New ADA signage standards
Liz Humrickhouse writes: “On March 15, updates to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 went into effect. The new standards—known as the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design—focus specifically on creating wayfinding signage for the visually impaired. The good news is that libraries are already doing well in compliance from a technology standpoint. The better news is that these new standards offer more guidance in making traditional wayfinding signage more patron-friendly.”...
American Libraries feature

Think digitization during Preservation Week
Julie A. Mosbo writes: “April 22–28 marks the third annual Preservation Week—an event sponsored by ALCTS that’s dedicated to educating the public about caring for personal treasures, and is intended to heighten interest in preservation among library, archives, and museum staff. For libraries and archives, digitizing materials has become a key concern, especially as more and more patrons and users go online to research information. But several factors must be considered.”...
American Libraries news, Apr. 25

Youth Matters: Make room for homeschoolers
Abby Johnson writes: “Did you know there are an estimated 2 million home-educated children in the United States? And that number is increasing by 2%–8% each year. In Floyd County, Indiana—where I work—there is a substantial homeschooling population, and many of them visit the library regularly. I knew I wanted to provide programming for the homeschooling community, but how to start?”...
American Libraries column, May/June

Building the Digital Public Library
Laurie Borman writes: “There are no bricks, architect, or blueprint for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). But as John G. Palfrey Jr. (right), faculty codirector of Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, said April 18 at the ACRL Spring Virtual Institute, the DPLA has built a strong foundation through a growing and vibrant community. The project, hatched in October 2010 by the Berkman Center, hopes to create a free, open, large-scale digital public library, with a launch by April 2013.”...
AL: E-Content, Apr. 19

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Why you should go to ALA Annual
Making the case for time off and support for travel and expenses to attend a conference requires a solid understanding of the potential benefits to the workplace, to both supervisors and your colleagues. A new resource—“Making Your Case for Attending”—will help you communicate the many ways that conference attendance can pay big dividends. “In the Words of Your Colleagues” offers dozens of testimonials from the 2011 ALA Annual Conference postconference survey that show how attendees feel they benefited....
Conference Services, Apr. 23

An inspiring range of options
Innovation, thought leaders, and technology are keys to transformation, and the 2012 ALA Annual Conference delivers on all those fronts. Energizing and transformative conversations, programs, preconferences, discussion groups, and high-profile speakers are lined up to spark creativity and foster ideas. Full listings of related events, as well as details about the highlights below, are on the ALA Annual Conference website....
Conference Services, Apr. 23

Why preserving history matters
Steve Berry writes: “More than 4.8 billion artifacts are held in public trust by more than 30,000 archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, scientific research collections, and archaeological repositories in the United States, but lack of funding places a third of these items at risk of being lost. This is why my wife, Elizabeth, and I started our foundation, History Matters, and why I am so proud to be the first national spokesman of the ALA’s Preservation Week, April 22–28.” Consult the Preservation Week event map....
Huffington Post, Apr. 23; ALCTS

Legislative Day attendees seek funding
More than 350 librarians and library supporters from across the country converged in Washington, D.C., April 23–24 to meet with members of Congress to discuss key library issues during the ALA’s 38th annual National Library Legislative Day (NLLD). The event focused on supporting federal funding for the nation’s libraries. This year, ALA included a virtual advocacy component for library supporters who could not attend the Washington meetings—advocates worked remotely to connect with legislators via phone calls, emails, and social media platforms....
Washington Office, Apr. 24

One state’s experience at NLLD
Jazzy Wright writes: “Concern over federal and state budget cuts to library programs motivated Georgia State Librarian Lamar Veatch (on right) to make his 15th annual trip to Washington, D.C., for National Library Legislative Day (NLLD). In fact, Veatch asserts, coming to D.C. is a big part of his commitment to librarianship. ‘My job is to represent libraries, and it’s a part of my professional responsibilities to do this,’ Veatch said. ‘If I’m in Washington, I might make a difference. And, truthfully, it’s fun.’”...
American Libraries news, Apr. 25

ALA election closes April 27
The 2012 ALA election will close at 11:59 p.m. Central time on April 27. If you have not yet cast your vote, please do so. If you have “parked” your ballot (started but not yet completed), please return to complete the process....
Office of ALA Governance, Apr. 20

