How to Download the Books That Just Entered the Public Domain
Public Domain Day was yesterday, but you were probably hungover, so here’s how to download the tens of thousands of books that became legal to download for free in 2019.
“The digital news industry in the United States is facing a complex future. On one hand, a steadily growing portion of Americans are getting news through the internet, many U.S. adults get news on social media, and employment at digital-native outlets has increased. On the other, digital news has not been immune to issues affecting the broader media environment, including layoffs, made-up news and public distrust.
As digital journalists gather for the Online News Association’s annual conference this week in New Orleans, here are some key findings about the way Americans get news online – as well as how digital newsrooms in the U.S. are faring, compiled from recent Pew Research Center surveys and analyses.
1The share of Americans who prefer to get their news online is growing. In 2018, 34% of U.S. adults said they preferred to get news online, whether through websites, apps or social media. That’s compared with 28% in 2016. (Television remains the most popular source of news, with 44% of Americans citing a preference for TV.)
2Nearly as many Americans prefer to get their local news online as prefer the TV. Roughly four-in-ten U.S. adults (37%) say they prefer to get their local news via online channels, similar to the share that prefers the TV set (41%). About three-quarters (77%) say the internet is importantin how they get local news.
3An easy-to-use website is important to Americans who get local news online. Roughly eight-in-ten Americans who get local news online (82%) say an easy-to-use website is an important featureof an online local news source. Smaller shares say a schedule of local events (59%) and regularly updated social media accounts (51%) are important features.
4Employment in digital newsrooms increased 82% between 2008 and 2018.The number of digital-native newsroom employees increased from about 7,400 to about 13,500 during this 10-year span. This increase of about 6,100 total jobs, however, fell far short of offsetting the loss of about 33,000 newspaper newsroom jobs during the same period. (Overall newsroom employment in the U.S. dropped by 25% from 2008 to 2018, a decrease driven by newspapers.)
5Layoffs have affected digital-native news organizations as well as newspapers in recent years. While layoffs at newspapers have received plenty of media attention, digital-native news outlets have also seen cuts. Among the largest digital-native outlets – those with a monthly average of at least 10 million unique visitors – 14% went through layoffs in 2018 and 20% did the year before. Nearly all the digital-native news outlets that laid off staff in 2017 or 2018 cut more than 10 employees.
6More Americans get news on social media than from print newspapers.In 2018, one-in-five adults said they often get news on social media. And Facebook continues to dominate as the most common social media site used for news by Americans: About four-in-ten Americans (43%) get news on this site.
7Americans are skeptical of the information they see on social media. Even as they regularly turn to social media for news, a majority of those who often get news on social media (57%) say they expect the news they see on these platforms to be largely inaccurate. Concerns about the inaccuracies in news on social media are prevalent even among those who say they prefer to get their news there.
8Made-up news affects how people use social media. Half of Americans (52%) say they have changed the way they use social media because of the issue of made-up news. Furthermore, among the Americans who ever get news through social media, half have stopped following a news source because they thought it was posting made-up news and information. At the same time, about a third (31%) of social media news consumers say they at least sometimes click on news stories they think are made up.”
Posted on: September 15, 2019, 6:18 amCategory: Uncategorized
“Findings Reveal Students Develop Stronger Reading Skills and Grow in Self-Efficacy Using Large Print Books
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Sept. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Think large print books are just for older adults? Think again. New research released today by Thorndike Press from Gale, a Cengage company, shows that students in grades 3-12 who read large print books developed stronger reading skills, felt more comfortable reading and adopted new, positive reading mindsets. View/download the study whitepaper or infographic.
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Study Infographic
According to the latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing, almost two-thirds of 4th and 8th grade students in U.S. schools are reading at a basic or below basic leveli.
The study was conducted by Project Tomorrow®, an education nonprofit, on behalf of Thorndike Press to investigate the impact of students reading large print-formatted books on their reading engagement and achievement levels. Nearly 1,700 students in grades 3-12 and 56 teachers and librarians across 15 U.S. elementary, middle and high schools participated in the study.
“Findings from this study reveal improved self-efficacy around reading, changed reading habits and new outcomes from the experience of reading large print,” said Dr. Julie Evans, CEO at Project Tomorrow who led the research project. “It’s important to note that reading large print books not only improved students’ reading skills, it also improved their attitude toward reading. This is significant as students transition from learning to read, to reading to learn.”
Key findings from the study include:
Reading large print books improved students’ reading mindsets.
69% of striving readers said they enjoyed reading the large print text more than any other class books during the school year.
56% of students said they enjoyed reading more when they could read the large print version of a book.
Large print books renewed students’ confidence around reading and improved their reading habits.
61% of elementary school students said they remembered characters and plots better when reading large print books.
48% of high school students said they read more outside of school after experiencing large print books.
Large print books reduced students’ anxiety and stress when reading for schoolwork.
Middle school students reported a 43% reduction in feelings of anxiety about reading when using the large print format.
67% of teachers noted that large print text reduced stress and anxiety in students reading below grade level and at grade level.
Teachers attribute the use of large print text to helping students develop stronger reading skills.
3 in 4 of teachers said students reading below grade level demonstrated increased reading comprehension and retention.
4 in 5 teachers said large print would benefit their students who have trouble tracking when reading or lack self-confidence in their reading abilities.
Lexile levels and comprehension scores increased among students who read large print text, even when reading large print books above their reading level.
Students at a Texas urban middle school with access to large print text increased their Lexile reading levels by 2–3 times the average expected growth for middle school students.
Teachers want to continue using large print with their students and recommend large print titles to parents and colleagues.
95% of teachers said they’re likely to use large print in the upcoming school year with their students.
75% of teachers said that large print books are now an integral part of their classroom collections.
“The effect of large print books on my students surprised me,” said Bernice Homel, study participant and Reading Specialist at O’Neill Middle School in Downers Grove, Illinois. “Improvements were especially noticeable among striving and reluctant readers. Seeing those students’ feelings change about reading is something I think every teacher dreams about. It’s a major win.”
“Results of this study further prove the value and impact of large print in literacy development of elementary, middle and high school students,” said Paul Gazzolo, senior vice president and general manager at Gale. “Simply including large print books as a resource in school literacy programs and classrooms and at public libraries is an easy solution to a nationwide literacy problem. “It’s encouraging that student, librarian and teacher participants are advocating for access to large print books.”
For more information on Thorndike Press or the study, visit our Striving Reader webpage.
About Thorndike Press As the leading large print publisher, Thorndike Press from Gale, a Cengage company, helps readers of all ages enjoy books. Publishing unabridged reprints in large print format for middle grade and young adult readers started in 1999 and our catalogue of more than 400 titles grows monthly with high-interest fiction and nonfiction books, including contemporary classics, award-winners and bestsellers. Our commitment to producing high quality, 100% guaranteed large print books supports young readers as they develop the skills necessary to become successful, confident, lifelong readers.
About Cengage and Gale Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. The company serves the higher education, K-12, professional, library and workforce training markets worldwide. Gale, a Cengage company, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries. For more than 60 years, Gale has partnered with libraries around the world to empower the discovery of knowledge and insights – where, when and how people need it. Gale has 500 employees globally with its main operations in Farmington Hills, Michigan. For more information, please visit www.gale.com.
Stephen Abram is a librarian and principal with Lighthouse Consulting Inc., and executive director of the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries. He blogs on library strategies for direction, marketing, technology and user alignment.
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