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On January 30, ALA President Julie B. Todaro released a statement responding to recent actions by the Trump administration, specifically addressing issues regarding access to information, discrimination, and intellectual freedom: “The ALA strongly opposes any actions that limit free access to information, undermine privacy, or discriminate on any basis. This includes the temporary suspension of visas and entrance to the US based on anyone’s nationality or religion as well as the increased scrutiny of any individual’s communication, such as mobile phone and/or social media activity.” ACRL also released a statement reaffirming its commitment to the free exchange of different viewpoints and privacy and confidentiality in academic libraries....
AL: The Scoop, Jan. 30; ACRL Insider, Jan. 30 |
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Sandra “Sandy” Friedman Dolnick (right), founder and former executive director of Friends of Libraries USA (FOLUSA), the preceding organization to United for Libraries, died on December 11 after a long illness. Dolnick served as executive director of FOLUSA for 23 years, creating strong partnerships with publishers and corporate sponsors. In 2009, FOLUSA and the ALA Association for Library Trustees and Advocates merged as the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends, and Foundations (now known as United for Libraries)....
United for Libraries, Jan. 30 |
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In this bonus episode of the Dewey Decibel podcast, American Libraries reports from the Youth Media Awards, held January 23 at the 2017 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta. Known as the “Oscars for librarians,” the YMAs have a devoted fan base, many of whom queue in the predawn hours to get a prime seat for the morning ceremony. Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks to some of them about YMA fandom and their favorite kids’ books....
AL: The Scoop, Jan. 23, 31 |
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A group in Northbrook, Illinois, is offering a free civility seminar in February. Some maintain the village’s civility is being tested, with swastika graffiti reported in at least two public venues, the Northbrook Public Library and Glenbrook North High School. “We just experienced an incident at the library that reminds us we should all treat each other with tolerance and respect,” Village Trustee Bob Israel said, referring to swastikas and Trump graffiti found five times in library washrooms since the election....
Northbrook (Ill.) Star, Jan. 30; Northbrook (Ill.) Patch, Jan. 22 |
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More than 3,000 academics from around the world have signed on to a call to boycott international academic conferences held in the United States in solidarity with those affected by Trump’s executive order barring entry by nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries. The ban on entry into the US has left some students and scholars with valid visas stranded outside the country while others are stuck inside it, unable to leave the US for personal or professional reasons for fear they won’t be let back in....
Inside Higher Ed, Jan. 30–31 |
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Christy Blanch writes: “I saw the news that the New York Times has decided to stop compiling bestseller lists for graphic novels. Instead they will include them in fiction and nonfiction categories alongside ‘regular’ books like they used to. There has been a lot of outrage. But I asked NYT Book Review Editor Pamela Paul if she would answer a few questions. Her answers made me rethink my initial, frustrated stance.”...
13th Dimension, Jan. 29 |
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Tyler Trykowski writes: “There’s not much about a word processor that’s ‘inspiring’ or ‘motivating,’ especially a Google Doc. Which makes it strange that something as bland as an online text editor is becoming a key tool for social justice and political activists, and that Google Docs and Sheets have begun going viral in their own right. Virality was far from the minds of former congressional staffers Ezra Levin and his wife, Leah Greenberg, last Thanksgiving as they discussed the election with a mutual friend in a hometown bar.”...
Vice, Jan. 26 |
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The Hawaii State Public Library System is getting a very large donation, thanks to the Korean Library Foundation. The founders of the organization just pledged $1 million to support the Korean language collection at the McCully-Moiliili Library. The donation will help to expand the library’s Korean-language collection of hardcover books, ebooks, magazines, and DVDs....
KHON-TV, Honolulu, Jan. 27
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Jens Manuel Krogstad and Jynnah Radford write: “An executive order signed January 27 by President Trump suspends refugee admissions for 120 days while security procedures are reviewed, though the resettlement of persecuted religious minorities may continue on a case-by-case basis. This is not the first time US refugee admissions have been stopped. After the 2001 terrorist attacks, the US largely suspended refugee resettlement for three months while security measures were examined. Here are key facts from our research about refugees.”...
Pew Research Center: Fact Tank, Jan. 30; New York Times, Jan. 27
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Sarah Hunter writes: “As kids encounter immigrants and refugees and inevitably begin to ask questions, a picture book can be a perfect way to start a conversation. And for children who may have experienced similar events first-hand, a picture book might offer some much-needed comfort or solidarity. Taking various approaches to the material, from artistically ambiguous to movingly candid, these titles tell stories of contemporary immigrants and refugees seeking out a place to safely call home.”...
Booklist, Feb. 1
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Alexis Rossi writes: “In recent days many people have shown interest in making sure the Wayback Machine has copies of the web pages they care about most. These saved pages can be cited, shared, linked to—and they will continue to exist even after the original page changes or is removed from the web. There are several ways to save pages and whole sites so that they appear in the Wayback Machine. Here are six of them.”...
Internet Archive Blogs, Jan. 25
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Lorraine Berry writes: “In the 19th century, book collecting became common among gentlemen, mostly in Britain, and grew into an obsession that one of its participants called ‘bibliomania.’ In 1809, Thomas Frognall Dibdin, an English cleric and bibliographer, wrote Bibliomania, or Book Madness, a gentle satire of those he saw as afflicted with this neurosis. Dibdin medicalized the condition, going so far as to provide a list of symptoms manifested in the particular types of books that they obsessively sought.”...
The Guardian (UK), Jan. 26; Atlas Obscura, Dec. 2, 2016
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