The e-newsletter of the American Library Association | May 1, 2013

Cultivating a special collection
Sue Lynn McDaniel and Nancy Richey write: “Serendipity is often the best friend of special collections librarians. Sharing our passion for history and preservation can create happy accidents, connecting us with the caretakers of the remnants of past generations. In fact, libraries come to acquire many cultural treasures, often discovered in the contents of someone’s attic, basement, or storage space, because we nurtured a relationship with a potential collector over time. Western Kentucky University’s most happy accident happened more than 10 years ago.”...
American Libraries feature

Back in business in Boston
Nine days after the Boston Public Library (BPL) found itself part of the crime scene as law enforcement investigated the Boston Marathon bombings, the landmark Central Library received its all-clear and reopened on April 24. Shortly afterward, BPL President Amy Ryan emailed a thank-you note to library colleagues (care of ALA, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Urban Libraries Council) for the outpouring of empathy and support BPL staff have received....
AL: Inside Scoop, Apr. 26; Boston Public Library, Apr. 24

A Yellowstone summer in Boerne, Texas
The Yellowstone Park Foundation and the Boerne (Tex.) Library Foundation have partnered to bring a special exhibit, called Yellowstone Summer to the Patrick Heath Public Library, beginning May 24. The exhibit features clothing, artifacts, and such historic souvenirs as vintage postcards (right) of the nation’s first national park. Yellowstone images throughout the seasons, taken by landscape and nature photographer Tom Murphy, will also be on display. Patrons can touch some exhibit pieces, such as animal pelts and a wolf skull....
AL Focus, Apr. 30

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Next week: National Library Legislative Day
On May 7–8, hundreds of library supporters from across the country will meet in Washington, D.C., to discuss key library issues with their members of Congress. In preparation for next week’s 39th Annual National Library Legislative Day, ALA has released new briefs on policies, legislation, and issues impacting libraries. For the first time, library advocates will have the option to learn about library issues through a series of videos prepared by the ALA Washington Office....
District Dispatch, Apr. 30; YouTube, Apr. 30

Online forum launches Choose Privacy Week
ALA is marking the beginning of this year’s Choose Privacy Week, May 1–7, with a special online forum featuring guest commentaries by noted privacy experts and advocates. Participants include J. Douglas Archer, chair of the ALA-IFC Privacy Subcommittee; Mitra Ebadolahi, fellow at the ACLU National Security Project; and Deborah Peel, a physician who works with the Coalition for Patient Privacy. The forum will be archived on the Voices for Freedom blog....
Office for Intellectual Freedom, Apr. 30

Janis Ian helps wrap up Annual Conference
Two-time Grammy Award–winning singer-songwriter Janis Ian will be helping 2013 Annual Conference attendees wrap up in Chicago and rev up for 2014 Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. Ian appears as part of Wrap Up/Rev Up on July 1 in McCormick Place S100. Attendees can start Wrap Up/Rev Up celebrations any time on Monday in the Exhibit Hall with discount sales and special giveaways in exhibitors’ booths....
Conference Services, Apr. 26

Annual Conference scheduler now available
Plan your activities in Chicago with the online ALA Annual Conference scheduler. Not sure where or how to get started? Try out the Quick Start Guide and help section or just use the Contact Us form to ask a question....
Conference Services

Sign up for the ALA Leadership Institute
There’s still time to consider applying or nominating a colleague for Leading to the Future, a four-day immersive leadership development program for future library leaders offered by ALA at the Eaglewood Resort and Spa in Itasca, Illinois, August 12–15. Led by ALA President Maureen Sullivan and ACRL Content Strategist Kathryn Deiss, this inaugural Leadership Institute will include a structured learning track as well as the opportunity for individual development. Applications will be accepted through May 10....
Transforming Libraries

Learn improv fundamentals
Basic communication and listening skills are the foundation for a successful business, yet people rarely have the opportunity to grow and develop their communication skills. ALA Annual Conference attendees will get such an opportunity by attending a preconference workshop with Chicago’s Second City Communications. Join your colleagues for this half-day event held on June 28 at Second City Communications, 1616 North Wells Street, Chicago. Register online....
Learning Round Table, Apr. 24

Celebrating multiple cultures
April 30 was El día de los niños / El día de los libros (Children’s Day / Book Day) and libraries, families, and children celebrated our nation’s rich cultural tapestry. Día supports efforts to help children and their families explore library resources and multicultural activities. For example, in Los Angeles children enjoyed stories, songs, crafts, and face-painting; while the library provided their parents with literacy resources and information on health and social services....
ALSC, Apr. 30

Library Copyright Alliance files brief on behalf of Georgia State
The Library Copyright Alliance has filed an amicus brief (PDF file) in support of Georgia State University in the appeal of Cambridge University Press v. Becker. LCA argues that GSU’s e-reserves policy represents the widespread and well-established best practices of fair use that includes limitations to ensure that the use of course materials is fair. The case will be heard by the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit....
District Dispatch, Apr. 26

ALA accreditation: The Program Presentation
Laura Dare writes: “An important piece—perhaps the centerpiece—of every higher-education accreditation review is the self-study document. The institution or program assesses, analyzes, and evaluates itself in relation to standards and then summarizes its findings and plans in the self study. In ALA accreditation, this document is called the Program Presentation. Its primary purpose is to document how the program is in compliance with the Standards for Accreditation.”...
Prism: The Office for Accreditation newsletter, Spring

8th National Conference of African American Librarians
Register now for the 8th National Conference of African American Librarians, “Culture Keepers VIII: Challenges of the 21st Century: Empowering People, Changing Lives” to be held August 7–11, at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington. The event (PDF file) is hosted by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). MSNBC host Melissa V. Harris-Perry (above) will participate in an onstage conversation during the opening session (PDF file). The reception on August 8 will take place at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center....
Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Apr. 19

IFLA in Singapore
ALA members can register for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions’ 79th World Library and Information Congress in Singapore, August 17–23, at the IFLA member rate. Use ALA’s IFLA membership code, US-0002. The early registration deadline is May 2. Complete information can be found on the IFLA website (PDF file)....
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

