Contents
U.S. & World News
ALA News
Booklist Online
D.C. Update
Division News
Round Table News
Awards
Seen Online
Tech Talk
Actions & Answers
Calendar

Library security threats follow Virginia Tech shootings
In the aftermath of the mass shooting at Virginia Tech April 16, university campuses, schools, and libraries across the nation tightened security measures as a handful of threatening notes, emails, and calls created some false alarms. Incidents involving libraries included the following....

Senator revises web monitoring bill
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) plans to revise his Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act (S. 49), introduced January 6 and criticized by some librarians, internet companies, and civil liberties advocates. The revised bill would join the ranks of February’s Deleting Online Predators Act (H.R. 1120), and the Cyber Safety for Kids Act (S. 1086) introduced April 11 by Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) that would require websites to embed tags to help filtering software flag content deemed harmful to minors....

Illinois Library Association and MySpace promote cybersafety
Social networking website MySpace has joined with the Illinois Library Association in a campaign to inform children, teens, and parents about online safety. In honor of Illinois Library Day, April 19, ILA began distributing to every public library in the state free Internet Safety Bookmarks that offer tips on safe social networking, safe blogging, and dealing with cyberbullies. The bookmarks, jointly produced by ILA and MySpace, will also be distributed during National Library Legislative Day, May 1–2, in Washington, D.C....

Laura Bush announces grants to Gulf Coast school libraries
First Lady Laura Bush announced April 19 that 14 school libraries in Louisiana and Mississippi would receive $502,000 to help rebuild collections and facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries has granted more than $2.5 million to 40 Gulf Coast school libraries since last May....

Wisconsin librarians seek privacy-law amendment
A police investigation into whether a crime occurred April 2 at the Neenah (Wis.) Public Library has intensified efforts already underway by the Wisconsin Library Association and state legislators to enable librarians to share surveillance tapes with law enforcement in criminal cases without a subpoena. The investigation involves a patron’s report that a man was masturbating in a second-floor book aisle; by the time police arrived the suspect was gone....

Arkansas man wants library fined over lesbian book
The father of two teenage boys has asked city officials to fine the Bentonville (Ark.) Public Library for keeping The Whole Lesbian Sex Book by Felice Newman on the open shelves where his sons could find it. Earl Adams said his 14- and 16-year-old sons discovered the book in January while browsing for literature on military academies and were “greatly disturbed,” causing “many sleepless nights in our house.”...

Anonymous donor gives Philadelphia library $15 million
Free Library of Philadelphia officials announced April 17 they had received from an anonymous private donor a $15-million challenge grant to help refurbish and expand the Central Library, a project expected to take more than two years and cost $175 million. “This is the largest gift in the library’s history,” said William R. Sasso, chairman of the library foundation’s board of directors....

European Digital Library group agrees on copyright model
The European Union’s expert group on digital libraries has established a basic model for handling copyright issues with orphan works and out-of-print materials. The model—agreed upon April 18 by representatives of the British Library, the German National Library, the Federation of European Publishers, Google, and other stakeholders—calls on European member states to set up voluntary programs to digitize and make accessible materials that fall into these two categories....

Salary survey deadline extended
ALA-APA: The Organization for the Advancement of Library Employees has extended its deadline to Monday, April 30, for completion of its web-based Library Salary Survey. Almost 4,000 public and academic libraries were asked to participate....

Advocacy Institute at Annual Conference has multiple sponsors
The Virginia Library Association, the Delaware Library Association, and the District of Columbia Library Association will cosponsor the Advocacy Institute at ALA 2007 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., June 22. This workshop will feature topics on mounting an effective advocacy program....

15th National Capital Barbecue Battle
No matter how you spell it, if you love BBQ you’ll enjoy the 2007 Barbecue Battle that will conveniently take place during ALA Annual Conference. On Pennsylvania Avenue, June 23–24, tens of thousands of people will watch barbecue teams and restaurants from around the country compete to win over $25,000 in cash and the title of National Pork BBQ Champion....
Safeway Barbecue Battle

Bike and foot trails
Find hiking and cycling trails throughout the D.C. area, from Rock Creek to the Anacostia riverwalk, on this handy map....
Washington Post

YALSA launches 2007 Teen Read Week website
YALSA’s 2007 Teen Read Week website offers benefits for early registration. The first 100 to sign up will receive a free unabridged audiobook from a Printz or Alex Award–winning author. One winner, selected at random, will receive an audiobook library collection of 12 titles by Printz and Alex Award–winning authors. This year’s theme, “LOL @ your library,” encourages teens nationwide to read something humorous, light, and entertaining just for the fun of it....

