AL Direct, January 3, 2008 Having trouble viewing this HTML e-mail? Click here [<%= util.viewHtmlLink %>]. The e-newsletter of the American Library Association | January 3, 2008 Contents U.S. & World News [#usworld] ALA News [#alanews] Booklist Online [#booklist] Philadelphia Update [#phila] Division News [#divisionnews] Round Table News [#roundtable] Awards [#awards] Seen Online [#seenonline] Tech Talk [#techtalk] Actions & Answers [#actionsanswers] Calendar [#datebook] [http://www.schoolrooms.net] [http://americanlibrariesbuyersguide.com] U.S. & World News =========================================================================== Omnibus bill mandates access to scientific research [http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2007/december2007/ omnibus.cfm] A $555-billion omnibus spending bill approved by Congress December 19 and sent to the White House contains a $3-million appropriation earmarked for the reinstatement of walk-in service at the Environmental Protection Agency’s 10 regional libraries. The funding is $1 million more than proposed by the Senate in June to reopen four libraries, including the headquarters library in Washington, D.C., and restore scaled-back hours elsewhere. President Bush signed the bill December 26.... Congress approves strengthened FOIA legislation [http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2007/december2007/ foiareform.cfm] Both houses of Congress have approved a bill intended to toughen the Freedom of Information Act and increase the penalties on government agencies that fail to comply with requests. Introduced December 14 by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.), the Senate passed by unanimous consent the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National (OPEN) Government Act, S. 2488, then sent it on to the House, which approved it by voice vote December 18. President Bush signed the bill December 31.... protester pleads not guilty [http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2007/december2007/ protester.cfm] JoAn Karkos, who checked It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris out from the public libraries in Lewiston and Auburn, Maine, and refused to return them in September, pleaded not guilty to a civil charge of failing to return library property December 19. Her trial was set for May 28.... Presidential Records Act Amendments bill still stalled [http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=328] The Presidential Records Act Amendments bill (H.R. 1255) is currently being prevented from a vote in the U.S. Senate for unknown reasons. Previously, it had been put on hold for several months by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), who refused to state his reasons for doing so. The White House has threatened to veto the measure. H.R. 1255 would remove restrictions placed by President Bush’s 2001 Executive Order 13233.... District Dispatch, Dec. 31 =========================================================================== [http://www.tech-logic.com/] =========================================================================== ALA News =========================================================================== Senior FBI official to speak at Midwinter [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/december2007/woupdate122007.htm] Special Agent Bassem Youssef, the chief of the FBI unit responsible for administering two highly controversial warrantless search programs, will speak at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. The session, “Inside the FBI: A Whistleblower Speaks Out,” will take place 8 a.m., January 12, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.... New ALA website design concept will debut in Philadelphia [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/december2007/graphic07.htm] A draft version of a redesign for the ALA website will be available for review and comment at the Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, January 11–16. Computer kiosks in the Grand Hall of the Pennsylvania Convention Center will present mock-ups of the site’s graphical makeover and request feedback about the redesign, scheduled for launch in the spring.... online forum [http://al.ala.org/forum/] American Libraries Online Reader Forum is a discussion spot for topics covered in the magazine, issues at ALA, or anything else in librarianship. View the postings freely, or sign up as a registered user to leave your own comments.... When you renew, take a survey [http://www.ala.org/ala/ors/reports/MemberDemogSummary01022008.pdf] (PDF file) Have you been meaning to respond to the member demographics survey but just kept forgetting? Now you can answer the very short (five questions) survey as you exit the membership renewal portal (or when you join). Learn more about the current responses to the survey and where to access the online renewal site.... First candidate completes CPLA program [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/january2008/candidate08.htm] Lois Blythe, head of adult services at the Burlington (Iowa) Public Library, is the first candidate to complete the Certified Public Library Administrator program. Blythe completed the requisite seven courses in record time, becoming the first public librarian to earn the designation of CPLA. The CPLA program, administered by the American Library Association–Allied Professional Association, is a voluntary credential for public librarians.... New LSSCP website [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/december2007/LSSCP07.htm] The Library Support Staff Certification Program (LSSCP), a project to develop a national voluntary certification program for support staff in public and academic libraries, has a new website [http://www.ala-apa.org/certification/supportstaff.html] that houses informational documents, minutes from discussions by its Advisory Council, and contact information.... Featured review: Reference [http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=2312666] Norwood, Stephen H. (editor), and Eunice G. Pollack (editor). Encyclopedia of American Jewish History. Aug. 2007. 