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

OCLC scans the social-network environment
OCLC has issued the third in a series of research reports to its membership on online issues and trends that affect library use, services, and resources. Sharing, Privacy, and Trust in Our Networked World, released October 22, explores the use of social spaces online by more than 6,100 respondents, ages 14 to 84, in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, and contrasts them with the views and usage of 382 U.S. library directors....

Senate okays public access to medical research
The U.S. Senate approved October 23 a measure that mandates the deposit of peer-reviewed articles researched with the support of the National Institutes of Health to be deposited into the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central database for public availability within 12 months of publication....

Hurricane recovery progresses in Louisiana
Two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, more signs of recovery are popping up in Louisiana as facilities reopen, millages pass, and recovery plans take hold. New Orleans Public Library reopened its Martin Luther King Jr. branch (above) October 5, with speakers calling it a beacon of hope for the recovery of the city’s Lower Ninth Ward....

San Jose officials revisit filter mandate
The controversy over filtering internet access on public library computers has resurfaced in San Jose, California. Patron behavior at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, which houses more than 1.5 million items shared between SJPL and San Jose State University, seems to be at the center of the debate....

Vancouver strike ends; libraries reopen
Vancouver (B.C.) Public Library staff returned to work October 22 after an 88-day strike over pay equity and benefits issues. CUPE 391 members voted 71% in favor of the agreement, the union reported October 19. The agreement was similar to the one overwhelmingly rejected ten days earlier. In this video by CUPE 391, pay-equity advocate and former ALA President Mitch Freedman gives a talk at the Central branch of the Vancouver Public Library October 24 on library workers, unions, strikes, and equitable salaries....

Update on Mark Bard
On October 1, ALA Washington Office Technology Policy Analyst Mark Bard was seriously injured when struck by a drunk driver near his home. As an update on Mark’s condition, he is breathing on his own, but he is still unconscious. He has been moved to the Woodbine Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Alexandria, Virginia....
District Dispatch blog, Oct. 30

Where’s AL Direct?
Please pass this on to anyone you know who may be asking. We get that question a fair amount—about five times a week. And with good reason: All ALA personal members are eligible to receive this e-newsletter, and yet, obviously, sometimes it doesn’t show up in their inbox. The short answer to any readers who aren’t getting AL Direct is this: We don’t know—there are a lot of possible reasons—but send an email and we will look into it....
ALA Marginalia blog, Oct. 24

Survey on services to the poor: Deadline extended
The OLOS Subcommittee on Library Services to Poor and Homeless People is measuring ALA members’ knowledge of ALA’s policy on Library Services for the Poor in order to develop useful tools to support the needs of today’s poor and homeless people in library communities across the country. The survey has been reformatted and corrected, and the new deadline for completing it is November 15....

How Philadelphia rates with travelers
Earlier this year, Travel and Leisure magazine and CNN Headline News polled travelers and residents on what they like (and don’t like) about 25 top urban destinations in the United States. Though their city is praised for its historical sites and monuments, Philadelphia residents finished last in the “attractive” category. Some other pluses: cheap eats, museums and galleries, antiques, and sports....
Travel and Leisure, Oct. 10

AASL 13th National Conference in Reno
Omar Wasow (right), cofounder of BlackPlanet.com and an on-air technology analyst, brought to a close the AASL 13th National Conference in Reno, Nevada. More than 3,790 librarians, exhibitors, and guests gathered at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center October 24–28 to discuss the challenges that face American school libraries. The conference featured eight preconference workshops, several school and educational tours, more than 100 educational sessions, author events, and more than 200 exhibiting companies....

AASL to offer its first digital institute
AASL has just launched its first digital institute, “Minding Your Students’ Future,” which offers a rich continuing education experience through multiple media, including podcasts, vodcasts, and video. The institute pulls together a variety of digital sessions captured during the AASL 13th National Conference and Exhibition in Reno, Nevada, October 24–28. Registration opened October 30....

