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The e-newsletter of the American Library Association | July 11, 2012

Risk Reward Conference

ALA Virtual Conference

AL Buyers Guide

American Libraries Online

Julie Barker, a teacher at Cheshire (Conn.) High School, reads one of the Dragonflight books, while her handmade dragon sits on her shoulderSummer reading goes to school
Malavika Shrikhande and Ellen Speirs write: “A growing number of academic and school libraries are now taking a page from their public library counterparts by hosting summer reading programs—and they’re seeing positive results. What follows are two examples of how summer reading programs sponsored by nontraditional institutions are making a difference for students and staff, one at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, and another at Cheshire (Conn.) High School.”...
American Libraries feature

Library symbol with ebookResearch shows public awareness gap about ebooks in libraries
Larra Clark writes: “A June 22 report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project finds that 12% of readers of ebooks borrowed an ebook from their libraries in the past year, and a majority of respondents (62%) don’t know if their local library provides ebooks. Somewhat startlingly, even 58% of library card holders were unsure if their library offered the service. In addition, a majority were either unable to borrow from the library an ebook they were seeking (56%) or encountered wait lists (52%).”...
American Libraries news, July 11

Librarians at conference exhibitsLibrarian ethnicity
Q. Does ALA have recent information on the ethnic distribution of librarians? A. As reported by the US Census Bureau following the 2010 census, the population of the US is becoming increasingly racially diverse. While the white population remains the majority nationally, some areas of the country now have nonwhite majorities. Here is the research we have....
AL: Ask the ALA Librarian, July 11

Ask A Librarian from Tutor.com websiteSolutions and Services: New Ask a Librarian service
In June, Tutor.com announced the launch of Ask A Librarian Online Reference Center. This new service is a cost-effective way to add reference librarians to your staff. The virtual reference service also helps bring a higher return on a library’s investment in its website, online catalogs, and resources....
American Libraries column, July 6

William NoelCurrents
In September, William Noel (right) will become director of the Special Collections Center at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and founding director of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies. Dorothy Carlson retired in June as head of children’s services at Radnor (Pa.) Memorial Library. Margaret Goggin, 93, died June 10; she had been dean of the graduate school of librarianship at the University of Colorado and in 1980 was cofounder of the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar....
American Libraries column

Pinterest boards on library associations
Want to browse through a visual collection of North American library associations? Check out our Library Asssociations (North America) board. We are still adding to it, so let us know of any we missed. And we started a new one on Library Associations (National).

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ALA News

The photo Forbes used to illustrate LIS as the no. 1 worst master's degree for jobsMaureen Sullivan responds to Forbes
ALA President Maureen Sullivan has issued a statement in response to a June 8 Forbes article deriding the value of a library and information science master’s degree. She writes: “It is true that many librarians are not paid for the full value of their work. The profit-centered, corporation-based measures valued by Forbes suggest that pay rates and growth are the only valid reasons for selecting a career or seeking an advanced degree. . . . [F]or librarians, the primary motivation is job satisfaction derived from the opportunity to make a significant difference in the lives of others.”...
Public Information Office, July 6; Forbes, June 8

ALA Virtual Conference logoFinal program for ALA Virtual Conference
Experimentation and innovation are the name of the game at the “Mapping Transformation” Virtual Conference July 18–19. High-profile speakers and presenters will highlight how new services are transforming both their libraries and their communities, while the two days of interactive web sessions, conversations, and insights offer starting points for discussion as well as practical ideas for moving forward and trying something new. Here are the speakers and topics scheduled....
Conference Services, July 10

David Lee KingBad reporting and weird views about ALA
AL columnist David Lee King (right) writes: “My wife passed this article by Emily Whitten on the ALA’s social activism along to me, and it irritated me. A lot. So I left a comment on the article, and thought I’d share it here, too. ‘Emily seems to be a fine writer, but needs to brush up a bit on her research skills, as her article about the American Library Association is highly inaccurate at best. Here are some examples of those inaccuracies.’”...
David Lee King, July 7; WorldMag, July 6

International Relations Round Table Emerging Leaders groupStill time to become an Emerging Leader
There is still time to apply to the ALA Emerging Leaders program. The deadline to apply is August 3. The program is designed to enable library workers to get on the fast track to ALA and professional leadership. Individuals who are considering applying to the program should be under 35 years of age or be a new library professional of any age with fewer than five years of library experience....
Human Resource Development and Recruitment, July 10

Two important Council resolutions
At Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, the ALA Council passed two important resolutions on the value of school libraries and librarians and voter restrictions. The first directs ALA to lead the Association in “addressing the urgent need for advocacy on behalf of school libraries and librarians.” The second opposes voter ID laws, restrictions on voter registration, cuts to early voting, and any other laws resulting in the restriction of lawful access to voting....
Office of ALA Governance, July 10

COA announces accreditation actions
The ALA Committee on Accreditation has announced the actions taken at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. Continued accreditation status was granted to programs at Indiana University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi. Conditional accreditation status was granted to programs at the University at Buffalo and the University of Missouri in Columbia....
Office for Accreditation, June 10

ALA-APA recognizes two community college programs
The ALA–Allied Professional Association announced July 10 that it has completed agreements with Three Rivers Community College in Connecticut and New Mexico State University’s Doña Ana Community College. The agreement will allow graduates of their library science programs who meet the established criteria to receive the Library Support Staff Certification (LSSC) designation....
ALA–Allied Professional Association, July 10