775p. ABC-CLIO, hardcover (978-1-85109-638-1). This new encyclopedia uses an interdisciplinary, thematic approach to explore American Jewish history. A total of 125 scholars contributed articles, and Sir Martin Gilbert contributed maps that locate the sites of pogroms, Nazi death and concentration camps, and points of immigration from Eastern Europe to the United States. Archival photographs enrich the text. Each volume is divided into 26 broad thematic chapters, and each chapter contains several articles exploring the theme in depth.... @ Visit Booklist Online [http://www.booklistonline.com] for other reviews and much more.... Philadelphia Update =========================================================================== The Other Midwinter: Unofficial events [http://wikis.ala.org/midwinter2008/index.php/Unofficial_Events] When the committee meetings are over for the day (or before they start), check out these goings-on: a Real Life/Second Life Meet-up, TDNet educational sessions, the ALA Gaming Spotlight, IEEE and ARTstor breakfasts, WebFeat client showcases, and more.... Midwinter 2008 wiki Division News =========================================================================== New LITA website usability guide [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/december2007/LITA07.htm] In Making Library Web Sites Usable, a LITA guide to be published by Neal Schuman on February 11, authors Tom Lehman and Terry Nikkel show library webmasters, usability teams, and library administrators how to turn confusing, unappealing websites into the kind of friendly, efficient information gateways that students will choose. In clear, nontechnical language, the book breaks down what usability assessments are, why they are important for libraries, and what the most common challenges are.... LITA happy hour at Midwinter [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/december2007/happy07.htm] Join the LITA Membership Development Committee and members from around the country for networking, good cheer, and great fun at Cebu Restaurant and Bar, 123 Chestnut Street, Old City, Philadelphia, 5–7 p.m. on Friday, January 11.... SLMR [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/january2008/editors08.htm] Jean Donham and Carol L. Tilley have been named coeditors for AASL’s online journal School Library Media Research. Donham and Tilley take over for Daniel Callison, who stepped down earlier this year after serving as editor for the past decade.... AASL to cohost forum on technology standards [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/january2008/nets08.htm] AASL will cohost an open forum on the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers [http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/index.html] on Friday, January 11, during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. Also hosted by the International Society for Technology in Education, the forum will help ensure that libriarians’ voices are heard as ISTE revises the standards for teachers.... AASL sponsors two Emerging Leaders [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/january2008/emerging08.htm] AASL will sponsor Victoria Goode and Carrie Turner for the 2008 ALA Emerging Leaders program. Goode currently serves as a library media specialist at Londonderry (N.H.) School District, and Turner is a high school library media specialist at the Westside Community Schools in Omaha, Nebraska.... ASCLA to house consortial data [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/january2008/LNCC08.htm] ASCLA will house the Library Networks, Cooperatives, and Consortia final report data, collected from more than 200 participating library networks, cooperatives, and consortia through a project [http://cs.ala.org/ra/lncc/] administered by the ALA Office for Research and Statistics and funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.... Round Table News =========================================================================== Raise your cup for Planet Earth [http://wikis.ala.org/midwinter2008/index.php/Cup_by_Cup] The Social Responsibilities Round Table’s Task Force on the Environment would like Midwinter attendees to bring reusable mugs and water bottles to support efforts encouraging ALA to reduce its carbon footprint. The new campaign, “Cup by Cup for a Greener ALA,” will show that ALA members are ready to make lifestyle changes for sustainable conferences.... SRRT Task Force on the Environment Join EMIERT at the World Café Live The Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table will hold a fundraiser on January 12, 7–11 p.m., at the World Café Live, [http://www.worldcafelive.com/directioninfo.html] 3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, for an evening of socializing and refreshments. Tickets can be purchased at the event. Contact Roberto Delgadillo [mailto:rdelgadillo@lib.ucdavis.edu] for details. Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table Awards =========================================================================== ALA awards deadline extended [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/december2007/extension07.htm] The deadline has been extended to February 1 for five ALA awards: the Beta Phi Mu Award, the Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change Award, the Equality Award, the Scholastic Library Publishing Award, and the Sullivan Award for Public Library Administrators Supporting Services to Children.... 