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

Boston board ousts Director Bernard Margolis
The Boston Public Library board of trustees voted 7–2 at a heated November 13 meeting not to renew 10-year BPL President Bernard Margolis’s contract when it expires June 30, 2008. Supporters packed rows of chairs in the small meeting room at the Dorchester branch, many defending Margolis’s record and calling his removal a political “power play” by Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino (shown at left). Margolis (right) gave a two-hour interview to the Boston Globe after the board meeting, breaking his silence and lashing out at the mayor....

Louisville vows to grow its library despite ballot defeat
An ambitious plan to fund a $200-million expansion of Louisville (Ky.) Free Public Library facilities and services through a hike in the county’s occupational tax was soundly rejected by some two-thirds of voters November 6. Nonetheless, city and county officials are advancing plans to fund through other municipal channels LFPL’s master plan to renovate or rebuild the main library, refurbish or rebuild most branches, and add five additional libraries—three of which would be regional facilities....

Bush, Cheney images reelected to Kennebunk exhibit
After several rounds of debate and reconsideration and formal complaints from two patrons, the board of Kennebunk (Maine) Free Library voted November 8 to host as originally planned an exhibit of collages made from either discarded American flags or artwork that symbolizes the flag—including depictions of the faces of President Bush and Vice President Cheney....

Beware the Magic Attic
Libraries in Florida and other states are taking steps to remove a phone number in the back of the books in the Magic Attic Club, a series of some 38 fantasy and adventure titles published in the late 1990s for girls aged 9 to 12. A Tampa, Florida, mother was apparently the first to discover that an 800 number on the back page no longer belonged to the Magic Attic Book Club, but went to a telephone sex line instead....

Library language included in Head Start bill
The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate conferees have approved a conference report for the Improving Head Start Act (H.R. 1429). Included in the bill is language that provides opportunities for libraries to play a greater role in Head Start programs aimed at increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families. Last May, leaders from ALSC, AASL, and YALSA met with legislators during ALA National Legislative Day to advocate for this language in the Head Start bill....
District Dispatch, Nov. 12

Lankes named first OITP Fellow
The Office for Information Technology Policy has named R. David Lankes its first OITP Fellow through December 2008. In this position, Lankes will lead a collaborative research project with OITP on the evolving landscape of information technology and its implications for the education of the next generation of LIS professionals. While he will be working with the office on a wide range of issues, his primary focus will be on further developing the concept of participatory librarianship....

E-rate state coordinators training
Last week, library e-rate coordinators from 40 states spent three days in Arlington, Virginia, learning the ins and outs of the e-rate program. This session was led by e-rate expert and OITP consultant Linda Schatz (right), whose combination of humor, knowledge, and unflagging energy makes her an effective trainer....
District Dispatch, Nov. 14

Library workplace wellness survey
Are workplace wellness and work-life balance concerns in libraries? The ALA–Allied Professional Association is encouraging library employees to participate in its Library Workplace Wellness online survey, available through December 14. The results of the survey will provide important information about the depth and scope of work-life initiatives offered in American libraries....

NYLA to cosponsor Midwinter Advocacy Institute
The New York Library Association will cosponsor the Advocacy Institute held during the ALA 2008 Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. The daylong institute, to be held January 11, will train library staff, trustees, and Friends to become stronger library advocates....

AASL National Conference in Reno
In this snapshot (3:33) from the AASL 13th National Conference in Reno, Nevada, Dan Pink talks about his subversive high school librarian, Omar Wasow discusses how school libraries can compete in the age of Google, AASL President Sara Kelly Johns talks about the new AASL standards, and we are introduced to a project called “Sheet Happens.”...

