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ALA News
Booklist Online
Seattle Update
Division News
Round Table News
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Tech Talk
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Datebook
AL Direct FAQ

Three Minneapolis branches to close
Hoping to avoid additional layoffs, extend hours at remaining branches, and keep the Minneapolis Public Library system afloat through 2008, the library board voted 6–2 October 25 to shut down the Roosevelt, Southeast, and Webber Park branches, as well as close the Central Library on Mondays. The action, which takes effect January 1, comes after weeks of community meetings and forums that presented several different cost-cutting scenarios....

D.C., Chicago public libraries add hours
Public libraries in Washington, D.C., and Chicago are extending hours of operation, thanks to additional FY2007 funding. The District of Columbia Public Library opened its central Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and all 17 full-service neighborhood branches on Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. starting October 15. Citing a significant increase in downtown population, Chicago Public Library will keep its downtown Harold Washington Library open an extra two hours, until 9 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays in 2007....

Opening arguments presented in COPA challenge
The American Civil Liberties Union presented opening arguments October 23 in its legal challenge to the Child Online Protection Act. The law, which was passed in 1998 but never enforced due to injunctions and lower court decisions, requires commercial websites to obtain proof of age before providing material considered harmful to minors. The ACLU counters that filtering programs are a more effective means of protecting children....

Media center becomes “mindful” of newspaper readers
The principal of the Deerwood Elementary School in Eagan, Minnesota, told American Libraries October 26 that press reports have mischaracterized as censorship his concern about young students’ exposure to age-inappropriate newspaper articles during the school day. Miles Haugen explained that while “teachers will continue to be mindful of all kinds of reading material placed in front of the students,” any child requesting a newspaper will receive one....

British book thief escapes jail sentence
A library assistant who stole hundreds of rare books to sell on the internet escaped a jail sentence October 25. Norman Buckley took 455 items while working at the Central Library in Manchester, England, 40 of which he sold online for $20,000. The remainder of the stolen works, which included a 16th-century Chaucer edition and 17th-century editions of the works of poet John Donne and historian William Camden, were recovered at Buckley’s home....

Woman convicted of possessing stolen Glenn Gould items
Barbara L. Moore, 62, who was indicted in May for allegedly stealing items from Library and Archives Canada’s Glenn Gould Collection in Ottawa and trying to sell them through a New York City dealer, was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of stolen property October 24....

Davenport, Rettig seek presidency
The ALA Executive Board approved the Nominating Committee’s selections for ALA presidential candidates at its October 29–30 fall meeting in Chicago. Seeking the 2007–2008 ALA presidency are Nancy Davenport, interim director of library services at the District of Columbia Public Library, and James Rettig, university librarian at the University of Richmond, Virginia. The board also approved two candidates, Rod Hersberger and Jo Ann Pinder, for the 2007–2010 term as ALA treasurer....

Get ready for ALA’s fourth online election
For the fourth year, ALA will hold its election online. All paid members as of January 31, 2007, are eligible to vote in the election. Polls will open on March 15. Please make sure your membership and e-mail addresses are current....

Historic gathering draws hundreds to Dallas (PDF file)
More than 1,100 librarians and exhibitors, including many library directors and their staff members as well as ALA leaders, gathered October 12–15 in Dallas for the first Joint Conference of Librarians of Color....
American Libraries, Nov., pp. 23–24

ALA testifies in support of new D.C. public library
The ALA voiced its support October 27 for a new building to house a central public library that would offer modern library services to all Washington, D.C., residents. Washington Office staff member and D.C. resident Carrie Russell delivered testimony in support of a revitalized and improved central public library at the District of Columbia City Council meeting....

More donations needed for Gulf Coast libraries
ALA’s Hurricane Katrina Library Relief Fund continues to raise funds to help rebuild libraries in the ravaged Gulf Coast region. To date, $430,000 has been raised, but more is needed. Recent donations have come from the Mattapoisett (Mass.) Free Public Library summer reading program ($1,644), the Asian American Association of the Library of Congress ($600), and the “Fabulous Fighting Fifth Circuit” U.S. Court of Appeals satellite librarians in San Antonio, who contributed $250 in honor of their “headquarters heroes” in New Orleans....

