Contents
American Libraries Online
ALA News
Booklist Online
Dallas Update
Division News
Awards & Grants
Seen Online
Tech Talk
E-Content
Books & Reading
Actions & Answers
New This Week
Calendar

OCLC launches new WorldShare platform
OCLC announced the release of a new platform December 5 that will let its member libraries create, configure, and share a growing number of new services and web-based library applications. The new OCLC WorldShare Platform, a shared technical infrastructure, will serve as the host for OCLC WorldShare Management Services, a significant expansion of the Dublin, Ohio–based nonprofit’s Webscale Management Services that launched July 1 after a year of testing by early adopters. OCLC’s Andrew Pace offers some insight into the new project....
American Libraries news, Dec. 5; Hectic Pace, Dec. 5

On My Mind: RDA, food for a cataloger’s soul
Gabi Kupitz writes: “Like many catalogers, I have been dragged to RDA. But the other day, I had an epiphany. My mind drew a connection between RDA—at least in the way I code the beast (|erda)—and goat cheese. Just bear with me while I explain. I first tasted goat cheese in the 1990s, while I was the guest of some fellow bibliophiles I met at a literary conference held on the campus of Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.”...
American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.

Internet Librarian: What’s in a name?
Joseph Janes writes: “If you haven’t googled the word ‘Santorum,’ now would be a good time—otherwise most of what follows won’t make a lot of sense. Fair warning: What you find won’t be pretty, but it will be instructive. Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s examine this phenomenon. Our lesson today seems to be that you are who everybody thinks you are, or ought to be, which is great if that’s who you think you are too.”...
American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.

ALA members get their FIL in Guadalajara
Michael Dowling writes: “More than 100 ALA members from such diverse institutions as Stanford University and the Passages Academy in New York City, which serves incarcerated youth, found new Spanish-language books and other resources for their collections at the 25th annual Guadalajara (Mexico) Book Fair, held November 24–December 3. The librarians participated thanks to the collaborative ALA-FIL Free Pass Program, now in its 15th year of providing a $100 stipend from ALA as well as free hotel nights through fair organizers.”...
AL: Inside Scoop, Dec. 6

Baldwin to keynote MLK Sunrise Celebration
Lewis V. Baldwin (right), professor of religious studies at Vanderbilt University, will keynote the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sunrise Celebration during the 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas. The celebration will be held January 23. The theme will be “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Honoring a Legacy that Still Inspires” and will bring together leaders from the across the Association. Featured readings will include selections from the works of Dr. King....
Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, Dec. 5

John Green to speak at Freedom to Read Foundation event
Bestselling author John Green (right) will be the featured speaker at the annual Freedom to Read Foundation fundraising event on January 22 at the Dallas Public Library. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and Green’s talk will begin at 7 p.m., followed by a book signing. Green’s books include Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, and An Abundance of Katherines....
Office for Intellectual Freedom, Dec. 6

Midwinter Unconference and first-ever Midwinter Library Camp
Following successful “Unconferences” at past ALA events, another one will take place January 20 at the Midwinter Meeting in Dallas. During the Unconference, librarians share knowledge about the profession and take it back to the outside world. On January 23, there will be a first-ever ALA Midwinter Library Camp, which will allow attendees to join fellow conference-goers to discuss library or Midwinter Meeting–related topics....
ALA Conference Services, Dec. 6

Dine around Dallas
Dine Around Dallas is a group of local hot-spot restaurants that are currently holding reservations for ALA Midwinter attendees. Cost and cuisine varies, allowing for an experience that fits your needs. Sign up for dinner reservations for groups of eight, January 21–22. Participating restaurants include: The Common Table, Sambuca Uptown, Dallas Fish Market, Dallas Chop House, and Wild Salsa Restaurant....
ALA Conference Services, Dec. 7

Library Boing Boing is coming
Jenny Levine writes: “I can no longer contain my happy mutant self—I can finally announce a new ALA member interest group called Library Boing Boing. On the one hand, Library Boing Boing is a collaboration between ALA and the fabulously amazing Boing Boing folks to highlight all of the new things libraries are doing. The most visible result will be regular posts on the Boing Boing website itself. On the other hand, Library Boing Boing: The Group intends to help happy mutants connect with librarians to do good, work together on our shared interests, and make the world better.”...
ALA Marginalia, Dec. 7

How to get that interview
Whether you’re in job-search mode, promotion mode, or opportunity-seeking mode, your goal is the same: Get that interview. Join the ALA JobLIST Placement Center for the third in a series of free online chats to learn what you need to do before the interview, materials you’ll want to take with you, and questions you should be prepared to answer—as well as ask. Facilitated by career coach Caitlin Williams, the December 15 chat is scheduled for 12 noon–1 p.m. Central time. Register here....
Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment, Dec. 6

