a Purpose | Environment - thecsrjournal

To bring a change in the world, there is a need for a collective transformation in attitude and behavior of the society by The CSR Journal.

Ocean Heroes mobile game

With this thought at its core, Dropledge, a Mumbai-based tech enterprise, recently launched ‘Ocean Heroes- Make Ocean Plastic Free’, a mobile game to promote clean oceans and raise awareness of the dangers of plastic to marine life amongst the community. 

The company intends to propagate a simple thought that can create a positive impact on issues in the society and environment through a memorable gaming experience.  Ocean 

Heroes looks at increasing the reach and awareness about plastic pollution in oceans and protection of marine life. In this game, as the user progress through various levels, he or she has the aim of collecting as much plastic waste from the ocean as possible while saving the marine life and helping in cleaning up the ocean resulting into collection of credits by recycling garbage...

With the philosophy of ‘Where Play Is Purpose’, Dropledge envisions a large community and collective participation to eradicate societal and environmental issues through a gamified, shareable and memorable experience.
Read more...

Source: thecsrjournal

#BizTrends2020: 7 shifts changing the face of HR | Human Resources & Management - Bizcommunity.com

Anja van Beek, independent leadership consultant, talent strategist and coach writes, HR (People) professionals will be expected to continue making a radical shift towards bigger and broader thinkers.

Photo: Getty Images

The ability to be innovative and to use technology in new and different ways is essential - this will enable them to enhance and lead the human-centricity way.

To achieve this, tech-savviness is required and to quickly respond to the ever-changing demands from the agile workforce.

Leaders need to be mindful of the latest trends – not just People (HR) teams...

Closing words
The best People leaders have a seat at the boardroom table – they contribute to conversations and decisions around new revenue streams, options to expand or shrink operations and lead the way with an agile mindset. They emphasise the importance of increasing autonomy, the use of intrinsic motivation and stress the benefits of a flatter organisation with quicker, distributed decision-making powers.

Whilst many People leaders are still grappling to embrace these points/actions, the first step will be to consider ways to enhance the leadership development programmes to be more inclusive and for businesses to display more inclusive traits.
Read more...  

Source: Bizcommunity.com

The importance of studying at home for a degree: E-learning in Africa | E-learning - DW (English)

Many young Africans dream of a higher education by DW (English.

Symbolbild: Computertechnologie und digitales Afrika (
Photo: picture-alliance/Photoshot

But they often don't have the means: colleges are often far away and accommodation is expensive. Online universities and e-learning may provide a viable solution.

Lectures with compulsory attendance were not an option for Alida Tapsoba. The 29-year-old from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, has to earn a living and therefore needs to be in control of when she works and when she studies. With this in mind, she decided to take an online course. "But I was also afraid. I wasn't sure if I could do it," the journalism student told DW. "You have to be well organized to deliver the assignments on time — especially if you work extra hours." 

Alida Tapsoba said her choice is rather expensive. She spends a lot of money on internet access. She needs to download large files, which is time-consuming and costly. Rebecca Stromeyer knows the problem well. She said that in many African countries, internet access is consierably more expensive than in Germany. Stromeyer is the founder of eLearning Africa, an annual conference which attracts experts in the field to network and exchange information in a pan-African context.
Read more...

Source: DW (English

How eLearning Can Increase Company Cybersecurity Across the Board | Opinions - Infosecurity Magazine

Cybersecurity protocol is part and parcel of every business, but many still relegate it to the realm of IT, notes Juliette Peters, education consultant. 

How eLearning Can Increase Company Cybersecurity Across the Board

While it’s true that IT and tech staff are mostly in charge of setting up and maintaining your business’ security systems, today’s ever increasing digital world means that negligence is no longer an excuse.

This is where eLearning comes in. A 2016 study published in Information and Knowledge Management actually traces eLearning all the way back to the 1960s, but the steady growth of the internet has reformulated its pedagogical bent.

Today’s eLearning efforts — whether in the form of downloadable classes or interactive quizzes — are now geared towards making learning accessible.

Online courses are a popular format, but tutorials and articles are also a great way to learn. Internal communication channels and digital files can also be used to update staff members. Also, eLearning has grown in popularity due to its accessibility and depth of information, which makes it the perfect vehicle to teach your employees about cybersecurity.
Read more...

Source: Infosecurity Magazine

Ramdas Honored for Efforts To Improve Research Reproducibility | Machine Learning Department, Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University's Aaditya Ramdas, assistant professor in the Department of Statistics & Data Science and Machine Learning Department, has received the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Award for his project, titled "Online Multiple Hypothesis Testing: A Comprehensive Treatment.", inform Stacy Kish, Associate Director, Research Communications at Carnegie Mellon University.

