Morris Lessmore wins an Oscar
If you haven’t yet watched William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg’s The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, the Academy Award winner for Best Animated Short Film, go here now (15:07). A wordless film whose most inspiring scenes take place in a fanciful library full of living books, Morris Lessmore was produced by start-up Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana. Joyce has also written a yet-to-be-published children’s book of the same name and developed an iPad app....
American Libraries news, Feb. 29; YouTube, Jan. 24; Co.Design

Women in the White City
Susan Searing writes: “Next year will be the 120th anniversary of the World’s Columbian Exposition, more commonly known as the Chicago World’s Fair—a grand event that lasted six months and attracted 27 million visitors. Librarians participated in many aspects of the 1893 fair. In Right Here I See My Own Books: The Woman’s Building Library at the World’s Columbian Exposition (University of Massachusetts, 2012), Sarah Wadsworth and Wayne Wiegand chronicle the unprecedented collection of works by ‘women in all ages and all countries’ that was housed in the fair’s Woman’s Building (above).”...
American Libraries feature

Library history and women’s history
Sarah M. Pritchard writes: “The convergence of women’s history and library history at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition heralded the beginnings of a tradition of advocacy that would shape our profession for the next 100 years and beyond. As American women entered librarianship in the late 19th century, they focused on issues of professional equity, on services to women among the general public, and on the importance of preserving the history and writings of women themselves.”...
American Libraries feature

Internet Librarian: A hazy shade of (Mid)winter
Joseph Janes writes: “You know that feeling you get when you come home from a conference, and it’s all kind of a blur? That’s been my post-Midwinter experience. I was so taken with the level of sophistication, depth, passion, creativity, community, collaboration, and downright chutzpah on display throughout, particularly in such a time of profound change and, often, retrenchment. It made me even prouder to be a librarian.”...
American Libraries column, Mar./Apr.

AL Online Learning Digital Supplement
ALA provides continuing education in a variety of venues and formats for librarians, support staff, and trustees. Check out the opportunities in the American Libraries Online Learning Digital Supplement from 11 divisions and the ALA Publishing Department. Also read Char Booth’s article, “Reflective Teaching for Librarians.”...
American Libraries Digital Supplement, Mar./Apr.

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Three teens to tell inspiring stories at Anaheim
Three courageous and creative young adults who have already changed things for the better within their communities, cultures, and societies make for a unique Auditorium Speaker session at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim on June 23. William Kamkwamba (right) brought electricity, light, and the promise of a better life to his village in Malawi. Talia Leman has orchestrated the philanthropic efforts of 12 million children on four continents. Gaby Rodriguez reveals how she was able to fake her own pregnancy and what she learned from the experience....
Conference Services, Feb. 28

Tell us why you love your bookmobile
As libraries gear up to celebrate the third National Bookmobile Day on April 11, they can now share what makes their bookmobile special through the “Why We Love Our Bookmobile” YouTube video celebration. Libraries are invited to submit videos on the National Bookmobile Day YouTube channel that highlight the essential library services that bookmobiles and their dedicated staff provide. On April 11, three videos will be selected at random to receive $50 gift certificates from ALA Graphics....
Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, Feb. 23

ALA supports FCC Digital Literacy Initiative
The Federal Communications Commission released a February 6 public notice (PDF file) seeking comments on who or what organizations should be involved in implementing a nationwide Digital Literacy program. Libraries are a critical part of the digital literacy picture, as the FCC’s public notice readily acknowledges. The ALA Washington Office is now reviewing the public notice and will submit formal comments once the review is completed....
District Dispatch, Feb. 29

National Library Week promotional ideas
Librarians submitted programming ideas at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas and through an online form for a chance to win a set of National Library Week promotional materials from ALA Graphics. Alexis Caudell of the Mitchell (Ind.) Community Public Library was selected as the winner. To read Caudell’s winning idea and other promotional ideas submitted by public, school, academic, and special librarians visit the National Library Week promotional ideas page....
Campaign for America’s Libraries, Feb. 28

Free webinar on LSSC
The Library Support Staff Certification Program, a national certification program that allows library support staff to demonstrate competencies and be certified by ALA, will offer an hourlong informational webinar on March 6. Register online....
ALA–Allied Professional Association, Feb. 28

Library book sales: A how-to guide
A tried-and-true method to raise funds while engaging the community, library book sales can be a win-win situation—if done correctly. Published by ALA Editions, A Book Sale How-To Guide: More Money, Less Stress shows readers how to do just that, using case histories from three successful ongoing programs. Authors and book sale veterans Pat Ditzler and JoAnn Dumas point out specific ways to run a sale to ensure maximum financial benefit....
ALA Editions, Feb. 28