ALA discussion on Federal Depository Library Program
ALA has created a community within ALA Connect so that ALA members from any interested unit or division can discuss the issues surrounding the Federal Depository Library Program. This is to aid the Association in reaching consensus on the future of the FDLP or, at the very least, having a better understanding of the various perspectives held by members. ALA has also created a webpage for news and information about the FDLP....
ACRL Insider, Dec. 7

Why you should join your state library association
There are many reasons to join your state library association, also known as an ALA Chapter. Besides receiving discounts for attending their annual conferences, your state library association provides networking, mentoring, and all kinds of other opportunities and services! Most importantly, you have the opportunity to contribute to your state association’s efforts to advocate for the library profession and your own state’s libraries....
ALA Membership Blog, Dec. 12

Student-to-staff program
Each annual conference, ALA provides an opportunity for 40 students engaged in ALA Student Chapters to participate in the student-to-staff program. In exchange for working 16 hours for an ALA division or office during the conference, these students receive free registration, free housing, and a per diem for meals so they can attend meetings, programs, and events in their free time. Contact your ALA Student Chapter for its selection criteria....
ALA Student Membership Blog, Dec. 6

AILA selects its Emerging Leader
The American Indian Library Association has selected Shannon Rosenbaum (right), a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and a Circle of Learning MLIS candidate at San José State University, for the 2012 ALA Emerging Leaders program. In Spring 2011 Rosenbaum joined the Circle of Learning, an IMLS grant-funded program designed to recruit and support American Indians and Alaska Natives who are interested in earning an MLIS....
Office for Diversity, Dec. 6

Free webinar introduction to LSSC
LSSC will offer a free hourlong informational webinar December 13 at 2 p.m. Central time. The presentation will explain the value of this certification to library support staff, employers, and library users. Attendees will also have the opportunity to have their questions answered by program staff members....
ALA–Allied Professional Association, Dec. 6

The ALA Library’s sun parlor in Koblenz
Larry Nix writes: “One of my library postcard collecting interests is postcards that ALA produced to promote its Library War Service during the First World War. I was pleased to add a postcard of ALA’s library in Koblenz, Germany (right), to my collection. One of the captions reads, ‘For men off duty, the sun parlor in the American Library at Coblenz furnishes a comfortable place to look over the newspapers from home.’”...
Library History Buff Blog, Dec. 2

How audiobooks support literacy
In Listening to Learn: Audiobooks Supporting Literacy, published by ALA Editions, librarians Sharon Grover and Lizette D. Hannegan show how audiobooks present excellent opportunities to engage the attention of young people while also advancing literacy. Drawing on decades of experience and research, they connect audiobooks with K–12 curricula, demonstrating how the format can support national learning standards and literacy skills and how librarians can harness their library’s audiobook collection and practice effective collection development....
ALA Publishing, Dec. 6

The Southfork Ranch
No visit to Dallas is complete without a tour of the legendary Southfork Ranch near Plano. For 13 years, television sets were tuned into 356 episodes of Dallas, one of the longest-running series in television history. Southfork continues to welcome visitors from around the world, who come to see where Dallas was filmed. Guided tours are available year-round. A new Dallas series is in production and will appear on the TNT network in the summer of 2012. This week, the “cheftestants” on the Bravo series Top Chef: Texas are cooking steaks in the kitchen at Southfork for attendees of the Cattle Baron’s Ball....
Southfork Ranch; YouTube, June 8, 2008; Ultimate Dallas; TNT, Dallas; Bravo, Top Chef: Texas

The Old Red Museum
The Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture is located in the West End section of downtown Dallas in the beautifully restored Old Red Courthouse built in 1892. Dedicated to inspire and educate visitors about the rich and varied cultural, economic, political, and social history of the Dallas County area, the second floor of Old Red is filled with exhibits, 41 touch-screen computers, an educational learning center, and four mini theaters. The museum has on display handcuffs worn by Lee Harvey Oswald, J. R. Ewing’s famous Stetson hat, and Clyde Barrow’s gun....
Old Red Museum

Best food and drink in Dallas
The Dallas Observer compiles an annual list of the best places to eat and drink in town, including both editors’ and readers’ picks. The categories are quite specific and include best soda fountain (Spiral Diner), best sushi (Yutaka Sushi Bistro), best dish name that sounds like a WWE wrestler (The Hammertime at Anvil Pub), best late-night drunk food (Serious Pizza), best place to make a sausage joke (Lockhart Smokehouse)....
Dallas Observer: 2011 Best Of Awards