YALSA names Teen Tech Week contest winners
Old Bridge (N.J.) Public Library won a visit from popular Young Adult author Lauren Myracle (ttyl, Rhymes with Witches) for producing the program that best exemplifies “Get Connected,” the theme for Teen Tech Week 2007....

Teen Tech Week video contest winners
Three students—Michael Morse, Michelle Gillman, and Dave Burgmeyer—at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, won the Teen Tech Week video contest with a short video (2:33) highlighting the many technological resources the library has to offer students....

New PLA publication addresses emergency response
PLA has published a handbook and DVD titled Field Guide to Emergency Response: A Vital Tool for Cultural Institutions, originally produced by Heritage Preservation through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The instructional DVD demonstrates basic salvage techniques and prepares your response team for typical problems that take place after a disaster....

Library history bibliography for Spring 2007
Ed Goedeken has completed his biannual bibliography of writings on the history of libraries, librarianship, and book culture for the Library History Round Table....

Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award
Barry Trott, adult services director of the Williamsburg (Va.) Regional Library, is the 2007 recipient of the Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award administered by RUSA. This annual citation is presented to a librarian who has made a significant contribution to, and had an impact on, library service to adults....

Thomson Gale Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Services
The Springfield–Greene County (Mo.) Library is the 2007 recipient of the RUSA Thomson Gale Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Services. The $3,000 award donated by Thomson Gale recognizes a library or library system for developing an imaginative and unique library resource to meet patrons’ reference needs. The library is receiving the award for its Informed Decision and Hot Topics websites....

Paul Simon to receive LC’s first Gershwin Prize
A star-studded cast of performers and presenters has been confirmed to pay tribute to singer-songwriter Paul Simon as he receives the first annual Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song on May 23 at 8 p.m. at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. This newly created award recognizes the profound and positive effect of popular music on the world’s culture and will be given annually to a composer or performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins....
Library of Congress, Apr. 23

2007 Bancroft Awards
The authors of two books, a biography chronicling the life of William James and an ecological history of the American South, have won the Bancroft Prize for 2007: Robert D. Richardson for William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism (Houghton Mifflin), and Jack Temple Kirby for Mockingbird Song: Ecological Landscapes of the South (University of North Carolina). The Bancroft is awarded annually by the Trustees of Columbia University to the authors of books of exceptional merit in the fields of American history, biography, and diplomacy....
Columbia News, Apr. 20

Justice Department asked to investigate Reading First program
The Education Department’s inspector general has asked the Justice Department to investigate Reading First, the Bush administration’s $6-billion program to teach poor children to read by third grade. Inspector General John P. Higgins has issued a half-dozen reports finding conflicts of interest, cronyism, and bias in how federal officials and private consultants operated the program and awarded the grants....
New York Times, Apr. 21

Virginia Tech to preserve memorials
Officials at Virginia Tech have started the process of preserving the makeshift memorials of grief, love, and forgiveness to the victims and the gunman in the shooting rampage of April 16. Dean of Libraries Eileen E. Hitchingham said every effort would be made to preserve all the objects, including pressing one flower from each shrine bouquet. The mementos and original documents will temporarily be held for safekeeping at a student center until a permanent home is found....
New York Times, Apr. 25

Free Library President Shelkrot resigns
Free Library of Philadelphia President Elliot L. Shelkrot has decided to step down as president and director of one of the 10 largest public library systems in the country. Shelkrot said his decision was prompted by the simple fact that he has been at the helm for 20 years. He has agreed to stay on until the end of the year....
Philadelphia Inquirer, Apr. 23

Teen books move up to the top shelf
Despite competition from XBox, TV, and social networking sites, teen literature is one of the fastest-growing segments in publishing. Industry officials and librarians credit a quirky, raven-haired wizard: Harry Potter. In honor of the first national Teen Literature Day, publishers, educators, and young readers gathered April 19 at Benito Juarez Community Academy School in Chicago to celebrate teenagers who read books for pleasure....
Chicago Tribune, Apr. 20

