Working part-time after retirement
Rita Marsales writes: “I enjoyed the 40-plus years I spent working in an academic library, but before I knew it, I was 68 and past due for retirement in 2004. I enjoyed relaxing and traveling for a while, but when an old friend called to ask if I would be interested in helping out with cataloging a gift collection at his library, located in a prestigious art museum, I chose to return to work. The advantages? I set my own hours within the allotted time per week and take vacation or a day off whenever I want.”...
American Libraries feature

Librarian’s Library: The library is the real school
Karen Muller writes: “Fall is back-to-school time, and with this gathering of recent books, we explore the educational role of libraries. As our economy has become more information based, information literacy, in turn, has become a key life skill and a necessary building block for ongoing learning. In Lifelong Learning in Public Libraries: Principles, Programs, and People, Donna L. Gilton explores the principles of information literacy instruction and provides a framework for implementing programs in public libraries.”...
American Libraries column, Sept./Oct.

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This picture is worth 1,000 words
Kathy Dempsey writes: “Look at this new Support Your Local Library infographic from StateStats. It was created in conjunction with statistics provided by ALA and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It tells so many stories about today’s libraries, including both their successes and their needs. I hope you’ll share it widely—on your website, with your Friends and trustees, your local and state associations, your city and county managers, and other stakeholders and voters. I especially like that it has linked sources at the bottom.”...
The ‘M’ Word: Marketing Libraries, Aug. 22

30 years of liberating literature
Since 1982, Banned Books Week has rallied librarians, booksellers, authors, publishers, teachers, and readers of all types to celebrate and defend the freedom to read. As ALA commemorates 30 years of Banned Books Week and enters its 31st year of protecting readers’ rights, the Office for Intellectual Freedom has launched a timeline of significant banned and challenged books. Also, OIF will highlight one book from the timeline each day leading up to Banned Books Week. On August 29, the featured title is Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five....
OIF Blog, Aug. 29

ALA to partner with the Chicago Humanities Festival
As part of ALA’s ongoing Banned Books Week–related festivities, the Office for Intellectual Freedom will cosponsor “The Case for Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer” at the Chicago Humanities Festival. The program will take place on November 11 at the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago. Loren Glass will recount how the late Barney Rosset (right) and his fledgling Grove Press led the charge against censorship of works by William S. Burroughs, D. H. Lawrence, and Henry Miller in the 1960s by helping to redefine the parameters of obscenity....
OIF Blog, Aug. 28

Library players line up for International Games Day
Almost 600 libraries are already signed up for International Games Day @ your library (IGD12), which will take place on November 3, and the increased international interest is easy to spot on the interactive map, which is current as of August 19. Registration is still open....
International Games Day @ your library, Aug. 24

Help patrons plan for retirement @ your library
In recent years, libraries have become increasingly visible when it comes to issues of financial planning and education. As more and more baby boomers reach retirement age, an increasing number of libraries are offering new financial services for this key demographic. Smart Investing @ your library, which is administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation and RUSA, provides ideas on how to offer financial literacy programming to patrons....
Campaign for America’s Libraries, Aug. 28

A guide to managing electronic resources
Electronic resource management encompasses much more than turning on and off resources and tracking usage. Managing Electronic Resources, edited by Ryan O. Weir, helps librarians tackle their workload while saving time, effort and money. The book contains a host of innovative ideas to help get the job done with greater ease, including how to track and assign staff tasks electronically, accumulate and assimilate information from departmental and interdepartmental meetings, manage correspondence, track renewals, and evaluate and negotiate license agreements....
ALA TechSource, Aug. 28

How to harness social media in reference
A new session of the eCourse “Reference through Social Media: Developing Standards, Guidelines, and Policies” is being offered on October 29. Taught by Sarah Steiner (right), the three-week course will guide students in writing useful, concise, legally sound standards and guidelines for providing reference through social media. Steiner offers a solid foundation of best practices and practical advice on implementation and ongoing assessment. Registration is open...
ALA Editions, Aug. 28

David Lee King on designing effective websites
The popular workshop “Building the Digital Branch: Designing Effective Library Websites” will be offered once again on October 10. Instructor David Lee King once again takes students through the process of building an effective, user-friendly website that will expand and enhance your library’s presence in the community. Registration is open....
ALA TechSource, Aug. 28

Discover what open source software can do for you
Open source software offers libraries the opportunity to save money and maintain a degree of flexibility and control that they may not get with proprietary programs. In “Open Source Software for Libraries: How It Works; What It Can Do for You,” experienced technology trainers Diane Kovacs (right) and Diane Adler will explore what open source means, the open source movement, and its implications and many applications for libraries and librarians. Registration is open for the four-week e-course, which begins October 15....
ALA Editions, Aug. 28