Rob Reid shows how to make kids laugh
Best-selling children’s author Rob Reid knows a thing or two about getting kids’ attention and holding it. In What’s Black and White and Reid All Over? Something Hilarious Happened at the Library, published by ALA Editions, Reid focuses squarely on the preschool and elementary school crowd. He highlights dozens of programming and title suggestions that are surefire ways to banish young ones’ yawns permanently....
ALA Editions, Feb. 23

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LITA and transparency issues
Andromeda Yelton writes: “I just had the pleasure of spending an hour listening in on a streamed LITA board meeting. I have somehow, and entirely to my shock, become a diehard LITA politics junkie. I think the more LITA makes its meetings available (streamed or amply reported and well-advertised), the more the members will participate, and that’s good for everyone. So, hats off to everyone who made that happen. I was troubled, though, by part of the discussion.”...
Andromeda Yelton, Feb. 24

Geek Out @ your library
As web-enabled tools such as Facebook, texting, and smartphone apps become a staple of teen culture, school and public libraries from coast to coast will throw open their physical and virtual doors to teens and showcase technological resources available @ your library during Teen Tech Week, March 4–10. Teens will improve their digital literacy skills as they take advantage of free library social networking and digital media workshops, ebooks, databases, online homework help, and gaming tournaments....
YALSA, Feb. 27

Carmen Agra Deedy featured at AASL Awards Luncheon
Bestselling author Carmen Agra Deedy (right) will speak at the annual AASL Awards Luncheon, held June 25 during the ALA 2012 Annual Conference in Anaheim. The awards luncheon highlights the best of the best in the school library field and gives members a chance to celebrate the accomplishments of their colleagues. Register online....
AASL, Feb. 28

School Libraries Count! reports available
Personalized reports are now available for participants in the AASL School Libraries Count! longitudinal survey. The reports complement AASL’s suite of advocacy tools. By using the School Libraries Count! personalized report in tandem with the results generated, school librarians will be able to present a more complete case when advocating for their school library programs and community needs....
AASL, Feb. 28

YALSA a finalist in Lifelong Learning Competition
YALSA is a finalist in the 2012 HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation Badges for Lifelong Learning Competition. The division has been paired with a winning badge design and technology team to work collaboratively on developing a badge system to be judged February 28–29 at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Winners will be announced on March 1....
YALSA, Feb. 27

Liz Moore added to PLA Virtual Conference
On March 15, author Liz Moore (right) will join the Virtual Conference held in conjunction with the 2012 PLA Conference, March 13–17, in Philadelphia. Moore is the author of Heft, which tells the story of the transformative connection between a reclusive, 550-pound professor and a disadvantaged boy dreaming of becoming a baseball star....
PLA, Feb. 28

Bring civility back into your community
On March 28, PLA will host a live, hourlong webinar, “Implementing ‘Choose Civility,’ a Community-Wide Campaign,” as part of its “Public Libraries at Work” monthly webinar series. Join presenter Valerie Gross, CEO of the Howard County (Md.) Library System, to hear how the library has been at the center of a community campaign to enhance respect, empathy, consideration, and tolerance....
PLA, Feb. 28

Día publicity tools available
As libraries throughout the country expand their collections for diverse communities, thousands will celebrate El día de los niños / El día de los libros (Children’s Day / Book Day), also known as Día, on April 30. Libraries from coast to coast will host celebrations with family programs, including bilingual story hours, book giveaways, and other literacy events. ALSC is offering some free publicity tools....
ALSC, Feb. 27

YALSA book awards and middle school readers
The middle school librarian faces the unique challenge of building a collection that is appropriate for both teens and tweens. Join Megan Fink for “Finding a Place on the Shelf: YALSA Book Awards and the Middle School Library,” a discussion of the YALSA award winners and honorees for middle school readers on March 22 at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Register for the webinar online....
YALSA, Feb. 24

Friends group survey
ALTAFF is conducting a survey of Friends of the Library groups. The simple 10-question survey can be completed in five minutes or less. Survey responses will help ALTAFF develop resources for members and will be published on the division’s website and in an upcoming edition of its member newsletter, The Voice. Responses will be collected through March 1....
ALTAFF

ALTAFF at PLA
ALTAFF will present the program “With Friends Like These” on March 16, 2–3:15 p.m., at the Pennsylvania Convention Center during the PLA Conference in Philadelphia. A panel of librarians and a successful Friends group leader will discuss how to raise money and advocate for better funding....
ALTAFF