Rochester readers split on library’s internet policy
Readers are divided sharply on Monroe County (N.Y.) Executive Maggie Brooks’s threat to withdraw all county funding of the Central Library unless it acts immediately to “halt the public viewing of pornography and other graphic materials” on library computers. By a slim margin of 52–48%, more readers supported Brooks’s position than opposed it....
Rochester (N.Y.) Business Journal, Apr. 20

Explicit comics challenged in New Zealand
Sexually graphic comics available in the public library at Wanganui, New Zealand, have prompted a local woman to launch a petition calling for reasonable censorship at the library. Julie Gordon, a mother of five and part-time secondary school teacher, said while she understands a lot of the comics—mainly those coming from Japan—were aimed at an adult audience, there were some that had no rating and therefore could be taken out on loan by any library cardholder....
Wanganui (N.Z.) Chronicle, Apr. 26

University of Illinois rare books library hosts collecting contest
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library and its resident book collecting organization, the No. 44 Society, are playing host to the university’s second annual Book Collecting Contest. This contest pits student book collectors against one another in a competition to assemble the most complete, well thought-out, and creative book collections....
Daily Illini, Mar. 29

Top minds try weaving a less-tangled Web (humor)
Columnist Paige Wiser writes: “The internet is so flawed that it might be better to scrap it and begin again, say university researchers. It’s evolved past what it was really designed for, and is now riddled with spammers and hackers. ‘It’s sort of a miracle that it continues to work well today,’ Dipankar Raychaudhuri told the Associated Press. Raychaudhuri is a Rutgers professor supervising three projects that could eventually replace the internet.”...
Chicago Sun-Times, Apr. 22

Sierra Vista takes over library service for GIs
With its rows of books and gleaming windows, the municipal library in Sierra Vista, Arizona, seems much like any other, except for the military uniforms inside. In a setup being hailed as a potential model for other military installations, the Army post of Fort Huachuca, about 75 miles southeast of Tucson, recently signed a deal with the city of Sierra Vista to have the city provide library services for soldiers....
Tucson Arizona Daily Star, Apr. 20

Libraries boost offerings for immigrants
The shelves of libraries across Minnesota are swelling with books and other materials catering to the state’s most recent immigrants, mostly Hispanics, Somalis, and Hmong. In the past few years, libraries have added thousands of books, from free ones from the Mexican government to new ones about Somali folklore, and received federal grants for storytelling. Libraries have become important centers for newcomers who are trying to become proficient in English while connecting to their native languages and heritage....
Associated Press, Apr. 23

Funding woes put PlaneTree library in crisis
For the past 18 years, the PlaneTree Health Library in Los Gatos, California, has been helping patrons gather as much information as they can about their or a family member’s new diagnosis. However, the library is in a race to find more funding. Good Samaritan Hospital has been sponsoring PlaneTree since 2002, and the partnership is ending on June 30. The hospital will continue providing the library space rent-free and donations have trickled in, but the staff wouldn’t mind seeing more financial help from the community....
San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News, Apr. 17

Ute Tribe’s library director wants more reading
Tina King has been the Ute Mountain (Colo.) Ute Tribe’s library director for just two weeks, but she’s already making changes and laying out ambitious goals, urging more native youths to discover the joys of reading. King’s vision includes a hoped-for large-print section for elders and reorganizing the children’s book section. Her biggest hope is for the Ute Tribe’s young people to take advantage of a vital community resource....
Cortez (Colo.) Journal, Apr. 19

Cree scholars research their roots
The written works of the Oblate missionaries who served among the Cree people in northwestern Canada have now become the subject of research. A team of indigenous scholars at the University of Alberta has just begun a five-year research project that involves studying rare books and manuscripts written in Cree by Oblate missionaries who worked and lived among their ancestors....
Western Catholic Reporter, Apr. 23

Man found shot at Fort Myers library
A homeless man suffering from a gunshot wound was found April 21 at the downtown Fort Myers branch of the Lee County (Fla.) Library. A security guard found Hugh Curtis Shears, 43, who frequented the library, a little after 8 a.m. near the front entrance. “We hope he’s OK,” said Madeleine Plummer, a regional manager with the county library system....
Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press, Apr. 22