Cover of the 2012 edition of The Newbery and Caldecott AwardsNewbery and Caldecott Awards guide
What book was honored with a Newbery Award in 1931? Or awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1957? In 1974? Last year? Updated to include the 2012 award and honor books, The Newbery and Caldecott Awards: A Guide to the Medal and Honor Books, 2012 edition, published by ALA Editions, gathers together the books deemed most distinguished in American children’s literature and illustration since the inception of the renowned prizes....
ALA Editions, July 6

Cover of Build Your Own App for Fun and ProfitFirst releases from Huron Street Press
Huron Street Press, a new ALA publishing imprint, has released its first three titles. In line with ALA’s mission to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all, they harness the expertise of the Association and encourage library use among the public. Available through Independent Publishers Group in both print and ebook editions, the titles are: Read with Me: Best Books for Preschoolers, by Stephanie Zvirin; Build Your Own App for Fun and Profit, by Scott La Counte; and The Entrepreneur’s Starter Kit: 50 Things to Know Before Starting a Business, by Paul Christopher....
ALA Huron Street Press, July 6

Cover of Digital DialoguesLooking beyond avatars
Making the argument that community is not an inevitable result of communication, Digital Dialogues and Community 2.0: After Avatars, Trolls, and Puppets explores the communities that use digital platforms, portals, and applications from daily life to build relationships beyond geographical locality and family links. Editor Tara Brabazon and her contributors provide detailed analyses of how technology realigns the boundaries between connection, consciousness, and community....
ALA Neal Schuman, July 10

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Booklist Online banner

Booklist Online logo

Cover of Groupon's Biggest Deal EverFeatured review: Adult nonfiction
Sennett, Frank. Groupon’s Biggest Deal Ever: The Inside Story of How One Insane Gamble, Tons of Unbelievable Hype, and Millions of Wild Deals Made Billions for One Ballsy Joker. June 2012. 320p. St. Martin’s, hardcover (978-1-250-00084-2).
The “insane gamble” in the subtitle is Andrew Mason’s. The founder of the internet coupon site Groupon, he turned down a $6 billion buyout offer from Google. But, reading the book, you might think insane is not all that accurate a word. Mason, who sort of fell backward into success, just knew deep down that he had a huge success on his hands. Why let someone else reap the financial rewards that could easily and wildly surpass Google’s offer? Told in an appealingly jaunty prose style, the story portrays Mason as a plucky entrepreneur, a laid-back and politically incorrect school prankster who is a sharp-as-a-tack computer programmer savvy enough to know a good idea when he has it. Is there a movie here, following in the wake of The Social Network? Well, there are no Winklevoss twins, but don’t bet against it....

Great Reads from Booklist Online EditorsBusiness books for the beach
Keir Graff writes: “Is there such a thing as a business book for beach reading? If we define a beach read as a fast-moving narrative that allows us to lose ourselves in the story—and, for some of us, the kind of book we wouldn’t read during the rest of the year—then the answer is yes. These 10 titles from the last 10 years were chosen for their excellent narrative flow and widespread appeal.”...

@ Visit Booklist Online for other reviews and much more....

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Division News

Paige JaegerDon’t sweat the Common Core
Register now for the new AASL e-Academy course, “Common Core: Moving from Complex to Calm, Cool, and Collected.” This four-week, self-paced course facilitated by Paige Jaeger (right) will run from August 6–31. Registration and course information are available on the AASL e-Academy page. Participants will learn how and why inquiry-based instruction supports the Common Core State Standard....
AASL, July 10

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Awards & Grants

2012 I Love My Librarian! award logoNominations open for I Love My Librarian award
Library users can now nominate a librarian for the 2012 Carnegie Corporation of New York / New York Times I Love My Librarian Award. The nomination form is available on atyourlibrary.org, the ALA public awareness website. The award invites library users to recognize the accomplishments of librarians in public, school, college, community college, and university libraries for their efforts to improve lives. Up to 10 librarians will be selected, and each will receive $5,000, a plaque, and a $500 travel stipend to attend an award ceremony and reception in December in New York....
ALA Public Information Office, July 6

Cover of My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece2012 Branford Boase Award
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher (Orion Children’s Books) was announced as the winner of the £1,000 (US $1,552) Branford Boase Award at a ceremony at Walker Books HQ in London on July 5. The award is given annually to the author and editor of the most outstanding debut novel for children. It tells the story of a family torn apart after a terrorist attack, while also dealing deftly with other difficult issues including racism, bullying, and alcoholism....
The Telegraph (UK), July 5

Cover of Icelight, by Aly Monroe2012 CWA Dagger awards
The winners of the 2012 Crime Writers’ Association Dagger awards, which recognize the best crime novels written in the UK over the past 12 months, were revealed in London July 5, with Aly Monroe scooping the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger for Icelight. The CWA International Dagger was won by Andrea Camilleri for his latest Inspector Montalbano novel, The Potter's Field, while the husband-and-wife team of Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan picked up the CWA Dagger for Nonfiction for The Eleventh Day....
Foyles, July 6

Cover of What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne FrankEnglander wins Frank O’Connor Award
Author Nathan Englander has won the world’s most valuable short story prize. Englander won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award with his collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (Weidenfeld & Nicolson). He will pick up €25,000 (US $30,656) from the award’s founders, the Munster Literature Centre, with the prize money funded by Cork (Ireland) City Council. However, the future of the prize is uncertain....
The Bookseller, July 9

