Newsmaker: Jonah Lehrer, a day before disgrace
Jonah Lehrer (right) is the author of three books about the brain, including his most recent, Imagine, an exploration of the biochemical processes that constitute human creativity. American Libraries conducted this Q&A with Lehrer on July 29, one day before news broke that he was resigning from his position as staff writer at the New Yorker. It was discovered that he had fabricated quotes from singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and had included those quotes in Imagine....
American Libraries column; New York Times: Media Decoder, July 30; Tablet Magazine, July 30

Technology in Practice: Tools for optimal flow
Meredith Farkas writes: “Many fantastic tools have been released in the past seven years that make the work of collecting and using research so much simpler. Tablets have made the experience of annotating research online far more pleasant. Instead of printing out my research, I corral all of it into a folder in Dropbox and then upload it into iAnnotate on my iPad. Using Zotero and Mendeley, I haven’t had to create a citation from scratch in years.”...
American Libraries column, July/Aug.

Librarian’s Library: Prepare, protect, and market your library
Karen Muller writes: “Most libraries in the US are small. What this means, practically speaking, is that many librarians work without colleagues at hand to help answer those pesky questions about the mundane work we didn’t learn how to do in library school. (Marketing your library, anyone?) This roundup includes recent titles that may serve as guides to a few of these areas.”...
American Libraries column, July/Aug.

Will’s World: Your mileage may vary
Will Manley writes: “A new phrase is being thrown around these days in our profession: ‘library fatigue.’ It’s a new term for an old set of symptoms that we used to call burnout. It is characterized by the following feelings: ‘Everyone who works here is a moron but me. Library patrons are getting increasingly stupid.’ Now let’s say a 55-year-old person who got into the library profession five years ago as a second-chance career still has the fires of library passion within her soul.”...
American Libraries column, July/Aug.

The American Dream Starts @ your library
The Summer 2012 American Libraries digital supplement tells the story of how libraries make a difference in the lives of adult English-language learners and their families through grants from Dollar General. The supplement, which features libraries that received grant funding through the American Dream Starts @ your library project, was published as Dollar General accepted applications for 50 new libraries to receive American Dream grants in 2012. Apply by August 26....
American Libraries, Summer 2012

Children’s libraries (updated)
Q. Are there stand-alone libraries serving children (other than those in schools, that is)? A. A year ago we reported 10 such libraries, but received additional information from our readers. Here is our current list, with links checked and updated, as well. We now can report 16 libraries, 10 affiliated with public libraries, one under construction, and five in other settings.”...
AL: Ask the ALA Librarian, July 31

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ALA joins national campaign to protect privacy
This week, as the Cybersecurity Act (CSA) moves to the Senate floor, ALA is joining a wide-ranging coalition of digital rights groups and advocates that are launching the Stop Cyber Spying campaign to ensure companies do not have new, overbroad authority to monitor and block private communications. The coalition supports a CSA amendment from Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and opposes attempts to remove privacy protections in the bill. Watch a video summary (1:35) of the CSA bill. You can help by contacting your senators....
Office of Government Relations, Aug. 1; YouTube, July 30

Volunteer to serve on a committee
ALA President-elect Barbara Stripling encourages members to volunteer to serve on ALA and Council committees for the 2013–2014 term of July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014. Stripling is chair of both the Committee on Appointments and Committee on Committees. Serving on a committee provides members with leadership training, networking opportunities, and experience in working on specific Association topics. The online committee volunteer form will be available August 7 through November 2....
Office of ALA Governance, July 31

Are you an ALA personal member?
Personal membership in ALA starts to pay you back the moment you join. With discounts on products and services, and members-only access to information through our website and journals, you will benefit right away. Included in many of these benefits are resources to advance your career, your library, and the whole profession. There are several types of personal membership, with varying costs. Join ALA here....
ALA Membership

ALA Connect, redesigned
Jenny Levine writes: “The ALA Connect redesign goes live August 1, with implementation causing the site to go down 6–8 p.m. Central time. We’ve moved some things around, added shortcuts to make it faster to get places, and changed some labels to make it easier to figure out where to start. Here’s a summary of some of the biggest improvements.”...
ALA Connect, Aug. 1