OCLC scores again
It’s just not enough for OCLC to grab up good software, create cool new tools, and be the behemoth of the library world; they have to snatch up some great librarians to go along with it! It was announced April 24 that Roy Tennant will be leaving the California Digital Library, where he has worked since 2000, for a new position at OCLC. Tennant will be senior program manager with the RLG Programs unit of OCLC Research and Programs....
Hectic Pace blog, Apr. 25

U.S. falls further behind in broadband
The United States continues to lose ground when the number of people with broadband communications connections here is compared to other countries. U.S. broadband penetration among worldwide industrialized nations dropped from 12th to 15th place, according to broadband rankings released in April by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development....
Information Week, Apr. 24

Information design for the New Web
Columbia University Reference Librarian Ellyssa Kroski presented an overview of current trends in website design April 16 at the Computers in Libraries 2007 conference: “Today’s websites are aiming for intuitive and usable interfaces which are continuously evolving in response to user needs. Information design for the New Web is simple, it is social, and it embraces alternate forms of navigation.” A summary of her presentation appears on her blog....
InfoTangle, Apr. 2

Six reasons to use a paper to-do list
You’d think the proliferation of webware might make paper to-do lists obsolete. For some people, though, no electronic task list can replace the joys of paper and pen. Anne Zelenka writes: “I’ve come across many appealing web-based to-do list managers—Gubb and Remember the Milk are two especially nice options—but none that can overcome my commitment to paper to-do lists.”...
Web Worker Daily, Apr. 18

11 ways to search without Google
Depending on who you ask, Google accounts for 40–50% of the search engine market (add in Yahoo and MSN and the figure jumps to around 90%). And rightly so—the service gives speedy results and has a very good user interface. But don’t you ever want to try a different search engine, just to see where it takes you? Here, for your surfing pleasure, are 11 ways to do exactly that, including Ms. Dewey (right)....
PC Magazine, Apr. 18

Email is for old people
All of a sudden, email—that icon of the Internet Age—is, like, so over. By last spring, teen usage of web-based email had dropped 8% from the previous year, according to comScore Media Matrix. The shift to instant communication like text messaging means that email—once the casual, speedy alternative to parcel post—has become the new “snail mail” among the Lindsay Lohan set: a slow, all-too-formal way to communicate with “old people” and drab, faceless institutions....
Hyannis (Mass.) Cape Cod Times, Apr. 24

Uniform Resource Identifiers
A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is a character string that serves to identify (or locate, retrieve, dereference) a resource. URI schemes include http, telnet, mailto, ftp, z39.50s, info, tag, and urn (uniform resource name). The info URI scheme was developed within the library and publishing communities (specifically, in conjunction with the development of the NISO OpenURL standard) because of the need for URIs as pure identifiers....
IFLA/CDNL Alliance for Bibliographic Standards

Things computers can do in movies
1. Word processors never display a cursor. 2. You never have to use the space bar when typing long sentences. 3. Movie characters never make typing mistakes. 4. All monitors display inch-high letters. 5. All computers are connected; you can access the information on the villain’s desktop computer even if it’s turned off....
Programming Blog, Apr. 8

Texas acquires David Mamet papers
The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin has acquired the papers of playwright, writer, and film director David Mamet, author of more than 50 plays and 25 screenplays that have earned him a Pulitzer Prize, Oscar nominations, and a Tony Award. The materials include manuscripts, journals, office and production files, correspondence, and multiple drafts of each of Mamet’s works, including the plays American Buffalo (1975) and Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) and screenplays The Untouchables (1988) and Wag the Dog (1997)....
University of Texas at Austin, Apr. 18

State library statistics module
The ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, in partnership with the Information Institute at Florida State University, has developed a new tool for library advocates, the EDMS state statistics module. This interactive website contains copious information about broadband connectivity in libraries and allows for the creation of customized reports, based upon 11 variables from the 2006 Public Libraries and the Internet Study. Users have the opportunity to create comparative tables and charts of data at the national and state levels....
ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, Apr. 25

Six hallmarks of Web 2.0
Michelle Boule writes: “Lee Rainie, from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, was the first speaker at this year’s Computers in Libraries conference. His talk was bursting with numbers that illustrated how people use and interact on the internet. According to Rainie, there are six hallmarks of Web 2.0.”...
ALA TechSource blog, Apr. 23

14 ways to make your library great
To succeed today, libraries must master many different roles—some traditionally associated with libraries, some not. New, multifaceted missions must be supported with great design, strong amenities, and popular programs. Here are 14 different ways public libraries in the United States and Canada make a difference in their communities....
Project for Public Spaces, Making Places newsletter (Apr.)

