For daily ALA and library news, check the American Libraries website or subscribe to our RSS feed.
|
|
|
This year’s Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) theme is “On Your Mark, Get Set . . . Read!”, and two-time Newbery Medal–winner Kate DiCamillo is the 2016 CSLP National Summer Reading Champion. DiCamillo is the bestselling author of numerous books, including Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux. American Libraries spoke with her about this year’s program, the importance of libraries and summer reading, and her new book, Raymie Nightingale....
American Libraries Trend, May 26 |
|
Katie Farmand writes: “A new culinary awakening is creating its own buzz. From fledgling craft breweries and distilleries to fine restaurants with James Beard Award nominees in the kitchen, there’s a gamut of great eating in every price range in Orlando. While there’s no defining ‘Orlando cuisine,’ many of the newest restaurants in Central Florida mirror the national trends: American cuisine, farm-friendly menus, and simple food with regional accents.”...
American Libraries feature, June |
|
Karen Muller writes: “The other day my middle schooler announced, ‘My teacher said you would be able to help me because you’re a librarian. I have to write about how easy access to technology affects our ability to know the truth.’ The very next day, this question came in through our reference email: ‘Is there a publication for reference librarians on vetted or recommended websites for use by truth seekers?’ One of the sources I suggested is Find It Fast, 6th edition, by Robert Berkman.”...
American Libraries column, May |
|
|
The Senate Intelligence Committee on May 24 approved a bill that would make it easier for the government to read what you’re writing online. The 2017 Intelligence Authorization Act, if enacted into law, would let the FBI obtain email records without a court order. All the agency would need is a National Security Letter, which lets the FBI get information from companies about their customers without alerting the person being investigated. Currently, the FBI can access phone records that way, but not emails....
CNET, May 25 |
|
John Romano writes: “I just finished reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and I’m offended. Not by the language, and not by the references to sex and drugs. I’m offended by those who are offended. Some parents at Pasco Middle School were upset when a teacher assigned students to read this coming-of-age book. I have zero problem with parents deciding the book is inappropriate for their children. But I have a huge problem with a parent deciding the book is inappropriate for my child.”...
Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, May 25; WFLA-TV, Tampa, May 23
|
|
Satires set in financial-crisis Ireland and the high-end art world share this year’s Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic fiction, whose rewards include a bottle of champagne and a pig. Paul Murray’s The Mark and the Void and Hannah Rothschild’s The Improbability of Love were named the award’s first joint winners on May 25. Murray and Rothschild will each be presented with a Gloucester Old Spot pig named after their book during a June 4 ceremony at the Hay Festival of Literature in Wales....
Associated Press, May 24 |
|
Patti Verbanas writes: “Megan Lotts delights in the noise, conversation, and mess at the Lego playing station (1:51) she installed in the center of the Rutgers University Art Library: It means that people are solving problems and learning to work as a team. Accompanied by nearly 300 pounds of the popular colorful bricks, Lotts is on the forefront of redefining the educational role that libraries can play in their communities and aggressively spreading the message.”...
Rutgers Today, May 23; YouTube, Sept. 17, 2014 |
|
The British Library has made over 300 literary treasures relating to 20th-century writers available online for the first time, including literary drafts, rare first editions, notebooks, letters, diaries, newspapers, and photographs from Virginia Woolf, Ted Hughes, Angela Carter, and Hanif Kureishi, among others. The site also features more than 90 essays written by writers and academics. The items can be viewed for free on the Discovering Literature website....
British Library, May 25 |
|
|
John R. Delaney writes: “The monitor you’re using right now might have come bundled with your desktop PC, or maybe you bought it back when 1,240 by 768 was considered high resolution. Since you spend a huge part of every day looking at it, however, it pays to be picky when picking a monitor. Price ranges vary widely, as do the quality of panels. We’ll walk you through the latest trends in display technology, as well as the specific features to look for when buying your next desktop monitor.”...
PC Magazine, May 24
|
|
Bridget McCrea writes: “With more than 20 years of experience in instructional technologies and K–12 education under her belt, Joquetta L. Johnson (right) has experienced the evolution of the school librarian firsthand. A library media specialist at Randallstown (Md.) High School, Johnson says that with the Information Age, librarians have effectively transformed into instructional technology leaders. This has placed them in the unique position of having to master both technology and instruction.”...
eSchool News, May 25
|
|
Amanda Hovious writes: “With the ACRL Framework, metaliteracy, and metacognition on every academic librarian’s mind, what does good information literacy design look like now? In trying to come up with a way to simplify the discussion of good information literacy design (and make it easier to remember), I’ve categorized it into three areas—what I call the three I’s. The three I’s of good information literacy design include elements that should be present in all information literacy programs.”...
Designer Librarian, May 25
|
|
Roz Warren writes: “I work at a public library and I love my job. But sometimes our patrons make the job tougher than it has to be. I recently asked my fellow librarians to help me come up with a wish list of things, big and small, serious and frivolous, that users can do to make their favorite librarians happy. So what can the library-going public do to help us better serve our patrons and enjoy our jobs? Just 40 things.”...
ZestNow, May 24
|
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
|