World Book Night: A report from the field
Judith Rosen writes: “World Book Night, April 23: In principle, what could be simpler than handing out a free book, no strings attached. Just read, enjoy, and pass to a friend. In reality, not so much. It took me 50 minutes to hand out 20 copies of Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried to commuters in Central Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, as they wended their way home from work. Maybe I should have taken the morning’s pouring rain as an omen.” The Washington Post has more World Book Night anecdotes....
Publishers Weekly: PWxyz, Apr. 24; Washington Post, Apr. 24

Choose Privacy Week resources
May 1–7 is Choose Privacy Week, ALA’s campaign to educate the public on how to protect their privacy and understand their rights. The keynote event of the week will be the May 3 premiere on privacyrevolution.org of a new documentary on privacy, government surveillance, and civil liberties that libraries can share with their communities. Other resources include: A video podcast (2:19) from Office for Intellectual Freedom Executive Director Barbara Jones (above) highlighting the importance of privacy rights in the digital age; online presentations from Michael German, George Christian, and Amie Stepanovich that explore the growing impact of surveillance on civil liberties that will be released April 25–27; and posts from five guest bloggers during Choose Privacy Week....
Office for Intellectual Freedom, Apr. 24; YouTube, Apr. 24

Jamal Joseph to address JCLC
Author, director, and activist Jamal Joseph (right) will be the closing general session speaker at the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color September 19–23 in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1970, Joseph exhorted students at Columbia University to burn the college to the ground. Today, he is an associate professor at Columbia’s School of the Arts film division. His personal odyssey, from the streets of Harlem to Rikers Island, Leavenworth, and Columbia, is detailed in his book Panther Baby: A Life of Rebellion and Reinvention....
Office for Diversity, Apr. 24

The power of storytelling in your job search
How many times have you heard the words, “Tell me about yourself”? Did you know that this interview question is a fantastic opportunity for you to distinguish yourself from other candidates? Join the ALA JobLIST Placement Center for the next in a series of online chats on April 26 to discuss how you can make these opportunities work for you....
Human Resource Development and Recruitment, Apr. 19

New ALA Google Policy Fellow
Derek Attig (right), a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will serve as ALA’s 2012 Google Policy Fellow. Attig will spend 10 weeks this summer at the ALA office in Washington, D.C., working on technology and internet policy issues. As a Google Policy Fellow, Attig’s work will involve the future of libraries and the examination of new models for the physical infrastructure of libraries....
Office for Information Technology Policy, Apr. 20

Students can join ALA for one low price
ALA offers three categories of joint memberships: Joint Student Membership, Joint Library Support Staff Membership, and Joint Trustee Membership. You can join online via ALA’s secure database. If you prefer to pay by check or money order, you may also complete and mail in a paper form. Twenty chapters (state library associations) are allowing students to join them and ALA for one low price of $35, from now through August 31....
ALA Student Membership Blog, Apr. 18

New joint membership program for trustees
ALA and ALTAFF have announced a new Joint Trustee Membership program with ALA chapters. Trustees new to ALA and the chapter can join three great organizations for only $100, a 30% discount. Five ALA chapters have already signed up to participate. To make signing up easier, ALA has created new online forms for all joint memberships....
ALA Membership Blog, Apr. 18

Protecting intellectual freedom
Published by ALA Editions, Protecting Intellectual Freedom in Your Public Library by June Pinnell-Stephens offers reliable how-to guidance for public librarians and paraprofessionals when confronted with challenges like censorship and policy disputes. A valuable resource chock-full of case studies, real-life examples, and hypothetical scenarios, this book provides practical advice on how to effectively handle intellectual freedom challenges....
ALA Editions, Apr. 20

Herbert Putnam and ALA’s Library War Service
Larry Nix writes: “The United States declared war on Germany and entered World War I on April 6, 1917. In the same month, Librarian of Congress Herbert Putnam (right) initiated events that led to the creation of the ALA’s Library War Service, one of the Association’s most ambitious and successful undertakings. Putnam presented his idea of furnishing books to the American army in a meeting with Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, who responded positively to the idea.”...
Library History Buff Blog, Apr. 24

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Surviving Anaheim
The countdown is on: Only two months until the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. Have you registered yet? Remember to take advantage of Early Bird registration until May 13. YALSA’s Conference Marketing and Local Arrangements Committee has shared practical tips on how to make the most of your ALA experience and many reasons to come to Anaheim. Now that the big event is approaching, here is a refresher....
YALSA Blog, Apr. 24

Visiting Disneyland in just one day
Wayne Toigo writes: “Recently our team discussed how to tour the Disneyland Resort if you had just one day to visit—either as an experienced visitor or if you were making your first visit to Disneyland. What would you do? How would you spend your day? Here is my version of the One Day at Disneyland plan. I recommend it for the first-time Disneyland visitor, or the experienced visitor who only has one day to spend at the Disneyland Resort.”...
DIS Unplugged Disney Blog, Mar. 18

