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

This political library gets everyone’s vote
Janice Arenofsky writes: “Tough reference questions—from reporters, candidates, and political junkies—are the lifeblood of the nonpartisan and nonprofit New Hampshire Political Library in Manchester, founded in 1997 by former New Hampshire Gov. Hugh Gregg and Secretary of State Bill Gardner. Queries usually peak before primary and general presidential elections. Library visitors can interact with a permanent exhibit of the historical New Hampshire primary and various temporary exhibits.”...
American Libraries feature

Newsmaker: Joanne Budler
Kansas State Librarian Joanne Budler (right) recently terminated the Kansas Digital Library Consortium’s contract with ebook vendor OverDrive to become a beta tester of 3M’s new Cloud Library ebook lending service. The change is the culmination of a nearly yearlong battle over whether the consortium owned the content it had purchased or had simply licensed it. In this interview, conducted by email with AL Senior Editor Beverly Goldberg, Budler discussed her decision and its ramifications for Kansas....
American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.

Youth Matters: Making progress by fives
Dorcas Hand writes: “At the Australian School Library Association conference in October 2011, Executive Director Karen Bonanno (right) offered several excellent insights in her keynote (31:46) that are useful to all librarians in this era of tightened budgets and job opportunities. School librarians in particular may want to implement Bonanno’s five-finger mnemonic to craft that one-minute elevator speech we should all have at the ready to explain to anyone who will listen what it is we do and why it is important.”...
American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.

Library Design Showcase deadline January 13
Two pieces of information regarding American Libraries' annual Library Design Showcase. First, a friendly reminder: Submissions are due January 13. Download the submission forms here. Second, an alert for anyone who submitted through YouSendIt on January 2 or 3: The YouSendIt site was down for significant portions of those days....
AL: Inside Scoop, Jan. 4

Perpetual Beta, signing off
Jason Griffey writes: “On December 28, I received notice that that my contract with American Libraries for Perpetual Beta is not being renewed. Perpetual Beta was originally conceived of by myself and former Associate Editor Sean Fitzpatrick as a way of highlighting edgy, interesting tech that pushed the boundaries of what might be considered ‘library technology.’”...
AL: Perpetual Beta, Dec. 31

Currents
On January 1 Deanna Marcum (right) became managing director of Ithaka S+R. Pauline J. Shipp Love, 100, died December 8. She was a librarian at Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas, and Atchison (Kans.) High School before joining the ALA Publishing staff as editorial assistant in 1942....
American Libraries column

Annual Conference early bird registration now open
ALA looks forward to welcoming attendees to its 2012 Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, June 21–26. Early bird registration and housing opened on January 3. Registering early ensures the best rates. Housing is open for bundle and all other conference registrants. New in 2012 are “Conversation Starter” programs, where presenters will share expertise and ideas in 45-minute sessions. Anyone wishing to submit a program should fill out this form....
Conference Services, Jan. 3

Camila Alire to open DiversiTea
Camila Alire (right), dean emerita of the University of New Mexico and Colorado State University libraries and 2011 Achievement in Library Diversity Research honoree, will provide opening remarks and receive her plaque at the DiversiTea on January 22 during the 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting. The ALA Council Committee on Diversity, the Diversity Research Grants Advisory Committee, and the ALA Office for Diversity recognized Alire with the 2011 Achievement in Library Diversity Research Honor for her contributions and her promotion of diversity within the profession....
Office for Diversity, Dec. 29

New ALA membership development director
Ronald J. Jankowski (right) has been appointed the new ALA membership development director, effective January 9. Jankowski brings to the position more than 20 years’ experience in marketing in both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. He will be filling the position most recently held by John Chrastka, who left ALA on August 30 to become a partner in an association consulting agency....
Communications and Member Relations, Dec. 30

OITP digital collections panel
The ALA Office for Information Technology Policy will continue the conversation about libraries increasing access to digitized materials with the panel “Online and Above the Radar: Ensuring the Use and Discoverability of Digital Collections” at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas on January 21. Organized by Gwen Glazer and Jason Kucsma, the panel will include several speakers from diverse parts of the library world....
Office for Information Technology Policy, Jan. 3