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Libraries in the News

New York Public Library Main Reading Room, 2006. Photo by David IliffThe battle over the New York Public Library
Jason Farago writes: “The hottest cultural controversy of this already hot summer concerns the New York Public Library and a plan to slice open the stacks in the Steven A. Schwartzman Building and ‘replace books with people,’ in the words of NYPL CEO Anthony Marx. It’s enraged writers and professors, demoralized a staff already coping with layoffs, and called the entire purpose of the system into question. And the debate is getting bitter.”...
The Guardian (UK), July 7

New Memphis Public Library card unveiled in JulyLibrary cards at root of voter ID challenge
New Memphis library cards that include a photo have become a challenge to a new Tennessee law requiring certain state-issued photo identification in order to vote. The library system unveiled the move to the photo library cards in early July with Memphis Mayor A. C. Wharton Jr. saying the new library cards could be used to vote starting with the upcoming August 2 elections. Less than 24 hours later, Tennessee Elections Coordinator Mark Goins contradicted that, saying the new library cards are not valid for voter identification. Pennsylvania is facing a similar quandary....
Memphis (Tenn.) Daily News, July 10; Keystone Politics, July 10

Residents try to save the Pomona Public Library
A citywide task force of residents, business people, and others is working on strategies to keep the Pomona (Calif.) Public Library open. Ideas range from placing containers in businesses where customers can drop in donations to a tax levy in the November election ballot. Councilwoman Paula Lantz asked for volunteers after a proposal went before the city council calling for a year-long temporary closure of the library beginning in mid-August as a way for the cash-strapped city to save money....
Ontario (Calif.) Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, July 8

Jacksonville plans to cut hours, jobs
Faced with a requirement to cut $4.66 million from its budget, the Jacksonville (Fla.) Public Library board has proposed cutting jobs and closing all library branches on Sundays and most branches at least one other day a week. This 24% reduction will come along with the elimination of 71 full-time positions. That includes 41 vacancies and 30 filled jobs, including librarians and library technicians, from a total staff of 352, a 20% cut....
Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, July 9

Rosa Parks Avenue branch of Montgomery (Ala.) Public LibraryRosa Parks Avenue branch library could be renamed
Library officials want to rename Montgomery (Ala.) Public Library’s Rosa Parks Avenue branch the Bertha Pleasant Williams branch to commemorate the city’s first black librarian. Williams began serving in 1948 at the first branch for African Americans, who weren’t allowed in Montgomery’s other libraries at the time. “This would in no way be disrespectful to Mrs. Parks, who has a library and museum named for her downtown,” local historian Mary Ann Neely said, noting that Williams was among “those who have contributed so much to the community.”...
Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, July 10

Washington school librarians defend their positions
No one knows exactly how many teacher librarians have been cut in Washington state during the past five years. But the number has definitely increased, said Craig Seasholes, president of the Washington Library Media Association. Teacher librarians want to change that trend. Since 2008, the association has hired a lobbyist in Olympia to ensure policymakers include trained librarians in education planning....
Yakima (Wash.) Herald-Republic, July 4

Restaurant buzzerUsing restaurant buzzers in libraries
You’ve been waiting for more than half an hour for a seat. It’s incredibly crowded because you came at a peak hour and everyone seems to be taking their time. Just as you’re starting to get frustrated, the buzzer in your hand lights up and vibrates, alerting you that a space has finally opened. No, you’re not at a restaurant during the dinner rush—you’re at Lisle (Ill.) Public Library and your computer terminal is ready....
Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald, July 9

Worcester (Mass.) Public Library's new bookmobileWorcester’s magic bus
Matthew Robert writes: “When press releases for the Worcester (Mass.) Public Library bookmobile began appearing this spring, spreading the news that ‘Libby the Library Express’ would roll out soon after, the catch phrase was, ‘this is not your mother’s bookmobile.’ I boarded the magic bus on its second day of operation, June 5, and talked to mobile librarians Mark Lindberg and Joe Blake. They say that, while patrons of the bus would prefer their own neighborhood library branch, the Library Express, with its collection of books and DVDs and hi-tech gizmos, is a branch library.”...
Worcester Mag, June 20

Interior of Mexico City's A47 Mobile LibraryMexican architects create a bookmobile
A truck carrying more than 1,200 volumes of visual art and culture, the A47 travels the streets of Mexico City, providing the residents of various neighborhoods with access to its contents. The A47 Mobile Library is a project developed by the Fundación Alumnos47, an organization that brings learning communities together around contemporary artistic practices and visual culture. Given that the foundation’s major project is to build a contemporary art museum by 2014, it seemed reasonable to use a mobile unit to activate the museum’s existing collection until the building to house it is completed....
Domus, July 2

Some of the recovered artifacts and documents had to do with Thomas Jefferson. Photo by Julita SiegelStolen artifacts return to Polish Museum
Officials at Chicago’s Polish Museum of America breathed a sigh of relief after the FBI announced June 20 the return of more than 120 stolen artifacts, worth an estimated $5 million. The artifacts, which include 300-year-old documents, military medals, rare artwork, and Nazi propaganda from World War II, had been missing from the museum since the 1970s or 1980s. The items were found in the basement of a home where a curator from the museum used to live. Tenants of the home had found them and sold them to a dealer, who later determined they had belonged to the museum....
Chicago Sun-Times, June 20