RUSA’s Emerging Leader
Latanya N. Jenkins, visiting assistant professor of library science and Diversity Fellow, Archives and Special Collection, Purdue University, has been selected as the RUSA 2008 Emerging Leader. The Emerging Leaders program enables new librarians to get on the fast track to ALA and professional leadership....

New Moon rises in 2007 Teens’ Top Ten
More than 6,000 teen readers across the country chose New Moon by Stephenie Meyer as their favorite book in the annual Teens’ Top Ten vote, sponsored by YALSA. The online vote took place during Teen Read Week, October 14–20, with the second entry in Meyer’s popular vampire romance series winning easily. TTT is a “teen choice” booklist, put together as part of YALSA’s Young Adult Galley Project, which facilitates access to advance copies of young adult books to national teen book discussion groups....

Still time to get into PLA’s 3M Leadership Institute
PLA has extended the deadline to November 16 for the 3M Leadership Institute during the PLA 2008 National Conference in Minneapolis. Applications may be submitted through an online form. Presented by PLA and 3M, the Leadership Institute is a day-long preconference focusing on developing leaders and encouraging change within the library profession....

New luncheon speakers added to PLA 2008
Three new luncheon speakers have been added to the slate of events for PLA 2008, the 12th National Conference. Travel writers Arthur and Pauline Frommer will keynote the Adult Author Luncheon on March 27, and novelist Louise Erdrich will deliver the keynote address on March 28. Tickets can be purchased online....

ALCTS symposium on entrepreneurship
Registration is now open for “Risk and Entrepreneurship in Libraries: Seizing Opportunities for Change,” an ALCTS Midwinter Symposium to be held January 11 in Philadelphia. The symposium will examine the concept of risk taking and entrepreneurship in libraries in general, with a special emphasis on collections and technical services....

Renovating a library? LAMA can help
Any library staff member considering a library renovation or building an entirely new facility can register for “The Complex Edifice: Analyzing Your Dream Library,” sponsored by LAMA. This two-day institute, led by William Sannwald, will be held January 10–11 in Philadelphia and is open to all interested librarians and facilities planners....

GODORT advocacy training in Washington
On October 18 a baker’s dozen of government information specialists from the Government Documents Roundtable gathered at the ALA Washington Office to learn all about advocacy. This program, organized for GODORT by the Washington Office, was led by acclaimed “advocacy guru” Stephanie Vance with assistance from the Office of Government Information’s Lynne Bradley and Tara Olivero....
District Dispatch, Oct. 24

2008 RUSA awards
RUSA wants to learn about innovative, outstanding achievements made in the field of reference and adult services librarianship for the 15 awards it is offering this year. The deadline for most awards is December 15....

RUSA Emerald Research Grant
RUSA’s Business Reference and Services Section is calling for nominations for its 2008 Emerald Research Grant Award. Two $5,000 cash awards, donated by Emerald Group Publishing Limited, will be given to ALA members seeking support in conducting research in business librarianship. The deadline for submitting nominations is December 15....

Manuscripts sought for student writing award
LITA is offering an award for the best unpublished manuscript submitted by a student or students enrolled in an ALA-accredited graduate program. Donated by Ex Libris, the award consists of $1,000, publication in LITA’s refereed journal Information Technology and Libraries, and a certificate. The deadline for submission of the manuscript is February 28....

ALA scholarships
ALA has more than $300,000 for students who are studying library science or school library media at the master’s degree level. Scholarships typically range from $2,500 to $6,500 per student per year. The application and instructions are available online, and the deadline is March 1....

LITA scholarships
Applications are being accepted for three LITA scholarships: the Christian Larew Memorial Scholarship (sponsored by Informata.com), the LSSI Minority Scholarship, and the OCLC Minority Scholarship. The scholarships are designed to encourage qualified persons to enter the library automation field. The deadline is March 1....

