American Libraries Direct
The e-newsletter of the American Library Association | April 27, 2011

Contents
American Libraries Online
ALA News
Booklist Online
New Orleans Update
Division News
Awards
Seen Online
Tech Talk
Publishing
Actions & Answers
New This Week
Calendar

Alexander Street Press ad

AL Buyers Guide

American Libraries Online

A death record card for Mary Ayres from 1900, part of the birth and death records collection at the University of Cincinnati Archives and Rare Books LibraryBorn here, died here
Kevin Grace writes: “More than 500,000 birth and death records have been digitized by the University of Cincinnati Libraries. Ranging from 1865 to 1912 and representing the city’s earliest official birth and death records, these cards hold the key to understanding an urban community’s demographics through its citizens, its neighborhoods, its health issues, and its occupations. By digitizing and creating metadata for the cards, the UC Libraries have provided access to primary source documents that are important not only for academic endeavors, but for public research as well.”...
American Libraries feature

Please Rob Me site headerTechnology in Practice: Too much information?
Meredith Farkas writes: “I have friends who use the mobile location-based networking site Foursquare to broadcast exactly where they are at during the day using the GPS on their phone. In my Twitter feed, I see posts stating that one friend is at a conference, another is out to lunch, and another is at the grocery store. With all due respect, not only can I not envision who would want to know that I’m at the grocery store, but I don’t think I’d want the world to know where I am at all times. The universe of what I am comfortable sharing doesn’t extend that far.”...
American Libraries column, May/June

“Yeah, I used to be a mover and shaker in my day, too. Now I'm happy just to be regular.” Cartoon by Richard LeeWill’s World: My professional heroes
Will Manley writes: “Ten years ago, when Library Journal unveiled a new set of annual awards for librarians called ‘Movers and Shakers,’ I was delighted. Clearly there’s been a lot of movin’ and shakin’ going on. So why not celebrate those who push us out of our professional comfort zones? That does not mean that I think the M&Sers are the most important people in the profession. That honor would go to the ‘plodders and toilers,’ or if you prefer, the worker bees.”...
American Libraries column, May/June

Trumbull Library, whose flat roof is ideal for the installation of solar panelsTrumbull’s solar solution
Greg Landgraf writes: “Trumbull (Conn.) Library recently received a valuable green gift: 18 solar panels capable of generating 4 kW of power. United Illuminating offered them to the town. ‘City Hall decided the library would be a good site’ to install them, said Library Director Sue Horton, because the library is centrally located, open to all, and has a roof that is flat and meets the physical needs for installation. Since activation, the solar panels have produced 899 kWh, enough to power 2,700 light bulbs for a day.”...
AL: Green Your Library, Apr. 26

A typical loss rate?
Area Libraries Increasing Security to Combat Rising Thefts” is the headline for an April 23 article in the Dayton Daily News. But the question that comes to the ALA Library is “What is a typical loss rate?” There is no “typical” rate of loss for several reasons. Inventories, unless done in conjunction with another operation, such as catalog conversion or adding electronic security tags, are expensive and not undertaken frequently....
AL: Ask the ALA Librarian, Apr. 26


JobLIST Direct ad

ALA News

LibrariUS widgetNew website captures library stories
PLA and the Office for Library Advocacy have launched LibrariUS, an initiative sponsored by the Public Insight Network at American Public Media. Its aim is to inspire news content and, more importantly, generate a fresh and meaningful conversation about libraries and communities in the 21st century. It will also give participants future opportunities to share their knowledge and experience on other topics with journalists. The LibrariUS program collects details from people using the library. A simple widget (above) installed on your library’s website will link patrons to the LibrariUS site....
PLA, Apr. 26

Cover of Frontline Fundraising ToolkitSharpen your fundraising skills
ALA President Roberta Stevens has launched a new Web resource designed to simplify the fundraising process for libraries. The Frontline Fundraising Toolkit covers the basics of developing a fundraising plan, annual funds, memorials and tributes, online giving and planned giving. The toolkit can be used by anyone, regardless of the library’s type or size, to supplement local or institutional budgets....
Development Office, Apr. 26

Save on advocacy preconferences at Annual
Reserve your spot today for both the “Nuts and Bolts for Trustees, Friends, and Foundations” and “Boomers, Staff, and Students: Engaging the Many Voices of Advocacy, an Advocacy Institute Workshop” during the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans and save $25 off the combined registration (for the first 50 registrants). Both programs will take place June 24....
Office for Library Advocacy, Apr. 26

2011 Choose Privacy Week logoChoose Privacy Week
Invite library users of all ages and backgrounds into a conversation about privacy rights in a digital age May 1–7, Choose Privacy Week, now in its second year. The national public-awareness campaign coordinated by ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom gives libraries the resources their users need to think critically and make informed choices about their privacy. Librarians have a long history of protecting the freedom to read, learn, and receive ideas anonymously. This makes libraries ideal places for people to think and talk about privacy....
Public Information Office, Apr. 26

Jenny Levine interviews ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels on the ALA missionALA Civics Class: The ALA mission
Jenny Levine writes: “To kick off ALA Civics Class, I talked to Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels about our mission. ALA does so much that sometimes it’s difficult to figure out what’s at the heart of the organization and why we do what we do. ALA has to align its services to its mission (2:36), just as libraries do. I also asked Keith what the ALA mission means in action and how he evaluates whether an initiative aligns with it (3:07).”...
ALA Marginalia, Apr. 27; AL Focus

Improve the ALA conference experience
The Young Professionals Task Force needs your help making ALA conferences better. In order to do this, they would like to know the best experiences you’ve had at conferences—ALA or otherwise—that have made conferences rewarding and useful. Your feedback will be used to improve the quality of ALA conferences. Take this short survey....
ALA Membership Blog, Apr. 25

"Librarians Build Communities" Emerging Leaders Project F team members (front to back, left to right): Easter DiGangi (Madison, Wis.), Heather James (Donnelly, Minn.), Teri Shiel (Westfield, Mass.), Kristi Brumley (Boise, Idaho), and Erin Leach (St. Louis, Mo.)Expanding “Libraries Build Communities”
Emerging Leaders Project F is determining how to transform and expand ALA’s annual volunteer service day, “Libraries Build Communities,” in which members volunteer to assist libraries and local groups in host cities for the Annual Conference, into an ongoing national volunteer program for librarians. The new program will provide year-round assistance to local communities and, in order to emphasize the importance that librarians bring to both libraries and communities, the national program will be renamed “Librarians Build Communities.”...
ALA Membership Blog, Apr. 26

Branding @ your library: A success story
In the fall of 2006, Grand Rapids (Minn.) Area Library Director Marcia Anderson was looking for a new way to promote the library to the local media. At the Minnesota Library Association conference she overheard a group of librarians discussing the Campaign for America’s Libraries’ @ your library brand and decided to adopt it. The newspaper liked it too and has been running a weekly @ your library column since late 2006. After 200 articles, Anderson and the library continue to see the brand’s value. See a recent article here (PDF file)....
Campaign for America’s Libraries, Apr. 26