Lynn Sullivan holds the Omaha Public Library scalpChasing a prairie tale
Tony Perrottet writes: “‘Are you ready for the scalping party?’ Lynn Sullivan, an Omaha (Nebr.) Public Library staffer, asked cheerily as she handed me a pair of archival cotton gloves. In a neon-illuminated room, she unwrapped layers of protective foam to reveal a thick mat of golden brown hair. The glossy locks were attached to an oval of human hide, cured like old leather. The scalp once belonged to William Thompson, an English-born railway worker who was surprised in Nebraska in 1867 by Cheyenne raiders.”...
New York Times, June 22

Jiminy Cricket on display at the Ronald Reagan Persidential LibraryReagan Presidential Library hosts major Disney exhibit
On opening day July 6, hundreds of visitors toured “D23 Presents Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives,” featuring about 500 artifacts from almost nine decades of Disney history. It’s the largest temporary exhibit ever housed at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Many of the items have never been displayed publicly, including the Alice contract signed by Disney in 1923 and the books used in the opening scenes of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty....
Ventura County (Calif.) Star, July 6

Codex CalixtinusSpanish police recover 12th-century codex
The Codex Calixtinus, an illuminated 12th-century manuscript that is considered the world’s first guidebook, was recovered July 4 by Spanish police a year after it was stolen from the library of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The presumed thief, Manuel Fernández Castiñeiras, a disgruntled former employee of the cathedral, housed the priceless manuscript in a garbage bag in his garage along with a variety of other stolen books from the cathedral’s library and €1.2 million (US$1.5 million) in cash. Susan Boynton writes about the importance of this codex. More about the robbery (in Spanish) here....
Fine Books Blog, July 6; OUPblog, July 6; Hechos de Hoy, July 6

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Issues

Screenshot from the CNN report on the Belfast ProjectBoston College must release oral-history records
A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that requires Boston College to hand over to British authorities recordings of confidential interviews with former Irish Republican Army members made between 2001 and 2006. The decision, issued July 6 by the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, is the latest in a series of rulings in the case that have raised alarms among oral-history researchers about the legal authority of academic confidentiality agreements. The records are part of the Belfast Project, which is archived in the Burns Library at Boston College and documents the late 20th-century unrest in Northern Ireland....
Chronicle of Higher Education, July 7; The Telegraph (UK), July 9; Boston College Subpoena News; CNN, May 25

ALA, EFF file amicus brief in HathiTrust case
The Electronic Frontier Foundation joined ALA, ACRL, and the Association of Research Libraries July 6 in urging a federal court to find that the fair use doctrine permitted the creation of a valuable digital library. In an amicus brief filed in The Authors Guild v. HathiTrust, the groups argue that the copying of books for a database like the HathiTrust Digital Library is a clear case of fair use and in the public interest. James Grimmelmann sums up the fair use arguments on both sides in the case....
Electronic Frontier Foundation, July 9; The Laboratorium, July 8

Rep. Lamar SmithSOPA and ACTA: The sequels?
Gregory Ferenstein writes: “US Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex., right) is attempting to reanimate portions of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bit by bit. The Intellectual Property Attaché Act (PDF file), introduced in the House July 9, revives a SOPA provision creating a global intellectual property task force to aggressively promote antipiracy law around the world.” David Meyer cautions that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) isn’t dead either, just reborn as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a free-trade agreement being negotiated between the European Union and Canada. ALA is now analyzing the copyright and privacy implications that may be present in these new bills....
TechCrunch, July 10; Techdirt, July 9; ZDNet, July 10; PC World, July 10

Congressional Research Service logoNew bill would open up CRS reports to the public
US Reps. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) and Mike Quigley (D-N.J.) introduced legislation July 10 that will help the American people, the media, and government employees better understand important public policy issues. The bipartisan Public Access to Congressional Research Service Reports Resolution of 2012 (H. Res. 727) would ensure that reports by Congress’s $100 million-a-year think tank become available to the public on a website maintained by the House Clerk. ALA has long been supportive of such efforts to ensure public access to government information....
Sunlight Foundation, July 10

UN affirms internet freedom as a basic right
On July 5, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a landmark resolution (PDF file) supporting freedom of expression on the internet. Even China, which filters online content through a firewall, backed the resolution. It affirmed that “the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular freedom of expression, which is applicable regardless of frontiers and through any media of one’s choice.”...
New York Times: Bits, July 6

Info-technology shock
Rebecca J. Rosen writes: “One thing that we often overlook as we try to understand how the internet is remaking our world is just how recently it appeared in our lives. In a new survey, commissioned by The Atlantic and the Aspen Institute and conducted by Penn Schoen Berland and Associates, 59% of people ages 18–29 said that social media or the internet had a great deal or a fair amount of influence on their sense of right and wrong.”...
The Atlantic, June 27

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Tech Talk

Nexus 7 tablet7-inch tablet showdown coming this fall
Jared Newman writes: “Tablets with 7-inch displays will get their time in the spotlight this fall, as Google, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and possibly Apple fight for holiday shoppers’ dollars. Google has already outed its first content consumption tablet, the Nexus 7 (above), which launches in July for $200 with 8 GB of storage, or $250 with 16 GB. Amazon, meanwhile is expected to refresh its Kindle Fire with the same resolution display as the Nexus 7.”...
PC World, July 9

Old tablet as a dedicated e-readerNew uses for your old tablet
Thorin Klosowski writes: “The tablet market is just heating up, but chances are if you were an early adopter you’ve already upgraded at least once. Even if you haven’t, plenty of people have purchased a tablet only to realize they don’t have a really good use for one. So, what’s that old touch screen good for anyway? Let’s take a look at some of the more clever uses. How about as a dedicated e-reader?”...
Lifehacker, July 11