2008 CALA scholarships available [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/december2007/CALA07.htm] LIS students can apply for four Chinese American Librarians Association scholarships by March 15. Winners will be announced by May 31 and presented with their awards at the CALA Awards Banquet during ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, June 26–July 2. CALA scholarships are designed to encourage professional and leadership development in Chinese-American librarianship.... Broward branch named Government Building of the Year Broward County’s first green building, the South Regional/BCC Library in Pembroke Pines, Florida, has been recognized by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches as the Government Building of the Year. The branch, which opened February 1, 2007, is the county’s first building registered with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification with the U.S. Green Building Council. Broward County Library, Dec. 27 Dame Lynne Brindley [http://news.scotsman.com/uk/Scientists-artists-and-artistes-head.3626986.j p] Lynne Brindley, chief executive of the British Library, has joined Helen Mirren and Judi Dench as a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE). The recognition is for services to education in the UK New Year’s Honours List. Since her appointment in 2000, Brindley has led a major strategic repositioning and modernization program to ensure that the British Library continues to provide relevant services to users in the 21st century.... The Scotsman, Dec. 29 =========================================================================== [http://americanlibrariesbuyersguide.com] =========================================================================== Seen Online =========================================================================== Washington State librarian cuts go too far [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-librarians23dec23,1,6 494151.story] As has happened in other states, cash-strapped schools in Washington are dropping librarians to save money: This year, Federal Way cut 20 librarian positions. Spokane reduced 10 librarians to half-time. Darrington cut two librarians. A school in Marysville eliminated its half-time librarian. But one school’s parents are saying: Enough is enough.... Los Angeles Times, Dec. 23 Illinois school librarians won’t go quietly [http://www.southtownstar.com/news/709427,122307librarians.article] As librarians increasingly are swapped for aides or technology instructors, and literature takes a back seat to technology, library professionals are pushing back. They’re calling on state education officials to require all Illinois school districts to employ certified information specialists. But local educators are balking at the plan because they say it’s too expensive to hire certified librarians and it’s hard to find qualified candidates.... Chicago Southtown Star, Dec. 23 LC names Children’s Literature Ambassador [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/02/AR20080102 02236.html] Jon Scieszka, author of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and the Time Warp Trio series, gets the imprimatur of the Library of Congress January 3 as the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The library’s Center for the Book has teamed up with the Children’s Book Council, a publishing industry trade association, to create the National Ambassador program.... Washington Post, Jan. 3 Boston gov docs to go online [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/business/27online.html] A digital library partnership, including two nonprofit organizations and the Boston Public Library, is preparing to begin making digital copies of the library’s paper-based government documents collection, which will then be made available on the internet. The project is being undertaken by Public.Resource.Org, [http://public.resource.org/] a nonprofit group seeking to open public access to government records, and the Internet Archive, a San Francisco-based digital library.... New York Times, Dec. 27 Pittsburgh votes to replace oldest Carnegie library [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_544787.html] The Pittsburgh (Pa.) City Council cleared the way December 27 for a new Carnegie Library in the city’s north side to replace one damaged by a lightning strike. A new Federal Street library will replace the historic Allegheny Regional Library, which closed in April 2006 after lightning struck the library’s clock tower and did $2 million worth of damage. The library was the first opened by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie in what was then the city of Allegheny in 1890.... Pittsburgh (Pa.) Tribune-Review, Dec. 28 BP donates $840,000 to Anchorage libraries [http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/9526955p-9437764c.html] Oil company BP Alaska has donated $840,000 to the Anchorage Public Library. BP Alaska President Doug Suttles says the funds are targeted to several capital projects to renovate and expand Anchorage library buildings. A majority of the gift will go for a new 10,000 square-foot library and learning center in Mountain View that will open next fall.... Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News, Dec. 18 Web playgrounds for the very young [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/business/31virtual.html] Forget Second Life. The real virtual world gold rush centers on the grammar-school set. Trying to duplicate the success of blockbuster websites like Club Penguin and Webkinz, children’s entertainment companies are greatly accelerating efforts to build virtual worlds for children. “Get ready for total inundation,” said Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at the research firm eMarketer, who estimates that 20 million children will be members of a virtual world by 2011, up from 8.2 million today.... New York Times, Dec. 31 Overdue books and bad credit [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/nyregion/26debate.html] A library fine is not really a debt, attorney Abraham Kleinman argues, and should not be covered by regulations that allow collection agencies to report bad consumer behavior. “That’s his opinion,” said Kenes Bowling, a spokesman for Unique. For 15 years, his company has operated a successful “materials collection” business as a debt collector for libraries (one of them is the Queens Library [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/nyregion/26library.html]), and it relies on its ability to threaten scofflaws with negative credit reports.... New York Times, Dec. 26 NYPL’s sage of the stacks [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/arts/31rese.html] David Smith, a bookish but boyish 54, is officially a supervising librarian in the Allen Room and the Wertheim Study at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. But a business card, printed for him as a 50th birthday gift by the author Christine B. Whelan (whom he helped with her doctoral dissertation for Oxford and who wrote Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women), reads “Librarian to the Stars.”