Aaditya Ramdas, assistant professor in the Department of Statistics & Data Science and Machine Learning Department, has received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award.

"Arguably, one of the major hurdles to reproducibility of scientific studies is the cherry picking of results among the vast array of tests run or quantities estimated," Ramdas said. "We need 'online' methods to correct for cherry picking, first acknowledging that the problem exists and then designing algorithms that can account and correct for it."

According to Ramdas, statistical methods that improve reproducibility in large-scale scientific studies will combat the increasing public distrust in science. The results of this five-year grant could transform how technological and pharmaceutical industries as well as the sciences perform large-scale hypothesis testing. In addition, it allows Ramdas to fund graduate and postgraduate students to prepare the next generation of researchers...

In this study, Ramdas will address this 'hidden' multiplicity to correct for selection bias that will improve long-term reproducibility. He hopes to develop statistical methods that will protect against the false discoveries using minimal assumptions. Ramdas aims to deliver an open-source software package to enable easier assimilation and application of these methods by other researchers.
Read more... 

Source: Carnegie Mellon University

29 New Skills You Can Now Learn on LinkedIn Learning | New Courses - The Learning Blog

Today, the workforce is rapidly evolving, bringing both progress and challenge by Zoë Kelse, Learning Supporter at Linked. 

29 New Skills You Can Now Learn on LinkedIn Learning
Photo:  Learning Blog - LinkedIn Learning

This is where adaptability comes in. Adaptability is one of the 15 most in-demand skills in the world in 2020, based on recently released LinkedIn Learning data. 

Each week, we release new courses based on insights on skill gaps and trending topics to help you adapt to an ever-changing world. Whether you’re looking for a new job or to improve in your current role, honing your skills can make you more adaptable. 

Check out one of the 29 new courses now available on LinkedIn Learning:
Read more... 

Source: The Learning Blog

Mathematician discovers conditions for stabilization of higher-order differential inequalities | Mathematics - Phys.Org

A RUDN University mathematician (Russia) and a colleague have determined the conditions for stabilization of differential inequalities that have a high order, as Phys.Org reports.

Photo: RUDN University

This result will allow mathematicians to obtain restrictions on the solutions of equations that describe some physical processes, such as diffusion processes and convection processes. The paper is published in the journal Asymptotic Analysis.

Interest in differential inequalities arises from a large number of mathematical modeling problems in natural science, as well as in solving technical and physical problems. It is often necessary to define several functions related to several differential inequalities. It is necessary to have the same number of inequalities to do this. If each of these inequalities is differential, that is, has the form of a relation connecting unknown functions and their derivatives, this is a system of differential inequalities. Systems of differential inequalities describe real physical processes with a certain degree of accuracy (for example, devices that record physical phenomena are not perfect and have some errors). It may turn out that a small error in the initial data causes significant changes in the solution of the inequality. Therefore, it is important to set limits on the solutions of differential equations.

Andrey Shishkov from S.M. Nikol'skii Mathematical Institute of RUDN University and Andrej Kon'kov from Moscow State University obtained the result, which generalizes the classical Keller-Osserman condition for differential equations...

The questions were previously studied mainly for second-order differential operators, and the case of higher-order operators is much less studied. Mathematicians researched higher-order differential inequalities and obtained sufficient stabilization conditions for so-called weak solutions of differential inequalities. 
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Additional resources  
Andrej Kon'kov et al. On stabilization of solutions of higher order evolution inequalities, Asymptotic Analysis (2019).  
DOI: 10.3233/ASY-191522

Source: Phys.Org

Scientists and mathematicians to be given fast-tracked entry to UK from February | ITV Report - ITV News

Top scientists, researchers and mathematicians will be given fast-tracked entry to the UK from next month, the Prime Minister has announced, continues ITV News.

Applicants will not need a job offer before arriving in the UK under the visa
Photo: PA

Boris Johnson said he wanted to send a message that Britain is open to the “most talented minds in the world” as the country leaves the European Union.

The “Global Talent” visa route – to be opened on February 20 – will not be capped...

And Professor Julia Buckingham, president of Universities UK, said the visa is a “positive step towards” making the UK a “magnet” for global science and research talent.

She added: “The visa route will help to ensure that universities can attract the brightest scientists and researchers to the UK with minimal barriers.”
Read more...

Source: ITV News

The Growing Need for Data Scientists | Infographics - The Merkle Hash

In just one-year job listings for “data scientist” increased by an incredible 15,000% between 2011 and 2012 by Brian Wallace, The Merkle Hash. 