Alternates to MeeboThe best picks to replace Meebo
Eric Griffith writes: “On July 11, we say good-bye to my favorite web-based app of all time: Meebo. You could log on to the Meebo site and use it to access all of your IM accounts. Google bought the company in June, but it is shutting Meebo Messenger down in favor of Google+. That means it’s time for Meebo Messenger users to download their old chat transcripts (do that here), and then find an alternative for IMing, stat. There are quite a few to choose from.”...
PC Magazine, July 9

System update availableIt never gets better
Matt Buchanan writes: “You might buy a new phone that’s missing something, thinking, ‘It will get better.’ No, it won’t. If I were to tell you one thing about buying technology, it is this: Buy something because you like what it is right now, not because you think it’s going to get better, or that one day it’ll be what you really wanted it to be. It’s kind of like marrying somebody and thinking you’ll change them and they’ll get better. But over time, you’ll just hate them even more. And yourself, at least a little.”...
BuzzFeed: Tech for Humans, July 6

A Klagenfurter scans a sticker for an ebookKlagenfurt builds a library with QR codes and chips
Alexis Santos writes: “Strangely, the Austrian city of Klagenfurt doesn’t have a public library, even though it hosts the Festival of German-Language Literature. However, an initiative dubbed Project Ingeborg is turning the municipality into a book repository of sorts with 70 QR code and NFC chip-equipped stickers. Plastered throughout town, they direct users to web pages where they can download public domain works, largely from Project Gutenberg.”...
Engadget, July 10

Safe to Remove Hardware messageDo you really need to safely remove your USB sticks?
Chris Hoffman writes: “You’ve probably heard that you always need to use the Safely Remove Hardware icon before unplugging a USB device. However, there’s also a good chance that you’ve unplugged a USB device without using this option and everything worked fine. Windows itself tells you that you don’t need to use the Safely Remove Hardware option if you use certain settings—the default settings—but the advice Windows provides is misleading.”...
How-To Geek, July 10

What language should you build your app with?
Grace Handy writes: “Mobile developers across the globe have developed and released more than 650,000 iPhone apps, 400,000 iPad apps, and 600,000 apps for Android. Are you thinking about building an app? A key step in the process is choosing the right programming language, which depends on how scrappy you’re willing to be.”...
Mashable, July 11

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E-Content

ALA, PLA partner with OCLC on ebook research
Christopher Harris writes: “OCLC is launching a new project, ‘The Big Shift: Advancing Public Library Participation in Our Digital Future.’ The purpose of the project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is to more fully understand the challenges that US public libraries face in providing ebook content to borrowers, and to ensure that all Americans continue to have access to commercially produced content through their local public libraries, even as formats change.”...
AL: E-Content, July 10; OCLC, July 10

DCWG Tip Sheet logoALA digital content tip sheets
Christopher Harris writes: “One charge of the Digital Content Working Group is to help the library community better understand and adapt to the growth of digital content. To assist with this, the internal communication subgroup (subgroup five for those who follow numbers better) will be publishing a series of DCWG Tip Sheets. Written in plain English, the tip sheets will explain issues such as DRM, digital accessibility, the economics of publishing, and other topics to be determined—by you. The first is on digital rights management (PDF file).”...
AL: E-Content, July 10

Colorado ebook manifesto
Jamie LaRue writes: “This manifesto was drafted by Colorado State Librarian Gene Hainer and me at the request of public library directors in the state. ‘Leadership, Colorado libraries have been leaders in securing access to collections in many ways: working with distributors like OverDrive and 3M; experimenting with products like Freegal and Freading; checking out ereaders with bundled titles; and even hosting the works of independent publishers, including many Colorado authors.’”...
myliblog, July 6

Access Denied: Forever#JudyBlumeForever . . . unless you are a library
Christopher Harris writes: “On July 10, Simon and Schuster tried to drum up a bit of social media attention on #JudyBlumeForever about the release of the first Judy Blume ebook, her 1975 classic Forever. Sadly, students won’t find the ebook version of Forever in the digital stacks of their libraries. The publisher refuses to sell its ebooks to libraries for lending. So along with congratulations to @JudyBlume for the e-release of her amazing book, I also have to ask if she is even aware that the Forever ebook is forever locked away from libraries.”...
AL: E-Content, July 10

OverDrive tweet asking for suggestionsHow would you improve the OverDrive interface?
Brian Herzog writes: “I put together the following list that I think would improve the OverDrive experience. Granted, I know its web interface is somewhat customizable, so different libraries have different looks and slightly different experiences. And I know it has a mobile interface, which I’m going to ignore for now. I also won’t even talk about OverDrive Advantage, because I don’t know how much just seems overly complicated to me due to my library being part of a consortium.”...
Swiss Army Librarian, July 11

The ebook cargo cult
Brett Bonfield writes: “Libraries created the present crisis in scholarly publishing, and we are creating a similar crisis now with our approach to ebooks. We created the crisis in scholarly publishing by ceding control of an intrinsic library function, abstracting and indexing, to outside firms. Now, with ebooks, we have the resources we need to avoid repeating our greatest error. The question is whether we have the will to maintain our values rather than simply preserve our role, or at least what we have come to think of as our role.”...
In the Library with the Lead Pipe, July 11

Used Ebook signEbooks coming to a used bookstore near you?
One oft-cited drawback of ebooks is that they can’t be sold by the original buyer and then resold as used books. The original buyer is only purchasing license to use the file. That all could change if a July 5 ruling (PDF file) by the Court of Justice of the European Union gains traction. In a dispute between software giant Oracle and UsedSoft, a used business software licensing site, the court ruled that the original buyers of a digital product license can resell that license to a third party, providing they no longer use the digital product themselves....
Digital Book World, July 5