... New York Times, Dec. 31 Australia requires national filtering software [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/31/2129471.htm] Australian Telecommunications Minister Stephen Conroy says it will be mandatory for all internet service providers to offer to homes and schools ISP filtering software that blocks pornography and inappropriate material. Online civil libertarians have warned the freedom of the internet is at stake, but Conroy says that is nonsense. Meanwhile, British web experts have already defeated [http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22999659-2,00.html] the CleanFeed blocking system that Conroy hopes will halt internet porn.... Australian Broadcasting Corporation News, Dec. 31; News Limited, Jan. 3 Scottish authors appalled at English tag [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7157708.stm] Leading Scottish literary figures have criticized a decision by the Library of Congress to reclassify their work as a subsection of English literature. The move means Scottish literature will no longer have its own section in the world’s biggest library. A spokesman for the library said it would be reconsidering the controversial decision.... BBC News, Dec. 22 Canadian libraries protest proposed copyright law [http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=5faed437-66 b4-42c7-95ff-40e30c9eb0d6&k=94123] Libraries and their patrons across Canada have added their voices to the growing dispute over proposed copyright legislation that could impose levies on iPods, memory cards, and raise the price of blank CDs and cassette tapes in 2008. The levies, proposed by the Canadian Private Copying Collective, are aimed at preventing users from copying illegally shared files to disc, and increasingly, to mass-storage digital players such as the ubiquitous iPod.... Victoria (B.C.) Times Colonist, Dec. 23 =========================================================================== [http://www.maintainITproject.org] =========================================================================== Tech Talk =========================================================================== Hacking Firefox: Instructions and stuff [http://librarytechtonics.info/bits/541/hacking-firefox-at-my-library-instr uctions-stuff/] Andrea Mercado tells you how to install basic Firefox plug-ins, install and configure add-ons, hide menus, and lock down the browser on your public machines: “I tried to make the instructions as clear as possible without too much tech speak, and without drowning you in too much minutia, while actually giving you proper instructions.”... Library Techtonics blog, Dec. 20 10 things that will change your future [http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/ten-things-that-will-change-your-fut ure/2007/12/31/1198949747758.html?page=fullpage] Nick Galvin writes: “So Google and Wikipedia took you by surprise? It’s easy to forget that as little as a decade ago all these innovations that are part of daily life had yet to be dreamed of. What follows is a smorgasbord of websites, services, concepts, and gadgets (including the Chumby [http://www.chumby.com/]) that at first glance seem to have little to do with each other, but which taken together give a picture of where our brave new networked world may be heading.”... Sydney (N.S.W.) Morning Herald, Jan. 1 30 technology predictions for 2008 [http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/archives/2007/12/30_library_tech. html] Stephen Abram writes: “I rarely do this formally but I’m in the mood this year! I prefer to work in 3–5 year timeframes. Anyway, here’s a few things, in no particular order, that I think will happen in 2008 that might have an impact on our little library world.” No. 24 is: “eBooks will go mainstream in the business and professional space. Standards issues won’t be solved in 2008 and that’s sad for everyone, including libraries.”... Stephen’s Lighthouse blog, Dec. 30 Coming soon: A notebook with a terabyte [http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9839079-7.html] Asus, the Taiwanese computer maker, will come out with a notebook that sports two 500GB hard drives from Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. Combined, this will give a fully configured Asus M70 notebook a terabyte of storage. Put another way, the notebook will be capable of storing 1,000 hours of video, or more than 350 feature length movies, or 250,000 four-minute songs. That will probably tide you over for even the worst airport layovers.... C|Net Tech News blog, Jan. 2 Disable some of Vista’s annoying features [http://lifehacker.com/340000/disable-vistas-nagging-aspects-with-vista4exp erts] Vista4Experts is an appropriately named free application that lets a user turn on and off some of the things that make Windows Vista feel more like a neurotic babysitter than an operating system. If you know you can live without security center pop-ups, the frequent User Account Control question dialogs, Automatic Update notifications, and other features, it’s a great all-in-one power user tool.... Lifehacker, Jan. 3 The Google algorithm has