Happenings in January
The Philly Fun Guide allows you to search for activities by date, type, and location. Among the events taking place January 11–16 (during the ALA Midwinter Meeting) are the Celestial Garden installation at the American Philosophical Society Museum; The Screwtape Letters at the Lantern Theater Company; Rain: The Beatles Experience at the Academy of Music; and Key West Karaoke at the Key West Bar and Nightclub....
Philly Fun Guide

Research agenda for scholarly communication
A new report by ACRL explores the gaps in our understanding of the ways that scholars create and share new knowledge. “Establishing a Research Agenda for Scholarly Communication: A Call for Community Engagement” encourages academics, librarians, and their key partners to gather more data on practices that both enable and inhibit the production of scholarship and its communication. The document is available online for public comment....

PLA will provide tours in Minneapolis
PLA will offer local tours to registrants at its 12th National Conference, to be held March 25–29 in Minneapolis. Tours will take participants to historical landmarks, literary hotspots, and popular tourist destinations, including historic Stillwater, Minnesota, the Mayo Medical Library, and the Mall of America. Book-minded travelers will be delighted by the “Life and Times of F. Scott Fitzgerald Tour,” the “Unique Bookstore Tour” (including the Once Upon a Crime mystery bookstore), and the “Central Libraries Tour.”...

RUSA genealogical institute at Midwinter
RUSA’s History Section will present a one-day institute, “Behind the Genealogy Reference Desk: From Birthplace of a Nation to the Digital Age,” on January 11 during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. The institute will be held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (above), one of the oldest historical societies in the United States, and will include a tour of its special collections....

LAMA seeks associate editor
LAMA is looking for an experienced writer or editor to assist in the production of its quarterly magazine, Library Administration & Management (LA&M), with the aim of eventually taking charge of the publication. The magazine serves as an outlet for information from LAMA committees and working groups, as well as for best practices in the field of library administration....

50 Ways to Lead Your LAMA contest
LAMA President Bede Mitchell announced November 6 a contest to promote awareness of his presidential theme, “50 Ways to Lead Your LAMA.” LAMA will award a $500 cash prize to the LAMA member who proposes the best strategic initiative selected for inclusion in the division’s FY09 action plans. Entries will be judged by the LAMA Executive Committee. Submissions are due by April 1....

ASCLA’s Emerging Leader
Olivia Morales, librarian at the Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library’s Office of Service to the Aging, has been selected as the ASCLA 2008 Emerging Leader. The Emerging Leaders program enables new librarians to get on the fast track to ALA and professional leadership....

Making the most of the Résumé Review Service
Angie Kelleher writes: “I know that some job seekers are willing to relocate for a job, and I think those are the ones that I typically see when I volunteer at the New Members Round Table Résumé Review Service at ALA conferences. I’ve volunteered at the booth quite a few times. Here are a few things I’ve learned from watching the job seekers and their interactions with the people reviewing their résumés.”...
NMRT Footnotes, Nov.

Online maps and geographic resources
If you can’t be in Chicago for the Festival of Maps this fall, you and your patrons can still have fun with a wealth of geo-info and cartographic games on the internet, aided by this list compiled by the Map and Geography Round Table. Each is a little different, requiring various levels of expertise....
I Love Libraries

New First Amendment Award
PEN American Center and the Katherine Anne Porter Foundation unveiled a new $10,000 prize for ordinary people who take extraordinary stands to defend the First Amendment. The annual PEN/Katherine Anne Porter First Amendment Award will honor a U.S. citizen or resident who has fought courageously to safeguard the First Amendment’s right to freedom of expression as it applies to the written word....
PEN American Center, Nov. 12

Big Read grants for 2008
The National Endowment for the Arts announced November 13 that it will award grants totaling nearly $1.6 million to 127 libraries, municipalities, and arts, culture, higher-education, and science organizations to host Big Read celebrations of 16 classic novels from January to June 2008. The organizations selected will receive grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 to promote and carry out community-based reading programs. A complete list of grantees is online....
National Endowment for the Arts, Nov. 13