Learn how to build a great library website
ALA TechSource is offering the “Building the Digital Branch” workshop 2:30–4 p.m. Eastern time on June 8. Taught by David Lee King, this workshop will provide librarians with a foundation to build or expand their library websites with effective planning and minimal costs. Topics include how to find out what your patrons want from your website and how to create strategic plans and goals. Registration is open....
ALA TechSource, Apr. 26

Cover of Reading with the StarsA constellation of stars celebrates books and libraries
In his new book Reading with the Stars: A Celebration of Books and Libraries, former American Libraries Editor-in-Chief Leonard Kniffel offers a compelling collection of interviews with prominent figures, all of whom have special connections to libraries. From President Barack Obama to actress Julie Andrews, from basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to former First Lady and librarian Laura Bush, and many others, stars of literature, politics, entertainment, and the public arena speak with Kniffel about the ways libraries have been critical in their lives....
ALA Editions, Apr. 22

Cover of Workplace Learning and LeadershipLearning and leadership in the library
The best kind of learning is that which never ends—and a culture of training means that staff will be more flexible and responsive to new ideas and strategies, imperative in today’s libraries. Using real-life examples of trainers who serve as leaders within libraries and their communities, Workplace Learning and Leadership: A Handbook for Library and Nonprofit Trainers by Lori Reed and Paul Signorelli sheds light on an underappreciated but important component of library operations....
ALA Editions, Apr. 26

Booklist Online logo

Cover of Okay for NowFeatured review: Historical fiction for youth
Schmidt, Gary D. Okay for Now. Apr. 2011. 368p. illus. Grades 6–9. Clarion, hardcover (978-0-547-15260-8).
In this stand-alone companion to The Wednesday Wars (2007), a Newbery Honor Book set in the late 1960s, Schmidt focuses on Holling Hoodhood’s classmate Doug Swieteck, who is furious when his volatile father gets fired and moves the family to tiny Marysville, New York. Eighth grade gets off to a rocky start, particularly after Doug’s brother is blamed for a series of local break-ins, and Doug, too, is viewed with suspicion. Life at home with his hard-drinking dad is rocky as well, especially after Doug’s second brother returns from Vietnam without his legs. John James Audubon’s portraits of birds provide a cultural awakening, with reproductions of Audubon plates introducing each chapter....

Graphic for Top 10 Historical Fiction: 2011Top 10 historical fiction for youth: 2011
Ilene Cooper writes: “These novels will take readers from 19th-century Japan to the unsettling days of the 1960s and the horror of 1980s Sudan. But no matter the setting or era, these historical-fiction titles show today’s readers the commonalities of growing up. This top 10 list features books reviewed in Booklist over the last 12 months.”...

@ Visit Booklist Online for other reviews and much more....


New Orleans Update

ALA 2011 New Orleans tours
Spouses and guests can have fun while you are networking June 24–28 by signing up for a French Quarter walking tour, a city tour, a dinner jazz cruise, New Orleans School of Cooking tour, or a Jean Lafitte Swamp Tour. Tours are provided by Accent on Arrangements, and advance registration by June 10 is recommended. Onsite registration will only be available on a space-available basis. Contact the arrangers at (504) 524-0188....
ALA Conference Services

The Central Grocery Co.Is the best sandwich in America the muffuletta?
Take a walk through the French Quarter and it seems that almost every other sign you see touts a muffuletta sandwich; but the original, which dates back to 1906, is available only at Central Grocery (right) at 923 Decatur Street. The sesame bread measures 10 inches around, but the Central Grocery’s secret ingredient is its homemade olive spread. Serio’s Deli at 133 St. Charles is also a contender for best muffuletta (video, 5:11), as is Nor-Joe’s at 505 Frisco Avenue in Metairie. Jason Perlow has a detailed comparison of Central Grocery and Nor-Joe’s muffulettas....
Today (NBC), Sept. 17, 2007; Wikipedia; Roadfood.com; Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, Season 3; Off The Broiler, Jan. 27, 2008

Girl feeding a parakeet at Parakeet PointeAudubon Aquarium of the Americas
The New Orleans aquarium is located along the banks of the Mississippi River by the edge of the French Quarter off Canal Street, at the upper end of Woldenberg Park. In addition to its popular displays of sea otters, penguins, an Amazon rain forest, and a Caribbean reef, the Audubon Aquarium has a new exhibit called “Parakeet Pointe: Treats for Tweets,” which allows you to walk through an 800-square-foot outdoor environment filled with hundreds of free-flying parakeets. Guests can also purchase seed sticks and feed the birds....
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas

Longue Vue House and GardensLongue Vue House and Gardens
Longue Vue House and Gardens is a Greek Revival mansion and garden located at 7 Bamboo Road and built in 1939–1942. It serves as an educational, cultural, and community resource, offering tours, events, exhibits, and community programs to the public. The gardens took a pounding from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but the Garden Conservancy has restored much of it, and the Discovery Garden is fully up and running. This pastoral urban spot has been prized since it opened to the public in the 1970s. Here’s what’s in bloom in late June....
Longue Vue House; White Plains (N.Y.) Journal News, Feb. 10, 2009

TPC of Louisiana golf course is part of the Audubon Golf TrailBest golf courses in New Orleans
Mike Bailey writes: “Though New Orleans isn’t exactly known for its golf, the Crescent City is a pretty good choice for a golf vacation when you consider the whole package. Pete Dye’s TPC of Louisiana (right) in Avondale is one of the most accessible courses in the TPC network: There’s water and sand everywhere with plenty of doglegs and risk-reward opportunities. Other good courses are Stonebridge Golf Club of New Orleans, Belle Terre Country Club, and Audubon Park.”...
Travel Caddie, Apr. 25

Delta lets you follow your baggage in real time
Brett Snyder writes: “You can now follow your checked bag on Delta just like you follow a package on FedEx. And that’s only a part of what the airline is doing to make things move more smoothly. In addition, Delta has brought the claim form into the 21st century. Until recently, once you reported your bag lost, you had to fill out a paper claim form for reimbursement. But now, you can do it online. Finally.”...
The Cranky Flier, Apr. 21

Division News

Día book list 20112011 Día booklist available
The 2011 book list (PDF file) to help libraries and families celebrate El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) is now available. Containing more than 200 titles, the list features books for those who speak English and Spanish, as well as for those who speak Pashto, French, Hindi, Michif, Russian, Swahili, and Vietnamese. The new book list and list of websites, a collaboration between ALSC and Reforma, are part of a brochure for parents with tips on reading to and with their children....
ALSC, Apr. 20

Charles WiltA Preservation Week podcast
ALCTS Executive Director Charles Wilt (right) discusses Preservation Week (April 24–30), the importance of preservation, and the valuable role libraries play in its awareness in this podcast (8:31). Recognizing that critical role, ALCTS, the Library of Congress, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services launched Preservation Week in 2010....
Visibility @ your library, Apr. 26

Marilyn JohnsonMarilyn Johnson to appear at ALTAFF President’s Program
The ALTAFF President’s Program will feature best-selling author and library advocate Marilyn Johnson, June 27, at the 2011 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans. Johnson has been a national champion of libraries and was the moving force behind ALTAFF’s Authors for Libraries, a large and growing group of authors who are willing and ready to speak out at the local and national levels about the importance of libraries....
ALTAFF, Apr. 26

