D.C. officials feel the heat over school library cuts
A spring proposal by District of Columbia officials to eliminate more than 50 school librarian jobs for the next academic year has triggered a public relations nightmare for the city council, where the proposal originated. Members of the Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization are determined to fight a spring decision by schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson to defund school librarian posts at schools with less than 300 students and let principals of larger schools decide whether to reallocate their librarians’ salaries. “If this situation were to remain unchanged, 58 schools would have no librarian,” grassroots activist Peter MacPherson said....
American Libraries news, May 4

Remembering Maurice Sendak at the Rosenbach
Laurie Borman writes: “Maurice Sendak, illustrator and author of nearly 100 books and winner of ALA’s 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where The Wild Things Are, died May 8. He was 83. Creator of amazing nightmares, as the New York Times called them, Sendak’s works live on at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia, where he contributed more than 10,000 of his illustrations and manuscripts since 1966, and was a trustee. He gained the title of honorary president in 2003.” Watch Sendak deliver the 2003 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture at Cambridge (Mass.) Public Library (1:29:53)....
AL: Inside Scoop, May 8; New York Times, May 8; videolectures.net

Giving away music increases sales—just like for books
Christopher Harris writes: “Publicly funded libraries provide no-cost access to reading materials, and yet this country spent $14.348 billion on books in 2011. Furthermore, we are still spending quite a bit on music, even though it is available at no cost via advertising-supported services like the radio, Pandora, and Spotify. In fact, new data suggests that giving away music on Spotify actually increases sales of the music on iTunes.”...
AL: E-Content, May 9; Foner Books; TechCrunch, May 6

ARL meets in Chicago
George Eberhart writes: “The Association of Research Libraries met in Chicago May 2–4 for its 160th Membership Meeting. It was attended by representatives from 114 of the member organizations, as well as 27 Research Library Leadership Fellows. Attendees were prepared, focused, and engaged, especially University of Virginia Vice President and Chief Information Officer James L. Hilton (on the left), whose enthusiasm for the recently established Digital Preservation Network, a federation of universities intent on securing the long-term preservation of the digital scholarly record, was infectious.”...
AL: Inside Scoop, May 4

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Stripling wins 2013–2014 ALA presidency
Barbara K. Stripling (right), assistant professor of practice at Syracuse (N.Y.) University, has been elected 2013–2014 ALA president. She defeated Gina J. Millsap, chief executive officer of the Topeka and Shawnee County (Kans.) Public Library by a vote count of 6,272 to 4,486. Stripling will become president-elect in June 2012 and will assume the ALA presidency in June 2013, following the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago....
Office of ALA Governance, May 4

ALA Councilors elected
Thirty-three members have been elected as councilors-at-large on ALA Council for three-year terms. The terms begin at the conclusion of the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, and extend through the end of the 2015 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco....
Office of ALA Governance, May 4

Programming Librarian’s Guide to Annual Conference
Programming Librarian, a resource website of the Public Programs Office, has created an online guide to recommended programs and events to be held at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. The Programming Librarian’s Guide to the ALA Annual Conference was created specifically for public, academic, special, and school librarians who plan and present cultural and community programs....
Public Programs Office, May 8

Event of the year for reading fanatics
The 2012 ALA Annual Conference is shaping up to offer hundreds of possibilities and opportunities for supporters of reading, books, publishing, and related activities. Highlights include hundreds of authors speaking in programs, at the Book Buzz Theater, and the exhibit hall, where there will be stacks of advance reading copy giveaways....
Conference Services, May 7

Early Bird registration closes May 13
Key issues covered at 2012 ALA Annual Conference include digital content and ebooks, technology in libraries, innovation, books and authors, leadership, library advocacy, civic engagement, and library marketing. Potential attendees will get the best rates when they register by May 13....
Conference Services, May 4