My loser boyfriend: Ebooks
Michelle Kraft writes: “As much as I love ebooks and technology, they are like a crummy loser boyfriend—full of ups and downs that take you on a roller coaster of emotions, only leaving you to love them one minute and hate them the next. Just like that loser boyfriend, they have money issues.”...
The Krafty Librarian, July 10

TED Books app logoTED Books launches reading app with extras
TED Books wants to do for reading what the world-famous series of TED Talks did for web video: provide viral inspiration. TED founder Chris Anderson called its forthcoming reading app, “what books should be in a digital age.” This is a new multimedia venture that launched July 10. The TED Books app is initially iPad only, though Anderson says that other platforms, including Android, are in the works....
The Huffington Post, July 6

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ALA Virtual Conference, July 18-19

Don’t miss next week’s ALA Virtual Conference, “Mapping Transformation,” focusing on practical experimentation and innovation. Just added as opening keynote speaker: Travis Good from MAKE Magazine, who will discuss Makerspaces in libraries. From ebooks and digital content to thinking like startups and other innovators, from designing a better library user experience to the library as cocreator, inspiration will be plentiful. Consult the final program and get inspired—register now!


Midwest Tape


ALA-APA Library Worklife


Avatar: The Last Airbender poster

Parts 1 and 2 of the graphic novel series by Printz Award-winner Gene Luen Yang, Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Promise, are out and Part 3 will be released in September. Get ready for it with this poster featuring original art by Japanese illustration team Gurihuru. It shows Aang as he zips around Wan Shi Tong’s Library, with Katara using her water-bending powers to reach books. A CLASSIC! From ALA Graphics.


Solutions and Services

Great Libraries of the World

National Library of Catalonia

National Library of Catalonia, Barcelona. Spain. The library was established in 1907 as the library of the Institute for Catalan Studies and opened to the public in 1914. After the Spanish Civil War, it moved to its current location in the 15th-century former Hospital de la Santa Creu and was declared a depository library for Catalonia in 1981. Of paramount importance are its collections of medieval and early modern manuscripts, rare musical scores and documents, rare Catalan books, works by and about Miguel de Cervantes and Jacint Verdaguer, engravings, periodicals, prints, maps, and photographs.

Real Academia Española, Library, Madrid

Real Academia Española, Library, Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1713, the academy’s purpose is to foster the Spanish language and regulate its grammar and spelling. Its library started out as the private collection of founder Juan Manuel Fernández Pacheco, 8th Marquis of Villena. It moved into its current premises in 1894. A unique collection of specialized books on Spanish and Latin linguistics, philology, and literature, the library was significantly enhanced in 1995 with the extensive private collection of historical books, manuscripts, and artwork donated by philologist Antonio Rodriguez-Moñino and in 1998 with the library of poet and critic Dámaso Alonso.

This AL Direct feature showcases 250 libraries around the world that are notable for their exquisite architecture, historic collections, and innovative services. If you find yourself on vacation near one of them, be sure to stop by for a visit. Some will be featured in The Whole Library Handbook 5, edited by George M. Eberhart, which is scheduled for publication in 2013 by ALA Editions. There is also a Great Libraries of the World Pinterest board.

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Electronic Services Librarian, Wenatchee Valley College,
Wenatchee, Washington. This is a full-time, tenure track faculty position scheduled to begin fall quarter (September) 2012. The person in this position will ensure technical access to the library’s electronic resources and services, facilitate the integration of library resources into the college’s teaching and learning environment, and develop and maintain a statistical dashboard to support the library’s continuous assessment / continuous improvement environment. The position also provides reference and instructional services to students, promotes information literacy instruction and library services to the college community, and works closely with other librarians and staff to ensure that reference, instructional, and collection development activities are coordinated....


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Digital Library of the Week

EXEMPLIFICATION of the Modus Tenendi Parliamentum. CIRCLE, PR 6 Hen. V, §14

CIRCLE offers users an accessible and accurate summary in English of letters that were issued under the great seal of Ireland and enrolled in the Irish chancery rolls between the reigns of Henry III and Henry VII. The digital library was officially launched on May 10, 2012, by the Provost of Trinity College Dublin, Patrick Prendergast. The records of the Irish chancery were destroyed during the Irish Civil War on June 30, 1922, in an explosion and fire in the Public Record Office of Ireland, located at the Four Courts, Dublin. Among the most important classes of record destroyed were the medieval Irish chancery rolls. CIRCLE is the culmination of nearly four decades of work reconstructing these lost records. It brings together all known letters enrolled on the Irish chancery rolls during the Middle Ages (1244–1509), drawing on originals, facsimiles, transcripts, and calendars located in archival repositories in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, and the US. The site contains over 20,000 Irish chancery letters translated from Latin into English, together with an unparalleled collection of digital images of surviving medieval chancery letters and rare printed volumes.

Do you know of a digital library collection that we can mention in this AL Direct feature? Tell us about it. Browse previous Digital Libraries of the Week at the I Love Libraries site, Check out our Featured Digital Libraries Pinterest board.


Noted and Quoted

A cool of books
will sometimes lead the mind to libraries
of a hot afternoon, if books can be found
cool to the sense to lead the mind away.”

—William Carlos Williams, “Book III: The Library,” Paterson, 1949. Hear it read on this video from Poets.org.