Room 77 searches for hotel rates
Danielle Belopotosky writes: “For travelers who hop around the web to compare hotel rates or find the best value, there’s a new online tool aiming to be a one-stop shop. In November, Room 77 introduced a new platform that aggregates hotel rates from a variety of online travel sites like Hotels.com, Expedia, Priceline, and Orbitz, and serves up search results in one place. Those results, displayed in list, grid, or map view, can be further filtered by user preference.”...
New York Times: In Transit, Nov. 10

2010 Academic Library Trends and Statistics
ACRL has published 2010 Academic Library Trends and Statistics, the latest in a series of annual publications that describe the collections, staffing, expenditures, and service activities of academic libraries in all Carnegie classifications. The 2010 data show that the median unit cost of monographs (per volume) increased slightly over 2009 for all types of academic libraries, while salary and wages expenditures as a percentage of total library expenditures slightly decreased for doctoral institutions and increased almost 3% for associate degree-granting institutions....
ACRL, Dec. 5

PLA offers discount on training kits
PLA is offering discounts on four digital training kits until December 31. Each kit is 40% off (or 50% off when combined with an ALA member discount). PLA training kits, authored by Sandra Nelson, tackle topics such as stress management, time management (right), customer service, and library advocacy. Designed to guide a half-day to daylong staff training at the library, each kit includes: learning objectives, a detailed agenda, a PowerPoint and companion script, discussion guidelines, an implementation plan, participant handouts, and an evaluation form....
PLA, Dec. 6

AASL partners with STEM challenge
AASL is lending support to the National STEM Video Game Challenge. The challenge, now in its second year, aims to motivate interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) by tapping into students’ natural passion for playing and making video games. The national challenge is now accepting submissions of original video game concepts and designs from students and educators in four categories. Entries will be accepted through March 12....
AASL, Dec. 6

AASL seeks Fall Forum hosts
AASL seeks statements from school districts, universities, education service centers, or others interested in hosting a satellite site of the AASL 2012 Fall Forum. If interested, parties should submit a one-page statement of interest by December 20 to Melissa Jacobsen. A satellite site would simultaneously host and facilitate the institute with the onsite institute. Sites will view a live broadcast of the AASL Fall Forum and communicate via chat with onsite attendees....
AASL, Dec. 6

Help YALSA give books to teens
Planning your end-of-year holiday giving? Consider a donation to YALSA’s Books for Teens program, which raises funds to provide teens in low-income communities access to high-quality, recently published, age-appropriate books. If YALSA can raise $500 during the month of December, a generous benefactor has agreed to donate an additional $500. Make a donation through the Books for Teens’ Causes page, Facebook, or the ALA fundraising page....
YALSA, Dec. 5

Discuss serving older teens
YALSA is focusing on serving older teens in its monthly YA Forum discussion, held for members this month at on its ALA Connect page. Throughout the week, YALSA members are encouraged to check into the forum and ask questions and contribute to the ongoing discussion. The forum will close at 3 p.m. Eastern time on December 9....
YALSA, Dec. 5

Webinar on screencasting tools
RUSA will host a 90-minute webinar December 16 titled “Introduction to Screencasting for Online Tutorials and Reference.” The webinar will cover tools and best practices for creating online videos for training, instruction, or reference. Van Houlson, William Breitbach, and Maribeth Slebodnik will present during this session. The last day to register is December 14....
RUSA, Dec. 6

Thrift Books offers $100 coupon to ALTAFF members
ALTAFF announced that Thrift Books—an online seller of used books—has become one of its corporate sponsors and will offer ALTAFF members who use the service a $100 coupon to Thriftbooks.com. As part of the Thrift Books Library Program, groups receive 50% commissions on books, and no prescreening is required....
ALTAFF, Dec. 6

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Youth Media Awards webcast available for first 10,000 viewers
Approximately 10,000 viewers can join more than 1,300 onsite audience members January 23 at 7:45 a.m. Central time for the announcement of the ALA Youth Media Awards at Midwinter. The awards honor children’s and young adult authors and illustrators, as well as producers of children’s audio and video materials. The number of available connections to the webcast are on a first-come, first-served basis. Members also can view live updates via the ALA Youth Media Awards press kit....
ALA Public Information Office, Dec. 6