Author and librarian Julie Halprin will be at the Coffee KlatchMeet YA authors at the YALSA Coffee Klatch
Meet your favorite authors over coffee at YALSA’s annual YA Authors Coffee Klatch on June 26 in New Orleans, as part of the ALA Annual Conference. This year’s klatch will feature more than 25 authors whose books have won YALSA awards or appeared on its booklists. The klatch uses a speed-dating approach so attendees can meet as many authors as possible....
YALSA, Apr. 25

Paolo Bacigalupi2011 Michael L. Printz Award program
Annual Conference attendees won’t want to miss the 2011 Michael L. Printz Award Program and Reception, sponsored by YALSA, on June 27 in New Orleans. Author Paolo Bacigalupi (right), whose book Ship Breaker won this year’s award, will speak, as will honor book authors Lucy Christopher (Stolen), Marcus Sedgwick (Revolver), A. S. King (Please Ignore Vera Dietz), and Janne Teller (Nothing). Tickets for the program cost $29 before advance registration closes on May 13....
YALSA, Apr. 26

Terry PratchettPratchett to speak at Margaret A. Edwards Luncheon
Join YALSA in honoring Terry Pratchett, winner of the 2011 Margaret A. Edwards Award for nine of his novels, at the Margaret A. Edwards Luncheon, June 25, at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans. He will speak about his books and writing for children and teens. Advance registration for this event ends May 13....
YALSA, Apr. 26

Graphic for "In the Hurricane's Eye"Registration open for RBMS Preconference
ACRL has opened registration for the 52nd Annual Rare Books and Manuscripts Section Preconference, “In the Hurricane’s Eye: Challenges of Collecting in the 21st Century,” which will be held June 21–24 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Register by May 18 and save $50 off the full registration fee. Registration materials are available on the RBMS website....
ACRL, Apr. 26

Valerie GrossTransform your library’s image
On May 18, PLA will host the “Transforming Our Image” webinar as part of its “Public Libraries at Work” monthly series. Instructor Valerie Gross (right) will describe a straightforward concept that enables libraries to heighten their importance by replacing traditional terms with powerful, intuitive, value-enhanced terminology that people understand. Register to learn how strategic vocabulary can immediately convey the library’s true value—even to someone who has never set foot in a library....
PLA, Apr. 26

Write for the YALSA blog
mk Eagle writes: “Do you read the YALSA Blog regularly and wish you could contribute? Now is your chance! We’re looking for new bloggers to join our award-winning team. If you are a YALSA member and interested in writing for the blog, contact mk Eagle.”...
YALSA Blog, Apr. 26

Spring into learning with YALSA’s webinars-on-demand
Looking for guidance into the latest topics in teen services? Look no further than YALSA’s Webinars-on-Demand. Previously recorded webinars, led by content experts, are complimentary for YALSA members only and available for purchase for everyone else. New offerings include Tech4U and Homework Help Programs....
YALSA, Apr. 22

Get street smart with street lit
Street lit’s appeal extends well beyond urban teens. Find out more about this increasingly popular genre of literature and how to incorporate it into your library at the YALSA webinar, “Street Smart: Serving Teen Street Lit Readers,” hosted by Megan Honig, on June 16. Registration is open now....
YALSA, Apr. 22

Make over your teen space
Looking for ways to spruce up your existing teen space? Or are you moving into a new building and need to redesign or plan something new? Join Kim Bolan Cullin as she discusses the latest in teen space planning and implementation in a May 19 YALSA webinar. Registration is open now....
YALSA, Apr. 25

Reach teens and tweens this summer
School and teen services librarians find their roles evolving constantly, and many are now called to serve tweens and teens. What are the differences in need between these two age groups, and how do librarians successfully serve both? Find out how in “Navigating the Divide between Teens and Tweens,” a new online course offered by YALSA, July 11–August 8. Registration closes July 5....
YALSA, Apr. 22

Awards

Camila AlireCamila Alire receives 2011 Lippincott Award
Camila Alire (right), dean emerita at the University of New Mexico and Colorado State University, is this year’s recipient of the ALA Joseph W. Lippincott Award. The award is given annually to an individual for distinguished service to the profession of librarianship. Alire is past-president of ALA, the ALA Allied Professional Association, ACRL, and Reforma....
Office of ALA Governance, Apr. 26

Shannon HymanShannon Hyman wins Henne Award
Shannon Hyman (right), school librarian at the Harry F. Byrd Middle School in Henrico, Virginia, has received the 2011 AASL Frances Henne Award. In the letter of nomination, Hyman was praised for having “transformed her library program and facility into an active and exciting daily stop for the entire Byrd learning community.” Sponsored by Greenwood Publishing Group, the award recognizes a school librarian with five years or less experience who demonstrates leadership qualities with students, teachers, and administrators....
AASL, Apr. 26

Violet H. HaradaHarada wins AASL Distinguished Service Award
Violet H. Harada, LIS professor at the University of Hawaii, is the 2011 recipient of the AASL Distinguished Service Award. Established in 1978, the award recognizes an individual member of the library profession who has made an outstanding national contribution to school librarianship. Harada was cited for her work on the Learning Standards Indicators and Assessment Task Force charged with developing indicators, benchmarks, and model examples from the AASL learning standards....
AASL, Apr. 26

Graphic for The Grandeur of Life exhibitRBMS Leab Exhibition Award winners
The ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Section has selected five winners and one honorable mention for the 2011 Katharine Kyes Leab and Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Catalogue Awards. The awards recognize outstanding exhibition catalogues issued by American or Canadian institutions in conjunction with library exhibitions as well as electronic exhibition catalogues. The winner in the electronic category was the Linda Hall Library for “The Grandeur of Life” (above)....
ACRL, Apr. 26

AASL Innovative Reading Grant
Shanna Miles’s project, the Billionaire’s Book Club, is the 2011 recipient of the AASL Innovative Reading Grant. Sponsored by Capstone Publishers, this grant of $2,500 supports the planning and implementation of a unique and innovative program for children. Working out of the Tech High School library in Atlanta, the Billionaire’s Book Club will team 9th-grade struggling readers with an upperclassman who is a member of the National Honor Society....
AASL, Apr. 26

AASL Research Grants
The research teams of Mary K. Biagini and Rebecca Morris from Pennsylvania, and Kara Krueger and Jean Donham from Iowa are the winners of AASL Research Grants sponsored by Heinemann Raintree. Biagini and Morris’s project is “Educating 21st-Century School Librarians to Help 21st-Century K–12 Students Learn,” and Krueger and Donham are working on “Influence of School Library Resources on Student Learning in Rural Iowa Schools.”...
AASL, Apr. 26

Cover of News to Me23rd Annual Minnesota Book Awards
The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library has announced the winners of the 23rd annual Minnesota Book Awards. In addition to winners in eight categories, the awards included the Readers’ Choice Award, selected by nearly 2,000 voters from across Minnesota, which went to Laurie Hertzel’s News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist (University of Minnesota)....
Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, Apr. 17