Disneyland apps
Ian Hamilton writes: “In February, Disney released its official free Mobile Magic app for iPhone, providing wait times and other important information for visits to the park straight from the company. But unofficial Disneyland apps—including MouseWait—have long filled the void left by Disney on the iPhone. The Mobile Magic app has been available on Android for a while. So what app should you take into the park the next time you visit?”...
Orange County (Calif.) Register: Around Disney, Feb. 24, Mar. 8

How Doritos were born at Disneyland
Gustavo Arellano writes: “Just months after Disneyland opened in 1955, Frito-Lay founder Elmer Doolin convinced Walt Disney to let him open Casa de Fritos, a Mexican restaurant, in Frontierland. The food was straightforward Tex-Mex and it exceeded all expectations, swarmed by tourists who sought to taste Mexican cuisine for the first time. One day in the early 1960s, a route salesman for local Frito-Lay contractor Alex Foods saw discarded tortillas and told the cook to make them into tortilla chips instead of just tossing them in the trash. Doritos debuted in 1966.” Watch this video compilation (2:05) of Casa de Fritos ads and promotional materials....
Orange County (Calif.) Register, Apr. 5; YouTube, June 9, 2011

ADA rules on hotel room accessibility
Critics of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act have said the legislation was vague and some issues could be resolved only by litigation. The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design provide a level of detail that the original law did not, covering some of the issues in making a hotel reservation. Until the 2010 standards became effective on March 15 of this year, the responsibility of a hotel to provide and guarantee reservations was somewhat clouded. The current requirement, when someone books a specific type of room, is that the room be “hard blocked” and available at check-in....
Los Angeles Times, Apr. 15

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“The Laugh’s on Us” at ALA Annual Conference
ALTAFF will host “The Laugh’s on Us,” sponsored by Playaway, on June 24 at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. Lizz Winstead (right), cocreator and former head writer of The Daily Show, will join comedian and ALTAFF spokesperson Paula Poundstone for the event, which will also feature Carlos Kotkin, Tracy McMillan, Julia Pandl, and Joel Stein. Purchase tickets early to this event, which is always a sell-out....
ALTAFF, Apr. 23

ACRL announces conference keynoters
Education reform crusader Geoffrey Canada (right), punk icon and spoken word artist Henry Rollins, and Emmy award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa will present keynote speeches at the ACRL 2013 conference in Indianapolis April 10–13. Proposals for contributed papers, panel sessions, workshops, and preconferences are due May 13. Registration for the conference will open in May....
ACRL, Apr. 24

ACRL has four new discussion groups
ACRL has established four new discussion groups, which were approved by the ACRL Board of Directors during the 2011–2012 fiscal year: The Digital Humanities Discussion Group, the International Perspectives on Academic and Research Libraries Discussion Group, the Leadership Discussion Group, and the Student Retention Discussion Group....
ACRL, Apr. 20

LRTS now available online
ALCTS has launched eLRTS, a new website and electronic archive for Library Resources and Technical Services, the ALCTS journal. The site includes more than 17 years’ worth of LRTS issues in a fully searchable archive, HTML (2007 to present) and PDF (1996 to present) versions, the ability to purchase individual articles, unlimited simultaneous access for subscribing institutions, and personalization tools. Subscribe online....
ALCTS, Apr. 24

YALSA seeks book groups for Teens’ Top Ten nominations
YALSA is now accepting applications from young adult book discussion groups that want to be a part of the Teens’ Top Ten project. The 15 selected groups will receive galleys of recent titles to evaluate, and at the end of the year they will vote to determine 25 nominees for the Teens’ Top Ten poll. Each group will serve a two-year term beginning in January 2013. Applications (Word file) must be submitted electronically by an advisor who is a current YALSA member by August 1....
YALSA, Apr. 24

Webinar on teen reading
Summer reading is right around the corner, and this webinar will offer a crash course in the books you need to know to lure teens into the library this summer. Join Shauna Yusko, teacher-librarian at Evergreen Junior High in Redmond, Washington, for “Book Blitz! 45 Must-Know YA Titles in 60 Minutes” on May 17. Register online....
YALSA, Apr. 20

YALSA program proposals
YALSA will accept proposals for its programs for the 2013 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, June 27–July 2. Proposals may be submitted through May 31. Individuals may submit multiple proposals, although no individual will be chosen to present or copresent more than one program....
YALSA, Apr. 19