World Book Night 2013
World Book Night 2013 is a celebration of literacy by publishers, bookstores, libraries, and individuals who love books and reading. On April 23, 2013, 25,000 “book givers” will each give away 20 copies of a specially printed, not-for-resale WBN edition of a book they have read and loved (from a list of 25–30 titles to be selected by librarians and booksellers) to complete strangers—people who may never have owned a book of their own. If your library would like to participate, fill out the form (Word file) and return it by September 1....
ALA Connect: World Book Night 2013; Bookselling This Week, July 25

Put social media to work for your library
In Google This! Putting Google and Other Social Media Sites to Work for Your Library, available through Neal-Schuman Publishers, librarians or museum professionals interested in developing a greater web and social media presence for their institutions will find a wealth of material to justify these actions to directors and boards. Author Terry Ballard has conducted more than two dozen interviews with professionals who have created exemplary work using social media and shows how their experiences can create success for your institution’s library....
ALA Neal-Schuman, July 27

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AASL Fall Forum Ning
Become a part of the conversation on the range of skills comprising the concept of transliteracy, the focus of the AASL 2012 Fall Forum, by joining the new AASL 2012 Fall Forum Ning. Fall Forum attendees and those unable to join their colleagues at the live event October 12–13 in Greenville, South Carolina, are invited to join the Ning and start the discussion on the skill set students need in order to navigate the current information landscape....
AASL, July 25

Socialize and win at the AASL Fall Forum
Attendees of the AASL 2012 Fall Forum are invited to pin, tweet, and post their way into a drawing for an autographed copy of keynote speaker Henry Jenkins’s book Convergence Culture. To enter, share your excitement over attending the Fall Forum across social networking platforms and complete an entry form on the AASL website. Three copies of Convergence Culture will be raffled off during “Transliteracy and the School Library Program,” October 12–13....
AASL, July 27

AASL celebrates Connected Educator Month
AASL has become one of 60 participating organizations in “Connected Educator Month,” which takes place throughout August as declared by the US Department of Education. CEM is aimed at broadening and deepening educator participation in online communities and networks, while providing opportunities for education leaders to work together to move the field forward. Visit the CEM website for a complete month-long schedule of online programming that includes forums, webinars, guided tours, open houses, contests, and badges....
AASL, July 31

Help ALSC design an eBadge
ALSC wants its members’ help in designing a new badge they can proudly display on their email signature lines or blogs. The badge should reflect the creativity of the division. This contest is being sponsored by the Friends of ALSC and the ALSC Membership Committee. Once you have your idea, using the subject line “ALSC eBadge Contest,” email it with your 100-word-or-less description by August 20. The winner will get a Nook and a Book....
ALSC Blog, July 30

New guides and webinars for sudden selectors
Library professionals suddenly tasked with selecting resources in new and unfamiliar subject areas have two new books and webinars to help them from ALCTS. Two new guides have been released: Sudden Selector’s Guide to Biology Resources by Flora G. Shrode, and Sudden Selector’s Guide to Chemistry Resources by Elizabeth Brown. The authors will present an ALCTS webinar based on each guide....
ALCTS, July 30

Training for the technology trainer
PLA is offering the interactive online course “The Accidental Public Library Technology Trainer” beginning September 10. This four-week blended learning program, which will be taught by librarian, author, and trainer Stephanie Gerding, is designed for library professionals who have unexpectedly found themselves responsible for technology training for users or staff at their library. The deadline for registration is September 7....
PLA, July 31

Library services in juvenile detention centers
In “Critical Issues in Juvenile Detention Center Libraries,” a new paper posted in YALSA’s Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, Jeanie Austin (right) discusses the challenges that staff face in juvenile detention center libraries and argues that libraries should take a more active role in societal and political change. Austin’s paper was originally presented at the 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas....
YALSA, July 27

Craft programming on the cheap
Crafting programs are a mainstay of teen services at the library, but the supply costs can add up. There are some creative ways to extend the teen services budget—a little glue and a lot of innovation—to ensure that teens can have fun making a variety of projects at your library. To find out how, join host Beth Saxton for “Get Crafty for Less,” YALSA’s August 16 webinar at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Registration is now open....
YALSA, July 27