Cover of Far to Go2011 Canadian Jewish Book Awards
Alison Pick’s novel Far to Go (House of Anansi), about a Jewish Czech family in the months preceding World War II, and Mordecai: The Life and Times (Knopf Canada), Charles Foran’s biography of the late Canadian novelist, are among the winners of the 2011 Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Awards, announced April 21. Pick won in the Fiction category, while Foran won in Biography and Memoir....
National Post (Canada), Apr. 21

Cover of Everything Was Good-bye2011 British Columbia Book Prizes
The British Columbia Book Prizes were handed out April 21 in West Vancouver. The star of the show was Gurjinder Basran from North Delta, who took home the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for her debut novel Everything Was Good-bye. Basran writes about her experience growing up as an Indo-Canadian in North Delta in the novel, which begins when Meena is in high school, and she’s feeling a bit rebellious....
Vancouver (B.C.) Sun, Apr. 22

Seen Online

IMLS releases 2011 budget allocation table
The Institute of Museum and Library Services released its FY2011 budget allocation table (PDF file) April 26. The announcement follows congressional approval of H.R. 1473, the budget bill that will fund the government through the remaining months to September 2011. The bill includes a $28-million cut to IMLS, not including the agency’s $16 million in lost earmarks that had already been eliminated. Most alarming is that these budget cuts were made by a Congress attempting to reduce the federal deficit by eliminating “wasteful spending.”...
District Dispatch, Apr. 26

Patience, one of the two NYPL lionsNYPL lions (and their building) turn 100
Will Patience (right) have the patience to make it to 100? Will Fortitude have the fortitude? The lions in front of the New York Public Library (and the Stephen A. Schwarzman building that they guard) will be a century old on May 23. The library is planning a gala that will celebrate the building’s history, but did not want to forget the lions. So they have commissioned artist Nathan Sawaya to create a playful homage to them in Legos....
New York Times: City Room, Apr. 21

Allemuir lounge chair normally retails for $1,984 apieceDetroit Public Library criticized for lavish renovation
Detroit Public Library officials say finances have grown so bad they could close most neighborhood branches, but in a few weeks plan to unveil a revamped wing of a main library that spares few expenses. The South Wing is stocked with 20 yellow-and-orange European lounge chairs (right) that cost $1,092 apiece, artistic pendant light fixtures, and two alcohol-burning fireplaces. Director Jo Anne Mondowney said her staff tried unsuccessfully to return the chairs after learning how much they cost. The project morphed from a $300,000 furniture update to a $2.3-million overhaul with new floors, study rooms, lighting. and built-in bookshelves....
Detroit News, Apr. 22, 26

Alleged book burning. From KSTU-TV newscastSect attorney: It wasn’t a book burning
An attorney for a polygamous sect says a bonfire set in Colorado City, Arizona, April 16–17 was part of an effort to clean up an old building, not to burn thousands of books. Rod Parker, who represents the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, said a local man was merely cleaning up a dilapidated building that was being vandalized by teenagers. Most of the books inside were donated to libraries in Cedar City and St. George, Utah, as well as the Deseret Industries thrift store in Cedar City, though some that were in poor condition were added to the burning trash....
Salt Lake Tribune, Apr. 23; KSTU-TV, Salt Lake City, Apr. 22

L.A. Council: Library shouldn’t filter internet
The city of Los Angeles will not install pornography-filtering software on library computers, but instead will make the monitors more difficult to be seen by nearby children, officials said April 26. The City Council discussion was sparked by an incident in December when parents complained that a patron at the Chinatown branch was viewing pornography on a public computer in plain sight of children....
Los Angeles Daily News, Apr. 26

Library Director Earlene Walton. From the KLTV newscastEast Texas librarian robbed at gunpoint
Daingerfield (Tex.) Public Library Director Earlene Walton (right) was robbed at gunpoint April 25 when a man entered the library shortly after it opened and requested to use a computer. He then told Walton that he had forgotten something and left the building. When he returned, he pulled out a gun and took a jar that library Friends use to collect donations. Police have arrested a suspect on an aggravated robbery charge....
KLTV-TV, Tyler, Tex., Apr. 25

Five Illinois systems slated to merge July 1
As of July 1, the five library systems serving libraries throughout northern Illinois will combine to form RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System). The name was chosen in March by members of the merger transition team. The decision to combine the Metropolitan, Alliance, DuPage, North Suburban, and Prairie Area library systems was made in January as an answer to ongoing financial woes faced by the state-funded operations....
Lake County (Ill.) News-Sun, Apr. 22

Muskegon royal wedding fête to raise library funds
Come April 29, even though the sun won’t be up in Muskegon, Michigan, Friends of the Hackley Library President Kathleen Snider will put on her best hat, pull on a pair of dress gloves—and go to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding. Never mind that Snider will be in downtown Muskegon watching the festivities on TV at the Muskegon Athletic Club. The Friends are hosting a Royal Wedding Breakfast there, with all proceeds to be donated to the library’s children’s department “which badly needs repairs,” Snider said....
Muskegon (Mich.) News, Apr. 27

Salt Lake boosts its transparency
Wobbled by months of management controversy—including calls for the director’s resignation and a board member departure—the Salt Lake City Public Library has unveiled an ambitious transparency initiative that includes the quick release of draft minutes and perhaps televised board meetings. But it did little to quell the still-raging tempest, which erupted April 21 during a testy three-hour board meeting....
Salt Lake Tribune, Apr. 22

New York Public Library manuscripts dispute
Paul Brodeur, a former investigative reporter for the New Yorker who donated thousands of pages of his work to the New York Public Library in 1992, is demanding that the papers be returned. He claims it should not have taken the library 18 years to determine that it only wanted 53 of his 320 boxes of papers. Brodeur also says the library told him in 1997 that his papers had been reviewed and prepared for public viewing. The library cited a backlog of donations for the 18-year wait, but now Brodeur wants all the boxes back....
New York Times, Apr. 22

Lillian WallisLibrarian leaves $646,000 to Hennepin County Library
The Hennepin County Library has received a gift of $646,000 from the estate of a former employee. Librarian Lillian G. Wallis (right) bequested the sum and it was accepted by the County Board of Commissioners April 19. Wallis began working for the Minneapolis Public Library in 1951 and retired as director of technical services in 1987....
KMSP-TV, Minneapolis, Apr. 25

Hawaii donates books to western Pacific islands
Bookshelves languishing in a basement at the University of Hawaii were packed into containers April 23 destined for islands in the western Pacific. Textbooks from local high schools were also shipped. The nonprofit Reach Out Pacific hopes the donations will improve communities in Micronesia and the Northern Marianas and reduce the surge of migrants from those areas to Hawaii. REPAC President Glenn Wakai believes increasing resources for schools and libraries will encourage people to stay and improve their home islands....
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Apr. 26

Where novels go to die
A bit like the Island of Misfit Toys from the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV series, Parmly Billings Library’s basement is where neglected works of fiction—castaways, rarities, and ones that aren’t popular anymore—often wind up. Called the Montana Last Copy Fiction Depository, it houses nearly 70,000 fiction volumes, some of which are more than 100 years old, from libraries around Montana and other northwestern states. But plans for a new library in Billings do not include it....
Billings (Mont.) Gazette, Apr. 24

