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Friday Bulletin: Issues

November 5, 2021

by LAM Webmaster on 2021-11-05T09:23:18-08:00 | 0 Comments

State of Alaska COVID-19 information

Gale in Context: Today's featured SLED resource

  • Gale in Context

    Includes access to over 150 ebooks, as well as full text of magazines and newspapers, and multimedia. Formerly known as Student Resources in Context. Gale in Context: High School and Gale in Context: College are both the same database.

News from the Division

Tutor.Com (Live Homework Help) Training for Patrons and Library Staff

Tutor.com, our vendor for Alaska’s statewide Live Homework Help, recently started offering recurring webinars for patrons and library staff:

For Patrons - Tutor.com for Libraries: A Guided Tour

We hope you and your learning community will join us on the fourth Friday of each month for a free online Tutor.com orientation session. We’ll review how patrons gain access to their program and share the features available to them—plus, Tutor.com staff will be answering questions live! This session is geared toward patrons of all ages, educators, and library staff.

For Library Staff - Tutor.com Training - Live Homework Help

This webinar is currently being offered three times – 11/9/21 at 2pm, 11/11/21 at Noon, and 11/17/21 at Noon. This free webinar training will be a quick and comprehensive walk through on using your Tutor.com service. We will be touching upon how to accesses the program, the different features available, all of the recent additions and expansions within the program, as well as answering any lingering questions. This session will also be recorded and shared with all who sign up.

News from L.A.M.S in Alaska

Valdez Museum November Tuesday Nite History Talk: Valdez Rises

The Valdez Museum recently started making their benchmark program Tuesday Nite History Talk (TNHT) available as a virtual event. November’s TNHT will take place at 5:30 pm on November 23 and features Tabitha Gregory’s new book, Valdez Rises. It documents the impact of the 1964 Earthquake on the original Valdez townsite and the collective efforts of many to come together to move the town to a new location. Gregory will talk about her research, writing and the history of the move.  Access the program via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81065838714?

Does your institution have a virtual program they’d like to advertise outside of your community? Drop us a line and we’ll include it in a future Friday Bulletin.

Koniag and KANA Donate the Alutiiq Center to the Alutiiq Museum

From our friends at the Alutiiq Museum:

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In a move to strengthen stewardship of Alutiiq cultural resources and support of the Koniag Region, Koniag and the Kodiak Area Native Association (KANA) donated the land and facility that hold the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository to the museum at a joint transfer ceremony today.

Koniag purchased the basement and second floor of the Alutiiq Center from Natives of Kodiak (NOK) for $1.8 million and donated the floors to the Alutiiq Museum. KANA simultaneously transferred title of the facility's first floor, which has an estimated value of $1.1 million, to the museum. This investment will provide the museum fee simple title to its facility so it may focus on its critical work of preserving and sharing the heritage and living culture of the Alutiiq people.

Koniag President Shauna Hegna sees this effort as a way to help meet Koniag's goals of stewarding cultural resources and advocating for the region and its stakeholders: "This partnership between NOK, KANA, Koniag, and the Alutiiq Museum is an investment in, and celebration of, our Alutiiq people and culture. For more than 25 year the Alutiiq Museum has been a cornerstone in Alutiiq cultural revitalization. Koniag is honored to support its critical work."

Mike Pfeffer, Chief Operating Officer & Acting CEO of KANA, agrees: "The work of the Alutiiq Museum highlights and shares the incredible history of Alutiiq people. This investment will allow the museum to build upon the great heritage and preservation work they already provide. KANA is proud to be a part of this collaboration."

Last week, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) Trustee Council awarded $8 million to the Alutiiq Museum to renovate its facility.

"Koniag and KANA's facility donations and the EVOS Trustee Council's generous grant will help the Alutiiq Museum realize its long held goal of expanding our gallery and collections space," said April G.L. Counceller, Ph.D., the museum's Executive Director.

Four people sit at a table. One person stands. Artwork and displays are in the background.
Photo: Alutiiq leaders gathered for the transfer ceremony. From left: David Anderson, NOK; Shauna Hegna, Koniag; Mike Pfeffer, KANA; Margaret Roberts, Alutiiq Heritage Foundation; and April Laktonen Counceller, Alutiiq Museum.

The Alutiiq Museum plans to complete the renovation of the Alutiiq Center in 2023. The Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository took full ownership of the Alutiiq Center as of yesterday, October 26, 2021.

New Resources from the Alutiiq Museum: Children’s Book and Tool Identification Manual

In the past few months, the Alutiiq Museum has been busy releasing new resources into the world. Two recent examples:

  • Iqsanim Ancirsuutii—Iqsani's Trout Hook
    The story in this children’s book follows a pair of Alutiiq children at fish camp and it is based on the finds from an archaeological site.
  • Alutiiq Technological Inventor
    A laboratory manual that summarizes ancestral Alutiiq tools and their manufacture. The manual is designed to help our staff standardize the identification of Alutiiq artifacts and the materials from which they were made. It is available for free download for anyone who is interested. There are 12 chapters linked to the project webpage.

Webinar: Activating Inuit Art Sovereignty – 11/17/21, 10 am

From our friends at the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska:

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On behalf of the Inuit Art Foundation, the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska and our Inuit advisors, we invite you to join us on Wednesday, November 17th, 2021 at 10:00-11:30am AKDT/ 2:00-3:30pm EDT for the webinar “Activating Inuit Art Sovereignty.” 

Headshots of the three speakers

Join Moderator Emily Henderson and speakers Dalee Sambo Dorough and Theresie Tungilik  for a conversation about activating Inuit art sovereignty. Heather Campbell from the Inuit Art Foundation will introduce the event. To learn more about the speakers, please visit the event site. We encourage the audience to submit questions during the event using the “Q&A” option. The moderator will ask questions after the conversation concludes, as time allows.      

