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Linda W. Braun writes: “I’ve been thinking about the value of research-practice partnerships and how they can advance library services for youth. These partnerships—which undertake collaborative, multidisciplinary research—lead to outcomes informed by actual practice. They provide opportunities to gain insight into what makes successful solutions to the challenges facing youth librarianship. And because RPPs are rooted in real experiences, those entering librarianship can learn what the work ahead actually entails.”...
American Libraries column, Mar./Apr. |
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J. C. Lee writes: “Glenn Miller, Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary of education and state librarian, said cuts to LSTA and IMLS would devastate public libraries throughout the state.” IMLS grants contribute to the Free Library of Philadelphia’s annual budget. Vice President of External Affairs Sandra Horrocks said, “We are very concerned about the potential loss in funds for e-Rate (well over $1.6 million) and cuts that may occur since Philadelphia is a Sanctuary City—this would cut $525,000 from our budget for afterschool homework help.”...
Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News, Mar. 17 |
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The Institute of Museum and Library Services has been targeted for elimination. The Library Services and Technology Act administered by IMLS provides critically important funding for our nation’s libraries. The State Library of Ohio receives an LSTA appropriation of approximately $5 million per year. If these LSTA dollars were no longer available in Ohio, the negative impact would be far-reaching and the following programs and services would be curtailed or significantly reduced....
State Library of Ohio, Mar. 17 |
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Emily Wagner writes: “From March 16 to March 20, there were 3,838 tweets under the #saveIMLS hashtag on Twitter. That is more than 767 tweets a day. Or, sliced another way, there are currently 1,800 people who are participating in the conversation on Twitter. Anyway you dice it, we need this momentum to continue. The ALA Washington Office is collecting your tweets and stories via TAGS, the Twitter Archiving Google Sheet. You can see the conversation as it has unfolded via the snapshot on March 20 (above).”...
District Dispatch, Mar. 20 |
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The Institute of Museum and Library Services on March 20 announced 30 finalists for the 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The National Medal is the nation’s highest honor given to libraries and museums for service to the community. IMLS is encouraging those who have visited finalist libraries and museums to share their story on the IMLS Facebook page as a way to further honor their work in their respective communities....
Institute of Museum and Library Services, Mar. 20 |
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Margaret H. Willison writes: “President Trump’s decision to ax federal funding for libraries is especially painful when librarians are solving huge, pressing problems on a shoestring budget. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, one of the many agencies Trump wants to defund and the only source of dedicated federal money for libraries, received $230 million in 2016, roughly 0.00006% of the national budget for 2016. But even with that paltry investment, libraries bring enormous dividends.”...
Cosmopolitan, Mar. 20; Washington Post, Mar. 16; Institute of Museum and Library Services, Mar. 16; Congressional Budget Office, Nov. 7 |
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Beth Yoke writes: “By now, we hope you’ve already contacted your members of Congress to tell them to oppose the elimination of IMLS. If you haven’t, read this. Here’s what you can do next: Invite one of your legislators to visit your library, or bring some of your teen patrons and library advocates to their offices, so your elected official can see in person the many ways that libraries, with support from IMLS, help teens. Congress will be on break April 8–23. This is the perfect time to extend the invitation to visit or schedule a meeting.”...
YALSA Blog, Mar. 16, 20 |
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More than 630,000 children in Ohio live in food insecure households, meaning more than one in four don’t know where their next meal will come from, according to the Children’s Hunger Alliance. That’s why the organization is expanding its network of after-school snack services to include five branches of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County: Avondale, College Hill, Pleasant Ridge, Price Hill, and Walnut Hills. Snacks are delivered to the branches in the afternoon Monday through Friday....
WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, Mar. 21
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Carolyn Popescu writes: “Penn State librarians recently collaborated with freelance graphic designer Rogo to design state-of-the-art trading cards, each of which also serve as a business card. The cards are designed specifically for each librarian, giving them a caricature and superhero nickname. In addition to their real names, each librarian has a unique superhero identity. For example, librarian Amanda Clossen (right) is the Media Maven, dedicating her time to ‘piercing the darkness of online misinformation.’”...
Onward State, Mar. 20
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The New Bedford (Mass.) Whaling Museum presents massive sights for its visitors: the skeletons of blue, humpback, sperm, and North Atlantic right whales, and a half-scale whale ship built in 1916. But something even larger can be found in the museum’s library. It holds an immersive array of whaling-related materials: more than 18,000 books on whaling history, 750,000 photographs, a 700-piece cartographic collection, 2,400 log books and journals, and three first editions of Moby-Dick. For Mark Procknik (right), the museum’s librarian, working there has been a dream come true....
American Libraries Bookend, Mar./Apr.
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When Americans encounter news on social media, how much they trust the content is determined less by who creates the news than by who shares it, according to a new experimental study from the Media Insight Project, a collaboration between the American Press Institute and the Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Whether readers trust the sharer, indeed, matters more than who produces the article—or even whether the article is produced by a real news organization or a fictional one....
Media Insight Project, Mar. 20; American Press Institute, Mar. 20
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John Bracken and Jennifer Preston write: “At Knight Foundation, we’re driven by the belief that informed citizens are the key to a healthy democracy. Along with Democracy Fund and Rita Allen Foundation, the foundation is launching an open call for ideas answering the question: How might we improve the flow of accurate information? We’re looking for journalists, teachers, librarians, researchers, and others who are eager to develop ideas to address the spread of misinformation. The deadline to apply for funding is April 3.”...
Knight Foundation, Mar. 13
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