ASCLA Century Scholarship
Until March 1, ASCLA is accepting applications for the Century Scholarship, an annual $2,500 scholarship that funds services or accommodations for a library school student or students with disabilities....

The Newbery Medal: Six Q&A
Julie Corsaro, ALSC Priority Group Consultant VI, provides answers to such questions as: “I do a mock Newbery in my library every year, and would love to have a shortlist of possible Newbery winners. Why isn’t one available?”...
ALSC Blog, Oct. 28

UNC Knowledge Trust awards
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Louis Round Wilson Academy recently honored eight individuals for outstanding contributions in information technology and library science. The honorees were Ryan P. Allis (iContact), the late Thomas Barnett (UNC-CH), Thomas S. Blanton (National Security Archive), Jeffrey Elkner (Open Book Project), John Hanke (Google Earth), Pamela Jones (Groklaw.net), Brewster Kahle (Internet Archive), and David P. Reed (MIT Media Lab)....
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Oct. 25

Prison wins German Library of the Year award
A small, closed-to-the-public library at a prison in Münster, in west-central Germany, has been named national Library of the Year, awarded by the German Library Association. JVA-Münster even beat out the heavyweights, Munich Municipal Library and the university library in Karlsruhe, in the competition for the 30,000-euro ($43,000) prize....
Deutsche Welle, Oct. 27

Reading Jane Austen on a BlackBerry
Columnist Steve Johnson writes: “I just read Pride and Prejudice on my BlackBerry. And, against all my own prejudices, all my own pride in the history and tradition of the printed word, I liked it. I liked holding it in one hand, having it always with me, and customizing my fonts and screen color. I really liked reading it in bed without the encumbrance of a book light. I hadn’t expected to fall so easily under the spell of the e-book.”...
Chicago Tribune, Oct. 26

New York Public Library gets Hepburn theater material
Before becoming a movie star, Katharine Hepburn was a powerful presence on the stage, and she continued to act and tour in plays throughout her life. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center has acquired Hepburn’s personal collection of thousands of pages of notes, journals, photographs, cast lists, scripts, contracts, fan letters, and other documentation relating to her important but perhaps lesser-known theatrical career.....
New York Public Library, Oct. 30; New York Times, Oct. 30

Background checks cause a stir in Fayetteville
Unannounced criminal background checks on Fayetteville (Ark.) Public Library employees and the possibility of criminal checks on the 160–400 library volunteers have led to a sensitive situation at the library. Volunteers, some of whom resigned over the matter, wrote in letters to Executive Director Louise Schaper and board members about being offended and dismayed, about anger and disappointment, and about misuse of power....
Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times, Oct. 29

Controversy over gay program in Maine
A controversial program has caused the York (Maine) Public Library to alter its sponsorship policy for outside groups, prompted a trustee to resign in protest, and impelled donors to threaten to withhold financial support for the library. The York Diversity Forum and York High School Civil Rights Team will hold the program November 3 about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning people. Assertions of homophobia, email threats, criticism of broken library rules, warnings about the library’s standing in the community, and complaints that library trustees yielded to political pressure are rife....
Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald, Oct. 31

Bedford County schools review book challenge rules
After two recent incidents that ended with the removal of library books from Bedford County (Va.) elementary and high schools, a committee of 15 librarians from the school district met October 29 to discuss the policy for challenging materials. The first book, The Making of Dr. Truelove by Derrick Barnes, was removed for sexual content; the second, Totally Joe by James Howe, about a gay middle-school boy, was removed for not being age-appropriate....
Lynchburg (Va.) News and Advance, Oct. 29

One Catholic school bans Harry Potter . . .
Last month, students at St. Joseph Parish School in Wakefield, Massachusetts, found that their favorite series had disappeared from the school library, after the church pastor, Fr. Ronald Barker, removed the books, declaring that the themes of witchcraft and sorcery were inappropriate for a Catholic school. The removal is the first reported instance of Potter banning in the Bay State....
Boston Globe, Oct. 25