YALSA launches sponsorship program
YALSA has created a new sponsorship program that will provide a simple way for vendors and others to connect with the division’s more than 5,000 members. Sponsorship opportunities include YALSA events at Annual, Midwinter, and the Young Adult Literature Symposium....
YALSA, Apr. 24

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2012 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award
Eight libraries were selected from 108 submissions as winners of the 2012 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award. Winners included Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library’s rebranding in preparation for the reopening of the main downtown library that had been devastated in a 2008 flood; Contra Costa (Calif.) Public Library’s QR code-based “Snap & Go” campaign; and the Emily Jones Pointer Library in Como, Mississippi, which enlisted teens to record life stories of local residents (above) for visiting tourists on the Mississippi Blues Trail....
LLAMA, Apr. 24

Sen. Jack Reed receives Crystal Apple award
AASL President Carl Harvey presented the 2012 Crystal Apple, which recognizes an individual or group for a significant impact on school library programs and students, to Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) at a ceremony (right) in conjunction with National Library Legislative Day April 23. Reed has advocated in the Senate for the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act and funding for the Library Services and Technology Act. He was also recognized with an Honorary Membership, ALA’s highest honor....
AASL, Apr. 24; ALA Washington Office, Apr. 24

WHCLIST Award to Kentucky advocate
Louis “Buzz” Carmichael, trustee of Lexington (Ky.) Public Library for four years, received the White House Conference on Library and Information Services Taskforce Award April 24 as part of National Library Legislative Day in Washington, D.C. WHCLIST recognizes a nonlibrarian advocate for libraries and provides the winner a stipend to travel to National Library Legislative Day....
ALA Washington Office, Apr. 24

H. W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant
ALA has chosen the Virginia Beach (Va.) Public Library as the winner of the 2012 H. W. Wilson Staff Development Grant, for its innovative concept of a hands-on staff training program titled “Petting Zoo.” This annual award of $3,500 is given to a library organization whose application demonstrates the greatest merit for a program in furthering its staff development goals and objectives. The library plans to purchase a variety of digital devices to create a “Petting Zoo” to provide hands-on training for staff....
Office of ALA Governance, Apr. 23

RUSA RSS Service Achievement Award
Lisa R. Horowitz (right), assessment librarian for administrative services and user experience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries in Cambridge, is the 2012 winner of the RUSA Reference Services Section Service Achievement Award. The award recognizes Horowitz’s sustained contributions to RSS since its founding....
RUSA, Apr. 24

2012 AASL Distinguished Service Award
Sharon Coatney (right), senior acquisitions editor for Libraries Unlimited, is the 2012 recipient of the AASL Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding national contribution to school librarianship and school library development. Dedicated to the profession, Coatney has been described as “influential in providing a model of what a school library should be.”...
AASL, Apr. 23

2012 AASL Collaborative School Library Award
The “EDSET Research Poster Session and Podcast Project” team from Albany (Calif.) High School has won the 2012 AASL Collaborative School Library Award. The team—consisting of school librarian Sara Oremland, environmental science teacher Darren McNally, history teacher Corinne Berletti, and English teacher Jessica Park—works with junior and senior high school students participating in the school’s Environmental Design, Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (EDSET) academy....
AASL, Apr. 23

Pacific Glory wins Boyd Award
Pacific Glory by P. T. Deutermann (St. Martin’s) is the winner of the 2012 W. Y. Boyd Literary Award. The $5,000 award, donated by author W. Y. Boyd II, honors the best fiction set in a period when the United States was at war, and will be presented at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. Pacific Glory depicts naval action in the Pacific during World War II from Guadalcanal to Leyte Gulf....
Office of ALA Governance, Apr. 24

2012 AASL Innovative Reading Grant
Kristine Klopp’s project, “Square Off for Reading!” is the 2012 recipient of the AASL Innovative Reading Grant. Sponsored by Capstone, this grant of $2,500 supports the planning and implementation of a unique and innovative program for children that motivates and encourages reading, especially with struggling readers. The project will pair Klopp (right), librarian at Lindbergh Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin, with the school’s educational specialist to provide a fun and challenging summer reading program....
AASL, Apr. 23

2012 BRASS Student Travel Award
Ilana Barnes (right), circulation supervisor and reference assistant at the University of Michigan Kresge Business Administration Library and a student at the University of Michigan’s School of Information, is the 2012 recipient of the Gale Cengage Learning Student Travel Award, a travel grant given annually by the RUSA Business Reference and Services Section....
RUSA, Apr. 23

