For daily ALA and library news, check the American Libraries website or subscribe to our RSS feed.
|
|
|
On February 2, ALA President Julie B. Todaro released a statement in support of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts: “The ALA affirms our full support for our nation’s endowments. The library community has been there to defend the NEH and NEA numerous times in recent history, and the ALA will be among the first to stand up for them if anything threatens our shared mission to serve every person in every corner of our country.”...
AL: The Scoop, Feb. 2 |
|
Timothy Inklebarger writes: “‘Women unite.’ The simple message was emblazoned on a sign found hanging, abandoned on a fence at Washington Square Park—across the street from Newberry Library in Chicago—in the days following the January 21 Women’s March. The sign is one of the many pieces of ephemera donated to Newberry after it put out a call for items associated with the march. Newberry, which is focusing its collection on Chicago, is among dozens of libraries and museums nationwide collecting protest material.”...
AL: The Scoop, Jan. 31 |
|
Sponsored Content
Lessons of the Game, by former NFL player Kevin McLeod, is a unique and fascinating book about the journey of college and professional football players. Mr. McLeod’s story is one of success as well as failure. The book is a thought-provoking, insightful, no-holds-barred work that analyzes the behaviors of America’s most admired sports figures. |
|
|
|
Early bird registration and housing for the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, June 22–27, are open at alaannual.org. Attendees from all over the world will have access to the latest on future thinking, digital content, ebooks, innovation, library transformation, community engagement, books and authors, leadership, advocacy, and policy updates. The best early bird registration rates are available through March 22....
Conference Services, Feb. 2 |
|
A letter posted at the Russell Library in Middletown, Connecticut, is being read all over town, but its interpretation by some is causing some controversy. The letter was written by Russell Library Director and CEO Matthew Poland. It talks about the library being a place where all people are free to live, be, think, and speak their own truths. Many residents said the letter advocates for inclusion, while others said they feel it is a thinly veiled threat to ignore President Donald Trump’s temporary immigration ban....
WFSB, Hartford, Conn., Feb. 2 |
|
|
Utah Sen. Todd Weiler (R-Woods Cross, right) recently introduced a bill that would require public libraries in Utah to install filters on their wireless networks to prevent people from viewing obscene content in libraries. A Senate panel approved Weiler’s measure January 31, sending it to the full Senate for debate. It’s likely to be approved by that chamber, the House of Representatives, and Utah’s governor, all of which unanimously supported Weiler’s porn-as-health-crisis resolution in 2016....
Associated Press, Jan. 31 |
|
The rich oral history of hundreds of black Chicagoans will now be available for the entire city thanks to a new partnership between The HistoryMakers and the Chicago Public Library. The collaboration was announced February 2 by Library Commissioner Brian Bannon and Julieanna Richardson, founder and executive director of The HistoryMakers, a Chicago-based organization that records oral histories of African Americans. The digital archive will be free and offered at all Chicago library branches....
DNAinfo Chicago, Feb. 2 |
|
On January 31, Eastport–South Manor (N.Y.) Junior/Senior High School Library Media Specialist (and author) Jennifer Iacopelli (right) put on her detective cap after a crying student approached her for help. The student claimed that someone had “hacked” her English paper, adding “inappropriate things” to the assignment. Intrigued, Iacopelli tried to figure out how the paper ended up in this condition. Checking the Google Docs edits (as well as library security footage), she found out what had happened....
The Huffington Post, Feb. 1 |
|
|
The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, which fosters children’s love of reading and creative expression in our diverse culture, calls for proposals for its mini-grant program, now in its 30th year. The EJK Foundation has been accepting proposals since September, but there is still time for qualifying educators to apply—the deadline for submissions is March 31. Approximately 60 grants of up to $500 each will be awarded to teachers and librarians at public schools and libraries across the country....
Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, Feb. 2
|
|
In 1935, Raleigh, North Carolina, had no library for blacks. The city’s public library prohibited them, and blacks were allowed only in some small sections of the State Library. Mollie Huston Lee (right)—with an undergraduate degree from Howard University and the first degree in library science ever awarded to an African American at Columbia University—was concerned about her people. She gave up her job as librarian at Shaw University. At a salary of $60 a month, she struggled with the reluctant Raleigh community to establish a library for African Americans....
Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, Feb. 3
|
|
Jaime Fuller writes: “As someone who believes that truth goes to the victors, Trump won’t be speaking much about the power of libraries over the next four years. That won’t eliminate their power, however. In a world where faith in American institutions is crumbling, people still trust libraries. And just as they have with every other monumental development in American history—whether technological, cultural, or existential—librarians are already preparing for how to evolve to serve us best.”...
MTV News, Jan. 19; Pew Research Center, Sept. 9, 2016
|
|
|
Nicole Palazzo writes: “One of my favorite methods to direct teens’ energy towards productive, library-appropriate behaviors is to come prepared with an activity. I find it ideal to bring something into the space, rather than utilize something that’s already there, because the novelty of the activity generates more interest. While board games, coloring, and small crafts remain go-tos, it’s especially fun to bring in some tech toys. Here are five of my favorites, ordered roughly in old tech to new tech.”...
LITA Blog, Feb. 3
|
|
Max Décharné writes: “Dashiell Hammett learned underworld slang at first hand, working as a detective for the Pinkerton agency; few other crime writers had the dubious pleasure of being beaten over the head with a house brick in an alley while tailing a suspect. However, the most influential jargon over the years has probably been the laconic asides of Raymond Chandler’s own Philip Marlowe. The field is vast, but here are 10 novels from the 1920s to the present that talk that slangy talk in a suitably righteous fashion.”...
The Guardian (UK), Dec. 28
|
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
|