. . . another finds God in the series
After watching a scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, students pulled out their Bibles from underneath their desks. Tom Cloutier, a theology teacher at Nashua (N.H.) Catholic Regional Junior High School, was hosting the second session of a new weekly after-school course called “Searching For God in Harry Potter.” Cloutier’s class looks at the popular series from a theological standpoint, touching on issues like examining traits of Harry Potter that are similar to Jesus Christ....
Nashua (N.H.) Telegraph, Oct. 25

European Digital Library at a crossroads
In the early stages of its planning, the European Digital Library held the promise of a counterstrike to Google domination of digital archives through the search engine’s vast book search project and powerful alliances with American universities. But as the European project prepares for its debut early next year, the 80 museums, film institutes, and national libraries involved are facing the reality of limited government funding for the enormous task, and they are now striking a variety of alliances with private companies, including national deals with Google....
International Herald Tribune, Oct. 28

Ohio law libraries face changes
If not for the small sign next to the door, the Stark County Law Library’s entrance looks like that of a storage room. More than 60,000 volumes, plus electronic databases, take up a quarter of the County Office Building’s fourth floor. But over the next five years, law library associations will assume the costs of staff, rent, and utilities—expenses formerly paid by counties. On a different track, a task force is recommending a complete overhaul of the law library system....
Canton (Ohio) Repository, Oct. 28

Why do office phones stink?
Adam Richardson writes: “Why is it that your typical office phone stinks compared with the one you have at home? Here are a few of the ways they are harder to use and do less. Office phones are ugly; stylistically they are circa 1985 and made with shiny black textured plastics that would embarrass a home phone or cell phone. And they have cords.”...
C|Net Matter/Anti-Matter blog, Oct. 30

LC and Xerox collaborate on digital preservation
As part of the Library of Congress’s mission to ensure that America’s history and heritage are accessible for generations to come, LC and Xerox Corporation are working together to develop better ways to store, preserve, and access treasured digital images. The two organizations are studying the potential of using the JPEG 2000 format in large repositories of digital cultural-heritage materials. The outcome may be leaner, faster systems that institutions around the country can use to store their riches and to make their collections widely accessible. Watch a web presentation (5:25) given by Xerox Research Fellow Robert Buckley on JPEG 2000 and the LC collaboration....
Library of Congress, Oct. 25; Xerox, Oct. 25

Schemes to add functionality to the web OPAC
Peter Murray writes: “OPAC enhancement schemes fall into four categories: web OPAC enhancements, web OPAC wrappers, web OPAC replacements, and integrated library system replacements. I’m outlining these four techniques in a report I’m editing for an OhioLINK strategic task force. Generally speaking, this list is ordered by cost/complexity to implement—from lowest to highest—as well as the ability to offer the described enhanced services from least likely to most likely.”...
Disruptive Library Technology Jester, Oct. 15

Turn any action into a keyboard shortcut
Adam Pash writes: “The free, open source scripting language AutoHotkey may not be one of the most powerful or popular programming languages on the planet, but that’s okay—it’s not just made for programmers. That’s because AutoHotkey is well within the grasp of regular folks like you or me—people who have a fair understanding of computers and are willing to learn just a little to make major strides in productivity. Today I’ll show you how to use AutoHotkey to turn almost any action into a keyboard shortcut.”...
Lifehacker, Oct. 30

How Internet TV works
John Fuller writes: “Internet TV, in simple terms, is video and audio delivered over an internet connection. It’s also known as Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV. You can watch Internet TV on a computer screen, a television screen (through a set-top box), or a mobile device like a cell phone or an iPod. Internet TV is relatively new—there are lots of different ways to get it, and quality, content, and costs can vary greatly.”...
How Stuff Works