New OITP Fellow
The Office for Information Technology Policy has named Renee Hobbs (right) as its most recent OITP Fellow. Her term extends through 2012. Hobbs is one of the nation’s leading authorities on media literacy education and has developed award-winning multimedia resources to integrate digital and media literacy into the context of K–12 education. She is also the founding director of the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island....
District Dispatch, Jan. 5

Minnesota Library Association supports Spectrum
The Minnesota Library Association has announced its support of the ALA Spectrum Scholarship Program through a gift to the Spectrum Presidential Fundraising Initiative. MLA has made a $750 contribution. MLA’s contributions will allow ALA to continue to support master’s-level Spectrum Scholarships....
Spectrum Presidential Initiative, Jan. 3

John Green to appear at FTRF Banned Author Event
On January 22, in conjunction with the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, bestselling YA author John Green will appear at the Freedom to Read Foundation’s annual Banned Author Event at the Dallas Public Library. Green, author of the challenged book Looking for Alaska and the forthcoming The Fault in Our Stars, is a major voice in the YA world. Reserve your spot now by making a donation to the Freedom to Read Foundation....
OIF Blog, Jan. 3

Family literacy @ your library
Dale Lipschultz writes: “Family literacy programming has a long history in public libraries. As a national movement, it emerged in the late 1980s in response to the 1983 release of the seminal report A Nation at Risk (PDF file). If anything, the need to help children succeed in school is greater now than it was 30 years ago. In these challenging times, I’m delighted to share two very different family literacy funding opportunities.”...
OLOS Columns, Jan. 3

Improve your library instruction
ALA Editions is offering a new session of Paul Signorelli’s facilitated eCourse, “Rethinking Library Instruction: Libraries as Social Learning Centers.” Signorelli, former director of staff training and volunteer services for the San Francisco Public Library system, will lead this four-week course, which begins February 6. Registration is purchased through the ALA Store....
ALA Editions, Jan. 3

Course on copyright for librarians
ALA Editions will host a new session of the popular facilitated eCourse “Demystifying Copyright: How to Educate Your Staff and Community.” Lesley Ellen Harris (right), a copyright, licensing, and digital property lawyer who works with the information industry, will serve as instructor for this four-week course, which begins on March 5. Registration is purchased through the ALA Store....
AAL Editions, Jan. 3

New session of Drupal for websites
ALA Editions is offering a new session of the facilitated eCourse “Using Drupal to Build Library Websites.” Sean Fitzpatrick will once again serve as the instructor for this six-week facilitated eCourse starting on February 6. Librarian, consultant, and Drupal expert Fitzpatrick will guide participants in building an attractive, functional library website using Drupal. Registration is purchased through the ALA Store....
ALA Editions, Jan. 3

New Booklist subscription model offers it all
Booklist is introducing a new subscription model effective January 1—a combination of print and online access that promises to have a strong impact on streamlining collection development and readers’ advisory workflows. A subscription now includes 22 Booklist and 4 Book Links print issues, plus the new benefit of 24/7 password-access to Booklist Online. Subscribers who haven’t already done so can activate their new online access....
Booklist, Jan. 3

Dining in Dallas
Greg Landgraf writes: “The informal parts of Midwinter—those personal meetings that take place outside of the official sessions, often over a good meal—can be among the most rewarding. Fortunately, Dallas offers plenty of options for tasty meals. Here, several Dallas librarians have shared some of their favorites.”...
American Libraries feature

An insider’s look at Dallas
Heather Botelho writes: “If you’re going to Dallas for Midwinter, you’ve probably seen the different lists of places you should visit and eat. Having lived in Dallas–Fort Worth for a couple of years now, I can tell you that a lot of places that make those lists aren’t the true gems. I asked my library friends, and we came up with a list of our combined must-see and must-dine places in DFW.”...
YALSA Blog, Dec. 29

Public ArtWalk Dallas
Public ArtWalk Dallas is a 3.3-mile, self-guided tour that highlights 30 pieces of art and architecture in the Arts District and downtown Dallas. The route begins at the Nasher Sculpture Center and takes you past such public artworks as the Genesis mosaic, Four Chromatic Gates, Lot’s Wife, the Floating Sculpture, and De Música (right). The Dallas Public Library is also included on the walk....
Public ArtWalk Dallas