“Don’t say gay” bill clears Tennessee Senate panel
After some convoluted maneuvers, a Tennessee Senate committee approved a bill April 20 that will prohibit teachers from discussing homosexuality in K–8 classrooms. The measure (SB49) is sponsored by Sen. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville), who unsuccessfully pushed the same idea—nicknamed the “don’t say gay” bill—for six years as a member of the state House before he was elected to the Senate....
Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel, Apr. 21

Foot stabbings at University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky officials issued a safety warning April 20 after two reported assaults in the basement of the W. T. Young Library. Both occurred April 18, and in each case the alleged victim told them a man crawled under the desk and punctured their feet with a sharp object. Both victims were females wearing sandals....
UK Kentucky Kernel, Apr. 21

Library vandal gets Face-booked
A British teen faces jail after admitting on Facebook that he flooded the central library in Portsmouth and caused £150,000 ($247,500 U.S.) in damage. Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard how he filled the plugholes in the third-floor men’s toilets with toilet roll and switched on the taps—causing water to pour through the library on the night of August 18–19. After initially denying the charge, the teen changed his plea when he was confronted with the transcript of a Facebook conversation in which he told a friend he was responsible....
Portsmouth (U.K.) News, Apr. 25

Nina V. FedoroffMubarak’s stash of library cash
A prominent American scientist serving as trustee for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina said that $145 million was found in February in an Egyptian bank account supposedly set up to benefit the nine-year-old library—but was held in ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s name. Nina V. Fedoroff (right), current president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said no one at the library knew about the account, which was registered under the library’s name but opened over Mubarak’s signature....
The Daily Beast, Apr. 24

Go back to the Top

Tech Talk

Geeks are the future
Michael Kelley writes: “Reference is dead and libraries need more geeks. That was the succinct message sent by Eli Neiburger at an April 5 symposium sponsored by the Connecticut Library Consortium. Neiburger, the associate director for IT and production at the Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library, said, ‘We need big servers and the geeks to take care of them. What are we going to cut to be able to hire a geek? We are going to cut reference staff. Reference is dead.’”...
Library Journal, Apr. 26

PlayStation security breach: A survival guide
Ian Paul writes: “Sony has quite a security nightmare on its hands with its giant PlayStation Network disaster. The company finally admitted April 26 that account details, logins, and online IDs for registered Sony PlayStation Network users, as many as 77 million people, have been compromised. The information was stolen sometime between April 17 and 19, according to a Sony blog post, as early as nine days before Sony notified its users of the breach. Here’s what you need to know.”...
PC World, Apr. 27; PlayStation Blog, Apr. 26

Firefox Tab Groups. From the demo videoHow to keep your browser tabs organized
Paul Boutin writes: “It’s not uncommon for people to pop open 30 or more browser tabs on a daily basis, including many they check regularly, like the bookmarks of 10 years ago. Most browsers now let you group tabs to help organize them, but navigating through groups of tabs atop the browser is only slightly less of a distraction. The latest Firefox browser has an easy-to-use visual solution called Panorama (or Tab Groups). If you have Firefox 4 installed, look to the right of your browser tabs for a tiny downward-pointing arrow.”...
New York Times: Gadgetwise, Apr. 19

Squrl logoSqurl away web videos and playlists
Richard Byrne writes: “YouTube playlists are great, but if you want to organize a playlist of videos from multiple websites or you are looking for a good way to keep track of the web videos that you want to use with patrons, you might want to give Squrl a try. Squrl allows you to create a playlist of videos from 16 different sources. You can save videos to watch them later on your laptop, iPad, iPhone, or TV.”...
Free Technology for Teachers, Apr. 26

Driving directions with Google Maps Street View
Keir Clarke writes: “If you have a Where Are We page on your website, you should consider adding an animated route map from Map Channels. This handy application lets you create an animated directions map using Street View and Bing’s Bird’s Eye View. To create an embeddable map, you just need to enter a starting point and a destination. Map Channels’ Animated Route Maps will then create the code for you to add to your website.”...
Google Maps Mania, Apr. 26

TabPress logoCreate custom iFrame tabs on your Facebook page
Heather Mansfield writes: “In March, Facebook disabled the popular Static FMBL App that many nonprofits had used to create custom tabs on their Facebook Pages. Rather than having their apps be based on FBML, Facebook has now switched over to iFrames. Those nonprofits that have already created custom tabs using the Static FBML app will continue to be supported (not indefinitely, however), but those wanting to create custom tabs for the first time or switch over to iFrames have a few new apps to experiment with.”...
Nonprofit Tech 2.0 Blog, Apr. 25

Sony S2 dual-screen tabletTwo new Sony tablets announced
Martyn Williams writes: “Sony will take its first step into the tablet market later this year when it launches two tablets. The larger of the two, code-named S1, has a 9.4-inch screen that takes up most of the front. The second tablet, code-named S2, has a clamshell design with twin 5.5-inch screens and can be folded so it fits in a jacket pocket or bag. What are they like to use? I had a brief chance to try them both out.”...
PC World, Apr. 26

Tasker automates your settingsHow to get better battery life from your Android phone
Whitson Gordon writes: “If you have a modern Android phone, you know the pain of turning on your phone at 5 p.m. only to realize it’s deep in a low-battery coma. Here are the simple manual changes and clever automatic tweaks that will keep your phone awake and useful for far longer. If you are having serious battery-life issues on your phone, make sure you check each of these settings, features, and customizations to make sure you’re getting the best battery life possible out of your phone.”...
Lifehacker, Apr. 26

Book perforating device from Kilgore Memorial LibraryLibrary book perforating device
Larry Nix writes: “One method for inserting ownership markings in books was the use of an embossing device such as the one used by the Suquamish Library Association in Washington State. Another method involved the use of a perforating device. Stan Schulz, director of the Kilgore Memorial Library in York, Nebraska, let me know about their vintage perforating device (above), sold by by Melvil Dewey’s Library Bureau.”...
Library History Buff Blog, Apr. 22

ALA-APA ad



San Jose State ad


Innovative Interfaces ad


New Orleans Annual Conference logo

ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, June 23–28, 2011. Check out the ALA Spouse/Guest Tour Program.


Scaredy Squirrel poster

The world’s a scary place for Scaredy Squirrel, but when he finally leaps into the unknown he discovers great things. With original art by Mélanie Watt, let this new Scaredy Squirrel poster encourage young readers to explore new books, new corners of their library, and pages yet unturned. Scaredy’s next adventure, Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party, is now available. NEW! From ALA Graphics.


New this week
in American Libraries

Please Rob Me website

Born Here, Died Here

Technology in Practice

Will’s World

Currents

Perpetual Beta

Inside Scoop

Ask the ALA Librarian

Green Your Library

Librarian’s Library

Solutions and Services

AL Focus


Great Libraries of the World

The librarian's desk at the Thomas Hughes Public Library. Photo by Jennifer Henderson

Thomas Hughes Public Library, Rugby, Tennessee. This small library, established in 1882 for a British community founded by social reformer Thomas Hughes, presents the same appearance, inside and outside, as the day its doors first opened. It contains more than 7,000 volumes—one of the best representative collections of Victorian literature on public view in America. The floor-to-ceiling shelves contain no books published later than 1898, with most dating from the 1860s through the 1880s, as well as a fine collection of Victorian periodicals.