How Google maps the world (registration required)
The images in Google Earth, which are shared by Google Maps, are actually a combination of aerial photos and satellite imagery—and a lot of post­processing. Technology Review interviewed engineers at Google and at DigitalGlobe, the company that supplies Google’s satellite photos, and did a little bit of reverse-engineering to figure out how it works....
Technology Review 110, no. 6 (Nov./Dec.): 20–21

Use your shirt to power up your cell phone
Australian researchers are developing shirts that will generate electricity whenever the wearer moves. The shirts would directly power mobile telephones, portable music players, and other small electrical appliances. The secret behind the idea involves fabric made from piezoelectrical materials. “Whenever you bend or deform piezoelectrical material, it creates an electrical charge,” said CSIRO project leader Adam Best, adding that the day may not be far off when people could make phone calls simply by talking into their collars....
Sydney (N.S.W.) Morning Herald, Oct. 27

Online translation sites
Wendy Boswell writes: “The Web makes it possible to search for documents written in every conceivable language, but what if you don’t actually know the language you find that special somethin’ written in? No worries—there are plenty of online translation services that can give you anything from just a good idea to a complete translation of what you’re looking at. Disclaimer: None of the following language translation services can substitute for a real live human translator.”...
Lifehacker, Oct. 22

3M to distribute Checkpoint products
The 3M Company and Checkpoint Systems announced a joint agreement October 29 to expand each company’s commitment to the library market. Under terms of the alliance, 3M’s Library Systems will become the exclusive reseller of Checkpoint’s line of library security and productivity products, including RFID security systems, media-storage solutions, and computer-management software. Checkpoint will continue selling those products directly to libraries. Andrew Pace adds some insight....
3M, Oct. 29; Hectic Pace blog, Oct. 31

Why Sen. Inhofe tried to sabotage open access
So why exactly did Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) attempt to gut the open access provisions of a bill passed by the Senate? Could it be because his 11th biggest financial contributor over the past five years was Reed-Elsevier, one of the largest for-profit publishers of scientific research in the world?...
Salon, Oct. 26

Amicus brief filed challenging COPA
The Center for Democracy and Technology filed an amicus brief in federal appeals court October 29 challenging the Child Online Protection Act as a violation of the First Amendment. The brief, submitted to the Third Circuit on behalf of CDT and 17 other groups (including the Freedom to Read Foundation), argued that COPA places unconstitutional burdens on producers and distributors of web content. Other strategies are more effective than COPA at protecting children from inappropriate online content....
Center for Democracy and Technology, Oct. 29

Academic research and writing
Wayne Bivens-Tatum writes: “Librarians who not only know how to write but how to teach writing have an advantage over those who don’t. In one sense, librarians have done their job. One way or another, students often find at least some resources for their essays, but they just don’t know what to do with them once they’ve found them. Professors expect students to know what to do with sources, but typically don’t spend much class time addressing these issues.”...
Academic Librarian blog, Oct. 26

Betsy Wilson’s crystal ball
University of Washington Dean of Libraries Betsy Wilson speaks at UC Berkeley in this 90-minute webcast and imagines the future of research libraries by taking a look back, gazing into the crystal ball, and suggesting four areas for strategic investment. Investment areas include: 1) collaboration and collective action; 2) culture of assessment; 3) the global research library; and 4) creating a workplace of choice....
University of California Berkeley Libraries, Oct. 16

Ten reasons to blog and other blogging issues
Walt Crawford writes: “When you’re reading tips for blogging and comments about blogs, it helps to start with a good sense of why you’re blogging. There are many reasons to blog, but most tips seem to assume you’re aiming for a huge, influential audience or plan to make money through ads. Many of us don’t necessarily want a ‘popular’ blog—we just want to reach an appropriate audience, which might be tiny.”...
Cites & Insights 7, no. 12 (Nov.)