Bookmobile Saturday in Anaheim
Bookmobile Saturday, June 23, at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference, provides attendees with opportunities to learn, network, and gain inspiration. Network with bookmobile and outreach professionals during the Bookmobile Saturday Author Luncheon and be inspired by guest speaker Gerald Chertavian, founder of Year Up. Finally, climb aboard some of the latest vehicles during the Annual Parade of Bookmobiles, held in conjunction with the ALA Diversity and Outreach Fair....
Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, May 4

Online Virtual Membership Meeting, June 6
ALA President Molly Raphael and Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels invite you to the 2012 Virtual Membership Meeting at 3–4:30 p.m. Central time, June 6. Members are invited to hear from ALA leadership and participate in the discussions and resolution process. Because the interactive platform is limited to 1,000 participants, preregistration is required. To learn how to submit a resolution, please go to the ALA Members group on ALA Connect....
ALA Membership Blog, May 8

Documentary: Vanishing Liberties
To highlight the 2012 observance of Choose Privacy Week, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom is debuting a new documentary (27:05), Vanishing Liberties: The Rise of State Surveillance in the Digital Age, on the Choose Privacy Week website. The film explores the government’s growing use of surveillance tools to watch and monitor immigrant communities, and the proposals to adopt these tools to track the activities of all Americans....
Office for Intellectual Freedom, May 7

New text-message advocacy tool
ALA has launched Mobile Commons, a new advocacy tool that will allow library supporters to receive text-message alerts (2–3 per month) from the ALA Office of Government Relations. Subscribers will have the option to call legislators to discuss particular issues toll-free through Mobile Commons. The text messages will provide subscribers with talking points on issues before automatically transferring the advocates to the offices of their legislators. Sign up online or by texting the word “library” to 877877....
Office of Government Relations, May 8

Scenes from National Library Legislative Day
More than 350 librarians and library supporters from across the country converged on Washington, D.C., April 23–24, to meet with members of Congress to discuss key library issues during ALA’s 38th annual National Library Legislative Day. The event focused on supporting federal funding for the nation’s libraries....
AL Focus, May 8

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Oak Canyon Nature Center
The Oak Canyon Nature Center is a 58-acre natural park nestled in the Anaheim Hills. A year-round stream meanders through the park. Consisting of three adjoining canyons, four miles of hiking trails traverse one of the few remaining areas of oak woodland and coastal sage scrub in the region. It features a bird and nature walk on Saturdays. Located on site is the John J. Collier Interpretive Center, a small museum with live animal and regional natural history exhibits....
City of Anaheim

Airport apps
Bob Tedeschi writes: “In addition to helping find food vendors and shops that may not rip you off, airport apps can help you avoid overpaying for ground transportation once you reach your destination. The top three on my list are iFly Pro ($7 on Apple and Android, but with free versions available), Airport Transit Guide ($5 on Apple, with a limited free version) and GateGuru (free on Android and Apple). It’s also worth downloading MyTSA, which is published by the Transportation Security Administration (free on Apple).”...
New York Times, May 2

How to get a refund if the price drops
You thought you scored a great deal when you found that $200 rate for your $300-a-night hotel. But then you compared notes with other guests and learned that some paid even less. It happens to even the best bargain hunters—whether it is a hotel deal or airfare—and it’s not a good feeling. Now a growing number of travel sites are offering to track the price after you reserve and to refund you the difference....
New York Times, May 2

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Catherine Friedman elected LLAMA president
Catherine R. Friedman (right), associate university librarian for user services at the University of California, San Diego, has been elected LLAMA president for 2013–2014. She will begin her term as president-elect in June 2012 and become LLAMA president in June 2013....
LLAMA, May 4

Shannon Peterson elected YALSA president
Shannon Peterson (right), youth services librarian at the Kitsap Regional Library in Port Orchard, Washington, has been elected YALSA president for 2013–2014. She currently sits on YALSA’s Board of Directors and previously chaired the Division and Membership Promotion Committee....
YALSA, May 7

