For daily ALA and library news, check the American Libraries website or subscribe to our RSS feed.
|
|
|
Kathy Rosa writes: “What dissertations stood out over the past year? We looked at several of them—including 10 that we highlight here—to glean useful knowledge for LIS practitioners. Sadly, dissertations are often overlooked as a source of information within our profession. While the topics vary, these 10 dissertations can help inform practice in different types of libraries. And with that, we want to shine light on those scholars and the notable work they bring to the field.”...
American Libraries feature, May |
|
Abby Johnson writes: “You provide great youth programs and services at your library, but there comes a time when you may need to consider pulling the plug on something. As much as we librarians want to be everything to everyone, the truth is that resources are finite. Maybe the attendance isn’t there, or the staff member who supervised the service has left the branch. How do you decide to discontinue a program?”...
American Libraries column, May |
|
James LaRue writes: “Ross Balharrie, services delivery coordinator for the State Library of New South Wales, informs me that a new e-content management platform is up and running at two public libraries: Indyreads. (Note, too, the secure address.) Like the United States and Canada, Australia has struggled with ebook prices that are too high, platforms with unpredictable fees, and licenses that are hostile to libraries, users, and authors alike. Indyreads is unique.”...
AL: E-Content, May 16 |
|
|
Penguin Random House, partnering with ALA for the 2016 National Readathon Day on May 21, announced that readers will be able to contribute to #Readathon2016 through the Donate button now available on the ALA Facebook page. The campaign raises funds to promote early childhood literacy through ALA’s Every Child Ready to Read initiative and the Libraries Transform campaign, helping programs in public libraries nationwide....
Public Awareness Office, May 16 |
|
The Indianapolis Public Library has been selected to receive the 2016 Library of the Future Award, sponsored by ALA and Information Today publishing company. The library was selected for its innovative “eBook Tinker Station” project that provides one-on-one support for patrons as they navigate through new discoveries in technology. Patrons also are introduced to downloading items from the library’s growing digital collections of ebooks, e-audiobooks, and free streaming videos and music....
Office of ALA Governance, May 16
|
|
For the past three years, more than 20 schools in Las Vegas have gone without full-time librarians. And while that may not seem like a large number, librarians around the Clark County (Nev.) School District are saying it’s part of a troubling trend. In 2013, 24 libraries in CCSD schools were managed by someone other than a qualified librarian. In 2014 that number rose to 32. It has dropped slightly this year to 28, but Kay Carl Elementary School Librarian Ryan Dwyer thinks the number will only continue to go up....
Las Vegas (Nev.) Sun, May 17 |
|
Science publisher Elsevier has acquired the largest preprint repository and online community for social science and humanities researchers in the world, Social Science Research Network, to accelerate its social strategy. Elsevier has not disclosed how much it paid for SSRN but revealed it will be integrated with Elsevier’s reference management program Mendeley, broadening its offering and helping researchers to better manage the publication journey from start to finish....
The Bookseller (UK), May 16; Elsevier, May 17; Nature: News, May 17 |
|
Jennifer LaGarde writes: “Did you know that more than half of US public school children now live in poverty? Let me allow that to sink in for a moment. Kids living in poverty are all of our kids. I know that while the problem of childhood poverty is huge and can feel overwhelming, you can make a difference and change outcomes for students. So, let’s talk about five ways school librarians can and should be part of this important work.”...
The Adventures of Library Girl, May 17; Washington Post, Jan. 16, 2015 |
|
|
Chris Burns writes: “If you’ve recently graduated from an MLIS program, what I’m about to say isn’t a shock: You are not full-time. If you are an established full-time librarian, you’ve probably noticed that more of your coworkers are part-time than in the past. These new librarians have their own class of titles that imply part-time. Instead of librarian I, they’re librarian on call, per diem, or the euphemistic library specialist. Yes, these titles have always been in play, but what they signify has changed.”...
Public Libraries Online, May 13
|
|
Evan Dashevsky writes: “Wolfram Alpha is not Google. They may look similar, but Google it is not. Many of Wolfram’s functions deal with advanced mathematical acrobatics that you will never need to use. However, for those times when you need to really get into a topic—anything from the life cycle of sea anemones to Asian grain futures—Wolfram should be a central part of your research. Here are 23 cool and practical things you can do with Wolfram that have nothing to do with solving for x.”...
PC Magazine, May 16
|
|
Laurence Ivil and Paul Myles write: “An ever-growing number of web users around the world are living with dementia. They have varied levels of computer literacy and may be experiencing some of the following issues: memory loss, confusion, issues with vision and perception, difficulties sequencing and processing information, reduced problem-solving abilities, or problems with language. Just when we thought we had inclusive design pegged, a completely new dimension emerges.”...
Smashing Magazine, May 17
|
|
Curtis Franklin Jr. writes: “If you want to be a programmer who gets better with time, there are books that can help you. Here are 10 books that, in my more than 30 years of writing code, managing teams of developers and testers, and running testing labs and operations for four publications, I think people who want to be better programmers should be reading. The order of the entries doesn’t indicate any sort of ranking, though the first set of books is the foundation document for modern programming.”...
Information Week, May 15
|
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
|