John Neely Bryan cabin replica
In 1839, John Neely Bryan, a Tennessee-born attorney, first visited the place that would one day become Dallas. He returned to Arkansas temporarily, but in November 1841 he was back in Texas and settled on the east bank of the Trinity River, not far from the present location of downtown Dallas. In the spring of 1842 he persuaded several families who had settled at Bird’s Fort to join him. A replica of the one-room log structure, the first in Dallas, stands in Founders Plaza near the corner of Elm and Record Street. The original was destroyed by a flood in the 1930s....
D Magazine

The five best things to see and do in Dallas
Wondering what to do while you’re in Dallas for the Midwinter Meeting? Startle.com, the online home of Forbes Travel Guide, has some suggestions: Catch a Mavericks game. Getting seats at the American Airlines Center may be pretty tough to come by these days after the Mavs became the 2011 NBA Champions, “but watching Dirk Nowitzki hit three-pointers like nobody’s business is absolutely worth it.” Dallas is also known for being the city where JFK was assassinated; visit the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza to view related artifacts and exhibits....
Startle

Cranky Concierge
MrSkyGuy writes: “This month I had the opportunity to utilize a service I’d been watching with interest―Brett Snyder’s Cranky Concierge. It is an extension of the goodwill Brett has established over the years as a top airline blogger worldwide on CrankyFlier.com. The concierge service is something he developed as an answer to the ‘what do I do now’ question travelers frequently ask when things don’t go as planned.”...
Airline Crazy, Dec. 27

Every Child Ready to Read webinar
Following the release of the second edition of Every Child Ready to Read @ your library, ALSC and PLA are offering a new webinar to update librarians on the new product: Every Child Ready to Read: New Conversations on Research, Relationships, and Partnerships. The webinar will be offered on three different occasions: February 16, March 8, and April 12. To register, visit the ALSC webinars site....
ALSC, PLA, Dec. 29

Great Websites for Kids redesigned
Great Websites for Kids, the ALSC online website directory, has been completely redesigned. The renewed site boasts a fresh and colorful kid-friendly look and interactive social media enhancements. Clear, bright icons display subject categories, while special sections highlight Sites of the Week and Month, Most Popular pages, and Top Rated selections. A second round of improvements will take place in 2012 and include further development of social functionality and interactivity....
ALSC, Dec. 27

New edition of Great Early Elementary Reads
ALSC has revised its popular bibliography Great Early Elementary Reads, which features recommended book titles for beginning readers. PDFs of the book list are available online in full color and black-and-white and are free to download, copy, and distribute. The updated bibliography is organized into two categories: “Starting to Read” and “Reading on My Own.”...
ALSC, Dec. 27

New Día brochure, webinars
ALSC is releasing a new El día de los niños / El día de los libros brochure for parents and will also host a new round of Día-related webinars. The new brochure for parents and caregivers will be available after the ALA Midwinter Meeting. A downloadable PDF will be available from the new Día website. Each webinar will covers a different area of Día celebrations, including strategies, expansion, and cooperation in the community. The dates are January 11, February 21, March 2, and April 12....
ALSC, Dec. 29

Register for ALSC online courses
There is still time to register for the new semester of ALSC online courses. The division is offering four great courses, all of them beginning on January 16. Detailed descriptions and registration information are available on the ALSC online course information page. All courses will run between four and six weeks and will be taught in an online learning community using Moodle....
ALSC, Dec. 29

ACRL Scholarly Communications road show
Once again, ACRL will take its popular scholarly communications workshop on the road to five locations in 2012. Titled “Scholarly Communication: From Understanding to Engagement,” the road show was originally offered to raise awareness about scholarly communications in the community. In 2012, the program will be expanded to a full-day workshop with more applied programmatic elements, while still retaining much of the “101 basics” elements. The deadline to apply is February 7....
ACRL, Jan. 3

Leonard Kniffel at ALTAFF’s Gala Author Tea
ALTAFF will host its Gala Author Tea, featuring former American Libraries Editor-in-Chief Leonard Kniffel (right), on January 23 at the 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas. The tea will also feature Kim Edwards, Erin Duffy, Pam Houston, and Taylor Stevens. Attendees will enjoy tea, finger sandwiches, and a variety of sweet treats. Tickets will remain at the discounted rate through January 13....
ALTAFF, Jan. 3

Thanks, we did it
Linda W. Braun writes: “In December, an anonymous donor gave YALSA a challenge. If the association was able to raise $500 for the Books for Teens project, the donor would give a matching $500. Because of the generosity of those who support and understand the importance of teen reading, the challenge was met and even exceeded. $780 was raised by donations (after the service charge) plus another $500 from the donor, making for a grand total of $1,280.”...
YALSA Blog, Jan. 3