Starr LaTronica elected ALSC president
Starr LaTronica (right), youth services and outreach manager at Four County Library System in Vestal, New York, has been elected ALSC president for 2013–2014. She will begin her term as vice president and president-elect in June 2012 and become ALSC president in June 2013....
ALSC, May 8

Gail Dickinson elected AASL president
Gail Dickinson (right), associate professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, has been elected 2013–2014 AASL president. Dickinson will serve as president-elect during 2012–2013 under AASL President Susan Ballard....
AASL, May 8

Rod Wagner elected ALTAFF president
Rod Wagner (right), director of the Nebraska Library Commission, has been elected ALTAFF president for 2013–2014. He will begin his term as vice president and president-elect in June 2012 following the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, and become ALTAFF president in June 2013....
ALTAFF, May 8

Trevor Dawes elected ACRL president
Trevor A. Dawes (right), circulation services librarian at Princeton University Libraries, has been elected ACRL president for 2013–2014. He will become president-elect following the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim and assume the presidency in June 2013 for a one-year term....
ACRL, May 8

Carolyn Anthony elected PLA president
Carolyn Anthony (right), director of the Skokie (Ill.) Public Library, has been elected the PLA president for 2013–2014. Anthony will become PLA president-elect at the conclusion of the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim and will assume the PLA presidency in June 2013 for one year, presiding over the PLA 2014 Conference....
PLA, May 8

AASL offers eCOLLAB benefit
AASL has introduced a new feature of AASL membership, eCOLLAB, Your eLearning Laboratory: Content Collaboration Community. This repository of AASL professional development provides members and subscribers with a central location to find and manage their e-learning as well as to connect with others in the learning community. eCOLLAB contains webcasts, podcasts and resources from various AASL professional development events, as well as the latest issue of Knowledge Quest in an interactive PDF format....
AASL, May 1

AASL summer e-Academy
AASL’s e-Academy offers four-week self-paced courses throughout the summer. The upcoming course schedule includes “Design for Understanding Meets the 21st Century School Librarian,” “From 0 to 60: Implement eBooks in Your Library Program in 4 Weeks,” and “Making a Place, Making a Case for Read-Alouds: A Powerful Teaching Tool for Literacy.” Register online....
AASL, May 8

Make your case to attend the AASL Fall Forum
AASL has created a justification toolkit to help school librarians demonstrate to their supervisors the value of attending the 2012 Fall Forum October 12–13 in Greenville, South Carolina, or four satellite locations. The justification toolkit contains general information, tips, worksheets, and approval letter templates that school librarians can utilize when making their presentations....
AASL, May 8

RUSA seeks webinar proposals
Do you have an idea for a webinar you’d like to present as a part of RUSA’s online learning offerings in upcoming months? RUSA is currently seeking proposals. Webinars take place throughout the year and cover topics relevant to a broad range of librarians. Proposals should be submitted before the ALA Annual Conference in June so that the professional development committee can review them in Anaheim. (Don’t forget about attending RUSA preconferences in Anaheim.)...
RUSA Blog, May 7

Genealogy 101 registration closes May 10
The next offering of RUSA’s online five-week course Genealogy 101 will begin on May 14. Registration for this session will end May 10....
RUSA Blog, May 8

YALSA seeks Midwinter paper proposals
YALSA is seeking proposals for its Trends Impacting Young Adult Services Paper Presentation, to be held at the 2013 Midwinter Meeting. The presenter will receive up to $1,500 to defray travel and registration costs. The paper will be published in YALSA’s peer-reviewed Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults after the meeting. Proposals are due by June 1....
YALSA, May 8

ASCLA program proposals
The deadline for proposals for ASCLA institutes at the ALA 2013 Midwinter Meeting in Seattle and programs and preconferences at the ALA 2013 Annual Conference in Chicago has been extended to June 1. (Don’t forget about attending ASCLA preconferences in Anaheim.)...
ASCLA Blog, May 8

