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For more ALA and library news on a daily basis, check the American Libraries website
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Meredith Farkas (right) writes: “There is a large portion of our library collections, services, and web content over which we have little direct control. That includes web services provided by third parties, library catalogs and discovery tools, and databases. We need to be just as dedicated to evaluating and improving those systems as we are about the systems we control. We need to think about whether we are doing right by our patrons. Otherwise, we are not being good advocates or good stewards of their tax dollars or tuition.”...
American Libraries column, Mar./Apr. |
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An electronic guide to the 2015 ALA elections is once again available to inform members about the candidates and the election process. Your Guide to the 2015 ALA Elections contains general information about the ALA presidency, recent ALA presidential initiatives, and biographical information about the four presidential candidates. Information about the ALA Council, recent Council actions, and links to information about this year’s 80 Council candidates is also provided. Want to run for election in 2016? Apply by June 12....
Office of ALA Governance, Mar. 11–12 |
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The ALA Financial Handbook is now available online (PDF file). Compiled by the ALA Budget Analysis and Review Committee (BARC), the Handbook provides practical assistance and background information to ALA members and staff who are involved in financial operations....
Office of ALA Governance, Mar. 12
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Looking for ways to promote National Library Week, April 12–18? ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries has a variety of tools and promotional ideas to help you promote the theme of “Unlimited Possibilities @ your library.” Leading up to and throughout National Library Week, librarians can encourage DIYs, crafters, makers, job seekers, small business owners, and students to showcase what they have made or accomplished thanks to their public, school, academic, or special library by tweeting with the hashtag #librarymade or posting to Facebook....
Campaign for America’s Libraries, Mar. 12
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Charter schools are far less likely than traditional schools to have libraries or librarians, surveys show. During the 2011–2012 school year, 49% of public charter schools reported having a library media center compared to 93% of traditional public schools in the United States, according to a survey (PDF file) by the National Center for Education Statistics. Nationwide, one-third of libraries in public charter schools had full-time, paid, state-certified library media center specialists, compared to two-thirds of traditional public schools....
Washington Post, Mar. 10
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The city of Rikuzentakata in eastern Japan was devastated by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that ripped through the area on March 11, 2011, destroying or damaging some 80,000 books in the city library. The only public library in Japan to have a dedicated department for book restoration, the Tokyo Chuo Metropolitan Library (Minato Ward), has been working to repair materials from the local archive of the Rikuzentakata Public Library since September 2013....
Huffington Post, Mar. 11 |
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Eric Ravenscraft writes: “Between Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and a half dozen other services, the sky’s the limit on how much cloud storage you can get. Every cloud storage provider has a variety of changing promos that can give you extra storage space, so it’s always worthwhile to keep an ear to the ground. Cloud storage providers seem to like giving away space like candy if it means new customers. Here are some of the best ways to get extra free space on each service.”...
Lifehacker, Mar. 11 |
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Jennifer Rummel writes: “With a new movie of Cinderella coming out, it’s a great time to round up some book adaptations. For example, Cinderella Ninja Warrior by Maureen McGowan: Cinderella is held captive by her stepmother. She can take care of herself, perfecting her skills in secret, waiting for the day until she can escape. A ball will be held with two contests: one beauty and one magical. Cinderella doesn’t care about the beauty contest or meeting the prince; she simply wants to win the magical competition for the wizard-training opportunity. She’s determined to win her freedom.”....
YALSA The Hub, Mar. 12 |
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Andrea Romano writes: “For 24 hours on March 14, Pi Day 2015 will be the one and only Pi Day in the next 100 years that will actually reflect the first five numbers in everyone’s favorite irrational number, pi, which is 3.1415. The next time pie lovers and pi lovers alike will see such an event will not be until March 14, 2115. Here are 10 other pi facts: Pi has been studied for 4,000 years. That’s longer than evolutionary biology, Impressionist art, and whether #TheDress is white and gold or blue and black.”...
Mashable, Mar. 13 |
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Lisa Zawadski reveals the Laws of Library Science, as promulgated by the Acme Upstairs Library School, in slideshow format. For example, Law 22: “The ‘e’ in ebooks stands for evil.” And Law 4: “All of the library’s books on Satanism, witchcraft, and spell-casting will go missing. Library fines are a small consideration to someone courting eternal damnation, after all.”...
Slideshare, Apr. 15, 2014 |
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