McLean Foyer of Meditation, Armstrong Browning Library, Baylor University

Armstrong Browning Library, Baylor University, Waco, Texas. This research center houses the world’s largest collection of books, letters, manuscripts, and memorabilia pertaining to the Victorian poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, as well as a substantial collection of primary and secondary materials related to 19th-century literature and culture. Completed in 1951, the library went through major renovations in 1995 and 2001.

This AL Direct feature showcases 250 libraries around the world that are notable for their exquisite architecture, historic collections, and innovative services. If you find yourself on vacation near one of them, be sure to stop by for a visit. The entire list will be available in The Whole Library Handbook 5, edited by George M. Eberhart, which is scheduled for publication later this year by ALA Editions.

JobLIST Direct ad

Career Leads from
JobLIST logo

Civil Rights Project Archivist, University of California, Los Angeles. One-year temporary position. Reporting to the UCLA University Archivist and under the direction of the University Archivist, the Civil Rights Project (CRP) Archivist will develop and implement an archival processing and preservation plan for the non-current records of UCLA’s Civil Rights Project, including paper and electronic. The CRP Archivist will also plan for the development of online federated access to related archival materials and data located at academic civil rights and racial justice research centers throughout the U.S....

Find JobLIST on Facebook

Follow JobLIST on Twitter

@ More jobs...


Digital Library of the Week

Page One of “The History and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders &c., Who Was Born in Newgate, . . . Written from her own Memorandums:” by Daniel Defoe, London: printed for, and sold by W. Chetwood; and T. Edling, 1722

Eighteenth Century Collections Online is a searchable database of 2,231 keyed-text editions of every significant English-language and foreign-language title printed in the United Kingdom during the 18th century, along with thousands of important works published in the Americas. A 12-year initiative between the University of Michigan Library and Oxford University named the Text Creation Partnership has produced page images for keying and is permitting their online release in support of UM’s commitment to the creation of open access cultural heritage archives. The endeavor is part of the Eighteenth Century Collections Online published by Gale Cengage Learning.

Do you know of a digital library collection that we can mention in this AL Direct feature? Tell us about it. Browse previous Digital Libraries of the Week at the I Love Libraries site.

American Libraries' Solutions and Services column

Public Perception
How the World
Sees Us

The local library’s really starting to get shaky to my mind, unless it’s for the poor, the unemployed, the homeless, and the very old. That’s what libraries are for now. What kid in high school is going to get anything out of the library? Seriously, you’ve got some 90-year-old reference librarian who’s going to point you to what, a Britannica volume to look something up? All you’ve got to do is Google. For crying out loud.”

—Brian Cooley, senior editor at CNET, in a “Buzz Out Loud” podcast (starts around 14:00) about Kindle’s new library services, Apr. 20.

@ More quotes...


Enjoy our latest content

Preservation Week: A Vinyl Obsession (video)

Preservation Week April 24-30 -Pass it on

Classic Film for Movie Night: Notorious

Chris Wagner: A Librarian Who Makes a Difference

Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit Looks at Influence of Latinos in American Popular Music

One Book, One City: Reading as a Community is Embraced Throughout the U.S.

"Let’s Choose to be a More Literate Society": Pam Muñoz Ryan

Join Us on Facebook Join Us on Facebook

Subscribe to our
Newsletter

at your library logo

Tweeter bird designed by Monkeyworks
TweetWatch

Follow:

Preservation Week, Apr. 24–30, at:
#preswk

Massachusetts Library Association, Danvers, Apr. 27–29, at:
#mlajoinforces

Evergreen International Conference, Decatur, Georgia, Apr. 27–30, at:
#egconf11

Feria del Libro en Español de Los Angeles, Apr. 29–May 1, at:
@LeaLAFeriaLibro

El Día de los niños / El Día de los libros, Apr. 30, at:
#dia2011alsc

Choose Privacy Week, May 1–7, at:
@privacyala

New Jersey Library Association, Annual Conference, Long Branch, May 2–4, at:
#njla11

American Library Association, Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 23–28, at:
#ala11

American Libraries news stories, blog posts, tweets, and videos, at:
amlibraries


Calendar

May 1–7:
Choose Privacy Week.

May 7:
Boston Book and Paper Exposition,
Shriner’s Auditorium, Wilmington, Massachusetts.

May 20:
First Annual Conference on Information and Religion,
Kent State Student Center, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Information and Religion of Kent State University’s School of Library and Information Science.

May 20:
Second Annual Open Access Symposium,
Willis Library, University of North Texas, Denton.

May 23–26:
BookExpo America,
Javits Center, New York, New York.

May 25–28:
Canadian Library Association,
Annual Conference, World Trade and Convention Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

May 28–
June 7:

Cycling for Libraries,
international unconference and cycling tour, beginning at the Danish National Library in Copenhagen, Denmark, and concluding in Berlin, Germany, at the start of the 100th German Librarians’ Day Conference.

May 30–
June 3:

Association of Caribbean University, Research, and Institutional Libraries,
Conference, University of South Florida Libraries, Tampa. “The Role of Libraries and Archives in Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Research.”

May 30–
June 3:

International Association for Social Science Information Services and Technology,
Annual Conference, Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre Campus, Vancouver, British Columbia. “Data Science Professionals: A Global Community of Sharing.”

June 7–10:
100th German Librarians’ Day Conference,
Estrel Convention Center, Berlin. “Libraries for the Future: Future for the Libraries.”

June 13–17:
ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries,
University of Ottawa, Ontario. “Bringing Together Scholars, Scholarship, and Research Data.”

June 17:
IT Section, New England Library Association,
Spring Event, Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston, Massachusetts. “Mobilize Your Patrons: Library Services in a Hand-held World.”

June 19–22:
Association of Jewish Libraries,
Marriott Montréal Château Champlain, Montréal, Québec.

Aug. 13–18:
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions,
World Library and Information Congress, San Juan, Puerto Rico. ALA members can save by using ALA member code US-0002 to register at the IFLA member rate. Advance registration deadline, May 6.

Sept. 23–25:
Next Chapter: Reimagine the Future of Libraries,
a “design event,” Lovett School, Atlanta.

@ More...


Contact Us
American Libraries Direct

ALA logo

AL Direct is a free electronic newsletter emailed every Wednesday to personal members of the American Library Association and subscribers.