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Interviews with the Carnegie Medal winners
Anne Enright, author of The Forgotten Waltz, and Robert K. Massie, author of Catherine the Great, won the first Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction respectively. The winners were announced at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, on June 24. Booklist Editors Donna Seaman and Brad Hooper interviewed them. An excerpt from their interviews follows. Read the full interview at Booklist Online....
American Libraries feature

Site chosen for 2013 Arbuthnot Lecture
The ALSC Arbuthnot Committee has chosen Nazareth College and the Youth Services Section of the New York Library Association in Rochester, New York, as the site of the 2013 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture featuring British children’s author Michael Morpurgo (right). The honor lectureship will be tied to several other significant events for librarians and readers of children’s and young adult literature during Children’s Book Week and will kick off the 38th annual NYLA Youth Services Section’s Spring Conference on May 16, 2013....
ALSC, July 27

ALSC National Institute scholarships
The Friends of ALSC have awarded scholarships to attend the ALSC National Institute, to be held September 20–22 in Indianapolis, to Joella Peterson, youth services librarian at the Tumwater Timberland (Wash.) Library, and Amanda Struckmeyer, head of youth services at Middleton (Wis.) Public Library. The scholarships are given to support ALSC’s goal of continuing education for children’s librarians....
ALSC, July 31

2012 Kansas Notable Books list
Kansas State Librarian Joanne Budler has announced the selections for the seventh annual Kansas Notable Book List—the best 15 books published in 2011 by Kansas authors or about Kansas include fiction, nonfiction, adult, and young adult books. The presentation of medals will be made during the Kansas Book Festival, September 15, at the Kansas History Museum in Topeka. The authors will also be honored during the year at various literary events throughout the state....
Emporia (Kans.) Gazette, July 27

2012 CLPE Children’s Poetry Award
At a ceremony at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education in London on July 24, Rachel Rooney was named the winner of the 2012 CLPE Poetry Award for her debut collection The Language of Cat (Frances Lincoln). The award is the only national prize in the UK for a children’s poetry collection. It was launched in 2003 to highlight the importance of this branch of children’s literature....
Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, July 24

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Weinberg Foundation pledges $5 million for school libraries
The private Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation on July 25 announced a major expansion of its Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project. This initiative works with Baltimore City (Md.) Public Schools to design, build, equip, and staff new or renovated school libraries where existing public funding can be leveraged. As a result of its success in the past year, the foundation is making a $5 million commitment to build a total of 12 new libraries over four years....
Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, July 25

Toledo proves libraries’ value
With voters set to decide on a levy for the Toledo–Lucas County (Ohio) Public Library in November, the library system has published a study that aims to quantify the value of the services it provides and that administrators hope will bolster support for the tax request. The study determined that for every dollar of the library’s $35.3 million in its 2011 budget, Lucas County residents derived $2.86 worth of benefits. The return-on-investment assessment was conducted by University of Toledo economist Oleg Smirnov....
Toledo (Ohio) Blade, July 29

Memphis library photo IDs nixed
Memphis (Tenn.) Public Library’s new photo cards won’t qualify as voter IDs in the August 2 elections, and the long-term outlook for Mayor A. C. Wharton’s voter-photo initiative appears in serious jeopardy after a two-hour hearing in federal court July 31. US District Judge Aleta Trauger denied the city’s request for an injunction ordering election officials to accept the photo cards as identification, but she also urged lawmakers to revisit the state’s voter identification law to clear up aspects of it that she said made no sense....
Memphis (Tenn.) Commercial Appeal, July 31; Nashville Tennessean, Aug. 1

Sunland Park library stays open, director faces charges
After plenty of haggling, Sunland Park, New Mexico, city councilors approved a final spending plan July 26 that will keep the community library open but will require employee furloughs during the coming year. The final budget also retains the director position. Director Luz E. Vargas posted bond July 25 shortly after being arrested on charges of false voting, conspiracy to commit false voting, registration offenses, falsifying election documents, and false swearing after serving as a voter registration agent....
Las Cruces (N.Mex.) Sun-News, July 26