Library Interior Design Awards 2012
The Library Interior Design Awards is a biennial competition cosponsored by ALA and the International Interior Design Association. The competition honors the best in library interior design. Award winners demonstrate excellence in aesthetics, design, creativity, function, and satisfaction of the client’s objectives. The competition is managed by LLAMA. The deadline for entries is March 30....
LLAMA

Chillicothe library wins Healthy Workplace Award
The Chillicothe and Ross County (Ohio) Public Library recently received the Psychologically Healthy Workplace award from the Ohio Psychological Association. Leslie Hartley (at center), adult services manager, accepted the award on behalf of the library. The award recognizes the library’s ongoing wellness initiative, which includes a demonstration garden, nutrition and exercise information, participation in charity events such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters Bowl-a-Thon, and several 5K runs....
Chillicothe (Ohio) Gazette, Nov. 30

Bulgarian librarians honor Gates Foundation
The Bulgarian Library and Information Association has presented its annual Support for Libraries Award to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries Initiative for its contribution to the development of public libraries in Bulgaria, in particular for initiating the Glob@l Libraries–Bulgaria program in response to the needs of citizens for equal access to information....
AL: Global Reach, Dec. 5

2011 Bad Sex in Literature Award
American author David Guterson on December 6 joined John Updike, Tom Wolfe, Norman Mailer, and other literary stars as the recipient of the dreaded Bad Sex in Fiction award. Guterson won the 2011 prize for sex scenes in his new novel Ed King, which offers a modern take on the Oedipus myth and sets it in the second half of the 20th century. The UK Literary Review has given out the award each year since 1993....
Associated Press, Dec. 6

Biography of cancer wins Guardian First Book award
An oncologist has won the Guardian First Book award for his “biography” of cancer, The Emperor of All Maladies, which traces the disease from the first recorded mastectomy in 500 BC to today’s cutting-edge research. Siddhartha Mukherjee’s book is a mix of history, memoir, biography, science, and the personal stories of cancer patients. The only nonfiction title on the shortlist, it beat four novels to win the £10,000 ($15,600 US) award. The book also won the 2011 Pulitzer for general nonfiction....
The Guardian (U.K.), Dec. 1

Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Pop ups, pull outs, and other paper wizardry are used to explore the science of the Earth in How the World Works, the winner of the 2011 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, announced December 1. Author Christiane Dorion and illustrator Beverley Young were selected from a shortlist of six books and awarded £10,000 ($15,600 US). The judging panels were comprised of more than 1,000 young people from more than 100 schools and youth groups....
Royal Society, Dec. 1

2011 Ellis Peters award
On November 30, Andrew Martin was announced as the winner of the 2011 Crime Writers’ Association Ellis Peters Historical Award for his book The Somme Stations, a tale of wartime intrigue. He was presented the award and £3,000 ($4,682 US) at a ceremony at the Athenaeum in London. The award is given to the best historical crime novel by an author of any nationality, and commemorates the life and work of Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter) (1913–1995), the creator of the Brother Cadfael character in a series of historical murder mysteries....
Crime Writers’ Association, Nov. 30

The new Digital Divide
Susan P. Crawford writes: “Increasingly, we are a country in which only the urban and suburban well-off have truly high-speed internet access, while the rest—the poor and the working class—either cannot afford access or use restricted wireless access as their only connection to the internet. As our jobs, entertainment, politics, and even health care move online, millions are at risk of being left behind. While we still talk about ‘the’ internet, we increasingly have two separate access marketplaces: high-speed wired and second-class wireless.”...
New York Times: Sunday Review, Dec. 3

University of Alaska slows internet to curb illegal downloading
The groan is almost audible coming from dormitory rooms at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The university is intentionally slowing the speed of internet connections—from 10 megabits per second to 2 megabits—in all on-campus dorm rooms to prevent students from infringing on copyrights when downloading movies, music, and videos. But students are organizing on Facebook to fight the dreaded drag....
Associated Press, Dec. 2

Report calls for greater accessibility for visually impaired students
A US Department of Education report released December 6 updates Congress on the state of accessibility to learning materials for college students with visual impairments such as blindness, and it recommends ways to improve their learning conditions. The Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities published the report following a 14-month study on the issue. The commission found that many students’ needs are still not being met....
Chronicle of Higher Education: Wired Campus, Dec. 6

Parent objects to Stuck in the Middle
A parent is objecting to language, drug, alcohol, and sex references in a book at the Buckfield Junior-Senior High School library in Maine. Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age, by Ariel Schrag, was published in 2007 and has been in the library for a couple of years, according to Regional School Unit 10 Superintendent Tom Ward. A parent of a junior high school student challenged having the book in the library, he said, and will present their case to the school board in public session December 12. The board will decide whether to retain or remove the book at a January meeting....
Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal, Nov. 29