George M. Eberhart
George M. Eberhart,
Editor:
geberhart@ala.org

Beverly Goldberg
Beverly Goldberg,
Senior Editor:
bgoldberg@ala.org

Greg Landgraf
Greg Landgraf,
Associate Editor:
glandgraf@ala.org

Jennifer Henderson,
Contributing Researcher

To advertise in American Libraries Direct, contact:

Brian Searles
Brian Searles: bsearles@ala.org

Katie Bane
Katie Bane:
kbane@ala.org

Send feedback: aldirect@ala.org

AL Direct FAQ:
www.ala.org/aldirect/

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
Website
800-545-2433,
ext. 4216

ISSN 1559-369X

Publishing

It’s a reading revolution, and there will be blood
Switch11 writes: “Publishers, and some authors, are still caught up in the mind-set of the 1980s—money, elasticity of demand, making readers wait, trying to get the most money out of readers, treating books like a scarce commodity, siphoning off 90% of the price to middle men. All of that is pointless. Readers are in control now, they are human, and they expect to be treated decently.”...
Kindle Review, Apr. 23

Goodreads Facebook Wall imageTop 20 Facebook apps for book lovers
Jason Boog writes: “Not all Facebook apps are dedicated to Farmville-style social games. Goodreads has the most popular book-related app on Facebook, counting more than 150,700 monthly active users. To celebrate 3,000 new friends on our GalleyCat Facebook page, we’ve compiled a list of the top 20 book-focused apps on Facebook and ranked them in order of monthly active users.”...
GalleyCat, Apr. 24

Librarians at the e-book gate
Andrew Richard Albanese writes: “Librarians have become an important constituency at Book Expo America, showing up in increasing numbers year after year to hear publishers pitch their latest offerings. This year, however, BEA won’t just be about the books librarians will buy, but how they will buy them, and, in the case of e-books, if they can buy them at all. With one vendor dominating public library e-book lending, and with some major publishers still resistant to selling e-books to libraries at all, meeting the demand for e-books is a challenging proposition.”...
Publishers Weekly, Apr. 25

A page from the 1611 edition of the King James Version of the BibleWhy the King James Bible endures
The King James Bible, which was first published 400 years ago in May, may be the single best thing ever accomplished by a committee. The Bible was the work of 54 scholars and clergymen who met over seven years in six nine-man subcommittees, called “companies.” But even in its time, the King James Bible was deliberately archaic in grammar and phraseology: An expression like “yea, verily,” for example, had gone out of fashion some 50 years before....
New York Times, Apr. 23

Cover of StacksStacks unveiled
A new book that tells the story of the Indianapolis–Marion County Public Library’s evolution from its origin in 1873 and its role in the educational and cultural life of Indianapolis was unveiled April 14. Stacks: A History of the Indianapolis–Marion County Public Library is a work commissioned by the IMCPL Foundation and written by S. L. Berry, a former staff writer for the Indianapolis Star who specialized in covering the visual and literary arts....
Indianapolis–Marion County Public Library, Apr. 1

Cover of Jim and the Flims, by Rudy RuckerWhy do former cyberpunk authors now write fantasy?
Charlie Jane Anders writes: “Cyberpunk has fallen from its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, but the great cyberpunk authors are still writing. And many of them have turned to fantasy. Consider: Rudy Rucker, author of the Ware tetralogy and Postsingular, among many others, has described his new novel Jim and the Flims as being akin to fantasy. Also, Black Glass author John Shirley published the mystical Bleak History in 2009. What’s going on here?”...
io9, Apr. 25

Cover of Bored of the Rings, by the Harvard Lampoon (1969)10 parody novels that get the last laugh
Rob Lammle writes: “Ask someone what his or her favorite parody movie is and you’ll hear Blazing Saddles, Airplane!, or some other classic of the genre. But ask what their favorite parody novel is and you’ll likely get a blank stare. Here are the stories of a few novels that get the last laugh. For example, the parody novel Bored of the Rings, written by Henry Beard and Douglas Kenney, the duo who would later found National Lampoon, has been reprinted and updated since it was first published in 1969.”...
Mental Floss blog, Apr. 22

Leonhard Rauwolf's TravelsCollecting coffee
L. D. Mitchell writes: “The connection between coffee and books is an ancient one. As Adrian Johns pointed out in his controversial The Nature of the Book: Print and Knowledge in the Making, coffee houses had an outsized influence on the extent to which printed books came to be seen as both culturally and intellectually legitimate and authoritative. The earliest known printed reference to coffee (in a Western language) was in 1573 (mentioned in Leonhard Rauwolf’s Travels into the Eastern Countries, published in 1582, above).”...
The Private Library, Apr. 25

Actions & Answers

The greatest library funding idea ever written
Andy Woodworth writes: “The ideal of the public institution for the common benefit is no longer good enough to win the budget day. The library is perceived as a luxury community expenditure. But we have markets that companies want to reach through advertising. Whether it is book readers, movie watchers, internet users, or story-time attendees, these are all representatives of desirable demographics. The library is uniquely positioned in the community, since there is no other institution (public or private) that does what we do.”...
Agnostic, Maybe, Apr. 24

What are libraries for?
Hugh McGuire writes: “E-books will become the dominant form of casual reading for adults at some point in the future. If community libraries have structured their existence around a dying function (lending print books), then how will libraries remain relevant in the future? To find an answer to this conundrum, it’s important to try to understand the reason for a library’s existence, rather than focus on the things a library does.”...
In the Library with the Lead Pipe, Apr. 20

No room for books at University of Denver?
Plans at the University of Denver to permanently move four-fifths of the Penrose Library’s holdings to an off-campus storage facility and renovate the building into an academic commons could make the university a flashpoint in the ongoing debate about whether library books need to be housed on campus. “You would never ask a scientist to get rid of his or her laboratory,” said art history professor Annabeth Headrick. “But that’s exactly what’s being done to us.”...
Inside Higher Ed, Apr. 27

Dispelling myths about CIPA and filtering
Tina Barseghian writes: “Over the past few weeks, I’ve been hearing from frustrated teachers about surprising websites their schools block—everything from National Geographic to Skype. A few readers questioned the judgment of teachers who use their own mobile devices to allow their students access to blocked sites. To clear up some of the confusion around these assertions, I went straight to the top: the Department of Education’s director of the Office of Education Technology, Karen Cator, who parsed the rules of the Children’s Internet Protection Act.”...
KQED: MindShift, San Francisco, Apr. 7, 26

Brian Cooley: Libraries are for the very old or the unemployed
Michelle Kraft writes: “Brian Cooley, CNET’s senior technology commentator and editor at large, in the April 20 ‘Buzz Out Loud’ podcast (about 14 minutes into the show) gave his less-than-stellar opinion on libraries while discussing Kindle’s new library services. Wow! All I can say is that for a smart tech guy Cooley comes off as pretty stupid. Speaking as a medical librarian, here are my thoughts on some of his statements.”...
The Krafty Librarian, Apr. 26

Virtual International Authority File for Barbara CartlandVisualizing linked data
Karen Coyle writes: “One of the questions I always get when talking about the Semantic Web is ‘What does it look like?’ This is kind of like asking what electricity looks like: It doesn’t so much look like anything, but it makes certain things possible. I fully understand that people need to see something for this all to make sense, so when the webinar technology allows it, I have started showing some web pages. Here are a few illustrations using two sites that can present authors in a Semantic Web form.”...
ALA TechSource Blog, Apr. 26

DOIs as linked data
Ed Summers writes: “The CrossRef publishing consortium has made the metadata for 46 million Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) available as linked data. DOIs are heavily used in the publishing space to uniquely identify electronic documents (largely scholarly journal articles). What this means is that in areas of the scholarly publishing ecosystem where DOIs are present, it’s now possible to use the web to retrieve metadata associated with an electronic document.”...
Inkdroid, Apr. 25