Gulf Coast Summer Reading Initiative
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings visited Gulfview-Charles B. Murphy Elementary School in Kiln, Mississippi, April 18 to launch the 2007 Gulf Coast Summer Reading Initiative, a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Education, First Book, and Scholastic Inc. Building on the initiative established in 2006, this year’s program renews the effort to distribute books to communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita....
U.S. Dept. of Education, Apr. 18

Gaming in libraries survey
Syracuse University School of Information Studies Assistant Professor Scott Nicholson is conducting a survey on how libraries supported games and gaming activities in 2006. He writes: “This will provide us with the valuable evidence useful for all of us in getting funding for gaming in libraries.” If you did run any type of gaming program (board, card, video games) or have people involved with games in your library, fill out the survey by April 30....
The Shifted Librarian, Apr. 18

Teen online identities in the age of MySpace
According to a new report (PDF file), the majority of teens actively manage their online profiles to keep the information they believe is most sensitive away from the unwanted gaze of strangers, parents, and other adults. While many teens post their first name and photos on their profiles, they rarely post information on public profiles they believe would help strangers actually locate them, such as full name, home phone number, or cell phone number....
Pew Internet and American Life Project, Apr. 18

Schools embrace MySpace
Some schools ban social networks for wasting classroom time or to protect students from weirdos. But, as part of a wider trend toward less top-down teaching, other institutions are putting tools like MySpace, Bebo, and Facebook on the curriculum—and teachers are saying: “Thanks for the add.”...
Wired, Apr. 19

Colbert on National Libary Week
Comedian Stephen Colbert has a few words to say about National Libary Week on the April 18 Colbert Report. Author Frank McCourt and New Yorker writer David Remnick also give their “opinions” after Colbert offers his take on books: “Sure, they’re great to put a hot pot on and nothing beats them for kindling, but a whole building of them seems a little excessive.”...
Comedy Central, Apr. 18

New York Times adjusts free-content offer (subscription required)
In mid-March, the New York Times announced that it would make its premium online TimesSelect content available free to college students. But academic librarians complained that they already pay tens of thousands of dollars for access to premium content through database companies like ProQuest and LexisNexis. The paper now says TimesSelect archives will be available only to students at colleges that subscribe to database companies that carry Times content....
Chronicle of Higher Education, Apr. 13

Campaign to save newspaper book reviews
Over the past five years, one by one, newspapers have begun to forsake books and their readers. On its Critical Mass blog, the National Book Critics Circle is featuring posts by concerned writers, interviews with book editors in the trenches, links to op-eds by critics, novelists, and other NBCC board members, Q&As with newspaper editors and owners who will explain the business context for these changes, and tips for what you can do to help save book reviewing....
Critical Mass blog, Apr. 25

Library of Congress launches its first blog
The Library of Congress might have turned 207 years old April 24, but with the addition of the first-ever public blog to its award-winning website, it possibly has never looked younger. The blog is authored by the library’s director of communications, Matt Raymond, with contributions from Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, along with curators and other library staff....
Library of Congress, Apr. 23

May is Preservation Month
The National Trust for Historic Preservation will commemorate the third annual National Preservation Month in May. And while this year’s theme, “Making Preservation Work,” is new, the idea remains the same—celebrating the country’s diverse and irreplaceable heritage by participating in local events throughout the nation....
National Trust for Historic Preservation

Library user tip #367
Avoid overdue fines with a library basket. Megin Hatch writes: “Between the three kids and myself our library bag is overflowing when we leave. For a long time it was common to lose track of the books—they would get mixed in with the books we owned (all 9 gazillion of them!). Enter the library book basket: I bought a special basket that stays in the living room. The kids learned very quickly to return library books to the basket—even the 2-year-old.”...
Parent Hacks, Apr. 19