Many public-sector workers are retiring sooner
As states and cities struggle to resolve paralyzing budget shortfalls by sending workers on unpaid furloughs, freezing salaries, and extracting larger contributions for health benefits and pensions, a growing number of public-sector workers are finding fewer reasons to stay. Increasingly, workers fear a permanent shift away from the traditional security of government jobs, and they are making plans to get out now, before salaries and retirement benefits retreat further....
New York Times, Dec. 5

UC–San Diego students reclaim closed library
Students forced open the doors of a shuttered University of California, San Diego library December 5 and rushed inside, vowing to stay around the clock until the end of final exams December 9. University police, who were on hand when students arrived at the library before 7 a.m., were pulled out of the area by administrators keen to avoid the kind of campus confrontations that have occurred recently. The Center for Library and Instructional Computing Services (above) was one of the UCSD libraries closed over the summer in response to steep cuts in state funding....
San Diego (Calif.) Union-Tribune, Dec. 5

Charleston library to restore rare nature titles
The Charleston (S.C.) Library Society announced on December 2 a new effort to catalog and restore nearly 18,000 rare books in its natural history collections. “These books have been in the library’s collection, some of them since the very beginning. The library was founded in 1748,” said Archivist and Librarian Trisha Kometer (right). The library is thought to have about 100,000 volumes, but most are recorded in an old card catalog that may or may not have accurate information. Now, grants and donations are enabling the library to hire archivists to go through its extensive collections in a $70,000 multiyear project....
Associated Press, Dec. 2; WCIV-TV, Charleston, S.C., Dec. 2

Everything must go—from closed law library
Scott D. Yost writes: “It’s not fair to say that area law schools, libraries, historical preservation societies, and other groups interested in North Carolina law and Guilford County history are circling like vultures around the remains of the law library at the Guilford County Courthouse in Greensboro, which recently closed its doors due to funding cuts and other considerations. However, it is fair to say there’s a great deal of interest among those groups as to who ends up with the library’s contents.”...
Greensboro (N.C.) Rhinoceros Times, Dec. 1

Upheaval at New York Public Library
Scott Sherman writes: “Despite austerity measures at New York Public Library since 2008 (the workforce has been reduced by 27% and the acquisitions budget by 26%), NYPL executives are pushing ahead with a $250–$350 million renovation of the 42nd Street Library, the crown jewel of the system. The centerpiece of the Central Library Plan is the construction of a state-of-the-art computer-oriented library within a library. To make space, the seven levels of original stacks beneath the third-floor Rose Reading Room, which hold 3 million books and tens of thousands of adjustable and fixed shelves, will be demolished.”...
The Nation, Nov. 30

Should libraries be in the video business?
Allan Tong has a more particular reason than most for availing himself of DVDs distributed through the Toronto Public Library. The Toronto documentary filmmaker is leaving for Sierra Leone next week to make a film about amputee soccer players. As background, he recently borrowed a copy of Murderball, a 2005 documentary about wheelchair rugby. Vested interest aside, Tong is nonplussed by recent comments from Toronto budget chief Mike Del Grande that the public library system should not be in the business of duplicating services available at video stores....
Toronto Star, Dec. 4

Occupy Bangor moves from library grounds
Occupy Bangor agreed to pull up the stakes in front of Bangor (Maine) Public Library on December 5, as library trustees had requested in late November. Nine members of the group agreed that there was nothing to gain by defying the library’s request to move off its property because of insurance liability issues. Occupy member Lawrence Reichard said the library and Director Barbara McDade, whom he described as “an ardent supporter of the First Amendment,” had been wonderful during the encampment, which began October 27....
Bangor (Maine) Daily News, Dec. 2, 4

Howard University faces lawsuit over library staffer
Five Howard University students filed suit in federal court November 28 alleging that school officials did not do enough to protect them from an employee later convicted of sexual harassment and assault. The students, all women, say that George Bright-Abu, their work-study supervisor at Founders Library, verbally and physically assaulted them from September 2010 to April 2011. The suit alleges that even though students complained about the conduct, nothing was done until D.C. police were notified....
Washington Post: TheRootDC, Dec. 2

Axe-wielding men rob small English library
Four men wearing ski masks and wielding wielding an axe and a crowbar raided a post office inside the Bar Hill Library near Cambridge, UK, on December 5, attacking a librarian and a postal worker. Subpostmaster Haresh Parek said the men came into the building, attacked the postal worker, and demanded cash. The men threatened the librarian and knocked her to the floor, then jumped over the counter and stole an unspecified amount of money before making their escape....
Cambridge (U.K.) News, Dec. 7