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Rehabbing for Rental: Are You Landlord Material? by Wanda Urbanska

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Memory Loss: Reducing Sugar in Your Diet Can Make a Difference.

Books that Shaped America

Shirley Chisholm--Her Historic Run for Congress and President Influenced Generations

First U.S. Exhibit of Ancient Kazakhstan Highlights Archaeology Achievements

Librarians Respond to Emergencies

J. R. Martinez: 'At the end of the day we never stop learning'

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Calendar

Aug. 1:
Umlaut,
webinar. Sponsored by OCLC as part of its free TAI CHI (Technological Advances for Innovation in Cultural Heritage Institutions) series.

Aug. 20–24:
DrupalCon Munich,
Westin Grand München, Munich, Germany. “Open Up! Connecting Systems and People.”

Sept. 20–22:
ALSC Biennial National Institute,
Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre Hotel, Indianapolis. “Libraries Leading the Race.”

Sept. 23–26:
Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa,
Conference 2012, Awapuni Function Centre, Palmerston North, New Zealand. “Ipukarea—Celebrate, Sustain, Transform.”

Sept. 24–26:
Fourth International
M-Libraries Conference,
The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. “From Margin to Mainstream: Mobile Technologies Transforming Lives and Libraries.”

Sept. 30–
Oct. 6:

Banned Books Week.
“30 Years of Liberating Literature.”

Oct. 3-5:
Georgia Library Association/ Southeastern Library Association,
Joint Conference, Macon Centreplex and Marriott City Center. “Macon It Happen @ Your Library.”

Oct. 3–5:
Idaho Library Association,
Annual Conference, Clarion Hotel, Pocatello, Idaho. “Everywhere You Want to Be.”

Oct. 18–20:
Academy of American Poets,
Forum, The New School and New York University, New York City.

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50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
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ISSN 1559-369X

Books & Reading

Gavin JonesMelbourne librarian curates book recommendation site
Gavin Jones’s (right) career as a teacher-librarian in Melbourne, Australia, has centered on widening his students’ horizons through reading and literature. That passion for reading led him to create a website, launched in November 2011, that is encouraging reading throughout the English-speaking world. Read it! Loved it! began simply as a list of books that Jones recommended to students. Libraries, authors, bookshops, publishers, and the public have helped spread the word....
Publishing Perspectives, June 26

Linda A. Eastman, 1927-1928 ALA President and director of the Cleveland Public Library, started the first summer reading program in 189510 things you should know about summer reading
Victoria Bekiempis writes: “In New York, summer reading programs have been in place for many years, historically organized by individual library branches. The first centralized book list was released by the city in 1995, according to H. Jack Martin, New York Public Library assistant director for public programs. But what’s the backstory of summer reading, you might ask? Well, here are 10 fast facts.” One of them is that Linda A. Eastman (above), 1927–1928 ALA President and director of the Cleveland Public Library, started the first summer reading program (PDF file) in 1895....
The Village Voice: Books, July 5; Stephanie Bertin, UNC-Chapel Hill MLS paper, May 2004, p. 10

Cover of The Wee Free Men, by Terry PratchettWhere has all the humor gone in YA books?
Sharon Rawlins writes: “Teens watch and love funnymen Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Conan O’Brien, and David Letterman, but there’s a real lack of funny YA books for teens. Yes, I know teens like serious contemporary fiction, but I also know they like to laugh and feel good at the end of a book. Many YA books feature sarcastic teens, but there’s a lack of purely lighthearted, laugh-out-loud books for teens.”...
YALSA The Hub, July 9

Cover of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 17 famous characters who were almost named something else
Stacy Conradt writes: “‘Bladorthin the Grey’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it as ‘Gandalf the Grey,’ does it? Good thing J. R. R. Tolkien decided to do some name swapping. It turns out he’s in good company: Here’s the story of Gandalf and other famous characters (Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, Count Dracula) who experienced an identity change before publication.”...
Mental Floss, July 10

This is 5-year-old Vivian Mary Hartley, aka movie star Vivien Leigh, reading a book at the Bangalore Racetrack, in Bangalore, India, circa 1918Vintage photos of kids reading
Emily Temple writes: “Many of our most cherished memories of childhood come from spending an afternoon with a book in hand. In a fit of nostalgia, we scoured the interwebs for awesome vintage photographs of children reading everything from comic books to newspapers to novels, whether alone or with friends, in school or on the sidewalk. Leaf through our minicollection of vintage photos of kids engaged in our favorite activity.”...
Flavorwire, July 7

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Tips & Ideas

Survey results for "If you were asked today, would you recommend pursuing an MLIS degree?"What is the value of an MLIS to you? (PDF file)
In May 2011, some 2,500 librarians, library staff, and library school students weighed in on a 60-Second Survey, “The Value of an MLIS Degree to You,” taken by the Library Research Service of the Colorado State Library. When asked if they thought their MLIS degree was worth the time and money invested in it, four in five respondents (79%) strongly agreed or agreed that their degree was worth the investment. Only 11% disagreed and 10% were neutral. The full report is here (PDF file)....
LRS Fast Facts, no. 306 (June 19)

Librarian by name, geek by nature
Amy Frazier writes: “A few of us began to play with this question: If you could design your own MLS program from scratch, what features would you definitely include? Especially those that are lacking from library education as it exists today. If you were establishing the program that would define library school for the next generation, what do you think would absolutely need to be a part of it? Yeah, that was a bit of a can of worms.”...
Hack Library School, July 11