Green Eggs and Ham app from Oceanhouse MediaSmartphone apps for kids
Kelly Beeson writes: “Where do KidLibs fit into all these iPad and Smart Phone apps for kids? If you’ve dipped a toe into this world like I’ve been doing the past few weeks, it’s pretty overwhelming. Everywhere I look, someone is buzzing about this stuff. Unlike adult and teen book apps, these apps are enhanced to make the experience ultra engaging. Take a look at what Ocean House Media has done to The Cat in the Hat. Pretty cool, eh?”...
ALSC Blog, Apr. 26

Universities: Be cautious editing your Wikipedia entries
Campus communications officials shouldn’t aggressively monitor and change their university’s Wikipedia page unless the entry has been vandalized by another editor, according to Wikipedia spokeswoman LiAnna Davis. Factual changes to a Wikipedia entry are usually deemed as OK by the website’s 80,000 contributors, but any edit beyond facts and figures would be considered controversial by Wikipedia users who track changes....
eCampus News, Apr. 14

Why not just Google it?
An article in BioMed Central Medical Education suggests that information literacy among biomedical students is inadequate. A study among first-year dental students showed that a significantly higher percentage of students who relied on Google (instead of PubMed) as their preferred online search method provided incorrect responses to a citation search. Following a one-hour intervention by a health science librarian, virtually all students were able to find the materials....
BMC Medical Education 10, no. 17 (2011)

Cover of IFLA publication on newspapersNewspapers: Digital repositories
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has released Newspapers: Legal Deposit and Research in the Digital Era, edited by Hartmut Walravens. The volume brings together contributions to three conferences: on legal deposit in a digital environment, on web harvesting and archiving, and on newspapers in the context of the Mediterranean. In the newspaper world, the rights situation requires a closer cooperation between publishers and libraries to establish realistic access conditions....
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Apr. 26

Spiral CFL lightbulb20 things anyone can do to help the Earth
Muskegon (Mich.) Community College Librarian Darlene A. DeHudy writes: “There is a lot the public needs to know. Changing one habit can have a significant effect on our planet. Recycling is something everyone can do to save a great deal of money and resources.” She offers a list of 20 things that might make a useful handout at the circulation desk....
Muskegon (Mich.) Chronicle, Apr. 22

TweetDeck logoMy favorite tools: #2, Twitter
Bobbi L. Newman writes: “I regularly get asked how I ‘do it all,’ so I’ve put together some handy tools that (in addition to hard work) help me do it. In the past I’ve written how I decide who to follow on Twitter, and that hasn’t changed much. No matter when I’m using Twitter I have push notification turned off. And yes, it is true. I schedule tweets. I’m not always on Twitter when it looks like I’m on Twitter. Now for the tools.”...
Librarian by Day, Apr. 25

Library offers help on citing Tweets in MLA styleHow libraries can use Twitter
Andy Burkhardt writes: “Twitter has been working pretty well at our library. It is coming up on two years since our first tweet. I have been thinking a lot lately about how we use Twitter and our successes and shortcomings with it. Looking back on tweets, conversations, and interactions, I noticed seven ways that we are leveraging Twitter to improve our library, our services, and our relationships with users. It’s a great tool to have in your communication toolbox, and it can be powerful in furthering your library’s mission.”...
Information Tyrannosaur, Apr. 26

History in 140 characters
Naomi Coquillon writes: “Over the last few months I’ve given a number of in-person workshops for teachers, in which I mention the National Museum for American History’s Twitter feed for educators, @explorehistory. I was surprised to find that only about 10% of any teacher group I meet in person is active on Twitter. What I’ve come to love as I use Twitter is being exposed to more thought-provoking articles than I ever had before and learning about new resources just as soon as they become available.”...
O Say Can You See?, Apr. 20

Tweet your librarian job in five words (or in a haiku)
Andy Woodworth asked his Twitter followers on April 21 to describe their librarian journey in only five words using #andypoll. Here are a few: “There’s a world to organize,” “Museums wouldn’t have me. Boo,” and “Walk, bus, walk some more.” Then on April 25, he asked for haikus, such as: “Where is the bathroom? / Scholarly article? Wha? / Jeez, how old’s this book?”...
Twitter: #andypoll

Carnegie cover, early 20th centuryDestruction of Carnegie library correspondence
Larry Nix writes: “In the late 1940s, the Carnegie Corporation of New York (celebrating its 100th anniversary this year) chose not to preserve the paper files relating to the Carnegie grants for library buildings in more than 1,400 U.S. communities. Instead, it microfilmed the files and destroyed the originals. The Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library has two copies of the microfilmed documents. The envelope above with an Andrew Carnegie return address is from my collection. It was preserved when far more important artifacts were not.”...
Library History Buff Blog, Apr. 26

School library funding opportunities
America’s Promise: The Alliance for Youth has a listing (with links, descriptions, and deadlines) of grants and funding opportunities that are currently accepting applicants. Included are Nickelodeon Big Help grants, Ezra Jack Keats minigrants, Target’s Early Childhood Reading grants, and many others....
America’s Promise

Detail of a John Speed proof sheet showing the prehistoric monumnet of StonehengeA masterpiece of English maps goes digital
Nancy Mattoon writes: “Anglophiles who are planning to watch the royal wedding on April 29 have a new opportunity to gain insight into the history and geography of the United Kingdom. Cambridge University Library has digitized a set of proof sheets for the first comprehensive atlas of Great Britain, John Speed’s Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, first published in 1611. There are only five known sets of the proof sheets in existence worldwide, and each of them differs greatly in composition.”...
Booktryst, Apr. 26

Sarah Houghton-Jan on TWIL #39 with Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de GeerThis Week in Libraries: Sarah Houghton-Jan
Sarah Houghton-Jan (on screen), assistant director at San Rafael (Calif.) Public Library, appeared on the April 22 This Week in Libraries show (22:53), sponsored by the Amsterdam Public Library. Erik Boekesteijn (left) and Jaap van de Geer (right) interviewed her via Skype about e-books and library organizational advocacy, HarperCollins, the E-book User’s Bill of Rights, and the petition for library users and readers on Change.org about the HarperCollins controversy....
This Week in Libraries, Apr. 22

Book vases, designed by Laura CahillNon-literary uses for books
Jill Harness writes: “There are still far too many books in this world that are destroyed or contain terrible stories. Even if you like a book, you might end up with a copy you just can’t get rid of because there have already been 10 million copies printed. So if you have extra titles you have no further use for, here are a few ways you can still use them even after the words inside have lost their value.” Some examples are: buildings, home insulation, chairs, light fixtures, ceiling décor, vases (above), a Kindle case, and art canvases....
Neatorama, Apr. 27

New Haven Free Public Library staff, including Director Christopher Korenowsky (center). Photo by Michael MarslandSinging for Yale’s Day of Service, 2011
Ten library staffers at the New Haven (Conn.) Free Public Library, led by City Librarian Christopher Korenowsky (at center of photo), joined Yale University alumni, staff, and students to sing and perform in this video (1:17) promoting Yale’s May 14 community service event. They can be seen in the left arm of the Y in the final sequence. Beneficiaries will include public and school libraries in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; New York City; Kronberg, Germany; and Guatemala. Director Austin Case and lead singer Devon Martinez are both Yale seniors....
YouTube, Apr. 20

Go back to the Top