“Reporting Challenges” webinar now online
If you missed the April 23 Office for Intellectual Freedom webinar, “Defend the Freedom to Read: Reporting Challenges,” featuring OIF Assistant Director Angela Maycock, you’ll be glad to know that the session was recorded and is now available as an archived webcast. This webinar informs librarians about the reasons books are challenged, why ALA documents the challenges, and how ALA can assist when books are challenged....
OIF Blog, Apr. 25

Facebook for librarians
ALA TechSource announces a new 90-minute workshop featuring David Lee King, “Facebook in the Library: Enhancing Services and Engaging Users,” on July 17. King, digital branch and social networking innovator, will share what he’s learned from years of experience and experiments with the Topeka and Shawnee County (Kans.) Public Library’s Facebook page. Registration is available on the ALA Store....
ALA TechSource, Apr. 25

LinkedIn for librarians
ALA Editions has announced “LinkedIn for Librarians” with Kim Dority, a two-part online workshop that will take place on July 11 and 18. Each session lasts 90 minutes. Dority will show you exactly how LinkedIn works, from building a profile to connecting with colleagues and engaging in discussion. Registration for this workshop is available on the ALA Store....
ALA Editions, Apr. 25

Make your customer service the best it can be
ALA Editions will present a new session of its 90-minute workshop, “How to Deliver Great Library Customer Service” with Laurie Brown, on June 20. Drawing on 20 years’ experience as a trainer and coach, Brown will show you how to create a welcoming, friendly experience for patrons, students, and other library users. Registration for this ALA Editions Workshop is available on the ALA Store....
ALA Editions, Apr. 25

Introduction to Social Media eCourse
ALA Editions will host a session of its facilitated eCourse, “Social Media Basics: Engaging Your Library Users.” Paul Signorelli, former director of staff training and volunteer services for the San Francisco Public Library system, will lead the four-week course, which begins on July 1. Signorelli will take you through the basics of social media, showing you how you can use Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter to connect with a library audience....
ALA Editions, Apr. 25

Professional advice and curiosa
Now in its fifth edition, AL Direct Senior Editor George M. Eberhart’s The Whole Library Handbook 5: Current Data, Professional Advice, and Curiosa, published by ALA Editions, is an encyclopedia filled with facts, tips, lists, and resources essential for library professionals and information workers of all kinds, all carefully handpicked to reflect the most informative, practical, up-to-date, and entertaining examples of library literature. Organized in easy-to-find categories, this unique compendium covers all areas of librarianship from academic libraries to teen services, from cataloging to copyright, and from gaming to social media....
ALA Editions, Apr. 26

Use movement to connect preschoolers with books
Librarians and educators can shake up storytimes, help children stay healthy, and encourage a lifelong love of reading with Julie Dietzel-Glair’s easy-to-use resource Books in Motion: Connecting Preschoolers with Books through Art, Games, Movement, Music, Playacting, and Props, published by ALA Neal-Schuman. Demonstrating exactly how to use children’s books to engage preschool-age children through movement, it’s loaded with storytimes that will have children standing up tall, balancing as they pretend to walk across a bridge, or flying around the room like an airplane....
ALA Neal-Schuman, Apr. 25

A self-guided planner for team building
With library staffing levels and services cut to the bone, creating a team that communicates well and functions smoothly is more important than ever. Building on the model of her bestselling book Be a Great Boss: One Year to Success, Catherine Hakala-Ausperk presents Build a Great Team: One Year to Success, published by ALA Editions. Suitable for all levels of management, from first-line supervisors to library directors, this self-guided workbook is organized in 52 modules, designed to cover a year of weekly sessions but easily adaptable for any pace....
ALA Editions, Apr. 25

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A guide to Chinatown
The Chinatown neighborhood on Chicago’s south side is the second oldest settlement of Chinese in America after the Chinese fled persecution in California. During the late 1980s, a group of Chinatown business leaders bought 32 acres of property north of Archer Avenue from the Santa Fe Railway and built Chinatown Square, a two-level mall consisting of restaurants, beauty salons, and law offices, flanked by 21 new townhouses. Here are the stops that should definitely be on your itinerary....
Chicago magazine, Feb.; Wikipedia

Ping Tom Memorial Park
Ping Tom Memorial Park’s 12-acre site at 300 West 19th Street in Chinatown was originally a Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad yard located along the edge of the South Branch of the Chicago River in the Armour Square community. In 1998, the Chicago Park District began transforming the old rail yard into a beautiful rolling green space, taking full advantage of impressive river views. The park has a children’s playground, community gathering areas, and Chinese landscape design elements....
Wikipedia; Chicago Park District

Shedd Aquarium
The Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium that opened on May 30, 1930. It contains more than 25,000 fish and was for some time the largest indoor aquarium in the world with 5 million gallons of water. Shedd was also the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. It is surrounded by Museum Campus Chicago, which it shares with the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum of Natural History. Five aquatic shows featuring belugas and dolphins and four feedings by scuba divers are featured daily in June and July....
Wikipedia; Shedd Aquarium

Where to enjoy the outdoors in Chicago
The editors of Chicagoist write: “When the seasons change and it gets warm, Chicago seizes the outdoors and strangles the life out of it. Befitting a city born from a prairie, here are some of our favorite places to enjoy the outdoors. They may be rooted in nature, or they may not. But it’s our list and we’re sticking with it. The Henry C. Palmisano Nature Park (above) at 2700 South Halsted Street is a fascinating experiment in urban planning.”...
Chicagoist, Apr. 10

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Ross Mathews added to “The Laugh’s On Us”
Ross Mathews (right) of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno has been added to the lineup for “The Laugh’s On Us, sponsored by SAGE,” featuring author and standup comedian Paula Poundstone on June 30 during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. The full lineup also includes Selena Coppock, Nicole Knepper, Sara Levine, and Paul Rudnick. Early ticket purchase is recommended, as this event often sells out....
United for Libraries, Apr. 29

PLA Results Boot Camp
PLA is offering a unique opportunity for extended, interactive professional development with June Garcia and Sandra Nelson at the PLA Results Boot Camp “Results Are What Matters: Management Tools and Techniques to Improve Library Services and Programs,” August 6–10, at the Nashville (Tenn.) Public Library. PLA Boot Camp is an intensive education program that emphasizes the roles of innovation, risk, and change in public library management. The application deadline is June 14....
PLA, Apr. 29