Survey: Libraries would like to collaborate, but don’t
Robinson Myer writes: “The creation of digitized and born-digital archives allows libraries to easily collaborate in storing them. And in a survey (PDF file) released June 19 by the National Digital Stewardship Alliance, 96% of institutions expressed interest in collaborating on web archiving—though only 23% were currently doing it. The survey drew 77 responses: 22% from government, 29% from cultural heritage institutions, and 46% from universities.”...
The Atlantic, July 6

Applying game dynamics to library services
Bohyun Kim writes: “A light bulb in my head lit up when I listened to the TED talk, ‘The Game Layer on Top of the World,’ by Seth Priebatsch. He talks about the game layer as something that is getting built now after the social layer has pretty much been established by Facebook. What attracted my attention was not so much the game per se as the the impressive power the game dynamics wield for human beings.”...
ACRL Tech Connect, July 9

Westchester County (N.Y.) Archives and Records CenterA look inside the Westchester County Archives
Deb Schiff writes: “Tucked into the pretty little Village of Elmsford, New York, not far from the Hudson River and historic Sleepy Hollow, is the very large records building that houses the Westchester County Archives and Records Center. Shown on the right is the sizable reading room that the archives shares with the Westchester County Historical Society. The archives holds the official history of the county dating back to the beginning of its recordkeeping in 1683.”...
Here and There, July 6

Weeded journals at Colorado College in 2010 form an igloo after removal from the DumpsterTheories of serial weeding
Wayne Bivens-Tatum writes: “One of the projects I’ve set for myself this summer is weeding serials with no online equivalents from the open stacks for offsite storage. I’ve done a lot of weeding over the past decade, but usually with books. Serials present harder choices. It’s a grueling process, but oddly enough one of the activities in which it’s necessary to theorize about if you’re going to do it well.”...
Academic Librarian, July 6

Breaking through the (writer’s) block
Maura Smale writes: “One of the reasons I like to blog is that it keeps me writing regularly. Like lots of academic librarians, my job comes with expectations for research and scholarship, so I need to be able to write up the work that I do and get it published. But everyone has a bout of writer’s block at least occasionally, and thinking about it has me thinking about strategies for overcoming it. Here are some that have worked for me.”...
ACRLog, July9

LC launches beta release of linked data classification
Tina Gheen writes: “Linked data versions of several Library of Congress classes have been released in beta on the LC Linked Data Service by the Network Development and Metadata Standards Office. These classes are B (Philosophy, Psychology, and Religion), M (Music), N (Fine Arts), and Z (Bibliography, Library Science, and Information Resources). For this initial beta release, the Linked Data Service has generated linked data resources for each those classes.”...
In Custodia Legis, July 9

Unidentified librariansKnow any of these librarians?
Larry Nix writes: “I have two early artifacts showing images of unidentified women library workers. The first is a photograph of 10 women and one man (right). There is no clue as to which library they work in. Another is a Real Photo postcard that shows seven women. It was mailed on July 10, 1907, from Aurora, Illinois, to Newkirk, Oklahoma. Any help with identifying the libraries in which the photographs were taken will be appreciated.”...
Library History Buff Blog, July 8

Why you might want to hire a social media manager
Heather Mansfield writes: “It’s becoming increasingly clear that adding social media to a long list of job responsibilities is just not humanly possible. Whether you call she or he a social media manager, a new media manager, or a digital media manager, there’s no doubt that if your organization wants to be successful on the social web, then your governing board needs to seriously consider allocating funds for a social media manager position. Here are five reasons why.”...
Nonprofit Tech 2.0, July 9

Life is too short for all this email
Nick Bilton writes: “This month alone, I received more than 6,000 emails. That doesn’t include spam, notifications, or daily deals, either. With all those messages, I have no desire to respond to even a fraction of them. All of this has led me to believe that something is terribly wrong with email. What’s more, I don’t believe it can be fixed. I’ve tried everything. Meanwhile, all of this email could be increasing our stress.”...
New York Times: Bits, July 8

Fixing typos in Facebook comments
J. D. Biersdorfer writes: “While it used to be that the only way to edit a bungled comment was to delete it, redo it, and post it again, Facebook recently rolled out a new editing function that makes correcting typos much easier. To modify a comment after you have posted it, move the mouse cursor over the top right corner of the post until you see a pencil icon appear.”...
New York Times: Gadgetwise, June 29

Screenshot from the If You Love to Read videoIf you love to read
Posted by Sarah Ada to promote the New York State Reading Association conference in Liverpool, New York, October 28–30, this video (4:07) is her rendition of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” for people who love to read. The lyrics are included under "Show more.”...
YouTube, June 21; New York State Reading Association

Liz Ryan sings Joyce the LibrarianJoyce the Librarian
Mezzosoprano Liz Ryan and pianist Deborah Kelleher perform “Joyce the Librarian” (3:05). It was writen by Peter Skellern and Richard Stilgoe and can be heard on their 2000 album, A Quiet Night Out. The lyrics can be found here....
YouTube, Feb. 20, 2009; I’m Trying, Honestly!, Dec. 11, 2008

Screenshot of Mizone adChinese ad features library bookshelf disaster
French food corporation Groupe Danone has launched a new TV commercial to promote Mizone Formulated Water in China. As part of the ad’s production, real library shelves were pushed over like dominoes as well as an actor being placed on a library ladder. The idea behind the ad is to demonstrate that Mizone Water restores your balance. Watch the video (0:40)....
Advertising @ ChinaSmack, July 6; Vimeo, June 19

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