AASL eAcademy lineup
Register now for one or more of the AASL eAcademy courses scheduled through the end of summer. The four-week, self-paced courses are designed to give participants 12 hours of learning led by experts in the school library field. Registration and course information are available online....
AASL, Feb. 28

ASCLA preconferences
ASCLA will host three half-day workshops on June 22 at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim covering library marketing and development, public library services to the visually and physically impaired, and public library partnerships with jails and prisons. These preconferences are an opportunity for other members of the library community to benefit from the division’s knowledge and experience....
ASCLA, Feb. 28

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Winston Tabb wins Patterson Copyright Award
Winston Tabb (right), dean of libraries and museums at Johns Hopkins University, is the 2012 recipient of the L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award. Tabb was cited for his decades-long support for balanced copyright law, advancement of library and user copyright exceptions worldwide, and commitment to an international copyright law to support the information needs of people with print disabilities. The award recognizes contributions that support the constitutional purpose of US Copyright Law, fair use, and the public domain....
Office for Information Technology Policy, Feb. 23

2012 Beta Phi Mu Award
Mary M. Wagner (right), LIS professor at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, has been selected as the recipient of the 2012 Beta Phi Mu Award. This annual award, donated by the Beta Phi Mu International Library Science Honorary Society, is presented to a library school faculty member or to an individual who demonstrates distinguished service to education in librarianship. Wagner was selected for her contributions to library education and librarianship both locally and internationally....
Office of ALA Governance, Feb. 28

2012 Coutts Award for Innovation
The ALCTS Collection Management Section has awarded Lenore England (right), digital resources librarian at University of Maryland University College, its Coutts Award for Innovation in Electronic Resources Management. The award recognizes significant and innovative contributions to electronic collections management and development practice. England was cited for her work with the state Electronic Collections Task Group....
ALCTS, Feb. 27

2012 Ulrich’s Serials Librarianship Award
ALCTS has named Valerie Bross (right) the 2012 recipient of its Ulrich’s Serials Librarianship Award. This award for distinguished contributions to serials is presented by the ALCTS Continuing Resources Section and consists of a $1,500 donated by ProQuest. Bross, head of the continuing resources cataloging section at the UCLA Library Cataloging and Metadata Center, was named for innumerable significant achievements....
ALCTS, Feb. 28

2012 ACRL Innovation Award
Joshua Vossler, information literacy and reference librarian at Coastal Carolina University, and John Watts, instruction and liaison services librarian at Webster University, have been selected to receive the 2012 ACRL Instruction Section Innovation Award for their work on a series of five videos. The videos were designed to introduce first-year students to fundamental information literacy concepts....
ACRL, Feb. 27

ProQuest Innovation in College Librarianship Award
Adrienne Lai, Adam Rogers, and Anne Burke (right), all of North Carolina State University Libraries, have been named the 2012 recipients of the ACRL College Libraries Section’s ProQuest Innovation in College Librarianship Award for their work on the NCSU Libraries Mobile Scavenger Hunt. The annual $3,000 award honors an ALA member who has demonstrated a capacity for innovation in their work with undergraduates, instructors, or the library community....
ACRL, Feb. 28

EBSCO Community College Leadership Award
Mary Ann Laun (right), dean of library services at Pasadena (Calif.) City College, has been chosen to receive the 2012 ACRL Community and Junior College Libraries Section EBSCO Community College Learning Resources Leadership Award. The award cited her service as cofounder and chair of the first California Community College consortium....
ACRL, Feb. 24

EBSCO Community College Program Achievement Award
Sheila Afnan-Manns (Scottsdale Community College), and Kandice Mickelsen and Reyes Medrano (Paradise Valley Community College) have been chosen to receive the 2012 ACRL Community and Junior College Libraries Section EBSCO Community College Learning Resources Program Achievement Award for their work on the Medrano Project. The Medrano Project provides a model for effective librarian and classroom instructor collaboration....
ACRL, Feb. 24

2012 Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year Award
Char Booth (right), instruction services manager and e-learning librarian at Claremont Colleges, has won the ACRL Instruction Section’s Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year Award for her book Reflective Teaching, Effective Learning: Instructional Literacy for Library Educators, published in 2011 by ALA Editions. The award recognizes an outstanding publication related to library instruction published in the past two years....
ACRL, Feb. 27

2012 Best Book in Library Literature
The Atlas of New Librarianship by R. David Lankes has been named the winner of the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature. The book, which articulates a new purpose for librarianship, was copublished by ACRL and MIT Press. The award committee praised the book for its unique visual map of ideas and their relationships to theory and practice....
Office of ALA Governance, Feb. 28