Top 10 new UK librarians named
The Love Libraries Top Ten New Librarians competition, launched in June, aimed to find and celebrate 10 librarians who have worked in British public libraries for less than three years and are transforming services with their creativity, commitment, and enthusiasm. The winners include: Emma Sherriff (above), who hosts karaoke sessions; Sam Davies, who staged a live gig for five bands; and Elizabeth McDonald, who holds weird and wacky wizardry events, including a midnight Harry Potter party....
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, Nov. 6

Libraries morphing into community spaces
When residents of Darien, Connecticut, walk into their new library sometime in 2009, they will be able to read a book or magazine while sipping coffee in a café that spills out to the sidewalk. They will find books grouped by subject, as they are in bookstores, instead of according to the Dewey Decimal System. They will lounge in overstuffed chairs, peruse DVDs in a Blockbuster-style video section, write a report on a wireless computer or print one on a color copier, and bind a proposal in the building’s small business center....
New York Times, Nov. 11

Nancy Pearl picks great sci-fi and fantasy
Nancy Pearl says: “Although I don’t consider myself at all a science fiction/fantasy fanatic, I must say that selecting the books for this topic was harder than any of the others that I’ve done. There is simply so much excellent stuff out there.” One of her picks is Brandon Sanderson’s Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. Read an excerpt here....
National Public Radio, Nov. 12

Leak in University of Hawaii library roof damages rare scrolls
Tens of thousands of books and rare documents on the third floor of the University of Hawaii-Manoa’s Hamilton Library were moved to safer locations after heavy rain leaked through the roof the weekend of November 3–4. Dozens of rare Tibetan scrolls were among the items seriously damaged. Library officials said it was too early to say if any rare items in the Asia collection are permanently damaged. The library is still dealing with damage from an October 2004 flood that ravaged its basement....
Honolulu Advertiser, Nov. 8

Author protests bazoongas ban
Canadian children’s author Nikki Tate is visiting Kindersley, Saskatchewan, November 19 to give away copies of her award-winning Trouble on Tarragon Island, which was banned in the town’s Elizabeth Elementary School in July. The publisher learned of the ban after school librarian Debbie Wagner called to complain about scenes of bullying, one of which includes the use of the word “bazoongas” to describe a part of the female anatomy. The novel will be available free to any elementary pupil in Kindersley who requests the title....
Toronto Globe and Mail, Nov. 13

Gwinnett library board hears web porn complaint
A Lawrenceville, Georgia, mother called for the resignation of a Gwinnett County library board member on November 12, saying he dismissed her concerns regarding easy access to pornography on the system’s computers. Ruth Hardy said she complained to the board in September that she had seen a patron at the Collins Hill branch viewing a naked woman gyrating on a bed. Brett Taylor, the only member to respond to her complaint until three weeks ago, accused her of misrepresenting what she had seen and suggested she join with him in having internet access removed from the library entirely....
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nov. 13

Republicans issue Hillary Clinton library cards
The Republican National Committee has been hammering away at the dispute over the release of records from the Clinton Presidential Library that pertain to Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) role on health-care policy during the Clinton administration. Now they’re also having a little fun with it by circulating an email to supporters and asking them to forward to friends by December 31 a petition to “inspire Hillary to agree to share the library documents as her New Year’s resolution.” The RNC gets new subscriber info for their donor lists, and signers get the Hillary Clinton Library Card....
Wall Street Journal, Nov. 13

Police credit restricted access to less crime in library
By limiting access to MySpace and other social-networking sites, the Wyoming branch of the Kent District Library in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has become a safer place. So say police officials who note gang tagging, furniture damage, and adolescent sexual encounters have declined in recent months. City leaders say the popular websites attracted rowdy youths and gang members who vandalized library property and intimidated patrons with rude behavior....
Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press, Nov. 12