Fall is for phonological fun
Ann Crewdson writes: “Not only apples and pumpkins are plump this season but there is also an abundance of books, especially those emphasizing phonological awareness, one of the six early literacy skills (what children need to know about reading and writing before they actually read and write). Check out this bountiful harvest of books.”...
ALSC Blog, Oct. 25

Finding old web pages
Greg Notess writes: “The Web changes constantly, and sometimes the page that had just the information you needed yesterday is not available today. There are several sources for finding web pages as they used to exist. Some are important alternative sites that may have pages not available at Google or the Wayback Machine; plus they may have an archived page from a different date.”...
Search Engine Showdown, Oct. 29

Book vagabonding in Europe
If you plan to wander about Europe looking for cool bookstores, a good place to start is the Bookstore Guide blog. Contributors describe their favorite spots to find bibliotreasures, among them the SF Bokhandeln in Stockholm, the Behemot Bookshot in Ljubljana (right), and the American Bookstore in Warsaw....
Bookstore Guide

GLBT content in teen comics and graphic novels (PDF file)
Devon Greyson of the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research in Vancouver, British Columbia, offers a brief review of intellectual freedom issues with teen-oriented graphic novels containing gay themes in Canada and the United States....
Collection Building 26, no. 4 (2007): 130–134

ARL annual salary survey
The Association of Research Libraries has published its Annual Salary Survey 2006–07, which analyzes salary data for all professional staff working in the 123 ARL member libraries. The survey found that the combined median professional salary in U.S. and Canadian ARL university libraries was $59,648—a 4.5% increase from the previous year. Minority librarians make up 13.5% of the professional staff in American research libraries. The overall salary for women in ARL libraries is 95.7% of that paid to men....
Association of Research Libraries, Oct. 23

George Needham is 2007 Charlotte Kim Scholar in Residence
The Chicago Public Library will host its annual “Charlotte Kim Scholars in Residence Program” on November 7 at the Harold Washington Library Center. The 2007 Scholar is OCLC Vice President of Member Services George Needham. Since 1998, the program has provided librarians an opportunity to reflect on the changing world of librarianship while exchanging ideas and information....
Chicago Public Library, Oct. 30

Live Search Maps getting better at directions
Erick Schonfeld writes: “The latest in the feature race comes from Microsoft’s Live Search Maps. For one thing, it has fixed a major bug in most mapping apps: overly-detailed driving directions. You now have the option of skipping the first nine ‘turn left at the stop sign two blocks from your house’ type of directions and start the guidance from the nearest major highway.” Also, landmarks are given in driving directions that indicate you’ve gone too far, and traffic speeds are shown in four different colors....
TechCrunch blog, Oct. 29

Australian library workers
The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies 29,000 of the continent’s 10-million employees as library workers. 3,400 are librarians; 8,800 are library assistants; and 6,700 work as library technicians. Librarians are paid relatively well when compared with the workforce as a whole. They earn 120% of the Australian average wage. Library technicians earn 104%. Some 65% are age 45 or older, compared to 36% in the total workforce....
Australian Library and Information Association

Designer T-shirts benefit NYPL
New Haven, Connecticut, artist Ryan Waller created a “Library” design for the Part of It Project, which asked artists to invent a design for tees and totes that will support the cause of their choice. Waller selected the New York Public Library (and MOMA for his “Museum” shirts)....
Part of It Project

The LC/White House connection in World War II
Larry Nix describes how a librarian at the Library of Congress played an influential role in World War II: “The librarian was Thomas S. Shaw, who worked for many years in the Bibliography and Reference Division and later taught at the Library School of Louisiana State University. Earlier this year, I came into possession of a large lot of envelopes addressed to Shaw. Among them was this one mailed to Shaw from the White House on January 26, 1949. Shaw secretly obtained books for George McKee Elsey, a White House aide, who used them to compile background information to brief Roosevelt and his military advisors for FDR’s trips outside the country during World War II.”...
Library History Buff

ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, January 11–16. See jazz violinist Regina Carter perform at the Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture, January 12.

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