For daily ALA and library news, check the American Libraries website or subscribe to our RSS feed.
|
|
|
As primaries begin, meet the librarian who archives political buttons. Busy Beaver Button Company started in a Chicago apartment in 1995, making one-inch buttons for local bands. As the company grew, so did its collection. Enter Christy Karpinski (right), who turned an internship into a permanent position as digital librarian and museum manager at Busy Beaver’s Button Museum, which now displays 9,000 pinback pieces of cultural history and ephemera....
American Libraries feature, Jan./Feb. |
|
American Libraries is celebrating the 140th anniversary of ALA in 2016. We are marking the occasion in print and online with features that showcase the Association’s rich history, including a Pinterest board chronicling a visual history of ALA, special ALA history-themed Throwback Thursday (#tbt) photos on Facebook and Twitter, blog posts from Wayne A. Wiegand on ALA’s greatest moments throughout history, and more....
AL: The Scoop, Feb. 2 |
|
|
The application process for the 2016 “Leading to the Future” ALA Leadership Institute (August 8–11, at Eaglewood Resort, Itasca, Illinois) is now open, with applications accepted through April 15. Building on the success of the past three ALA Leadership Institutes, and with support from Innovative Interfaces, the four-day immersive leadership development program for up to 40 mid-career librarians will be led again by ALA Past President Maureen Sullivan and library and leadership consultant Kathryn Deiss....
Office of ALA Governance, Jan. 29 |
|
James LaRue writes: “ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom is well known for its Banned Books Week, and its Top Ten lists. I’m still the new guy, but I wonder: How come we’re only talking about books? When I was a public library director, I got challenges about movies, music, art pieces, and programs. Surely others do, too. We’ve put out a call for challenge reporting before, but this call is just to see if we’re missing whole categories of challenges.”...
Intellectual Freedom Blog, Feb. 2 |
|
|
Cathy Cruzan writes: “The 2016 E-rate filing window will open on February 3, which means many applicants are scrambling to put in place all the pieces they need. To ease the process for schools and libraries at this challenging time of year, I’ve compiled a short list of basic items to check off before the window opens.”...
EdTech Digest, Jan. 29 |
|
A proposal to shift more authority of the library from the library board to the city is under consideration by the Nebraska legislature. Legislative Bill 969 (PDF file), introduced by Sen. Tyson Larson (R-O’Neill, right) would require all Nebraska’s cities and villages, regardless of size, to control their libraries. But two Omaha City councilmen and many library supporters are raising concerns that the bill will inject politics into the state’s public libraries. Legislative hearings and debate on the bill scheduled for February 1 were postponed because of a blizzard. The Nebraska Library Association is advocating against it....
Omaha (Nebr.) World-Herald, Feb. 1; Nebraska Library Association |
|
|
Grace Dobush writes: “Public libraries are a relatively new phenomenon. Before the late 1880s, when Andrew Carnegie started funding the more than 1,600 library buildings that bear his name, most libraries in America were subscription-based, with members funding and shaping the collections. As free public libraries sprouted up across the US, membership libraries mostly died off, but 19 nonprofit membership libraries still exist and are now reinventing themselves as cultural centers.”...
Quartz, Jan. 29 |
|
Lorcan Dempsey writes: “Collections have been central to library identity. Support for the discovery, curation, and creation of resources in research and learning practices continues to evolve. In this blog entry, I discuss one element of these changes: the emergence of what I call the facilitated collection, a coordinated mix of local, external, and collaborative services assembled around user needs.”...
Lorcan Dempsey’s Weblog, Jan. 31
|
|
Diana Rendina writes: “In the book Get Active: Reimagining Learning Spaces for Student Success, the authors identify six types of active learning spaces that are essential for creating an engaging learning environment for students. School libraries are the ideal place to encompass all six types of learning spaces in one location. You might find that many of these spaces will overlap in your library, or that their purpose might shift depending on the day. Aim for having all six areas available as much as possible.”...
Knowledge Quest blog, Jan. 27 |
|
Herbert P. Ginsburg writes: “When reading books to children, it’s important to realize that math is a broad subject. Although not explicitly about school math, ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ entails relatively complex math ideas—order and correlation. Other storybooks deal in an informal way with patterns, spatial relations, measurement, addition and subtraction, and division—all of which are math. It would be hard to find a non-math storybook that does not include everyday math in this broad sense.”...
KQED: Mind/Shift, Feb. 2 |
|
Kimberli Buckley writes: “There are no shortages of books for young adults that tackle mental illness. In this post, we’re focusing on characters in YA novels who develop coping mechanisms for dealing with depression and anxiety throughout the course of the story. Emotional wellness can be put at risk by social factors or loss of friends, so good coping skills are important to help to reduce stress. Here are some YA realistic fiction books that tap into the idea of coping with stress and mental issues.”...
YALSA The Hub, Feb. 2 |
AL Direct is a free electronic newsletter emailed every Tuesday and Friday to personal members of the American Library Association.
|
|
Send news and feedback: aldirect@ala.org
Direct ad inquiries to: mstack@ala.org
AL Direct FAQ: americanlibrariesmagazine.org/al-direct
All links outside the ALA website
are provided for informational purposes only. Questions about the
content of any external site should be addressed to the administrator of
that site.
AL Direct will not sell your email to outside parties, but your email may be shared with advertisers in this newsletter should you express interest in their products by clicking on their ads or content. If the advertisers choose to communicate with you by email, they are obligated to provide you with an opportunity to opt-out from future emails in compliance with the CAN-SPAM act of 2003. Read the ALA privacy policy.
American Libraries
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
800-545-2433, ext. 4216
ISSN 1559-369X
|