Burned high school library reopens after five years
San Lorenzo Valley High School in Felton, California, unveiled its new $7.3-million library December 5. The high school’s library was destroyed by an arson fire lit by students on September 16, 2006. The new library is inside a 13,500-square-foot building designed by Beverly Prior Architects of San Francisco. It’s equipped with 100 new computers and 23,000 books, and is a vast improvement from the old, cramped library....
KSBW-TV, Salinas, Calif., Dec. 5

Welsh library criticized for accepting Nazi collaborator’s money
The Welsh government is leading the attack on its national library for taking £300,000 ($468,673 US) along with papers and tapes left to it by Louis Feutren (right). Feutren was a member of the Breton movement Bezen Perrot, which worked with the Nazis during the occupation of France in World War II. After the war he fled and traveled through Wales before settling in Ireland. Feutren died in 2010 and left money and other material to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. After researching his activities, the library’s board decided to accept the bequest despite concerns about the benefactor’s past....
Guardian, Dec. 2

Library relocates Nazi archive to new premises
The Wiener Library, the world’s oldest Holocaust archive, recently moved into a new home in London’s Russell Square and reopened on December 1. As well as archiving documents from Jewish victims of repression, the museum holds examples of how the Nazis used board games and books (above) to indoctrinate Germany’s youth with anti-Semitic values....
BBC News, Nov. 30

Retired school librarian wins sports car
A retired librarian from Sparta Township, New Jersey, won a sleek black convertible sportscar, a 2011 Infiniti G37 with a list price of $53,900, through a raffle at St. Clare’s Health System. Ellen Mayne, who started out as a librarian at Harvard University’s Widener Library, then became a school librarian and ultimately retired from the Englewood (N.J.) Public School District....
Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record, Dec. 5

Metairie branch to reopen
On December 27, the Lakeshore branch of the Jefferson Parish (La.) Library will have a new building in Metairie, reopening a branch that had been squeezed into a trailer since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But when patrons stop by, their experience will be a bit different. Drawing on the example of chain bookstores, the library will display its 28,000 books, digital video discs, and reference materials face-out to catch the eyes of readers, Library Director Lon Dickerson said. And books will be arranged in a system similar to the BISAC Subject Headings used by booksellers, using general categories such as travel or history....
New Orleans Times-Picayune, Dec. 4

British library group sticks with academic publishers
Research Libraries UK, a major British library group, announced December 1 that it has struck new deals with Elsevier and Wiley-Blackwell, two of the largest publishers of academic journals. RLUK had threatened to discontinue so-called Big Deal subscription arrangements with the publishers because of what it called unsustainable price increases. US libraries have also been reexamining whether Big Deals are worth the cost. RLUK offered few details about the new deals but estimated they will save UK institutions more than £20 million ($31.2 million US)....
Chronicle of Higher Education: Wired Campus, Dec. 1

Israeli National Library puts collection online
The National Library of Israel has launched a website offering public access to a huge collection of materials, including books, periodicals, maps, photos, and musical selections from the library collection. The website, which took two years to develop, is the most comprehensive content-based website in Israel. One section of the site provides access to the personal archives of former Israeli leaders as well as public figures such as the writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon and the philosopher Martin Buber....
Haaretz (Tel Aviv), Dec. 4

Japan returns ancient books to Korea
Some 1,200 books looted by Japan during the colonial era were returned to Korea on December 6. Korean Vice Foreign Minister Park Suk-hwan and the Japanese ambassador to Seoul, Masatoshi Muto, held a simple ceremony at the airport to mark the return of the books. The ancient books include Uigwe, or royal protocols of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897)....
Korea Herald (Seoul), Dec. 5

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The eyes of the publishing world will tune in at 7:45 a.m. Central Time on January 23 when ALA announces the winners of the Youth Media Awards as part of its Midwinter Meeting, January 20–24. ALA will host a live webcast from the Dallas Convention Center. Virtual seating will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

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Academic libraries on Facebook
Michalis Gerolimos examines users’ comments on the Facebook pages of 20 American academic libraries to determine the extent of user commenting and participation. The most significant findings are that approximately 91% of the posts do not include any comments, over 82% of user participation is expressed via the “Like” functionality and most comments on academic libraries’ Facebook pages are not uploaded by faculty and students but rather by library staff, employees affiliated with the same institution as the library, and alumni....
D-Lib Magazine 17, no. 11/12 (Nov./Dec.)

