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Libraries from Maine to Hawaii will offer activities that will teach members of their communities how to hone their financial decision-making skills during “Money Smart Week @ your library,” April 18–25. More than 3,500 free Money Smart Week events will take place throughout the country on topics ranging from saving for college and managing student loan debt to budgeting and retirement. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Investor Education Foundation and ALA have launched a new, redesigned version of the Smart Investing @ your library website....
Chapter Relations Office, Apr. 16; ALA Development Office, Apr. 15 |
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YALSA has officially announced its 2015 Teens’ Top Ten nominees. This year’s list features 24 titles that were published in calendar year 2014. Teens are encouraged to read the nominees before the national Teens’ Top Ten vote, which will take place August 15 through Teen Read Week, October 18–24. YALSA has also launched its 2015 Teen Read Week website. Teen Read Week is an opportunity for libraries to showcase their literacy-related resources and services that are available to teens and their families....
YALSA, Apr. 15–16 |
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The Office for Intellectual Freedom writes: “Over the past week, OIF has reviewed and carefully considered the comments posted to social media, blogs, and discussion lists concerning the poster for the 2015 Banned Books Week campaign. Commenters are concerned that the poster might be insulting to the Muslim communities our nation’s libraries serve and that any resolution should prioritize ALA’s important commitment to diversity. We have also received many thoughtful statements from members who would like OIF to find a balance between these important values. We intend to take the following actions.”...
OIF Blog, Apr. 15 |
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Julie Turkewitz writes: “The project is striking in its ambition: a sprawling research institution situated on a ranch at 10,000 feet above sea level, outfitted with 32,000 volumes, many of them about the Rocky Mountain region, plus artists’ studios, dormitories, and a dining hall—a place for academics, birders, hikers, and others to study the West. The Rocky Mountain Land Library was founded by two booksellers from Denver’s Tattered Cover bookstore.”...
New York Times, Apr. 16
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The rare English book collection of a late Melbourne jurist, estimated to be worth more than $5 million, has been given to the State Library of Victoria, Australia. The 5,000 works, mostly from the 15th to 18th century, were collected over 46 years by barrister, physicist, and bibliophile John Emmerson, who died last year aged 76. Emmerson’s passion was for the period of the English Civil War, from the reign and execution of Charles I to the restoration of the monarchy. The gift comes with a $1.3 million endowment to preserve and catalog the collection and acquire further books....
Sydney (N.S.W.) Morning Herald, Apr. 16
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Broadband speeds in US public libraries have improved significantly in recent years, yet continues to lag behind national broadband connectivity standards, according to Broadband Quality in Public Libraries, a new supplementary report (PDF file) released jointly on April 16 by ALA and the Information Policy and Access Center at the University of Maryland College Park as part of the Digital Inclusion Survey....
Office for Information Technology Policy, Apr. 16
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Heather Mansfield writes: “Communicating your data and calls to action in visual format is a smart strategy. However, you can have an exceptionally well-designed and useful infographic, but if its not compatible with social media and mobile devices, then it’s unlikely to gain traction. To ensure that your infographics have the best chance possible of success, adopt the six best practices detailed here.”...
Nonprofit Tech for Good, Mar. 29
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David Chernicoff writes: “Only a few years ago, wireless routers were relatively dumb devices that merely beamed the web into your home or office and not much more. Now, they offer everything from support for multiple wireless frequencies to mobile-management tools. Here are seven features found in most advanced wireless routers that are well worth the time and effort to configure and use.”...
PC Magazine, Apr. 15 |
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Sarah Werner writes: “What do you do if you’ve misprinted one of three propositions central to the 1599 Westminster conference? You print the corrected third proposition and paste it over the error—it’s cheaper than reprinting the whole sheet (the whole book is only two sheets long) and easier than pasting in a canceled leaf. I’ve spent the last week with cancel slips on my mind—those pieces of papers that are pasted in to correct printing mistakes. Once you start looking, you can find cancel slips in a huge range of uses and states.”...
The Collation, Apr. 14 |
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Colleen Seisser writes: “You know the saying, ‘April showers bring may flowers!’ As we experience some changing weather this month, let’s take a look at some teen novels that center on extreme weather to drive their plots: tornados and hurricanes, snow and ice, drought, and floods.”...
YALSA The Hub, Apr. 15 |
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Kimberly Joki writes: “We love The Avengers just as much as the next person (unless you are strictly anti-Marvel, to which we must ask: Why not DC and Marvel?). However, this week is National Library Week and the more we thought about it, the more we realized that librarians are the real superheroes. Here’s why.”...
Grammarly Blog, Apr. 15 |
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The Orange (Calif.) Public Library released this video parody (5:16) of the 2014 hit by Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk,” for National Library Week. Titled “Unread Book,” the video was produced in association with Chapman University and Pogona Creative, both in Orange....
YouTube, Apr. 11 |
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