Internet Hall of Fame established
To mark its 20th anniversary, the Internet Society (with offices in Geneva and Reston, Virginia) has established an Internet Hall of Fame to identify, recognize, and celebrate individuals who have fueled the development of the internet and used it to transform the lives of people throughout the world. The 33 inductees in 2012 are from nine countries and include Tim Berners-Lee, Brewster Kahle, Vint Cerf, Craig Newmark, and Al Gore....
Internet Society, Apr. 23

Bookmobile gets Fueling Good award
The Friends group of the Columbia County (Pa.) Traveling Library (right) has been named a 2012 Winter Fueling Good winner by CITGO, an award that consists of $5,000 in CITGO gift cards. The prize is intended to boost the bookmobile’s travel budget after record flooding in 2011 severely damaged the library’s headquarters, which sustained $70,000 in uninsured losses. Registration for the next Fueling Good program will open for all 501(c)(3) nonprofits within the CITGO marketing area on September 4....
CITGO, Apr. 24

2012 Irma Black Award
Thousands of children have discussed, considered, and voted, and the 2012 winner of the Irma Black Award is What Animals Really Like (Abrams, 2011), written and illustrated by Fiona Robinson. Each year, the Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature is presented to an outstanding book for young children in which text and illustrations are inseparable. This year, more than 9,000 children internationally read or heard aloud all four finalists....
EarlyWord: The Publisher | Librarian Connection, Apr. 22

2011 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes
The 2011 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were presented April 20 in a ceremony in the Bovard Auditorium on the University of Southern California campus. The winner in the Fiction category was Alex Shakar’s Luminarium (SoHo Press), and the winner in the History category was Richard White’s Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America (W. W. Norton)....
Los Angeles Times Book Prizes

2012 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
The Poetry Foundation has awarded poet W. S. Di Piero (right) its 2012 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. Presented annually to a living US poet whose lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition, the prize is one of the most prestigious awards given to American poets. At $100,000, it is also one of the nation’s largest literary prizes. Di Piero has authored 10 books of poetry, including, most recently in 2011, Nitro Nights, as well as five essay collections....
Poetry Foundation, Apr. 17

2012 ASJA Writing Awards
The American Society of Journalists and Authors announced the recipients of its 2012 writing awards, honoring outstanding nonfiction produced on a freelance basis during the past year. The awards will be presented April 26 during the 41st annual ASJA Writers Conference in New York City. The winner in General Nonfiction was Running Away to Home by Jennifer Wilson (St. Martin’s)....
American Society of Journalists and Authors, Apr. 10

Children’s Choice Book Awards voting closes May 3
The Children’s Choice Book Awards is the only national book awards program where the winning titles are selected by children and teens. Launched in 2008 by the Children’s Book Council and Every Child A Reader (the CBC Foundation), the program was created to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them. Teachers and librarians can vote on behalf of their students here through May 3....
Children’s Choice Book Awards

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Harvard criticizes high-priced journals, pushes open access
In an April 17 memo to all faculty members, the Harvard Faculty Advisory Council noted that “large journal publishers have made the scholarly communication environment fiscally unsustainable and academically restrictive. This situation is exacerbated by efforts of certain publishers to acquire, bundle, and increase the pricing on journals.” It asked all faculty members to make their research publicly available in open access journals. It advised the library to sign contracts that unbundle subscriptions and concentrate on higher-use journals, move journals to a pay-per-use system, and insist on subscription contracts in which the terms can be made public. See SPARC’s guide for other open access actions....
Harvard University, Apr. 17; Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition

Anthony Marx answers questions about NYPL changes
When the New York Public Library announced plans in 2008 to renovate its Fifth Avenue main building, the project sounded glamorous and exciting: For the first time, the landmark would become a circulating as well as a research library. Scholars, writers, and the general public have raised serious questions about the changes. NYPL President Anthony Marx agreed to answer a few of them....
New York Times, Apr. 20–21

The Queens Library: An endangered jewel
In what has become an annual struggle, New York’s executive budget for 2013 proposes a 31% cut in public funding of libraries citywide. For the Queens system, which operates independently from the New York and Brooklyn Public Libraries, such a cut would likely mean closing 18 branches while 30 others would be shuttered most of the week. Or so warns Thomas Galante, the library’s president, who hopes that in May the city council will have second thoughts—as it did last year, when it restored $23 million in budget cuts....
New York Daily News, Apr. 20