Krug elected Phi Beta Kappa vice president
Office for Intellectual Freedom Director Judith F. Krug was elected vice president of the Phi Beta Kappa Society at its 41st triennial council meeting in Atlanta in October. The academic honor society advocates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences and stands for freedom of inquiry and expression. She will serve a three-year term....
Phi Beta Kappa, Oct. 30

Featured review: Adult books Ford, Richard. The Lay of the Land. Nov. 2006. 496p. Knopf. hardcover. (0-679-45468-3). Ford’s third novel featuring realtor Frank Bascombe, previously seen in The Sportswriter (1986) and the Pulitzer-winning Independence Day (1995), finds the beleaguered everyman in the “Permanent Period” of his life, where he’s trying mightily to deal with present circumstances while dodging past regrets. But it’s Thanksgiving week, “the time of year when things go wrong if they’re going to.”...

January drama and comedy
Ibsen, da Vinci, Sondheim, and Bullshot Crummond are part of the theatrical entertainment in Seattle during the ALA Midwinter Meeting, January 19–24....
Seattle Performs

A Texan’s view of the Seattle music scene
Seattle rocks with confidence, from the Pioneer Square taverns to the historic big-show venues to the buskers’ street corners near Pike Place Market. In Seattle, as in Austin, it’s hard to swing a busted guitar without hitting a musician....
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 26

Friends of AASL supports school library media profession
AASL has launched a new funding initiative, Friends of AASL, available for both individuals and institutions. The donor program will help fund such areas as guidelines and standards for school library media programs, advocacy efforts, professional development and conference programming, and community building and networking initiatives....

AASL launches Teaching for Learning community
AASL has launched its first Professional Learning Community, a controlled web environment in which groups of members can collaborate and network. The Teaching for Learning Community, focused on student assessment, was unveiled during the division’s Fall Forum on October 15....

ALSC receives Kellogg grant for its literacy campaign
ALSC has received an unprecedented fourth grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation for $100,000 to support its national awareness efforts and community participation in El día de los niños/El día de los libros (children’s day/book day). The grant is the largest ever received from the Kellogg Foundation, and will assist the division’s work with libraries and support efforts to reach literacy-based organizations outside the library community....

RUSA presents program on genealogy of the Pacific Northwest
On Friday, January 19, RUSA’s History Section workshop, “Behind the Genealogy Reference Desk: Want Land, Will Travel,” will instruct Midwinter attendees in the field of ancestry research and delve into the history of the Pacific Northwest and the laws that influenced population growth in the region. The institute is being held at the Seattle Public Library’s Central Library and will include a catered lunch and a tour of the library’s collections....

National Directory of Paraprofessional Associations (PDF file)
Meralyn Meadows of the Stanly County (N.C.) Public Library prepared this directory of support staff organizations for the Library Support Staff Interests Round Table....

2007 Bound to Stay Bound Books and Melcher scholarships
ALSC is accepting applications for the 2007 Frederic G. Melcher and Bound to Stay Bound Books scholarships until March 1. Four Bound to Stay Bound Books scholarships at $6,500 each will be awarded, and two Melcher scholarships at $6,000 each will be awarded....

Nominations for Patterson Copyright Award
ALA seeks nominations for the L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award given to those who have made significant and consistent contributions to the pursuit of balanced copyright principles while working in the area of information policy, law, libraries, or library education. Letters of nomination will be accepted through December 15....

NEA announces Big Read grants
The National Endowment for the Arts announced October 31 that 72 organizations will receive grants to support Big Read programs between January and June 2007. The Big Read is a new national program by the NEA that encourages literary reading by asking communities to come together to read and discuss one book. The organizations selected to participate in the Big Read will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $40,000 to promote and carry out month-long, community-based programs....
National Endowment for the Arts, Oct. 31

Mary Dempsey named a Public Official of the Year
Governing magazine selected Chicago Public Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey to receive one of its nine Public Official of the Year Awards for 2006. Dempsey was cited for her six-month stint as the city’s chief procurement officer as well as for her regular job of managing “one of the country’s most innovative and successful library systems.”...
Governing, Nov.

