Author Archives: John Mark Ockerbloom

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About John Mark Ockerbloom

I'm a digital library strategist at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

Stoking creative fires: Counting down to Public Domain Day 2026

Posted on November 12, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Until I saw it performed earlier this month, I had doubts that one could successfully adapt an unthemed magazine issue into a stage play. But that’s what the New Classics Collective did with the first and only issue of Fire!!, … Continue reading →

Posted in online books, open access, publicdomain, sharing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Will universities let Trump dictate what their libraries can do?

Posted on October 3, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

As has now been widely reported, the White House has sent a number of universities, including the one I work at, a set of terms it wants them to agree to, which indicate that not doing so may mean they … Continue reading →

Posted in censorship, crimes and misdemeanors, libraries | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Meet the people behind the books

Posted on August 19, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Today I’m introducing new pages for people and other authors on The Online Books Page. The new pages combine and augment information that’s been on author listings and subject pages. They let readers see in one place books both about … Continue reading →

Posted in data, discovery, libraries, metadata, online books, wikipedia | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Expanding access to current scholarship with JSTOR’s open access books

Posted on March 25, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

We’ve recently added more than ten thousand freely readable recent books from academic publishers to the extended shelves of The Online Books Page. These online titles are provided by JSTOR’s Open Access Books collection, and represent the first large-scale automated … Continue reading →

Posted in metadata, online books, open access, serials, sharing, Uncategorized, university presses | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Support the IMLS

Posted on March 23, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

If you’ve found useful the many mid-20th century serials that are now freely readable online through The Online Books Page, you can thank the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The IMLS (as it’s generally known) funded the completion in … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, libraries, preservation, serials | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Not by accident, but by action

Posted on March 2, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I didn’t mean to create a sexist library collection when I set out to build one. But in 1994, when I showed Mary the catalog of online books I’d started the previous year, one of her first questions was “Where … Continue reading →

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Some important library values

Posted on February 11, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

In challenging times, it’s good for organizations to remember what they exist to do, and what values drive what they do. They may be expressed in a variety of ways, but there are often common threads going through them. There … Continue reading →

Posted in libraries, people | 1 Comment

Readings for people working for the government

Posted on January 21, 2025 by John Mark Ockerbloom

A key reason I got involved in digital libraries years ago was the promise of reliable information empowering people to be more knowledgeable and responsible in their actions. One of the oldest digital library sites on the Web is Cornell’s … Continue reading →

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Let us sing a song of cheer again

Posted on December 31, 2024 by John Mark Ockerbloom

The depths of the Depression would seem an unpromising time to revive the 1929 song “Happy Days Are Here Again”. But after it was played at the 1932 Democratic convention, it caught on as a song of hope for better … Continue reading →

Posted in publicdomain | Tagged | 2 Comments

It’s a dead man’s party

Posted on December 30, 2024 by John Mark Ockerbloom

The Disney studio had a productive year in 1929. Along with releasing 12 new Mickey Mouse cartoons, it began a series of one-shot musical cartoons with animation designed to fit the music, instead of the other away around. The “Silly … Continue reading →

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