Library funding remains uncut.


American Library Association • July 21, 2017
 
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FY 2018 library funding remains secure, so far

#saveIMLS

Kevin Maher writes: “On July 19, the House Appropriations Committee voted to approve the same funding levels passed by its Labor–HHS Subcommittee last week. The action was another significant step toward ensuring FY 2018 funding of $231 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services—including $183.6 million for LSTA programs—and $27 million for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy program. These sums equal FY 2017 levels. The bill now heads to the floor for consideration by the full House.”...

District Dispatch, July 20

2017 Annual Conference wrap-up

The crowd reacts to Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Closing General Session

More than 22,702 people gathered at the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago in June to discuss the most pressing issues facing the library world today. Common themes of the hundreds of programs on offer were children and teen services, social justice, information access, and science and technology, while big-name speakers such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Bill McKibben, and Hillary Rodham Clinton attested fervently to their admiration for library professionals and the important roles libraries play in the future....

American Libraries feature, July/Aug.

Tech power: The exhibit hall at Annual Conference

Google promoted its Libraries Ready to Code joint initiative with ALA

Marshall Breeding writes: “The 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago featured an impressive array of technology products. Organizations of all sizes were represented, ranging from corporate giants with their large booth installations to smaller companies with simpler tabletop displays. This mix reflects the current state of the library technology industry where large, consolidated, and diversified corporations dominate; midsized companies continue to create and support a narrower set of products and services; and small start-ups appear, bringing new energy and innovation.”...

American Libraries feature, July/Aug.

Sponsored Content

Everything All at Once, by Bill Nye the Science Guy

Bill Nye the Science Guy writes to promote science

The host of Bill Nye the Science Guy, Bill Nye, is also a New York Times–bestselling author. In Everything All at Once, Nye urges readers to become agents of change. Step by step, he demonstrates his everything-all-at-once approach: radical curiosity, a deep desire for a better future, and a willingness to take the actions needed to make this future real. Nye is also the author of Jack and the Geniuses: At the Bottom of the World, which launches a new series while taking middle-grade readers on a scientific adventure.


Retrial for former librarian in Sessions laugh case

Desirée Fairooz in a 2013 screenshot from a video for Arlington (Va.) Public Library’s Columbia Pike branch

A retrial has been ordered in the case of former children’s librarian Desirée Fairooz, the activist who faced up to a year in jail and $2,000 in fines after being arrested at Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s confirmation hearing. Chief Judge Robert Morin of the District of Columbia Superior Court was set to sentence Fairooz, an antiwar activist with the group Code Pink, on July 14 but instead declared a mistrial. Fairooz confirmed the judge’s ruling and noted that her retrial is scheduled to begin in September....

AL: The Scoop, July 19
 
ALA news releases
 

Media literacy training for public libraries

News Literacy: The Basics

ALA and the Center for News Literacy at the Stony Brook University School of Journalism have launched Media Literacy @ your library, a pilot program that will train public library professionals to teach their adult patrons to be better informed news consumers. During the one-year pilot program (July 2017–June 2018), ALA will work in collaboration with the center to develop an online media literacy curriculum. Five public libraries will pilot the learning series through a “train the trainer” approach....

Programming Librarian, July 20

Evanston librarian to get $110K severance

Lesley Williams

The Evanston (Ill.) Public Library is set to pay Lesley Williams (right), the former adult services librarian, $110,000 as part of her severance after 21 years of service—time that included two suspensions in the last two months. City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz confirmed that the payment is scheduled to be approved at the July 24 city council meeting. Williams resigned from her post June 29. Library officials declined to comment on details of the personnel issues that led to her resignation....

Evanston (Ill.) Review, July 20

Colorado Springs school pulls Perfect Chemistry book

Cover of Perfect Chemistry

A controversial book has been pulled from a Colorado Springs middle school after administrators say it should have never made it into the library. The school received a parental complaint about the book in March. But a group of librarians, including library media specialist Gina Schaarschmidt at Challenger Middle School, submitted a 92-page appeal on that decision. The District 20 School Board voted to reject this petition on July 20, saying Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles contains inappropriate content....

KOAA-TV, Pueblo, Colo., July 20
 
Latest Library Links
 

New director finds live Civil War shells in office

Civil War–era shells that were found in a closet of the Gleason Public Library. Photo: Carlisle Police Department

Abby Noland, director of the Gleason Public Library in Carlisle, Massachusetts, on July 20 came across live military shells from the Civil War inside a closet in her office. It was her first day on the job. The shells, part of a Gettysburg collection donated years ago, were inside a box with a label explaining they had been examined by a munitions expert and could be live. She notified the police, whose bomb squad rendered the shells safe....

Associated Press, July 20; Boston Herald, July 20

IFLA Development and Access to Information report

Cover of Development and Access to Information 2017

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, in partnership with the Technology and Social Change Group at the University of Washington, launched the first Development and Access to Information report at the New York Public Library on July 17 during the United Nations High Level Political Forum. The report shows how essential access to information is for development, and makes the case for coordinated and sustained efforts by all to guarantee it....

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, July 18

Being a better ally: First believe

Diversity

Andrew Pace writes: “I was recently lucky enough to participate with my OCLC Membership and Research Division colleagues in DeEtta Jones & Associates’ Cultural Competency Training. DeEtta taught me that I must unlearn many of the things that we’ve been taught for decades—like denying cultural differences or not talking about race. She taught me that if being marginalized at work doesn’t feel good, then I should imagine being a diverse workforce member on top of that feeling.”...

Hectic Pace, July 20

Public libraries and podcasting

Setup for podcast

Romeo Rosales Jr. writes: “Podcasting is an effective way for many groups, organizations, and individuals to relay their message to thousands of listeners. Public libraries have jumped on this trend and are reaching out to their communities via this platform. Podcasting offers a unique experience to patrons that traditional promotional methods do not. Program flyers and social networking have worked effectively for libraries; however, promoting by way of podcast has been gaining traction. It’s also a more personal experience for listeners.”...

Public Libraries Online, July 18

Galaxy Science Fiction magazine archive now online

Cover of the August 1952 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction

Andrew Liptak writes: “If you like classic science fiction, one of the genre’s best magazines can now be found online for free. The Internet Archive is now home to a collection of Galaxy Science Fiction, which published some of the genre’s best works, such as an early version of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man. The collection contains 355 separate issues, ranging from 1950 through 1976.” The Internet Archive also has a complete run of Hugo Gernsback’s Amazing Stories....

The Verge, July 14; Open Culture, July 19

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