|
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
|
For daily ALA and library news, check the American Libraries website or subscribe to our RSS feed.
|
|
|
In his new book, Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life (Crown, 2018), Eric Klinenberg (right) defines social infrastructure as the physical places and organizations that shape the way people interact. He includes free spaces like libraries as vital to promoting civic engagement and repairing our fractured society. Klinenberg spoke with American Libraries about his lifelong love of libraries and the inadvertent lessons learned from Amazon stores....
American Libraries feature, Oct. 11 |
|
James LaRue writes: “We first heard about challenges to the EBSCO database at the Cherry Creek (Colo.) School District in February 2017. Today, the campaign has spread. Due to persistent pressure by a very small group of parents, the Cherry Creek School District ended its contract with EBSCO. The Utah Education Network has suspended the content to schools, and is inviting public comment. As of October 11, EBSCO and the Colorado Library Consortium have been sued by the Thomas More Society, a national nonprofit law firm ‘dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty.’ The lawsuit—and subsequent close examination—might be the best possible solution to the fact-challenged bullying of what has now become an anti-education smear campaign.”...
Intellectual Freedom Blog, Oct. 12; Aurora (Colo.) Sentinel, Sept. 14, Oct. 11; Utah Education Network, Oct. 1 |
|
Sponsored Content
Foundation Center’s national network of library partners connects nonprofits to the resources they need to thrive in the zip codes of every major city and many points in between. A Foundation Center partnership is nonprofit outreach “in a box,” enabling libraries to become nonprofit funding experts. The partnership packages include access to our best-in-class database, Foundation Directory Online, and to grant-seeking and proposal-writing training curriculum. Want to support your nonprofit and small business community as a go-to fundraising resource? Join the network. |
|
|
|
Leon County opened a comfort station at the LeRoy Collins Leon County Main Library in Tallahassee, Florida, on October 12 to be used as a resource for families and others affected by Hurricane Michael. The library will provide snacks, air conditioning, public computer access, a place to charge a tablet or phone, check out materials, and much more. County librarians and volunteers will be on call to help meet the needs of the community....
WTXL-TV, Tallahassee, Fla., Oct. 11 |
|
On October 9, President Trump signed into law S.2559, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, which provides for the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. The legislation, passed by the US Senate in June, provides a copyright exception for “authorized entities”—including libraries—to make materials available across borders to people with print disabilities. Not all librarians feel confident in dealing with copyright law. This IFLA Guide to Getting Started with the Marrakesh Treaty offers answers to frequently asked questions by librarians....
White House, Oct. 10; AL: The Scoop, Sept. 27; Copyright Alliance, Oct. 10; International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Oct. 12 |
|
|
April Glaser writes: “On September 30, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that enshrines the strongest protections against abuses by internet providers in the country. The law, Senate Bill 822, goes even further than the 2015 FCC net neutrality rules. And since the internet doesn’t change when it crosses state borders, this bill could potentially have far-reaching effects: To comply, ISPs would either have to adhere to these strict new rules nationwide or somehow balkanize the web to create a separate internet for the state.”...
Slate, Mar. 14, Oct. 1 |
|
Jane Dudman writes: “When staff volunteered to open the central library in Plymouth, UK, for two-and-a-half hours last Christmas Day, they thought it might give a few homeless persons somewhere warm and welcoming to go. Instead, explains librarian Mandy McDonald, they were taken by surprise. People of all ages came to the library to enjoy free mince pies, biscuits, and hot drinks, as well as a festive film screening. Libraries are good for our health.”...
The Guardian (UK), Oct. 10 |
|
|
Follett and Kwame Alexander (right), one of the country’s most acclaimed and innovative children’s book authors, announced on October 10 that they have formed a partnership to launch “All Books for All Kids,” a literacy campaign to ensure children have access to a wide range of books, no matter their background. The partnership will be formally introduced October 13 in Miami, where Alexander is touring to promote his new book, Swing....
Follett, Oct. 10 |
|
Jennifer Howard writes: “Rereading a favorite book is a pleasure and skill, one of many that neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf fears we might be losing in this era of screen immersion. In Reader, Come Home, she recounts an experiment she did on herself: She tried to reread Hermann Hesse’s Magister Ludi, a novel she calls ‘one of the most influential books of my earlier years.’ Wolf wants to understand what’s happening to our reading brains at this historic juncture between the old ways and the new.”...
Washington Post, Oct. 4 |
|
Amy Steinbauer writes: “When I used to work in a independent library in California, we had crafts or art projects after all our storytimes. Art is not always explored at home because it can make a mess, and then it may only be available as a class with fees that would not be accessible to all. It can be how children develop fine motor skills, get ready for kindergarten, and develop social and emotional skills as they learn about expression. Here are some of the art projects we have done.”...
ALSC Blog, Oct. 12 |
|
Chris Marshall writes: “It wasn’t until 1852 that the first map of Indianapolis with any detail was published. When we first got this map out and saw exactly what we had to deal with, we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task to digitize it. It had been dissected, glued onto linen, and folded to fit on the shelf, which was a very common library practice early on. Nowadays, we don’t do that. Conservator Rebecca Shindel painstakingly took pictures of each section, then recreated the completed image that you now see in our digital collections.”...
Indiana State Library blog, Oct. 12 |
|
|
On the fourth floor of the Orlando (Fla.) Public Library is a collection of Walt Disney World history that’s enough to make a Disney fanatic’s head spin. In the 1960s, when the secret was out that Disney was building the Magic Kingdom, the librarians began amassing a Disney archive. In the filing cabinets are snapshots of a different time. The collection helps preserve the story of Walt Disney World for researchers, Disney fans, and the general public, said Matthew David, Orange County Library System learning central manager....
Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, Oct. 10 |
|
Kate MacMillan writes: “While I watched the new PBS series Anne of Green Gables, I thought of how so many children’s classics have survived. These classics really do stand the test of time both in print and as perennial Hollywood staples. Edwardian and late Victorian literature has always held a slightly subversive appeal. The children in these books live separate and independent lives without the constant meddling of adults. We can certainly see the influence these authors have had on our more modern classics.”...
Knowledge Quest blog, Oct. 11 |
AL Direct is a free electronic newsletter emailed every Tuesday and Friday to personal members of the American Library Association.
Editor, AL Direct: George M. Eberhart, geberhart@ala.org
|
Send news and feedback: aldirect@ala.org
Direct ad inquiries to: Michael Stack, 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 and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation of 2018. Read the ALA privacy policy.
American Libraries
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
800-545-2433, ext. 4216
ISSN 1559-369X
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
