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The Schaumburg Township (Ill.) District Library in Chicago’s northwest suburbs promotes citizenship training as well as English as a second language (ESL) courses. Schaumburg, home to several global corporations, attracts workers from around the world. As a result, the library found that citizenship training was very much in demand. In recognition of the library’s five-year-long commitment to citizenship education, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services invited the library to host its third naturalization ceremony on September 20, 2013....
American Libraries feature, July 7 |
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George Gottschalk writes: “What does an ebooks marketplace look like if, in addition to libraries, content providers are equally committed to a sustainable ecosystem that enables viability for all players—publishers, vendors, authors, libraries, and, of course, readers? It looks a great deal like the session ‘Making Progress in Digital Content’ that took place at the 2015 ALA Annual Conference, sponsored by the Office for Information Technology Policy.”...
AL: E-Content, July 1 |
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Linton Weeks writes: “Looking back at the nationwide support for American troops in the two world wars, we see Americans of all stripes making patriotic contributions and sacrifices—including farmers, factory workers, and librarians. How did librarians fit in to national security in the 20th century? In an array of ways, says Cara Bertram, an archivist for ALA. Librarians were especially active during World War I.”...
NPR, July 1 |
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The ALA Public Programs Office invites libraries to apply for the Great Stories Club, a reading and discussion program for at-risk teens. Eligible libraries must be located within or working in partnership with organizations that serve at-risk youth. Working with small groups of 6–10 teens, grantees will host reading and discussion events for each of three selected book titles. Apply by September 15....
Public Programs Office, July 6
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More than seven decades ago, Pearl Thompson wanted to check out a book from a North Carolina library. But she was told no, because she is black. A Wake County Public Library official changed that on July 2, years after the 1942 incident during the days of racial segregation, and issued her a library card. Thompson, now 93, was a student at Shaw University when she went to the Olivia Rainey Library in Raleigh to borrow a book for a report, and was refused....
Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, July 2
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Jane Perlez writes: “Li Xiaodong, an award-winning architect who fuses traditional Chinese ideas of design with Western themes, has built a library in the village of Jiaojiehe, China, that is so intriguing it has become a destination for day-trippers from Beijing. At its base, it is a steel and glass box in the vein of a Philip Johnson open-plan creation from the 1950s, but its exterior walls and roof are clad with fruit-tree twigs.”...
New York Times, July 6
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Ingrid Abrams writes: “Summer reading depresses the bejeezus out of me. We’re running out of titles and our will to live, and the summer reading assignment lists from teachers don’t seem to have been written by actual people. In response to the bananas lists I’ve seen in my six years as a public librarian, here are my tips for writing the perfect summer reading list. This will be the list where your local librarians will actually be able to help your students and their families. Don’t be mad. We’re in this together.”...
The Magpie Librarian, July 6 |
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Steven J. Bell writes: “What’s your take on student data and privacy? Librarians, owing to a professional code of ethics that calls for the profession to unequivocally protect the privacy rights of its community members, tend to take a strong stand in advocating for privacy. So how should academic librarians respond when administrators request data on student use of research products, attendance at instruction sessions, or number of books borrowed?”...
The Blended Librarian, July 6; Eclectic Librarian, June 11 |
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Wendy Sheehan Donnell and Eugene Kim write: “It’s difficult to remember a time before tablets, but it’s been just over five short years since the original Apple iPad hit the scene, and the current tablet market was born. But which tablet is right for you? Whether you’re eyeing an iPad, one of the many Android tablets available, or a Windows model, here are the key factors you need to consider when shopping for a tablet, along with the top-rated models we’ve tested.”...
PC Magazine, May 1, July 2 |
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Shay Meinecke writes: “There is an abundance of resources to learn about video production. You’ll need to decide on what editing program you want to use, what camera best fits your style, whether to use lighting and audio equipment, among other options. In this article, you’ll learn about two industry-standard video editors that are sure to help you create great content.”...
MakeUseOf, July 6; Mar. 24, 2014; Sept. 25, Nov. 12, 2012 |
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Alliterator writes: “The first week of July was somewhat weird for LGBT characters in comic books. First, there was the fact that the Midnighter’s comic is actually really, really good. But then we got a controversy about James Robinson’s Airboy and its use of a derogatory word for transgender. But the current crop of comics does have a lot of good LGBT characters, especially independent comics. Here are five you really need to start reading.”...
Kinja: Observation Deck, July 4; io9, July 1; Comic Book Resources, July 3 |
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