Help review Library Consultants Code of Ethics draft
The Library Consultant Interest Group—an ASCLA member group—invites independent librarians, library consultants, state and regional library consultants, and any library staff who help others learn and solve problems to join the conversation. An open forum to discuss a draft Library Consultants Code of Ethics will be held January 22 during the ALA Midwinter Meeting....
ASCLA, Jan. 3

Go back to the Top

ALA awards deadline extended
The deadline has been extended to February 1 for a number of ALA awards and grants, including the ALA Information Today Library of the Future Award, Beta Phi Mu Award, Melvil Dewey Award, Equality Award, Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change Award, Ken Haycock Award For Promoting Librarianship, and the Scholastic Library Publishing Award. Although the online application has a December 1 deadline date the applications will be accepted through February 1....
Office of ALA Governance, Dec. 29

DIY mock Printz
Amanda Margis writes: “Last month I had the most fun doing the nerdiest thing since becoming a librarian: I participated in my first Mock Printz discussion. Fourteen YA librarians met for a morning of great books, amazing discussion, and criminal amounts of fun. Afterwards, I realized how easy organizing a Mock Printz discussion would be. All you need is a group that loves YA literature—librarians, teens, or your monthly book club—and these easy steps.”...
YALSA The Hub, Jan. 2

National arts and humanities youth program awards
The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities is accepting applications for the 2012 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards. The 12 winning programs will receive $10,000 and the opportunity to accept their awards from First Lady Michelle Obama, the President’s Committee’s Honorary Chairman, at a ceremony at the White House. The deadline for application submissions is January 31....
Institute of Museum and Library Services, Dec. 28

2011 Costa Book Awards
Carol Ann Duffy has won the Costa Poetry Award for The Bees (Picador), and debut biographer Matthew Hollis has scooped the Costa Biography Award with Now All Roads Lead to France: The Last Years of Edward Thomas (Faber). A nurse, Christie Watson, won the Costa First Novel Award for her book, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away (Quercus), which is set in Nigeria. The Costa Book Awards are among the United Kingdom’s most prestigious literary awards. The category prize winners each win £5,000 ($7,800 US)....
The Bookseller, Jan. 4

The dangers of SOPA
David Carr writes: “Virtually every traditional media company in the United States loudly and enthusiastically supports the Stop Online Piracy Act, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for the rest of us. Rather than launch into a long-winded argument about why the legislation is a bad idea—it is, as currently written—I thought it might be worthwhile to boil SOPA down into a series of questions.” Eric Hellman notes some further potential SOPA problems for foreign libraries....
New York Times, Jan. 1; Go to Hellman, Jan. 3

Bloomfield Hills librarian’s winning advocacy effort
This is a story about a librarian who fought a battle for the common good—and mobilized one of Michigan’s wealthiest communities to listen first to its heart, then to its wallet. Larry Neal (right), now director of the Clinton-McComb (Mich.) Public Library, persisted because he believed in a basic American idea that everyone should have access to a public library, including the affluent residents of Bloomfield Hills, where he lives....
Detroit News, Dec. 29

Three NYC public library systems receive $5 million
The Carnegie Corporation of New York announced December 22 a $5 million grant to New York City’s three public library systems: the New York Public Library, Queens Library, and Brooklyn Public Library. The grant, which boosts the amount Carnegie has provided to the city’s public library systems to approximately $15 million over the past 14 years, will be used to expand services and resources across each system and strengthen the partnership between the region’s public libraries and public schools....
Carnegie Corporation of New York, Dec. 22; Philanthropy News Digest, Dec. 28

ACLU sues library for blocking Wiccan websites
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Eastern Missouri filed a lawsuit January 3 (PDF file) charging the Salem (Mo.) Public Library with unconstitutionally blocking access to websites discussing minority religions by improperly classifying them as “occult” or “criminal.” Salem resident Anaka Hunter contacted the ACLU after she was unable to access websites pertaining to Native American religions or the Wiccan faith for her own research. After protesting to the library director, Glenda Wofford, portions of the sites were unblocked, but much remained censored by the Netsweeper software. Jason Pitzl-Waters comments that web-filtering software has an inherent Christian bias....
American Civil Liberties Union, Jan. 3; The Wild Hunt, Jan. 3

