23rd June Alan Turing Day

Alan Mathison Turing (1912–1954) was a mathematician, computer scientist and codebreaker and is often described as ‘the father of modern computing’. He influenced the development of theoretical computer science, for which he provided a formalisation of algorithms and computation with the idea of a universal computer, known as a ‘Turing Machine.’

The most famous benchmark test of artificial intelligence – whether a machine can think - is known as the ‘Turing Test’ and as AI continues to expand, researchers will need to question Turing's Test.

Alan Turing was an extraordinary man who crammed into a life of only 42 years the careers of mathematician, codebreaker, computer scientist and biologist. His codebreaking work at Bletchley Park was so significant it helped to shorten the Second World War, and with Tommy Flowers he built the first computer. A man ahead of his time, many of his theories and calculations are still relevant today.

Celebrate his life by reading a biography such as:

Or have fun with the Alan Turing's books for kids:

Otherwise, maybe today is the day to explore books on AI:

28th April Screen Free Day

Screen Free Day (Week) - what a good idea! This is a day (or week) when you choose to turn off all screens that are part of your everyday life...your mobile, your computer, your iPad, your television, your game console etc.

Sometimes I wish I could manage the library without a computer and then we have a blackout or some problem and I have to write all the loans down and enter them manually later and it is such a chore so I know I don't really want to. However it would be nice not to read email or do research on a computer just for a day, to turn off when you leave work, so here's our chance. Turn off and read a book, or go outside, explore in the dirt, run, stroll on the beach...dream. All of the books above and those here will inspire you to

  If you don't know the Library Dragon books by Carmen Agra Deedy search out the second one Return of the Library Dragon. Every librarian needs this book! Miss Lotty, the book-reading librarian is retiring and she is to be replaced by Mike Krochip and computers. All the books are gone. There are some beautiful one-liners on why the books should be returned and the endpapers have the best 'book' quotes. It  ends with "but our kids need a library where they can UNPLUG, for the love of books." My library hasn't any computers for the children to use except the one used as an inquiry terminal, so when the children are in the library they are unplugged and choose to READ.

“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.” — HERBERT SIMON, recipient of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.

“Children need to experience the real world, not just media world. Make this week the beginning of that experience.” Dr Mike Brody