changed [http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2008/01/google-artificially-promotes-rece nt-web.html] Google paid a big price when it started to index pages faster and show them in the search results minutes after they’re published. Google now artificially inflates the rankings of the recently created pages based on historical data and the few backlinks that are detected. Duncan Riley notes [http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/01/the-google-algorithm-is-changing/] that the search engine now prefers more recent posts, including from Digg, over informative articles related to the search term, such as Wikipedia, which would have normally had the top or near to the top position.... Google Operating System blog, Jan. 1; TechCrunch, Jan. 1 For the travelin’ librarian [http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/generic/991e/] Thanks to the ingenious ThinkGeek robot monkeys, you can display current wi-fi signal strength to yourself and everyone around you with this stylish Wi-Fi Detector Shirt. The glowing bars on the front of the shirt dynamically change as the surrounding wi-fi signal strength fluctuates. Finally you can get the attention you deserve as others bow to you as their reverential wi-fi god, while geeky chicks swoon at your presence.... ThinkGeek =========================================================================== [mailto:homeworkhappenings@tutor.com] =========================================================================== Actions & Answers =========================================================================== 12 resolutions for the New Year at your library [http://www.ala.org/ala/education/empopps/careerleadsb/workingknowledge/wor kingknowlege0108.htm] AL columnist Mary Pergander offers 12 ways you can make a difference this year in your professional life and those of your library colleagues.... “Working Knowledge,” American Libraries 39, no. 1/2 (Jan./Feb.): 78 Top school library things to think about in 2008 [http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/80019408.html] Joyce Valenza writes: “I went through my posts since this blog started back in June, and I culled the major themes—those themes with legs, those that excite me with their possibilities, those that keep me up at night. I present my own highly subjective list of things school librarians and other educators and librarians need to consider deeply in the coming year.”... NeverEndingSearch blog, Jan. 2 Libraries not losing relevance, survey says [http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/231/report_display.asp] Members of Generation Y (ages 18–30) are the leading users of libraries for help in solving problems and in more general patronage, according to a Pew Internet and American Life Project survey, “Information Searches That Solve Problems” (PDF file [http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/Pew_UI_LibrariesReport.pdf]). The survey results challenge the assumption that libraries are losing relevance in the internet age. Libraries drew visits by more than half of Americans (53%) in the past year for all kinds of purposes. Gary Price asks [http://www.resourceshelf.com/2007/12/31/new-from-pew-internet-information- searches-that-solve-problems/] some questions that the report does not address, and ALA President Loriene Roy comments [http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/january2008/lrqpew.htm] on the results.... Pew Internet and American Life Project, Dec. 30; Resource Shelf, Dec. 31 National Film Registry selections for 2007 [http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2007/07-254.html] Librarian of Congress James H. Billington on December 27 named 25 motion pictures—classics from every era of American filmmaking—to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, including Bullitt, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Grand Hotel, Oklahoma!, and 12 Angry Men. The selections were made as part of a program aimed at preserving the nation’s movie heritage. This year’s selections bring to 475 the number of motion pictures in the registry.... Library of Congress, Dec. 27 You mean I can’t throw these out? [http://acrlblog.org/2007/12/18/you-mean-i-cant-throw-these-out/] Marc Meola writes: “James Cortada, a historian of computing who works for IBM, has a nice screed [http://www.historians.org/Perspectives/issues/2007/0712/0712vie1.cfm] at the American Historical Association that heaps a bit of anger on us lil’ old academic librarians. Fresh from reading Nicholson Baker and full of Google digitization anxiety, Cortada charges that a new spectre is haunting libraries: heartless librarians ruthlessly discarding old PC-DOS manuals. Apparently no one told Cortada that when librarians discard books it’s called deselection.”... ACRLog, Dec. 18 Thomas Jefferson’s library added to LibraryThing [http://www.librarything.com/blog/2008/01/happy-1815-thomas-jefferson-in-do ne.php] Tim Spalding writes: “An unusual member has finished adding his 4,889 books [http://www.librarything.com/profile/thomasjefferson] to LibraryThing—the third president, Thomas Jefferson. He was assisted by 16 LibraryThing members, who worked from scholarly reconstructions of Jefferson’s 1815 collection, tracking down records in 34 libraries around the world. As is well known, Jefferson sold his books to the Library of Congress, replacing the one the British destroyed during the War of 1812.”