Mom says police went to collect overdue books from 5-year-old
WBZ-TV in Boston reported (1:55) that a 5-year-old girl (right) was left in tears after a police officer showed up at her family’s house to collect an overdue library book. But the Charlton (Mass.) Public Library director said that the branch was actually looking for an audiobook worth $100 checked out since April 2009 by the girl’s father. David Lee King notes that this is a good reason why you should update your library policy page: “After I read the article, I first visited the library’s website and tried to find their fines and fees policy. Here’s all I found (until they updated the site and their Facebook page).”...
Worcester Telegram, Jan. 4; WBZ-TV, Boston, Jan. 2; David Lee King, Jan. 3

Community protests Detroit library closure
A group of metropolitan Detroit activists have been protesting the closure of the Lincoln branch of the Detroit Public Library, calling it an integral hub to the community. Some 18 protesters organized by the group BAMN (By Any Means Necessary) were circling and chanting January 3 in front of the branch. In December at the same branch, police arrested 10 adults and one child protesting the library’s closure....
Detroit Free Press, Jan. 3; Michigan Citizen (Detroit), Jan. 1

On centennial of birth, Guthrie gets a belated honor in Oklahoma
Oklahoma has always had a troubled relationship with her native son Woody Guthrie. The communist sympathies of America’s balladeer infuriated local detractors. But as places from California to the New York island get ready to celebrate the centennial of Guthrie’s birth in 2012, Oklahoma is finally ready to welcome him home. The George Kaiser Family Foundation in Tulsa announced that it is buying the Guthrie archives from his children and building an exhibition and study center to honor his legacy....
New York Times, Dec. 27

Library card at burglary scene leads to arrest
A Muncie, Indiana, man was arrested December 30 after police said he burglarized a woman’s home on Christmas and left his library card at the scene. The alleged victim told police several items had been stolen from the house and said she also found one item on the floor that wasn’t there when she left the previous day: Jerry Ray Bane’s signed Muncie Public Library card....
Muncie (Ind.) Star Press, Jan. 1

Charles Schulz Library finds new home after hurricane damage
The Center for Cartoon Studies has found a new home for the Schulz Library in the old post office building in White River Junction, Vermont. The building will provide instruction space, faculty offices, and will be the new home to the Schulz Library, a one-of-a-kind cartoon collection that was damaged in the flooding after Hurricane Irene in August....
Center for Cartoon Studies, Dec. 20; The Comics Reporter, Aug. 29

$30K grant replaces books lost in Alabama storm
The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the Alabama Humanities Foundation a $30,000 grant as part of “Project Turn the Page,” which helped provide thousands of books to nine state facilities that were damaged by last April’s devastating storms. The foundation compiled a list of books that were damaged or destroyed, focusing on Southern and Alabama history and fiction, as well as award-winning young adult titles....
Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, Dec. 23

The Painted Mirror puts you in the story
The new Springville (Utah) Public Library has an unusual feature called The Painted Mirror, a full-length video monitor that captures your image and draws it into the story. Created and installed by Design I/O, it invites library visitors to move and perform as they stand in front of a storybook page. “Kids step into the world of The Painted Mirror, and they are transformed by different illustration styles inspired by favorite children’s illustrators like Eric Carle or Chris Van Alsburg,” said Theodore Watson, one of the designers....
Provo (Utah) Daily Herald, Dec. 24

Ex-Revere Library director pleads guilty
The former Revere (Mass.) Public Library director charged with stealing more than $270,000 from the city pleaded guilty to three counts of embezzlement and 15 counts of procurement fraud December 27. Robert Rice Jr. will serve six months in the Suffolk County House of Correction and pay full restitution to the city. Prosecutors said Rice used his position as library director to falsify city purchase orders, which he then used to buy personal items. Rice will return to his current position as director of the Pelham (N.H.) Public Library after serving his sentence....
Lynn (Mass.) Daily Item, Dec. 28; Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader, Dec. 29

Officials remove books from UK library under police guard
Protesters campaigning against library closures in the London borough of Brent were dealt a post-Christmas blow December 29 after council staff moved in to empty one of the condemned branches of its contents. Members of Brent’s SOS libraries group were held back by around seven police officers as they stood outside Preston Library. Campaigners lost a second bid in the Court of Appeal in their attempt to overturn the council’s decision to shut six of Brent’s 12 libraries....
London24, Dec. 29