First Merrill-Oldham Grant recipient named
Helen Bailey (right), preservation specialist at Dartmouth College Library, has been awarded the first Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant. The grant is sponsored by the ALCTS Preservation and Reformatting Section to support travel to the ALA Annual Conference by a preservation librarian who is new to the field....
ALCTS, Feb. 28

Norman Horrocks–Scarecrow Press grant
The ALA Retired Members Round Table has chosen Nicholas Spillios (right) as the first RMRT member to receive the first Norman Horrocks–Scarecrow Press Annual Conference Award. The $1,000 grant will help RMRT members to defray the costs of attending an ALA Conference. Spillios was chosen for his work with ALTAFF, PIO, and RMRT....
Retired Members Round Table, Feb. 28

2012 BWI Summer Reading Program Grant
ALSC has awarded the 2012 BWI Summer Reading Program Grant to the Wichita Falls (Tex.) Public Library. The $3,000 grant is designed to encourage outstanding summer reading programs by providing financial assistance, while recognizing ALSC members for outstanding program development....
ALSC, Feb. 28

Apply for a Conable Conference Scholarship
The Freedom to Read Foundation has opened applications for the 2012 Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship, which will enable a library school student or new professional to attend the 2012 ALA Annual Conference, held June 21–26 in Anaheim, California. Submit an application by April 6....
Office for Intellectual Freedom, Feb. 22

LexisNexis Outstanding Friend Conference Grant
LexisNexis will fund an annual grant to enable a Friends of the Library member to attend ALA Annual Conference. The LexisNexis Outstanding Friend Conference Grant will provide a person who is active in a Friends of the Library group with $850 and conference registration. The winner will be required to write an article chronicling the experience at the conference for The Voice. Apply for this year’s grant by April 15....
ALTAFF, Feb. 27

Scottish Children’s Book Awards
The winners of the Scottish Children’s Book Awards were announced at a ceremony at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh on February 23. The awards, sponsored by the Scottish Book Trust, were made in three age categories: Dear Vampa by Ross Collins won the Bookbug Readers’ category (0–7 years); Zac and the Dream Pirates by Ross MacKenzie won the Younger Readers’ category (8–11 years); and the award for the Older Readers’ category (12–16 years) went to Nicola Morgan’s Wasted. The three winners received a prize of £3,000 ($4,750 US) each....
Scottish Book Trust

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The Research Works Act is dead
Science-publishing giant Elsevier pulled its support from the controversial Research Works Act, hours before the bill’s cosponsors in the US House of Representatives declared the legislation dead. HR 3699 would have prevented agencies of the federal government from requiring public access to federally subsidized research. In a statement released February 27, Elsevier reiterated its opposition to government mandates even as it backed away from the bill. Cosponsoring Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said they would not push for action on the bill after all. Library Loon has some insight on the Elsevier withdrawal....
Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb. 27; Gavia Libraria, Feb. 28

Six ways that Congress could fix copyright, now
Matthew Lasar writes: “The fight against copyright maximalism has largely been negative. To offer something more positive, Public Knowledge has released an Internet Blueprint—six bills that the group says could ‘help make the internet a better place for everyone’ and that ‘Congress could pass today.’ We are not expecting Congress to pass them today (or tomorrow), but they’re at least an intriguing starting point for debate.”...
Ars Technica, Feb. 29; Public Knowledge, Feb. 28

More academic libraries rely on retrieval systems
San Francisco State University has been renovating its library since 2008, and now the overhauled building is finally finished and partly open to students. But only 25% of its collection will be available for browsing. More than a dozen universities, including at least five in California, have installed robotic retrieval systems. “More libraries are doing this because people are really looking for group interactive space,” said ACRL President Joyce Ogburn. Sonoma State University library has one of the most advanced systems out today (above)....
San Francisco Bay Citizen, Feb. 25; Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat, Feb. 25

Middle school students take back their library
In the past few years, Dallas Independent School District has sliced library funding by about 20%. But with the encouragement of librarian Mary Virginia Meeks (right), Marsh Middle School students cleaned, painted, and held a read-a-thon that paid for comfy couches and chairs. Corporate sponsor Fidelity Investments constructed a new bar in the center of the library called the Tech Café. The makeover caught the attention of Nickelodeon producers, who included Marsh in a Nick News with Linda Ellerbee segment on students taking action to help improve their schools. Watch the video (3:03)....
Preston Hollow (Tex.) Advocate, Feb. 24