ACRL sets 2013 Legislative Agenda
Each year, the ACRL Government Relations Committee, in consultation with the ACRL Board of Directors and staff, formulates an ACRL Legislative Agenda. Drafted with input from key ACRL committees, leaders, and the ALA Washington Office, the agenda is prioritized and focuses on issues at the national level affecting the welfare of academic and research libraries....
ACRL Insider, Apr. 30

ACRL draws more than 4,800 to Indianapolis
NPR’s Maria Hinojosa brought ACRL 2013 to a close, as more than 4,800 library staff, exhibitors, speakers, and guests from 50 states and 19 countries met April 10–13 at the Indiana Convention Center to discuss the changing role of academic libraries. ACRL 2013 featured a line-up of distinguished keynote speakers, with social justice as a reoccurring theme....
ACRL, Apr. 29

YALSA and Connected Learning TV
YALSA President Jack Martin writes: “Please join me and Crystle Martin, postdoctoral researcher for the Connected Learning Research Network, for a series of free virtual chats on Connected Learning TV that will explore the roles social media and teens play in the future of public and school libraries. Participants can watch in real time, connect via chat, ask questions on Livestream, join the Connected Learning Community Google+ Page, and contribute to the #futureoflibraries conversation.” The first chat is May 2....
YALSA Blog, Apr. 26

Racial and gender inequalities in YA literature
Multiracial identities, gender stereotypes, and questionable cover art for young adult literature are topics explored in the open access issue (April 2013) of YALSA’s Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults (JRLYA), available online. The purpose of JRLYA is to enhance the development of theory, research, and practices to support young adult library services. JRLYA follows a continuous publishing model, and you can sign up for email updates whenever there’s a new issue....
YALSA, Apr. 25

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Penn State librarian helped determine Pulitzer winner
Nonny Schlotzhauer (right), social sciences librarian at Pennsylvania State University, was asked to be one of three jurists for the general nonfiction category of the 2012 Pulitzer Prizes. A librarian for about 20 years—eight of which he has spent at Penn State—Schlotzhauer said he wasn’t sure exactly how he came to be recommended for the role. He speculated that it was probably because of his work on other awards committees, including the ALA Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction Committee and the RUSA Notable Books Council....
State College (Pa.) Centre Daily Times, Apr. 25

Nominations open for ALA Honorary Membership
Nominations are being accepted for ALA honorary membership, the Association’s highest honor, which is bestowed on living citizens of any country whose contributions to librarianship or a closely related field are so outstanding that they are of significant and lasting importance to the whole field of library service. After the ALA Executive Board reviews nominations, Council will vote on them during the 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting, January 24–28, in Philadelphia. Members who have a nomination must complete the online form....
Office of ALA Governance, Apr. 30

Loriene Roy to present 2013 Coleman Lecture
Loriene Roy, professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin and former president of ALA, will deliver the 2013 Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture on July 1 during the ALA 2013 Annual Conference in Chicago. Her lecture, “What’s Love Got to Do With It? The Place of Love and Forgiveness in Library and Information Studies,” will draw upon her experiences from the Fetzer Institute’s Global Gathering: The Pilgrimage on Love in Forgiveness, held in Assisi, Italy, in September 2012....
Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, Apr. 29

Excellence in Library Programming Award
Carbondale (Ill.) Public Library has been named the 2013 winner of the ALA Excellence in Library Programming Award. Donated by ALA’s Cultural Communities Fund, the $5,000 award recognizes the library and more than 35 community partners for creating “11 Days for Compassion” in response to a local Occupy movement and a strike at nearby Southern Illinois University that resulted in peaceful protests, as well as abusive rants in the newspaper. The 2012 event gave the community a safe symbolic way to face itself in retrospect and to learn more about compassion for future interactions....
Office of ALA Governance, Apr. 30

Coretta Scott King Book Awards Breakfast
The Ethnic and Multicultural Exchange Round Table and the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee will celebrate the best in children’s and young adult literature representing the African-American experience at the 2013 Coretta Scott King Book Awards Breakfast on June 30 in the Radisson Blu Atlantic Ballroom during the ALA 2013 Annual Conference in Chicago. This year’s celebration will honor author and illustrator Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrator Bryan Collier....
Ethnic and Multicultural Exchange Round Table, Apr. 29

2013 W. Y. Boyd Literary Award
Cain at Gettysburg by Ralph Peters, published by Forge Books, is the winner of the 2013 W. Y. Boyd Literary Award, which honors the best fiction set in a period when the United States was at war. The $5,000 award and citation, donated by author W. Y. Boyd II, encourages the writing and publishing of outstanding war-related fiction. Cain at Gettysburg is a detailed account of the events leading up to and including the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863....
Office of ALA Governance, Apr. 30

2013 Information Technology Pathfinder Award
School librarians Joseph Landor and Judy Russell are the recipients of the 2013 AASL Information Technology Pathfinder Award. Sponsored by Follett Software Company, the $1,500 award recognizes and honors two school librarians—one elementary and one secondary—for demonstrating vision and leadership through the use of information technology to build lifelong learners....
AASL, Apr. 29

2013 ALA Trustee Citations
United for Libraries has named G. Victor Johnson and Beverly Mull as recipients of the ALA Trustee Citation. The award, established in 1943, recognizes public library trustees for distinguished service to library development. Johnson has served the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Memorial Library as a trustee for more than 30 years. Mull has been a trustee at the Zion-Benton (Ill.) Public Library District for more than seven years....
United for Libraries, Apr. 29

AASL Research Grants awarded
Two school library–related research projects, “The Principals’ Perspectives on the Value of School Librarians in Teaching and Learning Case Study” (by Judi Moreillon and Teresa Starrett) and “Bark If You R.E.A.D. in School Libraries: Can School Librarians with Therapy Dogs and Reading Support Skills Be an Effective Part of a School’s Literacy Intervention Team?” (by Linda Robinson) are the 2013 recipients of AASL’s Research Grants sponsored by Capstone....
AASL, Apr. 29

2013 Carroll Preston Baber Research Grant
M. Cristina Pattuelli and Irene Lopatovska are the winners of the 2013 Carroll Preston Baber Research Grant for their project, “E-reading in the Academy: Investigating Adoption and Use of Ebooks in Academic Libraries.” The $3,000 grant supports innovative research that could lead to an improvement in library services to any specific group of people....
Learning Resources Round Table, Apr. 25