... LibraryThing blog, Jan. 1 From virtual reference to participatory librarianship [http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Dec-07/lankes.html] R. David Lankes discusses the possibility of moving virtual reference toward participatory librarianship. He suggests that VR can be done by answering questions using pools of expertise provided by different sources. Librarians are one type of source. Users might also be able to see the answers to their questions coming from different sources with different contexts and points of view.... ASIS&T Bulletin 34, no. 2 (Dec./Jan.) DLF to survey moving-images archives [http://www.clir.org/pubs/issues/issues60.html#dlf] With support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Digital Library Federation has begun an environmental scan of traditional moving-image archives, major public and university libraries, museums, and other cultural institutions (such as public television broadcasters) with significant film and video collections in the United States. The goal of this project is to summarize which moving-image collections are potentially available for digitization, with an emphasis on open access to increase the volume of online content for teaching and learning.... CLIR Issues 60 (Nov./Dec.) Do you live in a literate city? [http://www.ccsu.edu/AMLC07/Overall_Rankings/Top10.htm] Jack Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University, has once again released his rankings of America’s Most Literate Cities, based on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and internet resources. The library stats are based on the FY 2005 Public Libraries Survey and Library Statistics Program, released by NCES in 2007.... America’s Most Literate Cities Sexy librarians will help you upload videos to YouTube [http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/sexy_librarians_of_the_future.php] Marshall Kirkpatrick writes: “Imagine a future when you go to the library with a five-minute video you’ve just made about last night’s Presidential debates and that librarian says to you: ‘You should upload it to YouTube and tag it with these four tags—two broad and two more specific to existing communities of interest on YouTube and the topic of your video. Then you should embed that video in a blog post along with some text introducing it and linking to some of your favorite posts by other people who have also written about the debates.’”... ReadWriteWeb, Dec. 20 Retail and publisher metadata [http://kcoyle.blogspot.com/2007/11/titles-in-retail-and-publisher-data.htm l] Karen Coyle writes: “There’s been talk and action lately around libraries making use of data provided by publishers or retailers. We need to do some serious studies of bibliographic metadata created outside libraries. For example, libraries use the title on the title page, while others focus on the cover title. Retailers and publishers use the form of the author’s name on the book itself and do not concern themselves with unique identification.”... Coyle’s InFormation, Nov. 30 NYPL to get a façadelift [http://www.nypl.org/press/2007/FacadeRestor.cfm] The New York Public Library is undertaking a three-year restoration of the Fifth Avenue façade of the historic building now formally known as the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. The project will include a complete cleaning of the building’s Vermont marble, repair of almost 3,000 cracks, protection and preservation of the many sculptural elements, and repair of the building’s roof, stairs, and plazas. The restoration will be completed in time for the building’s centennial in 2011.... New York Public Library, Dec. 20 Evolution of the card catalog [http://www.libraryhistorybuff.org/cardcatalog-evolution.htm] Larry Nix offers a timeline of card catalogs from 1789 to 1925. Did you know that Harvard College Librarian Thaddeus William Harris (right) made the first reference to a card catalog in an American library in 1840? It was called a “slip catalogue” back then, and it was in use at Harvard until 1912.... Library History Buff What do you know about copyright? [http://www.kellistaley.com/2007/12/what-do-you-know-about-copyright-survey .html] ’Brary Web Diva Kelli Staley summarizes the results of her Survey Monkey survey [http://www.kellistaley.com/copyright-survey/SurveySummary.html] on copyright and libraries. She asked members of the Rutgers Online MLIS program, Rutgers’ LISSA mailing list, PubLib discussion list, the SLA-Illinois mailing list, and readers of her blog to participate. Staley found that nearly 80% thought that in order to get a copyright, the author must publish the work (incorrect).... ’Brary Web Diva blog, Dec. 4 Joining the real to the representational at Pullman [http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/29] Andrew H. Bullen writes: “The Pullman House History Project is a part of the Pullman State Historic Site’s virtual museum and website, [http://www.pullman-museum.org/] which links together census, city directory, and telephone directory information to describe the people who lived in the town of Pullman, Illinois, between 1881 and 1940. This demographic data is linked through a database/XML record system to online maps and Perl programs that allow the data to be represented in various useful combinations.”... Code4Lib Journal, no. 1 (Dec. 17) New collaboration for scholarly publishing [http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/12/28/mellon] Five university presses have announced a collaboration that seeks to find a way to reduce costs of scholarly publishing and to allow more books to be released. The collaboration, created with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will set up a joint operation for copyediting, design, layout, and typesetting for the work in American literatures. The presses will retain complete control over book selection and distribution.... Inside Higher Ed, Dec. 28 Seal with a zeal for murals [http://www.flickr.com/photos/emillan/2125535707/] Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, was open 24 hours a day during finals week. Because only one staff member was on duty, the students got away with some pranks. But the staff was both amused and bemused when they found this, in the arts section: an illuminated seal, motorized so that the head turned and tail flipped, studying Otto Demus’s Romanesque Mural Painting.... Flickr, Dec. 20 Project for Awesome [http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/?p=164] Angela