Maggie Stiefvater at Annual
Author Maggie Stiefvater (right) will be among the authors speaking at ALTAFF’s “Books without Boundaries: Crossover Fiction for YAs and Adults” program June 25 at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. The program will feature authors who have written books that appeal to both young adults and adults, including Shana Abé, Matt Dembicki, Laura Harrington, Kate Locke, and Katie McGarry. An author signing will follow, with some books given away and others sold at a generous discount....
ALTAFF, May 8

Kentucky offers special Trustee Academy pricing
Kentucky recently joined Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and Utah in making ALTAFF’s Trustee Academy available for its libraries through a multiple-use purchase. The Trustee Academy is a series of online courses to help trustees become exceptionally proficient in their roles on behalf of their libraries....
ALTAFF, May 8

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2012 Library Interior Design Competition
The LLAMA Buildings and Equipment Section and the International Interior Design Association have announced the winners of the 2012 Library Interior Design Competition. The biennial awards honor excellence in library interior design, incorporating aesthetics, design creativity, function, and satisfaction of the client’s objectives. Seven winners and three honorable mentions were selected out of 117 projects submitted from throughout North America....
Leads from LLAMA, May 9

RUSA Reference Service Press Award
Two articles published in Reference and User Services Quarterly are being honored with the RUSA 2012 Reference Service Press Award: “Promoting Consumer Health Literacy: Creation of a Health Information Librarian Fellowship,” by Nancy D. Zionts, Jan Apter, Julianna Kuchta, and Pamela K. Greenhouse; and “Are We Getting Warmer? Query Clarification in Live Chat Virtual Reference,” by Marie L. Radford, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Patrick A. Confer, Susanna Sabolcsi-Boros, and Hannah Kwon....
RUSA, May 8

2012 Innovative International Library Projects
Every year, libraries across the world introduce and sustain projects that make a difference to their citizens and connect the international community in genuine and new ways. The 2012 recipients of the ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects are The World is Just a Book Away (Projects in Indonesia); Chinese Medicine Digital Projects: Hong Kong Baptist University; Riecken Community Libraries (Projects in Guatemala and Honduras); and The Urban Office: Helsinki City Library. Loriene Roy, ALA president in 2007–2008, created the citation to promote the most innovative of these projects....
International Relations Office, May 9

PR Xchange “Best of Show” winners
The LLAMA Public Relations and Marketing Section PR Xchange Committee has announced the winners of this year’s “Best of Show” competition for library publicity materials. Winning entries will be on display at the PR Xchange Program June 24 in the exhibits hall at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim....
LLAMA, May 8

Conable Conference Scholarship
The Freedom to Read Foundation has named Steven Booth (right), an archivist with the Presidential Materials Division at the National Archives and Records Administration, the fifth recipient of the Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship. The scholarship will provide for Booth’s expenses to attend the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim....
Freedom to Read Foundation, May 8

ALTAFF/Gale Outstanding Trustee Conference Grant
ALTAFF has awarded the 2012 ALTAFF/Gale Outstanding Trustee Conference Grant to Karen Parrilli (right), a member of the Board of Trustees at Skokie (Ill.) Public Library. Parrilli will receive $850 plus full conference registration to attend the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, where a formal presentation will be made....
ALTAFF, May 8

ARLIS/NA Distinguished Service Award
(PDF file)
Rosemary Furtak (right), librarian at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, was presented with the Art Libraries Society of North America’s 2011 Distinguished Service Award on March 31. The society’s highest honor, the award is presented to an individual of any country whose exemplary service in art librarianship, visual resources curatorship, or a related field, has made an outstanding national or international contribution to art information....
Art Libraries Society of North America, Apr. 30