Conversations is a series of six live webinars across 2021 bringing together Canadian and Alaska Inuit for moderated discussions with audience participation, providing information and insights on subjects important to Indigenous communities.   

Please click the link below to join the webinar:  

https://smithsonian.zoom.us/j/83079097485?pwd=Qlh3N3BySEFvcWlKNm9aaXpvUlNTQT09 (Passcode: 759336) 

To join by phone, please call (U.S.): +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799  or +1 646 876 9923  or +1 669 900 6833  or +1 253 215 8782  or +1 346 248 7799  or +1 408 638 0968 (Webinar ID: 830 7909 7485 / Passcode: 759336) 

International numbers available at:  https://smithsonian.zoom.us/u/kH5aHoU0B 

This event will be recorded and posted online at the “Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center in Alaska” Learning Lab site and YouTube channel. By participating in this event, you are giving your consent for recording and online posting. Please see the “Terms of Consent/Release.”  

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Other Announcements

American Native Heritage Month: Resources and Indigenous Perspectives

Since 1990, federal, state, and local governments have recognized November as Native Heritage Month. The month is also known as American Native Heritage Month and American Indian Heritage Month.

In Alaska, Governor Dunleavy has issued a proclamation designating November 2021 as Alaska Native Heritage Month. This proclamation encourages “all Alaskans to celebrate our Native cultures this month and throughout the year with appropriate respect, educational programs, and activities.”

The federal government has a website with resources across the US government that includes exhibits, collections, audio/video, images, and teacher resources. Visit https://www.nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov to see what’s available.

Alaska Public Media’s program 11/1/2021 Hometown Alaska featured Ayyu Qassataq (Iñupiaq), Samuel Johns (Ahtna and Gwich’in Athabascan) and Sondra Shaginoff-Stuart (Ahtna Dene) in a discussion of issues surrounding Native American Heritage Month. For the full program and links to related materials, visit: Hometown Alaska: Native Heritage Month can bring complex emotions for Indigenous people. Here are Three Perspectives. By Ammon Swenson, Alaska Public Media 11/1/2021.

Wreck of Cutter Bear Found Off Nova Scotia

The Revenue Cutter Bear patrolled Alaska and Arctic waters for 41 years, during nine of these years the Bear’s captain was the legendary "Hell Roaring” Mike Healy. Captain Healy and the Bear remain topics of conversation and study to this day. After its Arctic service, the Bear continued to serve in war and peace and in military and civilian roles. The Bear sank in 1963, while being towed to Philadelphia to be a museum and restaurant. Its final resting place was unknown until this year, when it was found by a multi-agency team including NOAA Ocean Exploration.

To read how the ship was found and how researchers are “reasonably certain” that the wreck they found is indeed the Bear, read:

Yes Indeed, We Found U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear ! - By Brad Barr, Expedition Coordinator, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Maritime Heritage Program.

Hat tip to Damon Stuebner for this item.

Be Kind To Your Local IT People, You May Keep Them Longer

A recent article in PC Magazine noted that many IT workers around the United States are deeply frustrated with work and there are more jobs open nationwide than qualified IT people. As a result, your local IT staff may be both frustrated AND have several ways out of your workplace, especially if they’re willing to move.

Some of the biggest stressors for IT staff are rude coworkers and unclear expectations. If you can address these two sets of issues, you might reduce turnover in your IT section.

For the full story and charts from the survey, read:

Your IT Staff Is Probably Thinking About Quitting, and Here's Why: You might not realize how tough it is to be the office IT person. But with the pandemic's fallout, which includes a massive, nationwide job migration, it's a good idea to find out. By Oliver Rist. PC Magazine, October 26, 2021

Have a 3G Smartphone? Replace it Soon! Especially if You’re with AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile

USA Today recently published an article about the impending shutdown of 3G cellular service. If your phone is not capable of 4G or 5G, it may stop functioning in the next few months. How to tell? Information on 3G shutdown and what devices may be affected are available from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. If you have a different provider, you may wish to check with them.

For a discussion of what the end of 3G service means and why it’s being ended, read:

Remember 3G? It's going away as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile shift to 5G. What to know about 3G shutdown. By Brett Molina, USA Today, 10/22/2021.

FTC: Major Internet Service Providers are Collecting Trove of Information About Subscribers

From the Benton Institute Daily Digest for 10/22/2021

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A Look At What ISPs Know About You: Examining the Privacy Practices of Six Major Internet Service Providers

Research | Federal Trade Commission

Many internet service providers (ISPs) collect and share far more data about their customers than many consumers may expect—including access to all of their internet traffic and real-time location data—while failing to offer consumers meaningful choices about how this data can be used. This report details the expanding scope and some troubling aspects of some ISP data collection practices. The report stems from orders the FTC issued in 2019 using its authority under 6(b) of the FTC Act to six internet service providers, which make up about 98 percent of the mobile Internet market: AT&T Mobility, Verizon, Charter Communications, Comcast/Xfinity, T-Mobile US, and Google Fiber. The FTC also issued orders to three advertising entities affiliated with these ISPs: AT&T’s Appnexus Inc., rebranded as Xandr; Verizon’s Verizon Online LLC; and Oath Americas Inc., rebranded as Verizon Media.

These companies have evolved into technology giants who offer not just internet services but also provide a range of other services including voice, content, smart devices, advertising, and analytics—which has increased the volume of information they are capable of collecting about their customers. The Federal Trade Commission identified several troubling data collection practices among ISPs, including that they combine data across product lines; combine personal, app usage, and web browsing data to target ads; place consumers into sensitive categories such as by race and sexual orientation; and share real-time location data with third parties. At the same time, the privacy protections many of the companies offer raised several concerns.

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