12 things you didn’t know Facebook could do
Facing constant threat from competitors, Facebook has been adding features to make it more useful and convenient. As the number of features grows, though, so does a corresponding problem: Most of Facebook’s 750 million users don’t know these features exist. A few minutes of exploration can uncover functions that make Facebook not just an addiction but a pleasure to use....
New York Times, Nov. 30

Occupy periodicals
Karen Gisonny writes: “New York Public Library’s alternative press collection covers a broad range of content from the 20th century and comes in many formats, including chapbooks, underground newspapers, little magazines, political broadsides, newsletters, periodicals, and zines. This collecting tradition remains alive today; I recently made several field trips to Zuccotti Park to get copies of the recent flourish of publications generated by the Occupy Wall Street movement.”...
New York Public Library Blogs, Dec. 6

How to make your scholarly resources more accessible to undergrads
Adriana Parker writes: “Research tells us that the open web is the go-to scholarly resource for undergraduates seeking information. Commercial search engines round off the list of online resources that undergraduates use when seeking information, whether it’s for course-related research or personal research. So, what does that mean for us—the librarians, publishers, and vendors—who are in the business of promoting scholarly resources? Here are some ideas that are worth considering.”...
Against the Grain 23, no. 5 (Nov.): 88–89

BiblioBouts: The information literacy game
Karen Markey, Christopher Leeder, and Amy R. Hofer write: “IMLS has enabled a University of Michigan research team to design, develop, deploy, and evaluate the BiblioBouts online social game. BiblioBouts is an online tournament made up of a series of bouts, each of which introduces students to a specific subset of information literacy skills within the overall research process. Instructors use the game’s setup interface to schedule the game’s starting and ending dates for its four bouts, set caps and quotas, and invite their students to the game.”...
College and Research Libraries News 72, no. 11 (Dec.): 632+

Library science ranks #4 in highest unemployment
According to a Wall Street Journal post, “Choosing the right college major can make a big difference in students’ career prospects, in terms of employment and pay. Here’s a look at how various college majors fare in the job market, based on 2010 Census data.” WSJ gleaned the study data from a report by Georgetown University called “What’s It Worth?” When you select the unemployment percentage category—from highest to lowest—the library science major ranks #4, at 15%....
21st Century Library Blog, Dec. 2; Wall Street Journal; Center on Education and the Workforce

Why SnapTags are replacing QR codes
Jeff Hayzlett writes: “Glamour magazine posted a SnapTag alongside a sequined Rihanna on its September cover. Users accessed the code either by scanning it with a proprietary SnapTag app, or by snapping a pic and sending it to the number printed in the image. The resulting response included more than 500,000 interactions. SnapTags are 2-D barcodes that include a brand’s logo (or a Facebook logo) in a notched circle design. Contrasted with the familiar QR code, the result seems minimalist and polished. But it’s not just a new design. The interactivity and analytics are updated, as well.”...
iMediaConnection, Nov. 28

Neutrality and research help
Wayne Bivens-Tatum writes: “A blog post in Letters to a Young Librarian proposes ways to handle questions where students are ‘looking for sources to support a position for which there is a lack of academic support.’ It’s not necessarily what I would do myself, but reference is an art, not a science. However, a couple of statements in the post have been nagging at me since I first read them, possibly because, as happens often enough, they sound like solid librarian orthodoxy and I completely disagree with them. Let’s take them in turn.”...
Academic Librarian, Dec. 5; Letters to a Young Librarian, Nov. 28

Tips for using Glogster
Heather Moorefield-Lang and Deb Logan write: “Glogster is a great collaboration tool. For teacher librarians it allows us to further position ourselves as the tech leaders of not only our schools but also of our districts. The site is exciting and hip and the students love it. The best way to use Glogster is to start with good solid research techniques (as librarians always should), expand into the multimedia, and then focus on the intellectual property that will be used from other areas. Glogster allows students to work individually or in groups.”...
AASL Blog, Nov. 30

Single-purpose websites that do exactly what they say they do
Whitson Gordon writes: “Kids these days have the most convoluted website names. Facebook? Twitter? eBay? I’m sorry, but I like my coffee black and my websites self-explanatory. Here’s a handful of actually useful websites that do exactly what they sound like.”...
Lifehacker, Nov. 18

Kids climb their family trees @ the library
Joan Miller writes: “I had great fun this weekend coordinating a kids’ program for 8–10 year olds at the Calgary (Alberta) Public Library titled ‘Build a Family Tree Booklet.’ This program was run under the auspices of the Alberta Family Histories Society. The library provided the room at one of its branches and a selection of books appropriate to the age group and activity. It also handled advertising and took registrations.”...
Luxegen Genealogy and Family History, Nov. 28