Introduction to Information Science
Leading international scholars offer a global perspective on the discipline in Introduction to Information Science, published by Neal-Schuman Publishers and designed to be the standard text for students worldwide. Authors David Bawden and Lyn Robinson guide students of information science, information and knowledge management, librarianship, and archives and records management through each of the essential building blocks from the foundations of the profession to its changing contexts, including publishing, e-science, and digital humanities....
ALA Neal-Schuman, Aug. 28

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Register for the 2012 Women’s Leadership Institute
ACRL is collaborating with higher education associations to offer the 2012 Women’s Leadership Institute. This year’s institute will be held November 27–30 in Dana Point, California, and December 2–5 in Amelia Island, Florida. The discounted early-bird registration deadline for the institute is October 17 for the California program and October 24 for the Florida program. Complete program details, cosponsors, and a link to registration materials are available on the institute website....
ACRL, Aug. 27

Transliteracy takes center stage at AASL Fall Forum
Kristin Fontichiaro (right) and R. David Lankes will join media studies scholar Henry Jenkins at Transliteracy and the School Library Program during the 2012 AASL Fall Forum, October 12–13, in Greenville, South Carolina. The presenters will provide a comprehensive overview of the importance of participatory culture in education. Their presentations will be simultaneously broadcast to participating satellite sites in Doylestown and Homestead, Pennsylvania; Richardson, Texas; and San Jose, California. Register online....
AASL, Aug. 28

Literacy resources for school librarians
AASL has joined 30 other stakeholder groups representing educational, school, and community leaders in support of the new National Center for Literacy Education. As a result of this collaboration, AASL members have the opportunity to join two networks focused on working collaboratively to strengthen literacy practices and professional learning: the free Literacy in Learning Exchange website, and the NCLE SmartBrief, a free twice-weekly news service....
AASL, Aug. 27

Carol Tilley to present paper on comics
A YALSA jury has chosen Carol Tilley (right), assistant professor at the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, to present a paper at YALSA’s “Trends in YA Services” session at the 2013 ALA Midwinter Meeting. Tilley’s paper is titled “Comics: A Once-Missed Opportunity.” The event is hosted by YALSA past presidents and will be held on January 26....
YALSA, Aug. 27

New articles available in School Library Research
Three new research articles are now available online as part of AASL’s research journal, School Library Research. Karla Krueger studies “The Status of Statewide Subscription Databases,” Renee Franklin Hill documents “Strengths and Opportunities: School Librarians Serving Students with Special Needs in Central New York State,” and Ross Todd reports on “School Libraries and the Development of Intellectual Agency: Evidence from New Jersey.”...
AASL, Aug. 28

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2012 PEN Literary Awards
The PEN American Center has announced the winners and runners-up of the 2012 PEN Awards, the most comprehensive literary awards program in the US. This year marks PEN’s 90th anniversary. The winner of the PEN Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, Founded by Barbara Kingsolver ($25,000) was Susan Nussbaum, for Good Kings Bad Kings (unpublished), and the winner of the PEN Robert W. Bingham Prize ($25,000) went to Vanessa Veselka for Zazen (Red Lemonade, 2011)....
Daily PEN American, Aug. 28

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Historic marker for first black librarian in Alabama
The Montgomery City-County (Ala.) Public Library will hold an unveiling ceremony for its historic marker commemorating the contributions of Bertha Pleasant Williams, the first black professional librarian in Montgomery and in Alabama, on August 30 at its Rosa L. Parks Avenue branch. A 1948 graduate of Atlanta University, Williams worked for the Montgomery library system for 21 years and helped establish the Union Street Library, the first public library in Montgomery for African Americans....
Montgomery City-County (Ala.) Public Library, Aug. 24

Detroit library director reinstated
The Detroit Public Library board reinstated its ousted executive director August 23 and moved to extend her contract for a year. In May, three members of the library board had placed Jo Anne Mondowney on paid administrative leave, saying she mismanaged the system that closed two branches and cut 81 jobs through layoffs, retirements, and other departures in 2011. But the other four board members have now voted to offer her another year in the $156,000 position, arguing she has done a good job....
Detroit News, Aug. 24

Seattle People’s Library fills in during a week of closures
Seattle Public Libraries are closed citywide all this week for a budget-saving unpaid furlough period. But a group of activists has stepped up to try to fill the void in the Central District, building the Seattle People’s Library on the steps of the Douglass-Truth branch. Organizers were able to pull together a respectable (and growing) book collection, a couple of computers with internet access, free public Wi-Fi and a packed schedule of music and children’s storytime readings....
Seattle Central District News, Aug. 27

Cuts stop, but damage to Dallas libraries already done
Eric Nicholson writes: “Dallas Public Library’s budget has been sliced in half since peaking at $36 million in 2007. The hemorrhaging seems to be over now, with the city promising to keep libraries open for 40 hours per week and add $1 million to its paltry budget for new materials. It’s a good start, but a lot of damage has been done: What was a quiet place to go on the weekend to find that book you’d been wanting to read is now the place that’s locked tight every time you go and doesn’t have the book anyway.”...
Dallas Observer, Aug. 28