Photo: The Merkle Hash

The need for data scientists is expected to continue to grow as more and more data is created each day. In 2013 IBM reported that between 2011-2013 90% of the world’s data had been created just in the two years prior to that. And now it is estimated that in the next 5 years 175 billion terabytes of data will be created every day. By 2020 there will be over 2.7 million data scientist job openings to take on this massive growth. 

Data science is a continually growing field and anyone can become a data scientist. According to Dr. Jenn Gamble, Director at Noodle.ai: 
“You don’t necessarily need a Ph.D. to do data science – you need an aptitude for math and a creative, problem-solving mentality.”...

Data scientists and powerful tech are essential to today’s growing data. The most popular jobs in this field today are data engineers, software engineers, and AI hardware specialists. Someone in these roles will be able to not only build AI software, create new tech but also virtually change the world. To learn more about the history, people, and tech behind data science read on to the infographic below.
Read more...

Source: The Merkle Hash

Anomaly Detection: When Old Statistics School May Still Beat Super-Duper Machine Learning | Physical Sciences - Science 2.0

Photo: Tommaso Dorigo

One of the most suprising results of the "Machine Learning for Jets" (but really, for particle physics in general) workshop I attended in New York City two weeks ago was the outcome of a challenge that the organizers had proposed to the participants: find a hidden signal of some new physics process in a dataset otherwise made up of some physics background, when no information on the new physics was given, nor on the model of the background, explains Tommaso Dorigo, experimental particle physicist, who works for the INFN at the University of Padova. 

The problem is called, in statistical terms, as one of anomaly detection. In other words, you have an otherwise homogeneous dataset (with many different features per each event -okay, per each "example" if you are a statistician-, which may or may not be contaminated by some small extraneous events, drawn from a different multi-dimensional probability density function...

In statistics there is a lemma, the Neyman-Pearsons lemma, which explains that for "simple" hypothesis testing (when e.g. you want to compare the "null" hypothesis that your data is only drawn from a background distribution, to a "alternative" hypothesis that e.g. the data contains both background and a specified signal) the most powerful test statistic is the likelihood ratio of the two densities (describing signal and background). No machine learning or god-given algorithm can do better than that. On the other hand, if you do NOT know the density of signal then the alternative hypothesis is unspecified. This creates the situation that no test statistic may ever claim to be more powerful in distinguishing the null and alternative hypothesis, as the power of any given test statistic will depend on the unknown features of the signal. In other words, it does not matter how fast you run if you don't know where you are going.

So, the win of a basic statistical learning tool over complex deep learning tools should not surprise you.
Read more...  

Additional resources
Machine Learning For Jets: A Workshop In New York by Tommaso Dorigo, experimental particle physicist, who works for the INFN at the University of Padova.

Source: Science 2.0 

Wharton to continue actuarial science concentration for 3 years following student backlash | Academics - The Daily Pennsylvanian

Jason Yan, Staff - The Daily Pennsylvanian reports now, Although the actuarial science concentration was removed from Wharton's web homepage late last semester, the program is now expected to continue for three more years.  
 

Students expressed concerns when the actuarial science concentration was removed last semester.  
Photo: Kylie Cooper

Although the actuarial science concentration was removed from Wharton's homepage late last semester, Penn will continue to offer the program after students expressed concerns to administrators. 

The concentration was originally removed from the website in November 2019 because of the planned retirement of Jean Lemaire, director of the actuarial science program and the only faculty member currently involved in the program. However, Wharton Deputy Dean Michael Gibbons wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian that Lemaire will continue to serve as an academic advisor for the actuarial science concentration and the program is expected to continue for three more years. 

Gibbons wrote that Wharton plans to offer two of the three classes Lemaire taught as part of the actuarial science concentration. Lemaire said though he will no longer teach, he has found a replacement he hopes will be confirmed by Wharton soon...

“[Actuarial science] declined nationally because of competition from other statistic specialties like big data and data science,” Lemaire said.

Actuarial science involves compiling and analyzing statistics to calculate risks in insurance and finance. The profession applies mathematics to model uncertainty and evaluates the probability and financial consequences of future events...

To become an actuary in the United States, students are required to take up to ten exams administered by either the Society of Actuaries or the Casualty Actuarial Society depending on the actuarial specialty.
Read more...

Source: The Daily Pennsylvanian

Meet the indy N.J. bookstore that was just named one of the best in the U.S. | Essex - NJ.com

This N.J. bookstore is in the running to be named the best in the country, inform Barry Carter, columnist at The Star-Ledger.