Outstanding Teacher-Librarians of the Year
The Washington Library Media Association named Christopher Tracy of Kenmore (Wash.) Junior High School and Debra Kilcup of Woodland Elementary School in Lacey outstanding teacher-librarians for 2006. Those chosen demonstrate the most desirable traits of teacher-librarians by using collaborative curriculum planning and teaching and by creating innovative programs in their libraries....
Woodinville (Wash.) Weekly, Oct. 9

Pimp My Bookcart contest
Send in photos (front, back, and sides) of your customized, augmented, or otherwise “pimped out” book cart to win gift certificates from the Overdue Media Store. The contest was inspired by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum’s Unshelved comic strip sequence that began September 29. The deadline is January 15....
Overdue Media, Oct. 24

Fairfax County podcasts showcase local authors
Thriller author John Gilstrap outlined the story of his life and work on a recent Friday afternoon as he was interviewed by Sam Clay, Fairfax County’s head librarian. Gilstrap’s interview, which was digitally recorded, will be posted online at the Fairfax County (Va.) Public Library system’s website as part of a new series of podcast interviews with local authors....
Fairfax (Va.) Connection, Oct. 26

ACLU drops Patriot Act challenge
The American Civil Liberties Union dropped a lawsuit October 27 challenging the constitutionality of the USA Patriot Act. The ACLU said it was withdrawing the lawsuit filed more than three years ago because of “improvements to the law.”...
Associated Press, Oct. 27

Principal EPA chemical library closed
Without any word to the public, the Environmental Protection Agency has closed its specialized library for research on the effects and properties of chemicals, according to documents released October 30 by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. The Office of Prevention, Pollution, and Toxic Substances Library, in the EPA’s Washington headquarters, had provided research services to EPA scientists who review industry requests for the introduction of new chemicals into the market....
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Oct. 30

Brownout at the EPA (subscription may be required)
When Verena Owen wanted to block the construction of a sludge incinerator in her hometown north of Chicago, she went to the library. At the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional library in Chicago, Owen pored through archived microfiche records and paper reports on sludge and incineration and public comments on similar projects. But now the library where Owen did her research is closed, as are similar facilities around the country....
Salon, Oct. 30

A site worth 70 million words
A major portion of the photographic collections of the Los Angeles Public Library are now accessible online and sometimes downloadable for free. The website’s popularity has transformed Curator of Photographs Carolyn Kozo Cole and her staff into tastemakers, responsible for anticipating what kinds of images the public wants and for offering their own selections for what makes Los Angeles L.A. They carefully choose images to add to the database, which today includes about 70,000 photographs and is growing by 250–300 images a week....
Los Angeles Times, Oct. 22

Volunteer finds mystery box at Worthington Library
The Worthington (Ohio) Library is trying to unravel a mystery involving a box found in a pile of donated books. Volunteer Irene Candy was sorting donated books when she discovered a box containing 19th-century papers and an artifact that might be even older....
WCMH-TV, Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 24

First Lady gets the word out
About 50 children got the chance to listen to the First Lady reading a story October 27 at the West Palm Beach (Fla.) Library. The former librarian entered to a round of applause from the children, their parents and dignitaries....
Palm Beach (Fla.) Daily News, Oct. 28

Technically Speaking: Giving homegrown software its due
Andrew Pace writes: “Something rather exciting happened this fall in the world of the integrated library system. On September 5, 252 public libraries in Georgia’s Public Information Network for Electronic Services (PINES) went live with Evergreen, a homegrown and open-source ILS. Impressive.”...
American Libraries, Nov., pp. 50–51

The internet at risk
The future of the Internet is up for grabs. Last year, the FCC effectively eliminated net neutrality rules, which ensured that every content creator on the internet—from big-time media concerns to backroom bloggers—had equal opportunity to make their voice heard. Now, large and powerful corporations are lobbying Washington to turn the Web into what critics call a “toll road.” Watch this excellent PBS program, hosted by Bill Moyers, online...
Moyers on America, Oct. 18