Libraries are popular in Spain
The Spanish Statistics Institute in December released figures on library use, showing that, on average, Spaniards visited their libraries 4.6 times per year. Navarre in northern Spain is the region where users visit the library the most (6.9 visits annually), while the Balearic Islands show the least use (2.4 visits per year). Nine out of 10 libraries in Spain provide internet access. Nationally, the number of library users has increased by 11.5% every two years since 2008....
EuroWeekly Online, Dec. 30

Go back to the Top

View the ALA Midwinter Meeting Scheduler in ALA Connect. Find upcoming sessions, read tweets about the meeting, look for speaker schedules, and much more.

Win a Copy of Pam Muñoz Ryan's 'The Dreamer' Kick Start Your Career Search Strategy! by Rebecca Walden National Film Treasures Selected for Preservation Libraries Provide Resources for Book Clubs Untraditional Lincoln Museum Exhibits Garner Much Attention New Porgy and Bess Stirs Up Controversy as it Opens on Broadway A.S. King: 'Libraries had the weirder books.' (video) Join Us on Facebook Subscribe to our Newsletter

Walter Dean Myers named Young People’s Ambassador
Walter Dean Myers (right), five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and two Newbery Honors, was named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature on January 3 by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. Myers will serve in the position during 2012 and 2013, succeeding Katherine Paterson (who reflects on her own term here). Myers has chosen “Reading Is Not Optional” as the heading for his platform. The inauguration ceremony will take place on January 10 in LC’s Thomas Jefferson Building....
Library of Congress, Jan. 3; Huffington Post, Jan. 3

Copyright Office approves fix for sound recordings
The US Copyright Office has recommended that pre-1972 sound recordings should be protected by federal copyright law in its Report on Federal Copyright Protection for Pre-1972 Sound Recordings (PDF file). See the executive summary. Currently, these older sound recordings are protected by state laws under which copyright exceptions such as library and archival preservation and fair use are uncertain. This uncertainty leads to caution on the part of music librarians and archivists to actively preserve sound recordings—some in fragile or obsolete formats and extremely rare....
District Dispatch, Dec. 30

Public Domain Day 2012
John Mark Ockerbloom writes: “It’s January 1 again, and in much of the world this means another year’s worth of works enter the public domain. There’s not so much excitement about Public Domain Day in the US, where no published works are scheduled to enter the public domain for another seven years, due to a 20-year copyright extension enacted in 1998. But Americans don’t have to simply sigh and contemplate what might have been if copyright terms hadn’t been extended. There are five things Americans can do to improve access to the public domain.”...
Everybody’s Libraries, Jan. 1; Center for the Study of the Public Domain

New Year’s resolutions for social media managers
Heather Mansfield writes: “Here are 11 resolutions for nonprofit social media managers: (1) Create thank-you videos for your 2012 fundraising campaigns, because sometimes your supporters want to see what your staff and working space look like, which can inspire them and make them more committed to your cause; (2) Learn basic HTML to add social networking icons, a Donate Now button, or an e-newsletter subscribe link to your blog, Facebook page, or Flickr Sets and Collections.”...
Nonprofit Tech 2.0, Jan. 3

Google Book Search redux
Karen Coyle writes: “On December 12, the Authors Guild filed a fourth amended complaint (PDF file) against Google. This brings us back to square one, with the addition of the involvement of more libraries and the creation of HathiTrust as a way for the libraries to store their (allegedly) ill-gotten copies. We are therefore back to the question of whether Google’s book scanning is or is not fair use. Looking at this from the library point of view, I wonder what will happen to the millions of library books already scanned by Google.”...
Coyle’s InFormation, Jan. 2

The wonders of Wordnik
Anne Eisenberg writes: “Traditional print dictionaries have long enlisted lexicographers to scrutinize new words as they pop up, weighing their merits and eventually accepting some of them. Not Wordnik, the vast online dictionary. Automatic programs search the internet, combing the texts of news feeds, archived broadcasts, the blogosphere, Twitter posts, and dozens of other sources for definitions and example sentences.”...
New York Times, Dec. 31