Treating the Jefferson Bible
In a fifth blog post in a series about the Jefferson Bible conservation project, Laura Bedford and Emily Rainwater write: “After careful analysis, it was determined that the most significant damage to the Jefferson Bible was being caused by the original binding. Authorization was granted to temporarily separate the pages so they could be repaired and the binding modified. The book was disassembled into individual folios, and even though the folios were opened flat, the crease at the center remained hidden beneath long narrow paper stubs that the original bookbinder, Frederick Mayo, had glued to the inside of every page.”...
O Say Can You See?, Dec. 1

Work/life balance in library school
Laura Sanders writes: “I came to library school after several years in the work force, in a position that I adored but that also demanded my every waking moment. After three years of 70-hour workweeks and a personal life that was in complete limbo, I finally admitted that my lifestyle was not sustainable. When I started at library school in the fall, I wondered what changes I could make that would allow me to downshift. I still wanted to work hard, but I also wanted to enjoy my life. So I decided to be systematic about how I spent my time.”...
Hack Library School, Dec. 5

Courses I wish they had offered in library school
Andy Burkhardt writes: “I’ve been a librarian now for about three and a half years. I learned a lot while at SLIS at UW-Madison, and there were some awesome professors there. Looking back, I wish that there were a few more skills that I could have acquired in library school. If they had offered these courses, I definitely would have taken them and likely would have been even better prepared for a career in today’s libraries.”...
Information Tyrannosaur, Dec. 6

Baltimore school library project launches
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation on December 5 celebrated the launch of a multimillion-dollar, multiyear Baltimore elementary and middle school library project. The initiative, involving more than 15 community and government partners, will work with Baltimore City Public Schools to design, build, equip, and staff new or renovated libraries in selected schools. Each library will feature (PDF file) new equipment, reading materials, and furniture including e-readers (Nooks), a bank of computers, and a parenting corner....
Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Dec. 5

Beall’s 2012 list of predatory, open-access publishers
Jeffrey Beall writes: “Predatory, open-access publishers are those who exploit the author-pays model of open-access publishing for their own profit. Typically, these publishers spam professional email lists, broadly soliciting article submissions for the clear purpose of gaining additional income. Operating essentially as vanity presses, they typically have a low article-acceptance threshold, with a false-front or nonexistent peer review process.”...
Metadata, Dec. 1

Wake Forest library turns old books into holiday decorations
Wake Forest University’s Professional Center Library decided to turn several old books they no longer needed into decorations for the holidays. The books were used to make a more than five-foot-tall Christmas tree as well as some furniture. The library staff hopes the displays will encourage students to think creatively about recycling. Watch the video (1:00)....
WGHP-TV, Winston-Salem, N.C., Dec. 1

Tasks for burned-out librarians
Will Manley writes: “There is a ton of stress in our libraries with all the budget cutting and understaffing going on. As much as our librarian survivors think they can hang on and do the work of three people, burnout is a reality. The smart director knows it’s important to pull burned-out librarians from their regular posts and give them different duties for a week or two just to mitigate the stress. Here are some suggestions.”...
Will Unwound, Dec. 2

Banned Books video calendar
The Entresse Library in Espoo, Finland, and FAIFE (IFLA’s Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression) have together created the world’s first Banned Books video calendar. Following the tradition of the Advent calendar, each day from December 1 to December 24 a new window will open and a new book will be presented on several sites throughout the world. The purpose of the project is to promote public debate. Viewers can have their say on whether the books were banned for a sensible reason....
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Dec. 1

University library enlists collaborative cheerleaders (satire)
When Sam Spivender, CEO of Temporarium University Library, noticed that no students collaborated in the new $10 million Collaborative Learning Center, he did what any rational library CEO would do: He hired 20 collaborative cheerleaders, one for each collaborative pod, at a rate of $1,500 per cheerleader per day. On the first day of the initiative, the 20 cheerleaders began with a rousing: “Two-four-six-eight! Time to—collaborate!”...
The Cronk of Higher Education, Nov. 30

Library gang sign
Tiffany Whitehead (right) demonstrates how to signal your status within the Library Geek Tribe using gang signs. It began at the AASL National Conference in October. First, you need to wear a hoodie in your signature color, and sunglasses. Then comes your “serious face.” Watch this tutorial (2:51) for more details....
YouTube, Dec. 6

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