Dirty Cowboy too much for Pennsylvania school district
The Annville-Cleona (Pa.) School District board voted April 19 to remove the children’s book The Dirty Cowboy from elementary-school library shelves because of its illustrative content, involving a cartoon cowboy taking his annual bath. The book was written by Amy Timberlake and illustrated by Adam Rex. After a parent’s complaint, the school board voted unanimously, with one absence, to pull the book. Timberlake described the action as “ridiculous.”...
Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News, Apr. 20

UK parents complain about books too
While Americans are busy protesting the violence and offensive language in The Hunger Games, parents in the UK are focusing their complaints on the “coarse language” of Roald Dahl and the violence of the Horrible History books, according to a survey of the country’s libraries. The poll covered more than 300 complaints received over the last five years at 98 library authorities in the UK about “unsuitable, inappropriate, or offensive” books. Half the complaints were about children’s books....
The Guardian (UK), Apr. 23

Librarian recovering after assault
A librarian is recovering from a concussion after she was beaten up by a 19-year-old in the children’s room of the Auburn (Maine) Public Library April 20 in view of young kids. Library Director Lynn Lockwood said Kewane Pontoo had been on the library’s upper floor and acting agitated, so she asked him to calm down or leave. He went into the children’s room and struck Children’s Librarian Laurie Pinkham multiple times. Pontoo was restrained by a patron and staff until police arrived. He has been charged with three counts of assault....
Lewiston-Auburn (Maine) Sun-Journal, Apr. 24

Occupy Bangor occupies library budget talks
Five months after the Occupy Bangor movement occupied Peirce Park and the Bangor (Maine) Public Library grounds for almost a month, library officials faced some tough questions during a city council budget session April 19. After the library’s presentation, Mayor Cary Weston asked why Occupy protesters were not barred from the library grounds after hours from October 29 until December 4, 2011. “We’re open to everyone and I don’t want to see this become a political thing,” Director Barbara McDade said....
Bangor (Maine) Daily News, Apr. 24

Law librarian has strong showing on Jeopardy
Michelle LaLonde’s run as the Jeopardy champion lasted just one episode this week. LaLonde (right), law librarian for the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, was the leader heading into the last question April 17 in the category “Museums.” She said felt confident about her knowledge of the topic and wagered $5,500 of her $8,800 pot. LaLonde and the other two contestants answered incorrectly, but her large wager dropped her into second place behind winner Mary Harris....
Novi (Mich.) News, Apr. 20

Mercer librarian is a Pillsbury Bake-Off champ
Mercer County (N.J.) Community College reference librarian Donna Wolfe (right) was the winner in the “Dinner Made Easy” category for Pillsbury’s 45th Bake-Off Contest held March 25–27 in Orlando, Florida. Although she did not take home the million-dollar grand prize, she was a finalist and earned $5,000 for her Chicken Empanada Cones. The Bake-Off, held every two years, is one of the highest-profile cooking competitions in the US....
The College Voice, Apr. 23

The Not So Quiet Librarian
A one-actor play detailing the life of librarian Forrest Brisbin Spaulding (right) was performed April 18 by Tom Milligan, of the Old Creamery Theatre, at the Kendall Young Library Friends meeting in Webster City, Iowa. The Not So Quiet Librarian, written in 2006 by playwright Cynthia Mercati, tells the story of Spaulding, who served as director of the Des Moines Public Library in 1917–1919 and 1927–1952. He is also known as the original author of the Library Bill of Rights, which was adopted by ALA in 1939....
Webster City (Iowa) Daily Freeman-Journal, Apr. 20

Romania opens new National Library building
The new National Library of Romania opened its doors in a monumental building in Bucharest on April 23, more than 20 years after its foundations were laid under the former communist regime. Shortly after dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was overthrown in 1989, construction stopped due to lack of funds. Work resumed in March 2009, and the new facility will ultimately hold some 12 million volumes....
Agence France-Presse, Apr. 23

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ALA Annual Conference has the ebook and digital content bases covered, with a wide range of options to inspire discussion and innovation: “The Rise of E-Reading” with Lee Rainie; “The Future of the Book: Innovation in Traditional Industries” with Duane Bray of IDEO; “The Ebook Elephant in the Room”; and “Digital Literacy and Libraries: Designing What Comes Next.” Preconferences include: “Libraries in the Cloud” (AASL), “Web Content Strategy for Libraries” (LITA), and “Digital Humanities in Theory and Practice: Tools and Methods for Librarians” (ACRL).

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