OpenStreetMap challenges Google Maps
Christopher Mims writes: “OpenStreetMap is exactly what its name implies—a wiki of maps and location data to which anyone can contribute, just like Wikipedia. With the help of some deep-pocketed boosters, including MapQuest and Microsoft, it’s suddenly a legitimate challenger to the hegemony of maps.google.com.”...
Technology Review: Mims’s Bits, Dec. 26

Yes We Scan campaign
Public-domain advocate and president of Public.Resource.Org Carl Malamud launched a campaign seeking 25,000 signatures to petition the US government to respond to the idea that federal cultural institutions (including libraries) are national treasures and should be made available to everyone through a federal digitization effort. The petition asks the administration to create a group that will answer, within one year, the question, “What would it take to scan .gov?” The deadline is January 20 to sign on....
Yes We Scan

Facebook, 1911: When Joe met Leola at UNR
In 1911, a young Joe McDonald and Leola Lewis, a freshman and junior, were meeting at University of Nevada, Reno’s Morrill Hall to study in the basement library. They probably would have had Facebook pages 100 years later. So the university’s Special Collections and Archives is providing a new opportunity for Joe, who would become president of Reno Newspapers, and Leola, his wife-to-be, to have those pages, with the help of a rich supply of historical photos and other materials....
University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada Today, Dec. 15

How Luther went viral
Scholars have long debated the relative importance of printed media, oral transmission, and images in rallying popular support for the Reformation. Now the internet offers a new perspective on this long-running debate, namely that the important factor was not the printing press itself, but the wider system of media sharing along social networks—what is called “social media” today. Luther, like the revolutionaries of the Arab Spring, grasped the dynamics of this new media environment quickly and saw how it could spread his message....
The Economist, Dec. 17

Medieval Jewish manuscripts discovered in Afghanistan
More than 150 medieval Jewish documents have been discovered in Afghanistan. The works were found, purportedly by shepherds looking for sheep, in the mountains of Samangan Province, which lies along the Silk Road trade route. The manuscripts were written in the 11th century and written in Judeo-Arabic and Judeo-Persian. They include an unknown history of the Kingdom of Judea, passages from the Books of Isaiah and Jeremiah; hitherto unknown works by the 10th-century sage Rabbi Sa’adia Gaon; and personal poems of loss and mourning....
Medievalists, Jan. 3

Linking, not typing
Lorcan Dempsey writes: “‘Knowledge organization’ seems a slightly quaint term now, but we don’t have a better in general use. Take the catalog. This has been a knowledge organization tool. When an item is added, the goal is that it is related to the network of knowledge that is represented in the catalog. In theory, this is achieved through ‘adjacency’ and cross reference, notably with reference to authors, subjects, and works. In practice this has worked variably well.”...
Lorcan Dempsey’s Weblog, Jan. 1

Is a digital media lab right for you?
Mick Jacobsen writes: “This post is for those of you who are considering starting a digital media lab and wondering if you will enjoy it as an aspect of your job. This is what my work life looks like being in charge of the Skokie (Ill.) Public Library DML. Training, training, and more training. Training myself, colleagues, and library members. Oh, and also making sure everything runs smoothly and is positioned for the future.”...
Tame the Web, Dec. 31

61 nontraditional jobs for LIS grads
Mia Breitkopf writes: “I’ve been combing through library job postings, looking at the varied types of positions available right now, a year before I’ll be applying for jobs. Some of them are traditional library jobs, like reference librarian and cataloger. But many of them aren’t. I’ve come up with a list of 61 jobs for librarians, almost none of which actually have the word ‘librarian’ in the title. Nearly all of them require an MLIS.”...
Information Space, Dec. 23

The words “library” and “librarian”
Jill Hurst-Wahl writes: “Which is more important, the name ‘librarian’ or what librarians can accomplish? Sadly, it does matter—maybe not to you, but to a colleague who is job hunting, a student who is graduating, or an organization that needs a skill and isn’t sure where to find it. In those and other situations, the words may be hindering what is truly possible.”...
Digitization 101, Dec. 24

Peter Sís murals at Champaign
Three murals by illustrator and author Peter Sís (right) were installed in the children’s department of the Champaign (Ill.) Public Library on November 30. Sís says the imagery conveys the way that books open the world to young readers, combining familiar faces from children’s literature with the artist’s own characters. He paid a visit to the library December 14 to talk about the project....
Champaign (Ill.) Public Library, Dec. 21

