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For more ALA and library news on a daily basis, check the American Libraries website
or subscribe to our RSS feed.
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Miguel Figueroa writes: “Trends in culture, community, and education point to increased potential for expanding the role of libraries of all types. Why trends? Well, as many of us already know, it’s nearly impossible to accurately predict the future. But we can identify trends, and they can be key to understanding what the future might bring. Identifying and organizing trends helps us think about the changes happening in the world and the potential effects they will have on our future.”...
American Libraries feature, Mar./Apr. |
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American Libraries has launched its new, responsive-design website. Visitors will be able to view this new site easily on their smartphones, tablets, or desktops, as it adjusts to fit each type of screen. The site offers several new features, including news feed updates throughout each day to Latest Library Links; more online content; quick links for every article to tweet, post to Facebook, email, and print; and a comment option that allows readers to use their Facebook account....
American Libraries, Mar. 3
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Jacqueline Woodson (right) is no stranger to prestigious literary recognition. Her latest book, the memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, earned the 2015 Coretta Scott King Award (her second), a 2015 Newbery Honor (her fourth), and the 2014 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. She received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults in 2005. In an email to American Libraries, she discussed the importance of capturing the childhood experience, the significance of diversity in literature, and the role libraries play in shaping our collective sense of memory....
American Libraries feature, Mar./Apr. |
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Sponsored Content
Libraries can expect a boost in readership with the return of the TV series Outlander to Starz on April 4. Based on Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling book series, season one continues as Claire, now Mrs. Jamie Fraser, is captured by Black Jack Randall’s men.
Outlander won a 2015 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Cable Sci-fi/Fantasy TV Show, and the newest title in the book series, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, received 2015 Audie Award nominations for both Fiction and Solo Narration (Female). |
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Applications are now being accepted for two expiring terms on the ALA Endowment Trustees and one newly expanded position. This expansion increases the number of Trustees to six, plus the ALA Treasurer for a committee total of seven. The candidates will be selected by the ALA Executive Board at its 2015 ALA Spring Meeting, which will be held April 18–20 in Chicago. Candidates must have a working knowledge of investment opportunities available to the endowment and other long-term investment funds. Applications (Word file) will be accepted through April 1....
ALA Executive Board, Mar. 2
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Lydia Tang writes: “The ALA Archives staff found a picture of Leonard Nimoy (March 26, 1931–February 27, 2015) in our Record Series 13/5/15. ALA conferences have a long tradition of distinguished guests and author signings, and Nimoy was at the 1976 ALA Annual Conference, signing pictures for his newly released memoir I am Not Spock. Apparently he got tired of smiling for the camera. This picture, and a write-up of the event, was featured in American Libraries 7, no. 7 (July/Aug. 1976), p. 473....
ALA Archives blog, Feb. 27
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Awarding winning-author and illustrator Melissa Sweet (left) and literacy advocate Judy Cheatham, vice president of literacy services at Reading is Fundamental, will share the stage at the ALSC Charlemae Rollins President’s Program at the 2015 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco on June 29. They will present an informing and inspiring look at the creation of excellent nonfiction and the matchmaking of great books and kids who need them. This year’s program is titled “More to the Core: From the Craft of Nonfiction to the Expertise in the Stacks,” and will explore libraries’ roles in the innovative implementation of programs and services to support the Common Core State Standards....
ALSC, Feb. 27 |
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On February 27, the White House released a discussion draft (PDF file) of proposed legislation to protect consumer privacy online. The proposal, known as the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights Act, would require companies to provide clear notice of how they use data, ensure data is not reused in other contexts, and give consumers a method to have their data deleted. Under the bill, industries could develop codes of conduct to government data use that the Federal Trade Commission would have to approve. However, some privacy advocates pointed out that the legislation does not offer much for consumers and would preempt some stronger state laws, while companies complained that legislation would go too far in limiting their ability to use information....
The Hill, Feb. 27; Re/code, Feb. 27 |
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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries’ Office of Scholarly Publishing, Copyright, and Licensing has launched a mobile version of its web-based Fair Use Quiz that was initially released in 2014. The quiz is designed to help students better understand the core concepts of copyright law’s “fair use” provision, the flexible—but notably ambiguous—exception under US copyright law that makes it possible to use others’ copyrighted works without permission....
MIT Libraries News, Feb. 26 |
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After an outcry from librarians, genealogists, and universities, Indiana Republicans restored about $2 million in cuts to the Indiana State Library in late February, which would have eliminated $1.3 million in funding for INSPIRE—a heavily used state website that allows Indiana residents free access to many historical and scientific journals. The latest version of the House budget, which includes the funding, was approved this week and it now heads to the Senate. The funding cut would have also forced the library to eliminate its genealogy department....
Chicago Tribune, Mar. 2 |
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Carli Spina writes: “Graphic novel and comic book fans are book lovers, so it is no surprise that libraries and librarians are portrayed fairly frequently in all sorts of graphic works. Here are some comics that feature libraries and librarians and are perfect for some light reading or for a fun library display. One of the most iconic examples of librarians in comics has to be Barbara Gordon, better known by her alias, Batgirl. Debuting in the 1960s, Batgirl’s day job was as the head librarian at Gotham’s public library, but she was also a superheroine who aided Batman in his crime fighting efforts.”...
Cosplay, Comics, and Geek Culture in Libraries, Mar. 2 |
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Published just seven years after his death, William Shakespeare’s First Folio includes 18 of his 38 plays, including The Tempest, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and As You Like It. In 2016, multiple copies of this original edition, accompanied by six interpretive panels, will tour the nation as the exhibition “First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare,” providing hundreds of thousands of visitors with a rare opportunity to view this important book in their own communities. The exhibition, sponsored by the Folger Shakespeare Library, ALA, and the Cincinnati Museum Center, will visit one designated site in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. Each location will host the exhibition for four weeks....
ALA Public Programs Office, Feb. 27 |
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