Apply for a Mora Award (PDF file)
Reforma, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking, invites applications for the 2013 Estela and Raúl Mora Award. The award is presented annually to the most exemplary celebrations of El día de los niños / El día de los libros (Children’s Day / Book Day), or El día de los jovenes / El día de los libros (Youth Day / Book Day), also known as Día. Apply by August 15....
Reforma, Apr. 26

LC Prize for American Fiction
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has announced that Don DeLillo (right), author of Underworld, Mao II, and White Noise, will receive the first Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction during the 2013 National Book Festival, September 21–22. The prize honors an American literary writer whose body of work is distinguished not only for its mastery of the art but for its originality of thought and imagination. This inaugural award was inspired by a previous award that LC sponsored for lifetime achievement in the writing of fiction from 2008 to 2012....
Library of Congress, Apr. 25

OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature
Archipelago by Trinidadian writer Monique Roffey is the winner of the 2013 One Caribbean Media (OCM) Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature of $10,000. The nonfiction winner for 2013 is The Sky’s Wild Noise: Selected Essays, by Rupert Roopnaraine and Fault Lines by Kendel Hippolyte won in the poetry category. Eligible works must have been published in the preceding calendar year, and have been written originally in English by an author born in the Caribbean or holding Caribbean citizenship....
OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature

2013 South Asia Book Awards
The South Asia National Outreach Consortium has announced the winners of its 2013 South Asia Book Awards, which honor recently published fiction, nonfiction, or poetry for children or teens that is published in English or in English translation and accurately portrays the experience of South Asians. The winners are The Rumor by Anushka Ravishankar, illustrations by Kanyika Kini (Tundra Books, 2012), and Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books, 2012)....
South Asia Book Awards

2013 International Prize for Arabic Fiction
Kuwaiti novelist Saud Alsanousi (right) has won the 2013 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his novel Saq Al-Bamboo (The Bamboo Stalk), which treats the sensitive issue of foreign workers in the Gulf region. The book tells the story of young man who returns to Kuwait from the Philippines to discover what his father’s country is like. The prize, which is worth $50,000, was announced during the opening of Abu Dhabi International Book Fair....
Publishing Perspectives, Apr. 24

2013 Crystal Kite Awards
The Crystal Kite Awards are given by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators to recognize great books from the 70 SCBWI regions around the world. The awards are chosen by other children’s book writers and illustrators, making them the only peer-given awards in publishing for young readers. The Crystal Kite Awards are a regional complement of the annual SCBWI Golden Kite Awards, which are given in four children’s literature categories....
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Apr. 30

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Bush Presidential Library unveiled
Former First Lady Laura Bush (right), a former librarian who shaped nearly every part of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, said April 25 during the building’s dedication on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas that “a presidential library is not just about one president. . . . The archives housed here are completely digital, and the entire Bush center is designed to present the past and engage the future.” On May 1, the library became the first presidential library to open to the public with a platinum LEED certification by the US Green Building Council. Here’s what happened behind the scenes and at earlier presidential library dedications....
Dallas Morning News: Trail Blazers Blog, Apr. 25; Los Angeles Times: Deals and News, Apr. 30; CNS News, Apr. 25; Prologue: Pieces of History, Apr. 23, 25

One librarian to remain in Iowa school district
The Fort Dodge (Iowa) Community School District has made staff reductions ahead of the 2013–2014 school year to meet a $2 million budget shortfall. According to Robert Hughes, FDCSD assistant superintendent, the district currently has three-full time librarians. Two are retiring and their positions will not be filled. Hughes said, “We really kind of increase the effectiveness by empowering one librarian to oversee the district media services.”...
Fort Dodge (Iowa) Messenger News, Apr. 25

Utah school librarians get layoff notices
Twenty media specialists were told April 26 they would not have jobs with the Ogden (Utah) School District in the next school year. The remaining two school librarians would supervise part-time library assistants assigned to the schools. The layoffs, which still face a vote by the school board in June, would save the district $930,000. Tiffany Hall, K–12 literacy coordinator for the Utah State Office of Education, offered assurances the layoffs would not affect the schools’ accreditation anytime soon....
Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, Apr. 30

The Prosser challenge continues
Two books challenged by a Prosser (Wash.) High School teacher will go before the Prosser School Board in a final effort to have them removed from school libraries. Rich Korb filed a request for the board to review a decision from Superintendent Ray Tolcacher, who agreed to keep Dave Pelzer’s A Child Called “It” and Amy Ignatow’s The Popularity Papers on school bookshelves. Board members are reading the books ahead of possibly discussing them May 7....
Kennewick (Wash.) Tri-City Herald, Apr. 28

Nearly 100 children’s cookbooks whisked from library
Someone has stolen large number of children’s cookbooks from Bucks County (Pa.) Library’s Southampton branch. Head Children’s Librarian Lora Terifay said she began to notice that the books were missing in January when another library requested one of the titles. “When I went over to the shelf to get it, I just saw this huge gap,” she said. None of the books had been checked out. Staff members have been referring to the mystery as “The Case of the Cookbook Culprit.”...
Upper Southampton (Pa.) Patch, Apr. 25

Extremist ephemera donated to Duke University
The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project has donated its collection of extremist literature—pamphlets and flyers issued by the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, racist skinheads, border vigilantes, and neo-Confederates—to Duke University’s David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The nearly 90-box collection will be housed there to allow scholarly research on the histories of extremist groups in the US....
WUNC-FM, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Apr. 29

Prison library closes in Saskatchewan
Inmates at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert no longer have access to the Wapiti Regional Library, after Canadian federal funding was abruptly cut at the end of March on a years-long contract and four staff were eliminated. “We were actually considering expanding that service to the maximum security unit,” Wapiti Director Jon Murray said. The library is not shelving ideas to develop literacy programs and book clubs in the prison and hopes to leave library materials onsite....
CBC News, Apr. 26