Bilbary ebook sales could help British library reopen
A leading book retailer plans to help save the Kensal Rise Library in London by raising money through ebooks. The library, opened by Mark Twain in 1900, was shut by Brent council despite a campaign to save it that was backed by such authors as Philip Pullman and Zadie Smith. Now former Waterstones boss Tim Coates is offering the Friends of Kensal Rise Library a share of the profits from his Bilbary ebook lending service....
London Evening Standard, Aug. 24

Six-year-old reads 400 books to meet Yankee outfielder
Six-year-old Isabella Policarpo learned to read two years ago, and she hasn’t stopped since. Over the summer, the soon-to-be-first-grader read 413 books—most of them borrowed from New York Public Library’s Todt Hill-Westerleigh branch—making her Staten Island’s top children’s reader in the library’s Summer Reading program. For that achievement, she (and other top readers from Manhattan and the Bronx) will get to step on the field at Yankee Stadium and meet with outfielder Curtis Granderson....
Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance, Aug. 28

George W. Bush Library to open in April
In April 2013, the long-awaited George W. Bush Presidential Center will open to the public on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Former President George W. Bush and the Bush Foundation have worked closely with SMU to make this center—comprised of the library, museum, and independent institute—a reality. The library will archive every photograph, document, and email pertaining to the Bush administration—more electronic data (80 terabytes) than all of the other presidential libraries combined....
Pegasus News, Aug. 27

Hyannis man indicted for book theft
A Hyannis, Massachusetts, man was indicted August 24 in Barnstable Superior Court on charges related to the theft of books from several Cape Cod libraries. Arthur Souza was charged with multiple counts of larceny and receiving stolen goods. Investigators allege that Souza stole books from libraries and sold them to an antiques dealer, who then sold them on eBay. Some of the rare books sold for hundreds of dollars....
Hyannis (Mass.) Cape Cod Times, Aug. 27

Former library worker to change plea to guilty
Linda E. Duffy, a former library worker who initially pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing more than $800,000 from the Saugus (Mass.) Public Library, will change her plea to guilty during a September hearing in US District Court. As full-time assistant to the library director, Duffy allegedly diverted fees for overdue books and videos, as well as charitable donations (including more than $450,000 from the General Electric Foundation), into an account she controlled at Eastern Bank....
Boston Globe, Aug. 23

Check out a cake pan in Kansas
A large collection is turning heads at the Great Bend (Kans.) Public Library, and it isn’t books. Over the past few months, staff members have been moving a collection of nearly 100 cake pans from a back room to the front of the library. The shiny pans—packaged in large plastic bags complete with decorating instructions—hang from a bookshelf two rows high and make a clinking noise as visitors browse through the collection. Andover (Kans.) Public Library has 75 circulating cake pans in its collection (above)....
Hutchinson (Kans.) News, Aug. 21; KWCH-TV, Wichita, Kans., Aug. 27

Rare family tree found in New Zealand
Seonaid Lewis writes: “Two librarians from Waiheke (N.Z.) Library rang to ask me if I was interested in a family tree that a customer of theirs had found in their attic. They thought we might be able to find the Jennings family that it belonged to, and if not, maybe it would be of interest to keep in our Sir George Grey Special Collections manuscript collection at Auckland Central City Library. As a family historian, this tree excited me. The first date on the tree was 1620.” The library’s call for information about the document turned up a descendant, Margot Keiller, who said the document could stay in special collections....
Kintalk Whānau Kōrero, Aug. 22; Voxy, Aug. 27

Seville demolishes new library
Bulldozers have begun to demolish a library originally intended to become a new landmark for Seville, Spain. The building, which has already cost €4 million, is being knocked down because of its position in the protected Prado de San Sebastian park. The library, part of the University of Seville, was designed in 2006 by renowned Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004. But it has been contested by local residents for its violation of green zone regulations since construction began in 2008....
The Olive Press, Aug. 23

Burned library symbolizes multiethnic Sarajevo
Samir Huseinovic and Zoran Arbutina write: “Some three million books and countless artifacts were destroyed when the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo was burned to the ground in August 1992 during the siege by Bosnian Serbs. It was a clear attack on the cultural identity of a people. The library was completely destroyed in the fire, along with 80% of its contents, including hundreds of original documents from the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.”...
Deutsche Welle, Aug. 25

Sufi mosque library destroyed in Libya
Conservative Islamists blew up the tomb of a 16th-century Sufi scholar and ruined thousands of books in a mosque library in the Libyan city of Zliten, the latest attacks on sites in the region branded idolatrous by some sects. On August 23, the front façade of the shrine of Abd As-Salam Al-Asmar Al-Fayturi (1455?–1575) and the mosque and library of Al-Asmariya University were hit by shells....
Reuters, Aug. 25; Magharebia, Aug. 27

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