Reynolds writes: “On Monday, December 17, Nerdfighters took over YouTube. According to John Green, author of An Abundance of Katherines and one half of Brotherhood 2.0 [http://www.brotherhood2.com/], a Nerdfighter is like a regular person, only instead of being made of bones and things, a Nerdfighter is made of awesome. The plan was simple: Nerdfighters would take over YouTube by posting bookish videos and by commenting and rating en masse. For nearly 24 hours, the most discussed and highest rated videos on YouTube all had the same center screen and all promoted a charity.” Check out Project for Awesome: Libraries and First Book [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb35Qkb8weQ] (4:55) by Liz and Kristina, filmed at the King County (Wash.) Issaquah Library.... ALSC Blog, Dec. 21 [http://www.j-newvoices.org/] =========================================================================== [http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/midwinter/2008/geninfo.htm] ALA Midwinter Meeting [http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/midwinter/2008/home.htm] in Philadelphia, January 11–16. The Event Planner [http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/midwinter/2008/planner.htm] is up and running. Check out the currently scheduled Special Events. [http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/midwinter/2008/specialevents. htm] [http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog2&_pn=product_deta il&_op=2469] In Strategic Planning for Results, [http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog2&_pn=product_deta il&_op=2469] Sandra Nelson, senior editor of the Results Series, focuses on the essential steps to draft a results-driven, strategic planning process that libraries can complete over the course of four months, regardless of organizational structure or size. Reflecting on the current planning environment for public libraries, Nelson makes the case for strategic rather than long-term planning and includes a wealth of information about understanding and managing the change process. NEW! From ALA Editions. In this issue January/February 2008 From Hoops to Ink: An Interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Welcome to Philly Design Thinking Librarians in the Jury Box Putting Students First [http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog2&_pn=catreqform] Download [http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog2&_pn=catreqform] the new ALA Graphics catalog, or view it online (PDF file [http://www.alastore.ala.org/graphics/Holiday07_catalog_online.pdf]). Career Leads from [http://joblist.ala.org/] Reference/Subject Librarian. [http://joblist.ala.org/modules/jobseeker/controller.cfm?scr=jobdetail&jobi d=8867] California State University at Chico seeks a full-time (12 month with 10 month option) tenure track, reference / instruction / subject librarian in sociology, multicultural and gender studies, and health and community services. The position is available August 1.... @ More jobs [http://joblist.ala.org/]... Preparations for the Smithsonian’s Jazz Appreciation Month 2008 [http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/jam/jam_start.asp] (April) are underway. Send in [mailto:jazz@si.edu] your events for posting on the calendar. Digital Library of the Week [http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/mni&CIS OPTR=102&CISOBOX=1] The Claremont Colleges (Calif.) Digital Library [http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/collections.php] offers a variety of historical collections, including: voices of the key participants in the American occupation of Japan; Japanese woodblock prints and illustrated books (17th–20th c.); drawings and photographs of Edward Vischer (1809–1878); and prints by Francisco Goya (1746–1828). The Claremont collection of Murals of Northern Ireland [http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/col/mni/] includes images of both Republican and Loyalist street paintings. The murals are vivid records of historical events, political standpoints, community concerns, and ideological statements. Managed by the Claremont Libraries, the CCDL was established in 2004/2005 by the academic deans of the Claremont Colleges upon their approval of recommendations from cross-colleges Task Force. Do you know of a digital library collection that we can mention in this AL Direct feature? Tell us about it. [mailto:aldirect@ala.org] Public Perception How the World Sees Us “After spotting a rare and valuable book in the stacks at the University of Tulsa—it was Mabel Dodge Luhan’s early treatise on southwestern painting, Taos and Its Artists—I wondered if I could smuggle it past the low-tech librarian. But my better judgment prevailed, and I left it in place.” ?Steve Martin, Born Standing Up (Scribner, 2007), p. 120. Brenda Bailey-Hainer, executive director of the Bibliographical Center for Research, writes about the merger of the Collaborative Digitization Project with BCR in April 2007 and how the new CDP@BCR [http://www.ala.org/ala/ascla/asclapubs/interface/archives/contentlistingby /volume29a/cdpbcr.cfm] continues the CDP tradition of providing best practices, training, consulting services, grant opportunities, and digital resource access to libraries and other types of cultural heritage institutions in the West. In the Winter 2007 issue [http://www.ala.org/ala/ascla/asclapubs/interface/currentedition/currentedi tion.cfm] of ASCLA’s Interface. Ask the ALA Librarian [http://www.flickr.com/photos/yolaleah/2110998706/] Q. Our library needs to get on board with 2.0 technologies. What are some resources for us, and how can we find out what other libraries are doing? A. Using Web 2.0—including blogs, wikis, podcasts, online videos and video blogs, online photos, social networking websites—to reach out to library patrons is an area of growing interest. In the past year, several new books and numerous