What Guantanamo detainees are reading
Jeva Lange writes: “If there was ever any question about what the more than 160 remaining detainees are reading at Guantanamo, a new Tumblr blog has the answer: Captain America, Danielle Steele, and the Harry Potter series. The project of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Charlie Savage, ‘Guantanamo Prison Library Books for Detainees’ records the well-worn novels and disarrayed shelves that make up the inmates’ collection. The library currently holds around 3,500 books on preapproved topics concerning ‘Themes of family, tolerance, moral choices, mental escape; topics that expand the mind.’”...
New York Daily News: Page Views, Apr. 29

War of 1812–era books presented to Toronto library
Three titles that were looted from the city’s only library during the Battle of York on April 27, 1813, were presented April 28 to the Toronto Reference Library in a symbolic gesture of return. In a ceremony filled with lighthearted humor and ribbing about overdue fines, Constance Barone, of Sackets Harbor, New York, righted the centuries-old wrong that occurred during the war between the US and Canada from 1812 to 1814. Though not the actual stolen books, the three books chosen are originals and would have been representative of a library’s offerings in 1813....
Toronto Star, Apr. 28

Michael Moore salutes librarians
Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore used his keynote speech at the Library of Michigan’s 10th Annual Night for Notables in Lansing on April 27 to express awe for librarians, “among the most dangerous people in society.” Each year the Library of Michigan recognizes 20 books written by Michigan authors or relating to the state, as “Michigan Notable Books.” The audience listened as Moore told the story of Ann Sparanese, a librarian from Englewood, New Jersey, who was able to force HarperCollins to publish his 2002 book Stupid White Men....
Detroit News, Apr. 28

Lambeth Palace retrieves stolen rare books
From an early edition of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 2 to illustrated accounts of the first expeditions to America, an extraordinary collection of some 1,400 rare books dating back to the early 17th century has been returned to Lambeth Palace in London nearly 40 years after it was stolen. In February 2011, the palace’s newly appointed librarian was stunned to hear from a solicitor dealing with the estate of the recently deceased thief, in which the culprit—who had been “associated with the library”—made a full confession and revealed the location of the books in a London attic....
The Guardian (UK), Apr. 29; BBC News Magazine, Apr. 24

Fire at the National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth reopened to the public April 30 following a fire that destroyed part of its roof on April 26. A spokesman said the library completed its immediate salvage operation of collections located in the affected areas and is in the process of relocating more than 70 staff to other parts of the building. The building suffered fire, smoke, and water damage to areas used mainly as office space, but part of a historic collection has been moved to Oxford by a team of salvage experts for freeze-drying....
Cardiff (Wales) Western Mail, Apr. 29; BBC News, Apr. 30

The brazen bibliophiles of Timbuktu
Yochi Dreazen writes: “One afternoon in March, I walked through Timbuktu’s Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Studies and Islamic Research, stepping around shards of broken glass. Until last year, the modern concrete building with its Moorish-inspired screens and light-filled courtyard was a haven for scholars drawn by the city’s unparalleled collection of medieval manuscripts. Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the modest apartment where he now lives, Abdel Kader Haidara (center of photo) told me the improbable story of what actually happened to Timbuktu’s manuscripts during the 2012 Islamist occupation.”...
New Republic, Apr. 25

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SCOTUS: States can limit access to public records
The US Supreme Court said on April 29 that states are free to allow public records access only to their own citizens, delivering a blow to freedom of information advocates who had challenged a Virginia law. In a unanimous ruling (PDF file), the court said two out-of-state men did not have a right to view the documents. Various other states, including Tennessee, Arkansas, and Delaware, have similar laws, although some do not enforce them....
World Bulletin, Apr. 30

Five ways to improve US copyright law
Timothy B. Lee writes: “On April 24, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) announced plans for a ‘comprehensive review’ of copyright law. The announcement is significant because Goodlatte chairs the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over copyright issues. Goodlatte cited recent comments by Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante as an inspiration for his initiative. So here are five suggestions for improving copyright law that Congress ought to consider.”...
Ars Technica, Mar. 19, Apr. 26; US House Committee on the Judiciary, Apr. 24

The copyright status of magazines in Google Books (PDF file)
Barbara L. Kevles writes: “Major US publishers have settled their seven-year lawsuit against the Google Books Library Project, which seeks to digitize and make searchable collections of important research libraries in the US, Europe, and Asia for commercial purposes. But millions of magazines are hidden in the Google Books Library Project, and countless numbers have been, in the wording of a Google database heading, ‘digitized on or before May 5, 2009, without authorization.’”...
AALL Spectrum, May, pp. 34–36, 47

CISPA is dead; now let’s do cybersecurity right
Julian Sanchez writes: “The controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) now appears to be dead in the Senate, despite having passed the House by a wide margin earlier this month. Though tech, finance, and telecom firms with a combined $605 million in lobbying muscle supported the bill, opposition from privacy groups, internet activists, and ultimately the White House (which threatened to veto the law) seem to have proven fatal for now.”...
Wired, Apr. 26; US News and World Report, Apr. 25; ABC News, Apr. 18; Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group, Apr. 29

Privacy issues for librarians and journalists
J. Douglas Archer writes: “Sometimes the best way to understand a problem fully is to compare it with its opposite. We in the library profession strongly affirm the privacy and confidentiality rights of library users. Yet at the same time we vigorously advocate for open access to government information, for as much transparency as possible in government operations. What gives?”...
Choose Privacy Week, May 1

Senate moves to reform privacy law
On April 25 the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to pass a bill that will update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Last updated in 1986, ECPA does not adequately address the digital world. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2013 (S. 607) proposed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will reform this outdated privacy law by providing suitable privacy protections to both email and cloud storage....
District Dispatch, Apr. 25

Windows laptops with the least problems
Melanie Pinola writes: “PC troubleshooting and reporting tool Soluto is taking all the information on its users’ crashes, blue-screens-of-death, and long boot times to report which laptops perform the best. Soluto is gathering the reports monthly for its Business Pro users. Everyone, however, can view this first report, whether you have a Soluto account or not. The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (mid-2012), running Windows in Boot Camp, tops the list with the best score. The Acer Aspire E1-171 takes the second spot, while Dell has a great showing with five out of the top 10 laptops.”...
Lifehacker, Apr. 24

