Contents:

U.S. & World News
Special News Reports
ALA News
Division News
Awards
Seen Online
Actions & Answers
Poll
Datebook

AL Direct FAQ

Pennsylvania town helps restore libraries
hit by Katrina
A group of volunteers from State College, Pennsylvania, spent three days in early January helping to restore the Long Beach (Miss.) Public Library, one of the libraries hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in August....

Filter flap confounds CIPA-compliant Connecticut library
A Groton, Connecticut, city council member called January 3 for restrictions on the use of internet workstations at the public library in light of a police investigation into whether a patron viewed and downloaded child pornography in December at a public-access terminal there....

London librarian finds Byron manuscript
A University College London librarian has discovered the only known original manuscript of a poem by English poet Lord Byron inside a book in the library’s Strong Room Collections....

U.K. public library visits up, borrowing down
A survey released in January by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy in London showed a 7% rise in visits—up by more than 17 million—to public libraries from three years ago....

Urban Libraries Council Conference, 2005
Place and Possibility: Chicago Public Library showcases vibrant neighborhoods. By Jennifer Burek Pierce.

Chicago’s Mayor Daley meets and greets at the conference.

ALA Associate Executive
Director Gerald Hodges Dies
Gerald Hodges died January 10 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago at the age of 61. He had been diagnosed wih lung cancer last fall, underwent surgery, and returned to work, but suffered a relapse....

Libraries nationwide to participate in
non-MLS salary survey
In 2006, ALA will conduct a survey of salaries for full- and part-time library-staff positions that do not require an ALA-accredited MLS. A scientifically selected sample of public and academic libraries soon will receive a letter detailing the purpose of the survey and instructions on how to respond....

ALA to provide volunteering opportunities
in New Orleans
Librarians and library staff attending the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, June 22–28, will show how “Libraries Build Communities” through daylong community service efforts to help rebuild New Orleans....

Certified Public Library Administrator Program application process opens January 17
The online application for the Certified Public Library Administrator Program, jointly sponsored by PLA, LAMA, and ASCLA, will become active on Tuesday, January 17. Those who want to be the first to participate in this program may apply online starting then....

Barnett, Johns seek AASL presidency
Cassandra G. Barnett, a school library media specialist at Fayetteville (Ark.) High School, and Sara Kelly Johns, a school library media specialist at Lake Placid (N.Y.) Middle/Senior High School, have announced their candidacy for the office of AASL president....

ALSC launches KIDS! @ your library campaign
Building on the Campaign for America’s Libraries, ALSC’s initiative will provide promotion tips, sample press materials, downloadable art, and other tools to help local libraries reach out to kids, their parents, and caregivers....

Public Libraries welcomes new design
and new editor
PLA’s journal, Public Libraries, enters into its 45th year of publication with an improved layout. Kathleen Hughes, former PLA manager of communications and Public Libraries managing editor, takes over as editor....

ALCTS announces open forum
at Midwinter Meeting
Cathy De Rosa, Vice President, OCLC Marketing and Library Services, will discuss Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources on Monday, January 23, in San Antonio....

John Cotton Dana Public Relations Awards to be announced at Midwinter Meeting
The winners of the 60th annual John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Awards will be announced at a press conference open to the public on Saturday, January 21, 4 p.m., in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Room 103A, in San Antonio....

LAMA’s Braddom Scholarship
deadline extended
The deadline for submitting applications for the Diana V. Braddom FRFDS Scholarship has been extended to March 1. Librarians and library staff members eager to enhance their fundraising skills through formal financial development training are invited to submit an application essay....

FableVision is 2005 Carnegie Medal corecipient
ALSC acknowledges FableVision, multimedia studio and educational publisher, as a corecipient of the 2005 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children’s Video for “The Dot.”....

Mural in college library depicts racial and class struggles of the 1970s
For the past 20 years, the Three Rivers Community College library on the Mohegan campus has been home to a mural whose history is as complex as its subject matter....
Norwich (Conn.) Bulletin, Jan. 9

Ohio library prohibits kids with no adult chaperone
Wickliffe Public Library in suburban Cleveland requires students under 14 to be chaperoned between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. on weekdays because of loitering and vandalism....
Cleveland (Ohio) Plain-Dealer, Jan. 7

New Bronx Library Center to open next week
The spanking-new Bronx Library Center that will open a week from today looks decidedly out of context at the intersection of East Kingsbridge Road and Briggs Avenue, a stone's throw from East Fordham Road. And that is not necessarily a bad thing....
New York Sun, Jan. 10

New Online Advocacy Center
ALA has debuted an online site designed to provide members and library advocates with easy-to-find tools and resources. New sections include: “Getting Started,” a motivational piece for the beginning advocate, and “Grassroots Resources,” a bibliography of articles and Web sites pertaining to specific advocacy issues....
ALA Public Information Office

Q&A regarding the proposed
ALA dues increase
ALA members understand that our work is critical to our society and future, and that we cannot just accept “business as usual.” The association must either move forward or it will fall behind....
ALA Executive Office

Suggestions for an academic library makeover
Steven Bell uses a newspaper industry model to show academic libraries how they can confront the challenges of internet competition....
ACRLog, Jan. 9

Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin
issues report on access to legal info (PDF file)
The LLAW’s Public Access to Legal Information Committee recommends service practices that could enhance access to legal information and assistance in Wisconsin....
Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin

Library of Congress releases report
on preservation of sound recordings (PDF file)
The Library of Congress has announced the completion of a commissioned report that examines the question of what libraries and archives are legally empowered to do to preserve and make accessible for research their holdings of pre-1972 commercial sound recordings....
Library of Congress

Help rename ALA-APA
The American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) has extended its renaming contest deadline to January 31....
ALA–Allied Professional Association