[words] Bookstore in Maplewood has been selected as one of five finalists for Publishers Weekly Bookstore of the Year award.
Photo: Jonah Zimiles

Whoopi Goldberg has been to [words] Bookstore in Maplewood.

Author events for Govs. Mario Cuomo and Tom Kean have brought them there, too. Can’t forget NBA legends Earl Monroe and Bernard King and authors Harlan Coben and Zadie Smith.

Now, [words] has caught the attention of  Publishers Weekly. The book company selected [words] as one of five finalists for Bookstore of the Year during the Winter Institute, an annual meeting of the American Booksellers’ Association that was held Thursday in Baltimore...

“The bookstores who reached the finals for this year’s awards represent a broad spectrum of general independent booksellers across the country that have weathered the changes that have roiled retailing in general and bookselling in particular,” said Jim Milliot, the editorial director of Publishers Weekly. “I find it heartening that year after year we find so many strong contenders for the Bookstore of the Year Award.”

Read more...  

Source: NJ.com 

York’s renowned ‘anti-bookshop’ is to be turned into a house | Business - YorkMix

One of Britain’s most idiosyncratic bookshops is set to become a house by YorkMix.  

The window of Stone Trough books.
Photo: Rachel Rogers

Stone Trough Books on Walmgate was run for more than 30 years by George Ramsden, a true character even among the notoriously eccentric world of booksellers.

More a collector and cataloguer of books than a shopkeeper, he was renowned for reconstructing the library of famous US novelist Edith Wharton.
And he was very honest about his abilities as a salesman. “Things tend to go better if I walk away from the customer,” he once said...

The shop recently achieved fame as one of the locations in film Mad To Be Normal. David Tennant, playing psychiatrist RD Laing, shot a scene signing books in Stone Trough.
Read more...

Source: YorkMix

Translator of 'No Friend but the Mountains' to visit Detroit's Pages Bookshop | Arts & Culture - Detroit Metro Times

In 2013, Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani fled Iran to seek asylum on Australia’s Christmas Island, where he was illegally detained at a detention center on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea by Jerilyn Jordan, Detroit Metro Times.

Photo: Courtesy of Pages Bookshop

During his four-year detainment (he would be forced to remain on the island until 2019, ever after the center closed in 2016), Boochani documented the inhumane treatment and torture of asylum seekers under the neglect of the Australian government by using WhatsApp.
The texts were then sent to Moones Mansoubi, who reformatted them as PDFs to be translated from Farsi to English by translator Omid Tofighian, resulting in Boochani’s award-winning 2018 memoir, No Friend but the Mountains... 

Event begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, at Pages Bookshop; 19560 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-473-7342; pagesbkshop.com. Event is free.
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Source: Detroit Metro Times

Sunday Reading: Critics on the Classics | Books & Culture - The New Yorker

From The New Yorker’s archive: original reviews of literary masterworks as they made their first impressions on the world, recommends Erin Overbey, the archive editor of newyorker.com.

Photo: Glenn Harper / Alamy

“ ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ is a profound, terrifying, and wholly fascinating book.” That was how the critic Lionel Trilling characterized George Orwell’s classic dystopian tale when it was originally published, in 1949. With the passage of time, even the most groundbreaking works of literature can grow familiar. One way to recapture our sense of wonder is to look back at the first impressions these books made on the world. 
This week, we’re bringing you a selection of original reviews of classic literature. 
Read more...

Source: The New Yorker

Introducing our 10 best debut novelists of 2020 | Books - The Guardian

All first-time authors dream of becoming bestsellers by The Guardian.

From left: Jessica Moor, Paul Mendez (top), Elaine Feeney, Abi Daré (top), Beth Morrey, Stephanie Scott, Naoise Dolan (top), Douglas Stuart, Deepa Anappara, Louise Hare.

 
The Observer’s past picks have included Sally Rooney and Jessie Burton – who among this year’s crop will make it big?

Spring is a time for new beginnings in the books world, especially when it comes to fiction – not so much for established authors, who tend to unveil their new work in the autumn, as for fiction debutants hoping to become the next Sally Rooney or Jessie Burton.
 
For the seventh year running the Observer New Review has chosen a select group of first-time British novelists we believe will make their mark. Our selection procedure was rigorous, with all eligible novels being scrutinised for readability and literary merit by a handful of editors on the New Review. And the class of 2020 looks particularly promising. Among those who made the grade were a poet, a journalist, a former teacher and an actor. The subjects they take on range from modern love in Hong Kong, child kidnapping in India and the Japanese marriage breakup industry to life inside Glasgow’s gangland and murder in a women’s refuge.

What makes us so sure these new writers will stand out from the crowd? 
Read more...

Source: The Guardian