Mac vs. Windows: The best arguments
Adam Dachis writes: “The war between Mac and Windows devotees has been raging for decades, and last week we asked readers to weigh in. Today we’re taking a look at the best arguments on both sides to offer a clear picture of why you might choose one platform over another. This post attempts to represent both sides of the arguments equally, but may be weighted more towards Windows users, as Windows is the operating choice for the majority of Lifehacker readers.”...
Lifehacker, Apr. 30

Email receipt services
Brian Herzog writes: “A patron came up to the desk, saying she had an email question. She was applying for a job and emailed her information to their HR person. But she never got called for an interview, because the HR person said she had never received the patron’s information. The patron wanted to know if there was a way to prove that the HR person did get it, because she knows she sent it. I did some quick checking online, and it seems like Yahoo doesn’t offer receipts at all, and Gmail only with their business accounts.”...
Swiss Army Librarian, Apr. 27

A librarian’s guide to OpenRefine
Margaret Heller writes: “Academic librarians working in technical roles may rarely see stacks of books, but they doubtless see messy digital data on a daily basis. OpenRefine is an extremely useful tool for dealing with this data without sophisticated scripting skills and with a very low learning curve. Once you learn a few tricks with it, you may never need to force a student worker to copy and paste items onto Excel spreadsheets.”...
ACRL TechConnect Blog, May 1

Window-manager utilities
Yaara Lancet writes: “Whether you use one monitor or three, Windows XP or Windows 8, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, you’re bound to have windows on your desktop. And you probably juggle several of them at once. Windows operating systems come with several built-in management features, but they’re very basic. To control a cascade of windows effectively, you need a third-party window manager. I tested five popular ones—some of them free, and most of them inexpensive.”...
PC World, May 1

Compared: Discovery systems and Google
Aaron Tay writes: “Like many academic libraries, we recently launched our discovery service Summon, by ProQuest’s Serials Solutions. Having worked intensively on this project since 2011 during the evaluation, followed in 2012 by the implementation phase, I had an opportunity to delve into the topic perhaps deeper than many of my colleagues not on the team. Summon is probably as close to Google and Google Scholar as any library-associated search currently out there with features like autostemming and search over full-text. Summon 2.0 will come even closer by adding auto-query expansion that will automatically search synonyms.”...
Musings about Librarianship, Apr. 25

Hachette Book Group opens ebooks to libraries
A year after it launched a pilot program making new ebooks available to some libraries, Big Six publisher Hachette Book Group announced May 1 that it will make its entire catalog of over 5,000 ebooks available to libraries nationwide as of May 8. New ebooks will be made available to libraries at the same time as the print edition. For new ebooks, Hachette Book Group is charging libraries three times the price of the “primary” print book. One year after publication, the price of an ebook will drop to 1.5 times the price of the print book. Alan S. Inouye writes: “Now all of the Big Six publishers are in the library ebook market in one way or another, with the momentum towards greater engagement.” ALA President Maureen Sullivan issued a statement applauding the decision....
paidContent, May 1; May 20, 2012; Digital Book World, May 1; AL: E-Content, May 1

Ebooks and democracy
New York Public Library President Anthony W. Marx writes: “Ebook readership is rising much faster than readership of print books; digital books could soon be the most popular book format. Readership of our ebooks soared 168% from 2011 to 2012; print circulation, while much larger, remained constant. As the nature of reading changes, access to ebooks is essential for libraries to remain vital. Digital books from libraries are essential to improving literacy, civic engagement, and the technological facility necessary for economic success.”...
New York Times, May 1

The Digital Public Library of America
Scott McLemee writes: “The online response to the April 18 launch of the Digital Public Library of America has been, for the most part, enthusiasm just short of euphoria. The collection contains not quite 2.4 million digital objects; but more impressive than the quantity of material, though, is how much thought has gone into how it’s made available. DPLA is the work of people who understand that design is not just icing on the digital cake, but a significant (even decisive) factor in how we engage with content in the first place.”...
Inside Higher Ed, Apr. 24

DPLA partners with David Rumsey Map Collection
The Digital Public Library of America is partnering with the David Rumsey Map Collection to provide online access to tens of thousands of significant historical maps and images. As part of the relationship, David Rumsey will provide metadata for over 38,000 maps and images, making the entirety of his notable online collection instantly accessible via the DPLA website. Rumsey, president of Cartography Associates in San Francisco, began building a collection of North and South American historical maps and related cartographic materials in 1980....
No Shelf Required, Apr. 30

Library and publisher metadata
Julie Halverstadt and Nancy Kall write: “The Douglas County (Colo.) Libraries’ pioneering project to own, rather than license, much of its e-content has not only forged a new business model but also exposed a new frontier in metadata. As of March, about 22,000 of the library’s nearly 58,000 e-content titles had been purchased directly from publishers and stored on an Adobe Content Server, and it became quickly apparent to library staff that we were going to have to get creative with the metadata associated with this material.”...
Library Journal: The Digital Shift, Apr. 29

Librarians stand fast in the ebook revolution
There’s a tightrope across the digital divide that librarians are crossing, but some aren’t tiptoeing. They’re leaping across the gap and forming their own publishing arms to capitalize on new content streams that have blossomed alongside the ebook tsunami, said Jamie LaRue, director of the Douglas County (Colo.) Libraries, at the 100th conference of the Texas Library Association. “Look at it like this, there are more public libraries in the United States than there are McDonald’s. We have a nationwide distribution system.”...
Fort Worth (Tex.) Star-Telegram, Apr. 26

Whatever happened to the web as an annotation system?
Todd A. Carpenter writes: “Readers and researchers were annotating texts long before the invention of the printing press. While annotating texts has been relatively easy for centuries thanks to the margins of paper texts, annotating digital items remains difficult. Thinking back to the foundation of the World Wide Web, annotation was actually a critical component of what Sir Tim Berners-Lee conceived of as an interconnected store of research documents for CERN.”...
The Scholarly Kitchen, Apr. 30

Understanding user-generated tags
José “Ricky” Padilla writes: “More and more cultural heritage organizations are inviting their users to tag collection items to help aggregate, sort, and filter collection items. If we could better understand how and why users tag and what they’re tagging, we can better understand how to invite their participation. Here I interview Jennifer Golbeck (right), director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland, about her ongoing studies of how users tag art objects.”...
The Signal: Digital Preservation, May 1