West Virginia Library Association wants termination reviewed
Fred Armstrong headed up the West Virginia State Archives for 22 years until his abrupt firing in early November. The West Virginia Library Association executive board is considering how to make it clear to state leaders that they support Armstrong and want his firing reviewed. Armstrong has speculated his termination might have resulted from his disapproval of a plan, backed by Gov. Joe Manchin, to move the archives library at the state Cultural Center and replace it with a café and gift shop....
Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail, Nov. 14

David Packard, cinema saver
David Packard, known in the Bay Area for his contributions to many charities and his theatre restorations, has helped the Library of Congress turn Culpeper, Virginia, into the movie-restoration capital of the world. His $150-million donation will make LC’s National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (now known as the Packard Campus) the front line for preserving much of the babble of electronic and electromagnetic art we’ve created during the past century....
MetroActive, Nov. 7

In Baghdad, building order out of chaos
With his soft voice and scholarly manner, Saad Eskander doesn’t seem like a person fresh from the front lines of a war. But as director of the Iraq National Library and Archive in Baghdad, he has carried on his own four-year battle to preserve his country’s cultural heritage. While most of his peers fled the country, and five members of his staff were murdered, he has stayed on....
Boston Globe, Nov. 8

10 things they don’t teach you in library school
In library school, commentator Jennie Kiffmeyer learned all about the Dewey Decimal system, database design, and storytelling. But as she was to realize on the job as a school librarian in suburban Washington, that knowledge didn’t amount to a handful of jellybeans. Here is her list of 10 things they don’t teach you....
WMUB-FM, Oxford, Ohio, Nov. 13

Secret librarian handshake revealed
In his Library Man column, Brad Barker, librarian at Mark Twain Junior High School in Modesto, California, reveals some of the secrets of our profession: “At special ceremonies, librarians bump their right forearms together as a sign of solidarity (some baseball players known as the Bash Brothers stole this move from us). After the forearm bump, we touch thumbs and twist them as a symbol for the Dewey Decimal point.”...
Modesto (Calif.) Bee, Nov. 12

Andrew Pace to join OCLC
American Libraries columnist and Hectic Pace blogger Andrew Pace, head of information technology at North Carolina State University Libraries, will join the OCLC staff as executive director for networked library services, where he will guide the future development of network level services for libraries. His appointment is effective January 7....
OCLC, Nov. 14

40 useful Firefox add-ons for librarians
Ellyssa Kroski writes: “Firefox has quickly become my number-one browser since I grudgingly tried it out a few months ago. It is very adaptable and customizable between all of its add-ons and themes, and is compatible with just about every application that I use regularly. But by the same token, with over 1,900 add-ons, it’s difficult to wade through them all to find the ones which might be useful. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.” Be sure to read parts two and three....
iLibrarian blog, Nov. 8–10

Microsoft Word finds its voice
Microsoft and open-source site SourceForge plan to offer a free plug-in next year that will convert Office 2007 files to the Daisy format, which translates text to speech. The free tool will add a “Save as Daisy” option within Word 2007 and 2003. Daisy, or Digital Accessible Information System, XML files can be read aloud by speech synthesizers, paired with audio narration, and used to create electronic Braille....
C|Net news.com, Nov. 13

Top 50 YouTube tools and resources
YouTube is the most popular video sharing website on the internet. Listed here is a collection of tools and resources that can enhance your YouTube experience and help you in video integration on your blog or website. Also listed are some websites where you can find the most sought-after YouTube videos....
Digital Musings blog, Nov. 6

Get your library into Facebook
Sarah Houghton-Jan writes: “Getting your library into Facebook and having an effective profile there has never been easier. Facebook has opened up business and institutional profiles where you can add all sorts of information and interact with the public on your comments wall. Users can become your library’s fans—letting your library’s information feed into the feed they see of their friends’ and family’s activities.” For two examples of how libraries have done this, see the Facebook profiles of the University of Kentucky Library and the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County....
Librarian in Black blog, Nov. 9