School librarian named Cincinnati Educator of the Year
Longtime Sayler Park (Ohio) Elementary School Librarian and Technology Coordinator Kathleen Donohoue (right) was named the 2012 Cincinnati Public Schools Educator of the Year on May 3. The award, created in 2007 by Western and Southern Financial Group, carries a $10,000 cash prize. She has been with the district 34 years, the last 22 at Sayler Park....
Cincinnati Enquirer, May 3

Tucson librarian wins education award
Mary Ellen Clements, librarian and reading teacher at Lyons Elementary school in Tucson, Arizona, was surprised with flowers and a check as she received the 2012 Evelyn Jay Excellence in Education Award on May 3. The award recognizes outstanding Tucson Unified School District pre-K through 3rd grade educators who inspire a lifelong love of reading and books....
Tucson Arizona Daily Star, May 3

Troy Public Library campaign wins Clio Award
The winners of the 2012 Clio Awards, an awards competition honoring excellence in advertising, design, and communications, were announced May 4 by Prometheus Global Media. The Facebook Integrated Media Award, presented in partnership with Facebook to recognize innovative campaigns that incorporate the social networking site with traditional media, will be presented May 15 to Leo Burnett Detroit for their work with the Troy (Mich.) Public Library, which ran a campaign to counter the local Tea Party’s opposition to a five-year operating millage. Watch the Leo Burnett Detroit video (2:53)....
CLIO Awards, May 5; The Inspiration Room, May 5; American Libraries news, Aug. 3, 2011

2012 Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards
The 2012 winners of the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award were announced April 28 by the Jane Addams Peace Association. The six titles were chosen because they effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races, as well as meeting conventional standards for excellence. The awards have been presented annually since 1953....
Jane Addams Peace Association, Apr. 28

2012 Children’s Choice Book Awards
The Children’s Book Council, in association with Every Child a Reader, announced the winners of the fifth annual Children’s Choice Book Awards at a May 7 charity gala in New York City as part of Children’s Book Week, May 7–13. Children across the country voted in record numbers for their favorite books, author, and illustrator at bookstores, school libraries, and online, casting more than 900,000 votes. The winner in the Grade 5–6 category was Gary D. Schmidt’s Okay for Now (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)....
Children’s Book Council, May 7

2012 James Beard Cookbook Award
Nora Rawlinson writes: “The big winner of this year’s James Beard Cookbook Awards is a big book; Modernist Cuisine was named the Cookbook of the Year, as well as winner in the Cooking from a Professional Point of View category. Just before the announcement, several publications, including the blog, covered the news that, despite its size (five volumes plus a kitchen manual, 47 pounds) and cost ($450), it has sold over 45,000 copies (a check of WorldCat reveals that few of those sales were to public libraries)....
Early Word, May 7; Wall Street Journal: SpeakEasy, May 1

2012 Society of Midland Authors Awards
Keir Graff writes: “On May 8, I attended the annual awards banquet of the venerable Society of Midland Authors. It was a modest crowd but a truly enjoyable evening—being in the company of people who value books and authors so highly has a way of raising my spirits.” The winner in adult fiction was Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife (Random House), and the adult nonfiction winner was B. J. Hollars’s Thirteen Loops: Race, Violence, and the Last Lynching in America (University of Alabama)....
Booklist Online: Likely Stories, May 9

2012 Best Translated Book Awards
Wiesław Mysliwski’s Stone Upon Stone (translated by Bill Johnston) has won the Best Translated Book Award for fiction. The poetry prize went to Kiwao Nomura’s Spectacle & Pigsty translated by Kyoko Yoshida and Forrest Gander). The annual award is offered by Three Percent at the University of Rochester, honoring “the best original works of international literature and poetry published in the US over the previous year.”...
GalleyCat, May 8

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Petition seeks return of Dirty Cowboy
More than 230 people have signed an online petition that seeks to have the children’s book The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake returned to the shelves of the Annville-Cleona (Pa.) School District. The school board voted unanimously in April to remove the book based on the objection of one student’s parents. Illustrator Adam Rex uses various items, such as birds, a boot, and a cloud of dust, to cover the cowboy’s private parts while he is bathing and then while he is attempting to put his clothes back on....
Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News, May 7