Arizona makes ebook lending records private
Arizona lawmakers passed and Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law House Bill 2165, which adds ebooks to the state statute restricting what public library circulation records can be disclosed. The new law goes into effect 90 days after the legislative session ends....
Phoenix Arizona Republic, Apr. 24

Tips for building your children’s ebook collection
Rachel Wood writes: “What does your library’s kids e-collection need? A little of everything! Here are my tips for anyone just starting out. First, start with favorites—books that are hot in print are also hot as ebooks. Start with the top titles and consider buying multiples.”...
ALSC Blog, Apr. 28

Gdansk installs ebooks on city trams
Gdansk, Poland, has made a series of ebooks available on municipal trams after thousands of traditional books were stolen earlier this year. The city’s Mobile Reading campaign was set in motion in January to promote literacy, and 5,000 books were placed in nets on the backs of tram seats. By April, every last volume had disappeared. Under the new system, travelers can read the books for free, but they need a valid ticket as well as a smartphone....
Radio Gdansk, Jan. 4, Apr. 25

ALA Annual Conference, Chicago, June 27–July 2.

GraphiCon will help you up the ante on graphic-novel and comics know-how in your library. Get inspired by programs, author events (including Congressman John Lewis with March), and—in the exhibit hall—“Artist Alley,” the Graphic Novel Pavilion, and Graphic Novel Stage.

This second edition of the ALA bestseller The Whole School Library Handbook, edited by Blanche Woolls and David V. Loertscher, remains an indispensable all-in-one resource for everything related to the school library media center. Articles from dozens of respected authors and experts, culled from popular journals such as Knowledge Quest and School Library Journal, cover everything of interest to the contemporary school librarian. NEW! From ALA Editions.

Book sales are on the rise
Peter Osnos writes: “With all the upheaval in bookselling over the past decade, you would think the book industry was in crisis. But sales figures suggest otherwise. The Association of American Publishers released 2012 sales figures showing a substantial increase in overall totals. Sorting out the numbers, the net gain was 7.4% over the previous year. The percentage of ebook sales as a factor in the totals was up by a considerable 42% from 2011, amounting to $1.3 billion. But that rate of increase has slowed in recent months.”...
The Atlantic, Apr. 23; Association of American Publishers, Apr. 13

Changing the culture of consent
Pauline Holdsworth writes: “Sometimes the ability to name the experiences you’ve had, even if you don’t have the vocabulary for them, comes from fiction. That’s something Laurie Halse Anderson, author of the award-winning novel Speak, often notices when she tours from school to school talking to students about consent and sexual assault. Students will seek her out after she speaks. Often they’ve never talked about their assault before. Often they have no idea where to turn.”...
PolicyMic, Apr. 24

Embarrassing stories from your favorite YA characters
Annie Schutte writes: “April is National Letter Writing Month and National Humor Month. We’ve combined the two to commemorate one of the most sacred teen traditions: embarrassing stories. YA characters may seem airbrushed and perfect on the book cover, but beneath that glossy jacket they’re just like you and me. Take a look for yourself—and see if you can guess their true identities.”...
YALSA The Hub, Apr. 29

A tour of child/YA lit bloggers
Betsy Bird writes: “Sometimes it feels to me that there are as many ways to publish a book as there are books to publish. I started out as a children’s librarian. From there I started to blog. Then from blogging came some books. So I got to thinking about others in my field who have followed similar paths from blogging to book publication. The successes, if you will. With that in mind, here are some names that come immediately to mind and in no particular order.”...
School Library Journal: A Fuse #8 Production, Apr. 30

The young Salinger
The elusive J. D. Salinger comes vividly to life in a series of letters he wrote from 1941 to 1943, which few people have seen in the 70 years since. In this correspondence, which has been acquired by the Morgan Library and Museum and shared with the New York Times, the unsettled young Salinger reveals himself to be as playful, passionate, and caustic as Holden Caulfield, the self-questioning adolescent who would become his most enduring creation....
New York Times, Apr. 23

Your granny’s YA lit
Diane Colson writes: “While many mark the beginning of young adult literature around the time The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton was published in 1967, authors had been penning teen novels for many decades by then. For this wide-ranging look at retro YA, we’re going to go back about a century and then work our way forward from there. Motor Maids in Fair Japan by Katherine Stokes was published in 1912 and is part of a series about the Motor Maids and their travel.”...
YALSA: The Hub, Apr. 25

21st-century books every manly man should read
The GQ editors write: “Anyone with a high school diploma can tick off the classic novels of the 20th century. But cross into this millennium and things are suddenly murkier, Kindle-ier, less classed up with age. Then again, it’s been an affirming 13 years, enough time to breed a whole new body of post-2000 lit we’re happy to call the new classics. Here are the new musts you missed the first time around.”...
GQ, Apr. 8

Parents, children, libraries, and reading
The vast majority of parents of minor children—children younger than 18—feel libraries are very important for their children, according to Pew Research Center survey results (PDF file) released May 1. This carries over into parents’ own higher-than-average use of a wide range of library services. The presence of a child or a grandchild in a family is the primary reason cited by the 30% of parents who say their use of libraries has increased in the past five years. Compared with other adults who do not have minor children, these parents are more likely to have visited a library in the past 12 months, have a library card, and use a mobile device to connect to a library website....
Pew Internet & American Life Project, May 1

Disruption in legal publishing: A librarian’s perspective
Sarah Glassmeyer writes: “Many people think that legal publishing was disrupted years ago, when we began to make the big switch over to electronic research tools. To the contrary, that switch has not been disruptive—to lawyers. But legal publishing is broken. In its current state, it only serves to keep information locked away from people. There is no reason why this particular subset of the information ecosystem shouldn’t be free, open, accessible, and preserved for all.”...
Verdict, Apr. 29

The purpose and future of academic libraries
Marcus Banks writes: “On April 26 I attended a seminar presentation by Tom Leonard, university librarian at the University of California, Berkeley, since 2001. Leonard has a doctorate in history and has been on the faculty of Cal’s journalism school since 1976. Ever the historian, Leonard began with an illuminating historical overview of academic libraries in the US. He divided academic libraries pre-web into two broad phases: the ‘slacker phase‘ and the ‘overachiever phase.’”...
Marcus’ World, Apr. 29