Civil War’s 150th anniversary uncovers treasures
From New England to the South, state archivists are using the sesquicentennial of the Civil War to collect a trove of wartime letters, diaries, documents, and mementos that have gathered dust in attics and basements. This still-unfolding call will help states expand existing collections on the Civil War and provide new insights into the era. Virginia archivists are especially pleased by a submission from the family of David Harris, an escaped slave who wrote of his love for a woman named Julia at the same time he fled bondage....
Associated Press, Dec. 26

Tips for using US Census records, 1790–1930
Constance Potter, archivist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., discusses US Federal Census records from 1790 to 1930 and how they can be used for genealogical research in this video tutorial (12:13). This is one of five videos that are part of the Know Your Records program hosted by the National Archives....
YouTube, Dec. 12

John Boynton Kaiser, bibliophilatelist
Larry Nix writes: “January 1 is the 125th anniversary of the birth of John Boynton Kaiser (1910–1971), librarian and philatelist. Kaiser was one of the first to collect postage stamps that depict libraries and librarians. He had a successful career as a librarian, which included serving as administrator of the Tacoma (Wash.) Public Library, the University of Iowa Libraries and Library School, and the Newark (N.J.) Public Library.”...
Philatelic Literature and Research, Jan. 1

The secret language of stamps
Many philatelists are familiar with positioning postage stamps to silently express their sentiments. The various positions of the stamp found on postcards indicated, as the pointer of an erotometer, the temperature of love. Others, by contrast, informed unwanted suitors about the reasons for rejection through the position of the stamp. The majority, however, conveyed more subtle messages, from hesitation through desire to rejection, and even specific instructions such as “tomorrow at the usual place!”...
Poemas del río Wang, Dec.

2011 National Film Registry choices
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington selected on December 28 Forrest Gump (1994) and 24 other films to be preserved as cultural, artistic, and historical treasures in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Annual selections to the registry are finalized by the Librarian of Congress after reviewing hundreds of titles nominated by the public. Other picks this year are The Kid (1921), Bambi (1942), The Lost Weekend (1945), Norma Rae (1979), and El Mariachi (1992)....
Library of Congress, Dec. 28

Library kit: Flip Filmmakers
Carissa Christner, youth services librarian at the Madison (Wis.) Public Library, created this kit (PDF file) for a fun filmmaking library activity. Good for older kids and teens, the program teaches about short films and lets kids put what they learn into practice by writing and filming their own short film. The kit is free to share and modify to suit your library’s needs....
Library As Incubator Project, Jan. 2

Ribbed library in Norway
Bringing together a library, café, meeting places, and administrative areas into one shared space, the municipal library of Vennesla, Norway, conveys a soothing, intimate feeling. Underneath the 27 ribbed wooden structures, shelves and benches offer visitors a personal study zone. Designed by Helen and Hard architects in Stavanger....
Freshome, Dec. 22; Helen & Hard

Extreme book sculptures
Benjamin Starr writes: “I thought I’d seen every type of book carving imaginable until I ran across these jaw-dropping creations by Guy Laramee. His works are so sculptural, so movingly natural in their form, they’ve really touched me. His works are inspired by a fascination with so-called progress in society: a thinking which says the book is dead, libraries are obsolete, and technology is the only way of the future.”...
Visual News, Dec. 22

Billy Quan and the Library of Death
Billy Quan is reading his father’s book on manners when John Rudely interrupts him, in an episode (2:14) of “Mind Your Manners with Billy Quan,” featured in the Seattle TV comedy series Almost Live! in the 1990s. Quan was played by cameraman Darrel Suto. The voice and mouth movements of the characters were out of sync, a reference to some of Bruce Lee’s early martial arts films....
YouTube, Mar. 5, 2007

Adult hide-and-seek in the PCC Library
Portlandia, the IFC channel’s sketch comedy program, featured the Portland (Oreg.) Community College library in its Season 1 opening episode, which aired January 21, 2011. In the “PCC Library” sketch (3:41), two rival teams in Portland’s Adult Hide-and-Seek League, the Sherlock Holmies and the Punky Bruisers, play a competition match in the reading room, where a senior patron criticizes their lifestyle: “Kind of a house, but kind of falling apart—I think that describes your life right now, honey.” Season 2 starts this Friday....
YouTube, Jan. 28, 2011

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