Mash up your pix with Dumpr
Dumpr, the digital camera hobbyists’ online toyshop, takes your photos and hangs them in a museum (right); turns them into a Rubik’s cube, jigsaw-puzzle pieces, sketches, legos, or mosaics; or distorts them in a number of colorful ways. You can upload photos from your computer or take them from Flickr or your website....
Dumpr

Typewriter’s last word not written yet
Paul Schweitzer is one of a dying breed. As owner of Gramercy Typewriter Company in New York City, he repairs machines that many consider obsolete. “The younger generation says, ‘Who needs typewriters?’” said Schweitzer, 68, who joined his father’s business in 1959. “It’s not true; there are people who still like hitting the keys.”...
Reuters, Nov. 6

24 from 1994: How far we’ve come
Duncan Riley writes: “There’s a whole generation of people who don’t remember when the internet was exactly like this. I can still remember buying a 14.4k modem for something like $500 then having to download Trumpet Winsock to get net access under Windows 3.1. We’ve come a very long way.” Watch this exciting 24 take-off video from College Humor TV....
TechCrunch, Nov. 10

Campaign 2008: Candidates and news sources (PDF file)
As Laura Gordon-Murnane illustrates in this in-depth article, the internet is no longer like a third-party candidate, but is breathing down the proverbial necks of the mainstream media, threatening to usurp broadcast and print sources as the primary way people follow the election. Five extensive tables look at the websites of each of the 17 presidential candidates, as well as mainstream media sites, blogs, and aggregator tools, and show just how much the internet is affecting the 2008 election. This is a key reference tool for anyone following the election or helping voters....
Searcher 15, no. 10 (Nov./Dec.): 19–39

GPO offers guide to Congress (PDF file)
The U.S. Government Printing Office has created a one-stop website with searchable information on all members of Congress. Users can find a picture and biography of any current member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. This information previously was available in separate databases, but now can be accessed from one central point....
Government Printing Office, Nov. 13

Library software manifesto
Roy Tennant has developed a declaration of consumer rights and responsibilities to rationalize the relationship between libraries and library systems vendors. Substantial contributions were made by Thomas Dowling and Carl Grant. It was first made public at the 2007 CODI (Customers of Dynix Inc.) Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 8....
TechEssence blog, Nov. 12

Teen patrons can pay library fines in Second Life
Kelly Czarnecki writes: “The Public Library of Charlotte (N.C.) and Mecklenburg County is the first library in the world to accept Linden Dollars for fines. It’s a great use of the Second Life economy and it’s a fun way to pay off money owed.” PLCMC and the Eye4You Alliance set up a fines-paying machine in the teen grid in Second Life, so students can avoid the stern looks of the librarian at the counter. A video demonstrates the process....
SLNN.com, Nov. 4

Why online conferences win
Jason Griffey writes: “After returning from Internet Librarian, I’ve been thinking a lot about conference models and how the ALA and library conferences in general need to change in order to survive the next 5–10 years. The existing ALA model is broken beyond repair, and while I know that the ALA has a task force on virtual membership working now, there needs to be a much wider look at the virtual aspects of conferences than just focusing on how membership works.”...
Pattern Recognition blog, Nov. 11

Public Libraries in the United States: FY2005
The U.S. National Center for Educational Statistics released a report November 7 that includes national and state summary data on public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report, based on data from the Public Libraries Survey for fiscal year 2005, includes information on population of legal service area, service outlets, library collections and services, full-time equivalent staff, and operating revenue and expenditures....
U.S. National Center for Educational Statistics, Nov. 7

The new academic librarians
Tim Johnson writes: “With its faded orange carpet, rows and rows of stacks, and old-school study carrels, McMaster University’s H. G. Thode Library of Science and Engineering in Hamilton, Ontario, looks like a place purposed with preserving the 1970s. But the future isn’t far away—and Jeffrey Trzeciak, the school’s new university librarian, can see it already. Soon an army of workers and the $4 million raised through a capital campaign will gut and utterly transform Thode.”...
University Affairs, Dec.