Ex-director pleads guilty to theft
The former dual director of the Pontiac and Odell public libraries in Illinois pleaded guilty to four felony counts of theft May 3 in Livingston County Circuit Court. Eric Colclasure was scheduled to begin a two-day bench trial before Ford County Judge Stephen Pacey when he pleaded guilty to all the Class 1 felony charges he faced. Colclasure was charged with two counts of theft in excess of $10,000 involving the Pontiac Public Library and two additional counts of theft in excess of $10,000 involving the Odell Public Library....
Pontiac (Ill.) Daily Leader, May 4

Ex-NARA official sentenced for stealing Archives rarities
Leslie Waffen, former director of the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video branch of the National Archives, was a guardian of national treasures for 40 years. But for the final 10 years of his career, he secretly peddled some of those rare pieces of history on eBay. On May 3, Waffen was sentenced to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release for embezzling US property. He admitted stealing 955 items from the Archives, including original recordings of the 1948 World Series and a rare recording of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster. Radio-history buff J. David Goldin helped authorities crack the case....
Washington Post, May 3; Associated Press, May 4

Blind patrons sue Philadelphia library over Nooks
With the assistance of the National Federation of the Blind, four blind patrons of the Free Library of Philadelphia have filed suit against the library because they cannot access one of the library’s programs for which they are eligible. The library has expanded a program in which free Nook Simple Touch e-readers are loaned to patrons over the age of 50. Unlike some other portable e-readers that use text-to-speech technology or Braille, the Nook devices are completely inaccessible to patrons who are blind. The FLP Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and its staff are concurrently undergoing a drastic reduction and merger....
National Federation of the Blind, May 2; Philadelphia Inquirer, May 7

A Paul Revere rarity
A few weeks ago, Brown University Conservation Technician Marie Malchodi opened a leather-bound book, one of more than 300,000 rare volumes in the hold of the John Hay Library. With surgical precision, she turned the pages of The Modern Practice of Physic, by Robert Thomas, published in 1811 and once owned by Solomon Drowne, Class of 1773. And there, in the back, she found a piece of paper depicting the baptism of Jesus. It was signed, “P. Revere Sculp.”...
New York Times, May 3; Brown University Library News, Mar. 27

Charleston library inventory turns up gems
A rare book almost 270 years old has been found in the vault of the Charleston (S.C.) Library Society. The 1743 tome, A Dissertation upon Parties by Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke, was one of 800 volumes that planter and diplomat John Mackenzie donated to the College of Charleston in the 1700s. His books were housed at the society, founded in 1748, until a proper library could be built at the fledgling college. But a devastating 1778 fire destroyed most of the collection....
Associated Press, May 7

Public visual-arts library opens in El Paso
On May 6, the El Paso (Tex.) Museum of Art and its partner, the El Paso Public Library system, officially dedicated what city officials are calling the first public library in the country devoted to the visual arts. The Algur H. Meadows Library—named after the late Dallas art collector and entrepreneur—houses more than 4,000 art books. Another 2,000–3,000 exhibition catalogs from the last 50 years are still to be cataloged....
El Paso (Tex.) Times, May 7

Windsor school librarians get layoff notices
Faced with declining enrollment and a $11-million cut in provincial grants for the 2012–2013 school year, the Windsor-Essex District (Ontario) Catholic School Board has handed layoff notices to its remaining school librarians. An attempt in 2011 to eliminate its libraries and 40 school librarians resulted in a public uproar. The board eventually backed off from its decision and retained 19 librarians. The layoff notices are required by the budget process; the board said that librarian layoffs are only one possible scenario....
Windsor (Ont.) Star, May 2

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Innovation, thought leaders, and technology are key elements of transformation, and the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim delivers on all those fronts. Use the Conference Scheduler, website, and Cognotes preview to find what interests you.

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