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Kathi Kromer writes: “August is not just for vacations and summer reading programs—it’s high season for library advocacy. US representatives are on recess and back home in their districts to reconnect with their constituents, so now through Labor Day is the perfect time for library advocates to share the many ways we are transforming our communities. Here are a few tips from librarians across the country for arranging visits with members of Congress.”...
AL: The Scoop, Aug. 3 |
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Cindy Mediavilla (right) spent 18 years as a public librarian and managed the Friendly Stop, a homework center for Orange (Calif.) Public Library, in the early 1990s. She has been studying after-school homework programs ever since. Her book Creating and Managing the Full-Service Homework Center (ALA Editions, 2018) was excerpted in the July/August issue of American Libraries. She spoke with AL about the book, its inspiration, and her upcoming projects....
American Libraries feature, Aug. 3 |
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Jesse Leavenworth writes: “Printing a gun requires access to a 3D printer, which deposits and fuses layers of molten plastic or other materials. Many manufacturing companies and engineering schools have the printers, as do a growing number of public libraries that host makerspaces. Sophisticated 3D printers can cost as much as $600,000, and most libraries have much simpler, cheaper machines unsuitable for firearms. Also, libraries are not required to grant access to equipment such as a 3D printer, said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom.”...
Hartford (Conn.) Courant, July 31 |
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The Public Libraries Survey report, released August 2 by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, provides a snapshot of public library use, financial health, staffing, and resources in FY2015. IMLS also released a set of state profile reports, for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report found 1.39 billion visits to public libraries, or 4.48 visits per person, in 2015 and public libraries offered 4.7 million programs, attended by nearly 107 million people....
Institute of Museum and Library Services, Aug. 2 |
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Through a partnership between the Alexandria (Va.) Library and sheriff’s office, six inmates in the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center are participating in a book club. On June 27, the club welcomed Andrew Aydin as a special guest. Aydin, who coauthored the March graphic novel series with Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Nate Powell, shared some of the challenges he experienced growing up as a Muslim. The book club is made possible through support from ALA’s Great Stories Club program and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation....
City of Alexandria, July 17 |
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Steve Tetreault writes: “Despite all of the social media platforms out there, it seems like I never hear school librarians talking about Reddit. This site, which bills itself as ‘the front page of the internet,’ has tons of information, features an easy-to-use interface, and harnesses the power of crowdsourcing. It’s a piece of free technology with lots of potential for educators, particularly school librarians. There are over a million communities on Reddit, each focusing on a certain topic or theme.”...
Knowledge Quest blog, Aug. 2 |
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Two staff members at the Emily Fowler Central Library in Denton, Texas—Special Collections Librarian Laura Douglas (left) and Circulation Team Supervisor Robert Mitchell—will be recognized with a proclamation for heroism at the August 7 city council meeting for helping to save an unconscious man’s life on July 12. Mitchell and Douglas rushed outside when someone reported he had passed out and performed CPR and operated a defibrillation device on the man....
Denton (Tex.) Record-Chronicle, July 31 |
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For the first time ever, thousands of high-quality archival materials—photographs, documents, and correspondence—chronicling the early history of Grand Canyon National Park have been made digitally available to the public through a partnership between Arizona State University Library, Cline Library of Northern Arizona University, and Grand Canyon National Park. Tagged “100 Years of Grand,” the project commemorates the upcoming centennial of the creation of Grand Canyon National Park in February 1919....
Arizona State University Now, July 31 |
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University of Massachusetts Law and Public Policy Librarian Lisa Di Valentino (right) was asked to create a website to support a journalism class on news literacy taught by Steve Fox. She hopes the information amassed on this “one-stop shopping site” is for anyone who wants to weed through the charges and counter-charges of facts and truths frequently found online. The website offers fact-checking resources such as Snopes, Politifact, and Media Bias/Fact Check, as well as continuous news feeds that look at the truth behind the headlines....
MassLive, July 31 |
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Summer Edward writes: “On September 5, 2017, Hurricane Irma hit landfall in the Caribbean island of Barbuda, wreaking indescribable havoc. The library and publishing communities have begun to mobilize to help rebuild the islands’ damaged libraries. But most of the books donated to Caribbean countries are the excess inventory of publishers and booksellers in rich, powerful nations. This practice exacerbates several already existing problems in Caribbean countries when it comes to literary culture in general and children’s books in particular.”...
The Millions, July 30 |
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