Librarians: The party people
Marylaine Block writes: “We all know that librarians are not the prototypical sensible-shoes-wearing little ladies with buns, but did you have any idea how much fun we can be? Here’s a collection of news stories I’ve assembled about some image-busting librarians and the imaginative parties, programs, competitions, and stunts they’ve staged for their communities.” From a presentation at the Nevada Library Association Conference in October....
Marylaine Block

Newberry Library launches online genealogy map
The Newberry Library announced a new interactive, map-based website for genealogists and Chicago historians: ChicagoAncestors.org. Developed by staff from the Local and Family History department, this online map allows visitors to research the history of a particular address or Chicago neighborhood and identify Newberry Library resources along with relevant educational institutions and places of worship. Data on the map includes historical church locations, neighborhood bibliographies, and historical homicides....
Newberry Library, Nov. 13

Biases and restrictions in Google search
Google uses many signals to rank search results and, in some cases, it filters some of them based on your location, device, or preferences. Here are some ways to disable these filters or to create custom filters....
Google Operating System blog, Nov. 9

Renaissance Library calendar, 2008
The Renaissance Library calendars have been produced since 2001 by Information Strategy and Information Management, a consulting and publishing firm based in Sollentuna, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. Each month features a photo of a historic library, selected from nominations submitted by librarians and information professionals in nearly 40 countries. The cover of the 2008 calendar shows the Melk Abbey Library in Melk, Austria, founded in 1089....
Renaissance Library Collection

U.S. educators visit Scandinavian ministries
“What is the role of technology in improving teaching and learning in the Scandinavian education systems?” is the focus of a weeklong delegation of senior U.S. educators and policymakers, November 9–17. Organized by the Consortium for School Networking, the delegation is holding high-level talks with members of the Finnish, Danish, and Swedish ministries of education. Of particular interest will be the policies necessary to create highly accountable, innovative educational systems and to integrate information and communications technologies....
Consortium for School Networking, Nov. 13

Updated copyright term chart
A revised version of Peter B. Hirtle’s copyright term chart is available on the Cornell University Copyright Information Center website. The new sections offer information on sound recordings and architectural works. Both HTML and PDF versions are available....
Cornell University Copyright Information Center

Legal threats database
The Citizen Media Law Project has launched a new Legal Threats Database, a catalog of the growing number of lawsuits, cease and desist letters, and other legal challenges faced by those engaging in online speech. This publicly accessible database provides lawyers and free-speech advocates with a valuable resource for assessing the validity and possible outcomes of legal threats to online speech, based on actual cases and legal actions....
Citizen Media Law Project, Nov. 7

Why screenwriters are striking
Librarian LizB interviews striking writer Jeff Gottesfeld (The Young and the Restless, as well as YA fiction) on the reasons for the Writers Guild of America strike. She comments: “In a nutshell, the TV writers are saying, they want their fair share of the profits from their work product. And all I have to say is: Four cents for each DVD sold? I’m shocked.”...
Pop Goes the Library blog, Nov. 9

Brain Dettmer’s altered books
Atlanta-based artist Brian Dettmer carves up books to reveal the artwork inside, creating complex, layered, three-dimensional sculptures. He slices and carves into older textbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, medical guides, science books, engineering books, history books, comic books, and others, exposing select images and text to create intricate derivative works that reveal new or alternative interpretations....
Centripetal Notion blog, Sept. 13

ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, January 11–16. ALA will reimburse the charges expended on childcare in the amount of $25 per day, per child, to a maximum of $50 per day, to any fully registered parent for each day of the Midwinter Meeting week.

On November 13, President Bush vetoed the FY2008 Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which was the result of a conference report produced by members from both houses of Congress. The conference report increased the funding of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and funded the Library Services and Technology Act and the State Grants program. Contact your representatives and urge them to vote later this week to override the President’s veto.