Prof/Dev 26/01/06

Judges in rapture as poet Duffy wins T S Eliot Prize
Carol Ann Duffy has won the T S Eliot Prize for 'Rapture', a collection of her poetry.

E-read all about it
Article on the future of the printed book, with
electronic readers bringing electronic resources into a more flexible
set of formats.

Psychometric trip
Article on the use and usefulness of psychometric tests in the employment process.

Can you handle it? The nightmare interview
Tips on coping with a bad job interview.

Jane Austen dives between the 'chick lit' covers
Jane Austen is to be relaunched as a romantic novelist in the style of Danielle Steel and
Dame Barbara Cartland. Her six novels are to be given glossy, pastel
covers designed to appeal to women who are put off by the idea of
reading a 19th century writer.

UK poised for a new wireless revolution
Pipex, a broadband company is about to run trials of WiMax a new technology that offers improved wireless technology.

Google launches paid video download service
In a move that brings even greater competition to the DVD/Video rental and library outlets, Google has launched a download service that will allow content owners to sell videos through the Google video service.

Selling' libraries just the ticket
Article on the @ Your Library marketing programme for public libraries in Wales.

From National to Local, in a way that almost makes sense
Panlibus looks at the ways DirectGov provides (English) citizens with access to services relevant to them, locally.

The Vital Link research and campaign
'The Vital Link' has just launched a new campaign to promote the role of libraries to learning
providers working with adults with literacy needs and reading for
pleasure. This builds on the outcomes of new research which confirms
the role that libraries can play in supporting creative reading and
Skills for Life; and also brings together libraries’ involvement in the
BBC RaW adult literacy campaign and the World Books Day Quick Reads
initiative for 2006. Further information is available from 'The Vital
Link' website www.vitallink.org.uk. The research Vital Link has just
published is 'an important piece of impact research, carried out by
consultants, who interviewed adults in nine literacy or family learning
groups across the country. The research assessed the impact of
libraries' work with emergent adult readers, looking for evidence of
the link between an enjoyment of reading and increased confidence and
motivation, improved skills and quality of life, and ultimately better
employability'.
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Google Librarians Newsletter
The second issue is now available.

GoodNews, Bad News
An article in the Guardian by Marcel Berlins covers the announcement of the new 80 million Lottery Fund for developing community libraries.

Secret life of Matisse wins Whitbread prize
Hilary Spurling has won the Whitbread prize, receiving £30,000. Her monumental biography of
the master modernist Matisse, is a second instalment.

Digital challenge for local councils
A local authority willing to lead in the creation
of a 'wired-up community' will receive £7m to put its vision into
practice under the latest scheme to promote innovation in e-government.

12m workers have reading age of children
Up to 16 million adults - nearly half the workforce - are holding down
jobs despite having the reading and writing skills expected of children
leaving primary school, a new report reveals today.

50 libraries face closure as councils balance books
Around 50 libraries in at least six different counties are facing possible
closure in the coming months. Most are in small and sometimes isolated
communities.