articles have been written, including the regular columns in American Libraries. Several prolific bloggers cover the topic (and either presently or previously contributed technology columns to American Libraries), including Meredith Farkas and Information Wants to Be Free, [http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress] Michael Stephens and Tame the Web, [http://tametheweb.com] ALA’s own Jenny Levine and The Shifted Librarian, [http://theshiftedlibrarian.com] Jessamyn West and librarian.net, [http://www.librarian.net] Karen G. Schneider and the Free Range Librarian, [http://freerangelibrarian.com/] and Sarah Houghton-Jan and Librarian In Black. [http://librarianinblack.typepad.com] Farkas also began Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki, [http://www.libsuccess.org] which provides a pathfinder to some of these issues. As yet, there is no comprehensive directory of library 2.0 activity, though the ALA Library has begun to track this—using social software, of course! See the list of links compiled at the del.icio.us account [http://del.icio.us/alalibrary] for the ALA Library under the tag libsocialsoftware. [http://del.icio.us/alalibrary/libsocialsoftware] See the ALA Professional Tips wiki [http://wikis.ala.org/professionaltips/index.php/Libraries_Using_Web_2.0] for more.... @ The ALA Librarian [mailto:AskTheLibrarian@ala.org] welcomes your questions. Calendar Apply for: By Jan. 25: The National Endowment for the Humanities and ALA’s Public Programs Office offer 3,000 We The People [http://publicprograms.ala.org/bookshelf/] bookshelves on the theme “Created Equal” to public and school libraries. By Jan. 31: The Institute of Museum and Library Services seeks nominations for 15 $10,000 Coming Up Taller [http://www.cominguptaller.org/] awards for outstanding after-school, out-of-school, and summer arts and humanities programs for underserved children and youth. By Feb. 1: AASL has teamed with a consortium of educational publishers to offer the 2008 Innovative Reading Grant program. [http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslawards/innovativereadinggrant/2008_aasl_in nov_reading_grant.pdf] The purpose of this program is to support the planning and implementation of an innovative program designed to encourage reading, especially among struggling readers. One $2,500 award is presented to the most outstanding applicant. The innovation of proposed programs should be a natural outgrowth of current reading research, practice, and policy. Applications will be assessed based on a variety of criteria, including the program's ability to measure and demonstrate its impact on student learning as well as its potential for replication. By Feb. 1: The Tiger Woods Foundation [http://www.tigerwoodsfoundation.org/grants/default.sps?itype=7609] empowers young people to reach their highest potential by initiating and supporting community-based programs that promote the health, education, and welfare of America’s children. The Foundation currently provides grants to nonprofit organizations that focus on underserved youth, ages 5–17, living in urban American cities. Specific areas of interest include programs that enhance the learning process for youth as well as year-round mentoring and tutoring programs. Requests are reviewed quarterly. By Feb. 5: The Youth Literacy Grants Program, [http://www.dollargeneral.com/community/communityinvestments.aspx?Category= Community&SubCategory=Grant%20Programs#YouthLiteracy] offered by Dollar General, provides funding to K-12 schools, public libraries, and local nonprofit organizations to help with the implementation or expansion of literacy programs for new readers, below-grade-level readers, and readers with learning disabilities. Instruction must be designed to meet the varying learning preferences and needs of the defined target population. Applying organizations must be located within 20 miles of a Dollar General Store. By Mar. 31: General Mills offers grants of up to $15,000 to 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations and public schools for community improvement projects through the My Hometown Helper [http://www.myhometownhelper.com] program. Applications will be accepted beginning February 1. By Mar. 31: The John Wiley and Sons For Dummies Library Display Contest [http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-292245.html] offers prizes of For Dummies books, Dummies gift items, and staff pizza parties for outstanding Dummies-branded library displays. Entries will be accepted beginning January 17. @ More [http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/calendar/calendar.cfm]... Contact Us American Libraries Direct AL Direct is a free electronic newsletter emailed every Wednesday to personal members of the American Library Association [http://www.ala.org]. George M. Eberhart, Editor: geberhart@ala.org [mailto:geberhart@ala.org] Daniel Kraus, Associate Editor: dkraus@ala.org [mailto:dkraus@ala.org] Greg Landgraf, Editorial Assistant: glandgraf@ala.org [mailto:glandgraf@ala.org] Leonard Kniffel, Editor-in-Chief, American Libraries: lkniffel@ala.org [mailto:lkniffel@ala.org] To advertise in American Libraries Direct, contact: Brian Searles, bsearles@ala.org [mailto:bsearles@ala.org] Send feedback: aldirect@ala.org [mailto:aldirect@ala.org] To unsubscribe from American Libraries Direct: click here [<%= edition.unsubscribeLink %>] AL Direct FAQ: www.ala.org/aldirect/ [http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/aldirecta/aldirect.cfm] All links outside the ALA website are provided for informational purposes only. Questions about the content of any external site should be addressed to the administrator of that site. American Libraries 50 E. Huron St. Chicago, IL 60611 www.ala.org/alonline/ [http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/index.cfm] 800-545-2433, ext. 4216 ISSN 1559-369X. To unsubscribe from this newsletter: click here [<%= edition.unsubscribeLink %>]