Pomona offered $200K for its citrus label collection
Pomona (Calif.) Public Library Director Bruce Guter recently told trustees that a group had expressed interest in purchasing the library’s Citrus Label Collection for $200,000. The collection consists of about 4,000 fruit labels that packing houses placed on crates in the early 20th century. Trustees told Guter that they were not in favor of any sale at this time, despite the library’s financial troubles. In June, a recommendation was presented to close the library for one year beginning in mid-August as a way to save money....
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.), July 27

Trenton reopens last shuttered branch—sort of
The day after Mayor Tony Mack reopened the former East Trenton branch of the Trenton (N.J.) Free Public Library as a learning center July 30, the facility failed to open on time as Mack aide Anthony Roberts scrambled to find someone who could unlock the gate to the property. Mack said at the opening ceremony, “We are very pleased to say that more volunteers than you could ever imagine have come forward to help us maintain these libraries.” All four former branches operate four hours on weekdays. Critics argue that Mack’s plan (PDF file) violates state law....
The Trentonian, June 17, Aug. 1; City of Trenton, July 27

Contention in Lake City, Carol Stream libraries
Sheryl Mooers, a former director of the Lake City (Minn.) Public Library, has filed a civil lawsuit against the city and several city officials, alleging she was wrongfully fired and sexually harassed and that the city violated open-meeting laws. She had taken disciplinary action against employee Diane Spence, the wife of a council member. Carol Stream (Ill.) Public Library Director Ann Kennedy was fired by the library board and is considering a wrongful termination lawsuit....
Rochester (Minn.) Post-Bulletin, July 27; Carol Stream (Ill.) Press, July 26; Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald, July 27

Lawsuits follow dismissal of library workers
Claims of nepotism and corruption at the Lebanon (Ind.) Public Library are dividing this community located about 30 miles northwest of Indianapolis. The fuss goes back to March, when five library employees claim they were wrongfully terminated. The workers contend they were fired for reporting that another library employee—Library Director Kay Martin’s son—was falsifying his time card. After they were dismissed, the employees filed a lawsuit in Boone County Circuit Court against Martin and the trustees....
Indianapolis Star, July 25

Muscatine librarian kisses a fruit bat
Betty Collins, children’s librarian for Musser Public Library in Muscatine, Iowa, kissed an Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) on July 24 as a reward to kids who took part in a summer reading program. Collins promised to kiss a bat if participants in the Summer Reading Program read more than 20,000 books. By the deadline, they were up to around 21,000. With nearly 1,000 kids in the program, that breaks down to about 21 books per child during the summer program....
Muscatine (Iowa) Journal, July 24

UK public libraries decimated by closures, cuts
More than 150 libraries have been closed or put into the hands of volunteers in the past year owing to the UK government’s spending squeeze, with a further 225 at risk as councils look for ways of finding savings, according to research released July 30. More than 2,100 staff have lost their jobs, and libraries will open for a total of 150,000 fewer hours this year across the country. The extent of the closures immediately prompted a political storm, with the Labour Party accusing the government of complacency over the threat to the nation’s library network. UK school libraries are also taking serious budget hits....
The Independent (UK), July 31; School Library Journal, July 30

Library and Archives Canada prepares for move
Library and Archives Canada has compiled the first-ever master list of how well its massive collection is holding up as it prepares to move thousands of pieces of Canadian history to a new storage facility in 2013. The $34 million facility has been in the works since 2009. The collection is currently housed in 12 separate facilities, but a number of those will close when the new storage facility opens....
CBC News, July 28

Retired Kashmiri librarian still collects artifacts
In 2001, two years after Atiqa Bano retired as director of libraries for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, she began collecting artifacts for a cultural museum she established—Meeras Mahal in Sopore, north Kashmir. As a librarian, she was used to collecting things. She saw that lanterns and wicks were fading into darkness and utensils indigenous to Kashmir were no longer being used. Local jewelry had suddenly become junk. “I decided to save that past for our children and grandchildren so they would know who they were and where they had come from.”...
LiveMint, July 27; Free Press Kashmir, July 31

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