Computing, 2016: What won’t be possible?
Steve Lohr considers the future of computing and reviews the discussions at the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board symposium held in Washington in October....
New York Times, Oct. 31

New York Tribune added to ProQuest newspaper archive
ProQuest Information and Learning has partnered with the New York Public Library to add the New York Tribune from 1900 to 1910 to ProQuest Historical Newspapers, enabling cross searches with other distinguished newspapers. Regarded as one of the most avant-garde newspapers of its time, the New York Tribune achieved major influence at the turn of the 20th century, and adds unique perspectives to research on a wide range of historical, political, and social issues....
ProQuest Information and Learning, Oct. 23

The status of school library programs in Illinois (PDF file)
Lou Ann Jacobs reports on a recent survey of Illinois school library staff and funding. Among the results: Only 76% of school media centers in the state have a certified librarian....
Illinois Libraries 86, no. 3 (Fall), pp. 5–8

Free access to federal research
In remarks at a forum on “Improving Access to Publicly Funded Research,” leaders of major higher education and library organizations voiced their support for the goals of recent measures to expand public access to research funded by the U.S. government. The forum was cosponsored by the Association of Research Libraries, the Association of American Universities, and other groups....
Association of Research Libraries, Oct. 25

British Library allows free access to English Short Title Catalogue
The English Short Title Catalogue, the product of a partnership between the University of California at Riverside, the British Library, and the American Antiquarian Society, was made available for searching online beginning October 30. The ESTC provides bibliographic records for all surviving letter press material in the British Isles and North America before 1801, held by the British Library and more than 2,000 other institutions....
University of California at Riverside, Oct. 30

“The Librarian” now a comic book series
Atlantis Studios has released the first in a series of comics featuring adventurer-librarian Flynn Carson. Originally appearing in the popular made-for-cable film The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, Carson is back and this time his mission is to prevent the powerful Key of Solomon from falling into the hands of a ruthless warlord. He needs to locate the legendary mines of King Solomon before disaster strikes. An eight-page preview is available....
Atlantis Studios

Interval library
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee music student Kim Huston produced this video (2:33) featuring classical music and compact shelving. “It was sort of a ‘What happens after hours’ type of thing ... kinda.”...
YouTube

A preliminary list of Midwinter Meeting discussion group topics is now available.

Registration is now available for Teen Tech Week, March 4–10, a YALSA celebration aimed at getting teens to use libraries for the different technologies offered there.

Find out how your organization can become a Library Champion—the highest level of Corporate Membership. The program gives business members the best means to demonstrate their leadership in the field. Library Champions are among ALA’s greatest corporate supporters, with over 90% of their dues going to support library advocacy.

METADATA LIBRARIAN, Wright State University Libraries, Digital Services Department, Dayton, Ohio. Responsible for metadata and associated authority control, quality control, maintaining metadata standards, and other duties associated with the creation and maintenance of data related to digital materials.... See JobLIST for more career opportunities.

Contact both your senators about the Boxer-Lautenberg  “Dear Colleague” letter that asks the Senate Appropriations Committee to direct EPA to maintain access and research expertise at all of EPA’s regional and headquarter libraries until the agency solicits adequate public and Congressional input.

Nov. 3–5: The National Urban Alliance for Effective Education is hosting “Teaching for Intelligence: Believe to Achieve” conference in Minneapolis at the Marriott City Centre. The event underscores NUA’s advocacy for a new civil rights movement to secure the rights of all children to be offered a quality education. Contact: Tiffany Reynolds, 202-416-6113. Nov. 21: 75th anniversary of the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 111 Amsterdam Ave., New York City. “Stars and Treasures: 75 Years of Collecting Theatre.” Hundreds of treasures from the New York Public Library’s theatre artifacts collection, including costume designs from the original run of My Fair Lady, costume jewlery of Sarah Bernhardt, and the letters of Tennessee Williams. Contact: 212-870-1630. Dec. 6–7: Document and Content Management for the Government Enterprise, sponsored by Homeland Defense Journal, Adam’s Mark Hotel, Denver. Contact: Katie Smith, 703-807-2758. More Datebook items...

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