Wikipedia categories and sexism
Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Sue Gardner writes: “On April 24, the New York Times published an op-ed from author Amanda Filipacchi headlined ‘Wikipedia’s Sexism Toward Female Novelists,’ in which she criticized Wikipedia for moving some authors from the ‘American novelists’ category into a sub-category called ‘American women novelists.’ Because there is no subcategory for ‘American male novelists,’ Filipacchi saw the change as reflecting a sexist double standard. I completely understand why Filipacchi was outraged.”...
Wikimedia Blog, May 1; New York Times: Sunday Review, Apr. 24

Apps for finding new tunes
Rachel Metz writes: “I was excited to try out Twitter’s foray into music discovery, Twitter #music, which launched as an iPhone app and online service in April. In order to make it a true test, I compared it with two other recently released social music apps, EQuala and Piki, to determine the best new source for finding music on a smartphone. How do they rank? Let’s just say that Twitter’s social networking prowess doesn’t necessarily translate to social music recommendations.”...
MIT Technology Review, May 1

How I learned to write grants good
Tim Wadham writes: “What I learned from writing and then implementing my first LSCA grant proposal made it possible for many more successful grants over the years. This in turn made many things possible for my libraries that wouldn’t have been doable otherwise. So here are my tips on writing a successful grant proposal.”...
ALSC Blog, May 1

Spring has sprung @ your library
Whether spring means a thorough house cleaning, preparing a home garden, or simply enjoying the season, librarians are planning programs that suit users’ preferred springtime activities. For example, Grand Rapids (Minn.) Area Library is certainly abuzz with its springtime horticultural programming lineup, “Buzzing and Clucking @ your library,” which includes the basics of beekeeping and raising backyard chickens....
Campaign for America’s Libraries, Apr. 30

Tips for making your press releases social and shareable
Heather Mansfield writes: “Social media has forever changed how nonprofits and journalists distribute and consume news stories, yet the format of nonprofit press releases has not evolved at all. I think that enterprising nonprofits would be eager to try something new to help your nonprofit stand out from the hundreds of traditional press releases that journalists and media outlets are bombarded with on a weekly or even daily basis. At the very least, these tips will help your nonprofit’s press release get more exposure on the Social Web.”...
Nonprofit Tech 2.0 Blog, Apr. 24

Hey, librarian: Can you help me find a good app?
Clair Segal writes: “Teens would rather go without water than a data connection. Their phones have become constant companions and guides. So whether it’s reference help, ebooks, music, or book recommendations, we’ve got an audience that comes equipped with their own hardware. They have the devices; we just have to provide helpful, thoughtfully curated content for them to use.”...
YALSA Blog, Apr. 25

A two-story shhhh
Michael Lieberman writes: “To create something to adorn the lobby of the then-new Walnut Creek branch of the Contra Costa County (Calif.) Library, the city enlisted the services of artist Christian Moeller. ‘Portrait in 12 Volumes of Gray’ stands 26 feet tall and eight feet wide and contains 3,960 books. The covers are 12 shades of gray and arranged on a gigantic steel bookshelf. The piece, one of 39 examples of public art in the branch, displays the image of a woman’s face as she makes a ‘shhh’ signal. Production of the books alone for the piece took two years to complete. It was unveiled in 2010.”...
Book Patrol, Aug. 29; UCLA Today, July 29, 2010

Meet New York City’s archivists
Alison Leigh Cowan writes: “Archivists are the specialists who snatch objects from oblivion. They have long spent their careers cloistered, like the objects they protected. But now many of these professionals are stepping out. A main reason is the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York. The group, which recently surpassed 500 members, holds monthly events that draw a young, well-dressed crowd, hungry for chances to network, train, and socialize.” Watch the video (2:56)....
New York Times, Apr. 28

Librarians show off their awesome
The bloggers at Stacked have set aside the month of May to let librarians who blog, Tumbl, or otherwise share their experiences online participate in “Show Me the Awesome: 30 Days of Self-Promotion.” They already have a lineup of contributors, but if you have a post about the interesting, unique, innovative, practical, and helpful things you and your library are doing in your community, you are welcome to contribute by submitting a link....
Stacked, Apr. 21, May 1

Vintage photos of librarians being awesome
Emily Temple writes: “Librarians, in case you hadn’t heard, are essential members of society—likely to expand minds wherever they go—and, as such, are fully worthy of hero worship. That’s at least part of the impetus behind My Daguerreotype Librarian, a Tumblr ‘dedicated to literally or figuratively hunky and babely librarians from the past.’ Inspired by the website, here’s a little extra literary goodness: 25 awesome vintage photos of librarians from ages past.”...
Flavorwire, Apr. 26

Camels in medieval book illustration
Have you ever asked yourself what a camel looked like in medieval times? Marvelously, we have some idea, thanks to drawings found in three of the greatest Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, all at the British Library: the Beowulf manuscript (Cotton Vitellius A XV), the Old English Hexateuch (Cotton Claudius B IV), and an illustrated miscellany from 11th-century Canterbury (Cotton Tiberius B V)....
Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts Blog, Apr. 30

The psychology of library seating locations
Esther Lie writes: “We have our desired seats in the library—perhaps in the corner, a Herculean desk, a stairway to heaven equidistant from the water cooler and photocopier, two symmetrical sockets longing to be plugged in, and lighting optimal for a photosynthetic orgasm. When that seat is taken, we’re furious. Does this have any rationale?”...
Leeds Student, Apr. 26

Pinterest for beginners
Meredith Popolo writes: “Pinterest is a highly visual virtual pinboard site that lets you ‘pin’ or collect images from the web. You create boards to help you categorize your images and add descriptions to remind you why you bookmarked them in the first place. Most of these images—or pins—link back to the original website they appeared on so you can easily access them later. Ready to find out how Pinterest can work for you? Follow us as we walk you through getting started.”...
PC Magazine, Apr. 23

Zombies pass on the reading bug in New Zealand
Zombies invaded a library in south Auckland, New Zealand, on April 26, all in the name of literacy. The Tupu Youth Library came under siege—one group of teenagers forming the undead masses, the other forming “survivors”—who had to do research to find a way out. Manager Richard Misilei says he needed an innovative idea to bring kids to the library. Watch the video (1:07)....
3 News, Auckland, N.Z., Apr. 27

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