Friends of African Village Libraries (I post regularly here)- Photos from Gowrie Kunkua community library during the night session, Ghana
- Sumbrungu Community Library nighttime reading
- Résumé du livre Une grande mère criminelle
- Organisation d’une séance de discussion autour d’un livre à la bibliothèque de Dimikuy
- Librarians of Tuy monthly meeting January 2026, Burkina Faso
- Impressions sur la production de livres CMH au Burkina Faso
- Compte rendu de la première rencontre des gérants de la zone du Tuy
- Science fiction books for libraries in Burkina Faso and Ghana
- Animation d’une séance de lecture à la bibliothèque de Dimikuy
- Nyariga Community Library in Ghana, photos January 2026
Author Archives: mkevane
Gone fishing! Goodby 2017
Actually gone skiing, in the miserable snow of Bear Valley… what’s that you said about global climate change Donald Trump? C’est faux! And anyway, gone fishing? I’m a vegetarian. So not likely. But it is just an expression. And I … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews
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Thanks Ezra Klein for a blow by blow account of Trump’s interview with New York Times.
I am not a medical professional, and I will not pretend to know what is truly happening here. It’s become a common conversation topic in Washington to muse on whether the president is suffering from some form of cognitive decline … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Great reporting on how some of the Chibok girls captured by Boko Haram were released after almost 3 years
Naomi Adamu had once been an ordinary student at the Chibok Government Secondary School. She was older than most of her classmates. She played soccer. She studied mathematics in her dormitory bunk bed. Now, as she shuffled through the wilderness … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Burkina Faso planned borrowing ($260 million): energy, agriculture, road in the east, and general budget support
From an article from Ecofin: Rosine Coulibaly, the Burkinabe minister of economy, has signed last Monday five financing agreements valued at CFA131 billion with technical and financial partners. These monies will be injected in the National Economic and Social Development … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso, Economy
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Striking secondary school teachers in Burkina Faso are not grading… students may have to repeat a year
Au Burkina Faso, les élèves ont manifesté dans plusieurs villes du pays pour exiger des évaluations. Depuis des semaines, les enseignants ont déposé leurs stylos en signe de protestation, leurs revendications n’ayant pas été satisfaites.Dans plusieurs régions du Burkina Faso, … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
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From the IFLA 2017 Trend Report for libraries around the world
We need ubiquitous individual Internet connectivity – but while we work on that problem we need to guarantee that libraries – all of them, every single one – can provide Internet access to those who visit them, so even those … Continue reading
Posted in Development thinking, Reading
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Great op-ed by my colleague Nancy Unger on tiny houses
The homeless and their advocates envision tiny houses as a practical solution to soaring housing costs. Environmental activists tout them for encouraging a minimalist, non-wasteful lifestyle and for being far more sustainable than recreational vehicles. Tiny houses have also fired … Continue reading
Posted in United States
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Recent reading: Fantasy science-fiction, and historical fiction
For recent leisure reading lately I read four novels/novellas/collections/YA. China Miéville, The Census Taker. While I did not enjoy the novella, it was like a good workout, following along with an excellent writer a concept, “What would a novel be … Continue reading
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Every Day by David Levithan
I occasionally read young adult fiction, sometimes because my kids are reading something, sometimes because I like to imagine what such fiction would be like for French West African readers. I finished Every Day by David Levithan over a couple … Continue reading
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Recent activity by Salimata Korbeogo visiting libraries in northern Burkina Faso for FAVL
Le lundi 06/11/2017 la sortie fut dans la commune de Sabce. Elle avait pour objectif, la vérification des outils de gestion et la récupération des livres en retard, nous avons pu récupérer ensemble une dizaine. Le mardi 07/11/2017 la visite … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Data analysis of Literature
Nice New York Times article by Jennifer Schluessler. Data analysis of texts is fun and informative. But “close reading” will always remain the primary tool for discussing and interpreting a literary text. The attention to particular phrasing and using novel … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Compromise and the Civil War: Rejecting the euphemism of John Kelly
Nobody has to be a professional or even amateur historian to understand the import of General John Kelly’s words (below), stated in his capacity as Chief of Staff of the President of the United States, in a formal public interview, … Continue reading
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Ioannidis et al. on low bias and publication bias in Economics the “con” game is still being played loud and even proud
If we adopt the conventional 5% level of statistical significance and 80% power level, as well, then the ‘true effect’ will need to be 2.8 standard errors from zero to discriminate it from zero. The value of 2.8 is the … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Quantifying effects of rent control in San Francisco… very large redistibrution and inefficiency
It almost seems like the uncontrolled landlords are quite content to keep rent control in place: their rents go up substantially. In this paper, we exploit quasi-experimental variation in the assignment of rent con-trol in San Francisco to study its … Continue reading
Posted in United States
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Mercury News weighs in on quiet attempt of Santa Clara County to take over Housing Authority
The Santa Clara County Housing Authority needs a shakeup. Dealing with federal rental vouchers and other programs for low-income residents, the authority’s appointed governing board is autonomous from both the county and the city of San Jose. The joint authority … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Statues of important historical figures (so far all men) being made Burkina Faso
A nice initiative by the Minister of Culture Tahirou Barry. Le circuit inaugural s’est refermé à Dori avec le baptême du monument de Hama Arba Diallo, figure emblématique de l’opposition burkinabè. « Arba Diallo est une figure emblématique de notre … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Traditional chiefs appropriated local structures of the Sankara “revolution” Burkina Faso… nice article
La résistance des pouvoirs coutumiers s’est faite par la recherche permanente du contrôle des structures populaires. Dans ce modus operandi, les institutions coutumières s’appuyèrent sur les liens familiaux et lignagers afin d’investir les structures populaires. Les chefs traditionnels ont su … Continue reading
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Upcoming colloquim on leagacy of Thomas Sankara
Les 26 et 27 octobre 2017, l’Université Ouaga1 Pr Joseph Ki-Zerbo abritera un colloque pour marquer le 30e anniversaire de l’assassinat du Président Thomas Sankara (15 octobre 1987). L’objectif étant de permette aux acteurs politiques, scientifiques et de la société … Continue reading
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Stockton basic income: Of all the “experiments” to run in the world, this one is probably idiotic in the sense that social science will learn nothing of value from it
Maybe 100 people. Likely currently unemployed and poor. So we call that means-tested welfare, not a universal basic income. And the control group sure won’t have any response bias, for sure. Tubbs says he hopes the experiment will run at … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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New documentary on koglweogo in Burkina Faso. Rough justice and torture.
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Michael Kevane 