The quirky Providence Athenaeum
Jacki Lyden writes: “With a bit of reverence, librarians carefully wind an antique library clock near the circulation desk in a temple of learning called the Providence Athenaeum. This is one of the oldest libraries in the United States, a 19th-century library with the soul of a 21st-century rave party. In fact, the Rhode Island institution has been called a national model for civic engagement. After see-sawing through the recession, membership has rebounded, to about a thousand members and growing.”...
NPR: Weekend Edition, Feb. 25

How Scientology drives librarians nuts
Tony Ortega writes: “We’ve been hearing pretty regularly from librarians near and far who have had it with the aggressive tactics of Scientology. Scientology is like an octopus that wants to get its tentacles into as many places as possible through front groups and supposedly secular entities. Librarians tell us how Scientologists never take no for an answer and insist on sending them books they don’t want. Recently we heard from a Detroit-area librarian, Alan Naldrett, and felt compelled to share his story with you.”...
Village Voice, Feb. 28

Warhol’s assailant left a mark—on a library book
James Barron writes: “If ordinary people were caught doing what Valerie Solanas did, they would probably have their library cards taken away. But Valerie Solanas—mainly remembered for shooting Andy Warhol—was not an ordinary library patron. She marked up a book’s cover and several pages inside. And because the book had been hers in the first place—she was listed as the author, after all—her annotations, said Thomas Lannon, NYPL’s assistant curator of manuscripts, were more like copyediting by a very angry author.”...
New York Times: City Room, Feb. 22

Woman admits to stealing books from libraries
A woman accused of stealing thousands of books from libraries around San Diego County pleaded guilty to a felony burglary charge February 21. An investigation reportedly started last year when Maria Nater tried to leave the Carlsbad (Calif.) Library with books that had not been checked out, using a rolling cart she had brought with her. Library workers had previously noticed an unusual loss of certain books on cooking, crafts, gardening, and oversized books. Police seized approximately 2,000 books and numerous DVDs from Nater’s Vista, California, home....
San Diego (Calif.) Union-Tribune, Feb. 23; San Diego Reader, Feb. 22

GE Foundation a major victim in embezzlement
In December, federal prosecutors charged Linda E. Duffy, a former Saugus (Mass.) Public Library worker, with stealing more than $800,000 in library funds from 2004 to 2011. The GE Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the corporation, was the largest victim in the alleged embezzlement because much of the missing money came from its matching grant program to benefit the library. Prosecutors allege that Duffy withdrew charitable donations, along with fees from overdue books and videos, from a library bank account, deposited the funds into her own account, and then used the money to pay personal expenses. ...
Boston Globe, Feb. 12, 23

Library arson in San Francisco
A man set fire to a stack of pamphlets in San Francisco’s main library branch February 26, damaging cassette tapes, chairs, and computers. The fire was set in the Library for the Blind and Print Disabled room on the second floor, library spokeswoman Michelle Jeffers said, which is typically closed on Sundays. Although the whole building was evacuated, no injuries were reported....
San Francisco Examiner, Feb. 27

Top 10 public libraries of the 21st century
Adel Zakout writes: “In the age of the internet and rapid media consumption, the library has inevitably lost its granted presence within people’s lives. According to the BBC, 12.8% of the adult population in England visited a library in 2010, falling from 16.4% in 2005, and there are plans to close many there. So what can we do, from an architectural point of view, to keep libraries alive and most importantly, meaningful?”...
Huffington Post, Feb. 22

Toronto Public Library is looking for ad opportunities
At its February 27 meeting, the Toronto Public Library board approved a proposal to create an advertising policy for the city libraries (PDF file). The idea would be to start slowly, by hiring a contractor to sell ads that would be printed on the backs of date-due slips. With that accomplished, the library would hire a consultant to look for other advertising-sales opportunities that would maximize revenue....
Torontoist, Feb. 27

Alberta SLIS prof eschews meekness
Early on, Professor Toni Samek (right) asks her students this question: Is homelessness a library issue? Students entering the MLIS program at the University of Alberta’s School of Library and Information Studies arrive not knowing what to expect. But after the homelessness question, students forget their stereotypes about meek librarians. Samek is anything but meek. In fact, she sees herself as an activist in a radical profession....
Macleans OnCampus, Feb. 28

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Celebrated internet philosopher and coauthor of The Cluetrain Manifesto David Weinberger appears at 2012 ALA Annual Conference, on Saturday, June 23. His most recent book, Too Big to Know, provides a compelling vision of the future of knowledge in a connected world.

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