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For daily ALA and library news, check the American Libraries website or subscribe to our RSS feed.
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There was no shortage of laughter or conviviality among the more than 21,400 library workers and exhibitors who gathered for the ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition, held June 20–25 in Washington, D.C. But the subject matter commanded a sober tone, as speakers and panelists touched on some of the most complex and urgent issues facing the country in 2019. With more than 900 vendors represented, the exhibit hall was brimming with every imaginable product and service. The 6,827 registered exhibitors made up an impressive corps of knowledgeable representatives. Marshall Breeding summarizes a few products that caught his eye....
American Libraries features, July/Aug. |
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George Takei (right) is best known for his role as Sulu in the 1960s cult-classic TV show Star Trek, but the actor has found even more fame later in life thanks to his prolific social media presence and activist work. In his new graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy (Top Shelf Productions), Takei details his childhood years spent in internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II. Takei spoke with American Libraries at the 2019 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., about his book and the profound and lasting danger of not learning from history....
American Libraries: Newsmaker, July/Aug. |
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ALA President Wanda Kay Brown writes: “Libraries are essential for the health of our democracy, our communities, and our future. But too often we hear from elected officials and regular citizens alike that libraries are relics that are no longer necessary in our modern culture. ALA’s strength in representing and advocating for librarians and library workers is likewise critical. However, the feedback we frequently receive is that getting involved in an association as complex as ours is daunting. Over the course of my presidential year, I will work to promote both the value of libraries and ALA, broadly speaking, through a lens of social justice and inclusion.”...
American Libraries column, July/Aug. |
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ACRL has published 2018 Academic Library Trends and Statistics, the latest in a series of annual publications that describe the collections, staffing, expenditures, and service activities of academic libraries in all Carnegie classifications. The one-volume title includes data from associate of arts colleges, baccalaureate, master’s colleges, and universities and research/doctoral-granting institutions. The 2018 survey data is also available through ACRL Metrics, an online subscription service that provides access to survey data from 1999 to 2018....
ACRL Insider, July 17 |
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The movement towards eliminating library fines has found a place online at End Library Fines. Created by librarian Andy Woodworth, the website offers the latest research on ending library fines, current media articles about libraries eliminating their fines, and a constantly updated map (right) showing which libraries around the world have eliminated all or most of their fines. As more and more libraries look to eliminate this barrier to access, the need for information on the topic grows for librarians, library supporters, and decision makers such as elected officials, deans and provosts, and the general public....
End Library Fines, July 18 |
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The Seattle Times staff writes: “All this reporting and writing about the moon landing’s 50th anniversary got us in the mood to read and watch some science fiction. So here are our Seattle Times staffers’ picks for some of their favorite astronaut-themed science fiction and nonfiction books, movies, and TV shows. We narrowed it down to selections grounded in science and space travel. (Thus, no Star Wars.) Here goes, sorted by media type in order of release year.” Book Riot has a few suggestions as well, and the Academy of American Poets recommends many worthy moon poems....
Seattle Times, July 11; Book Riot, July 18; Academy of American Poets |
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The exclusive screening of the newly released GKIDS animated film Okko’s Inn will highlight the Library of Congress’s “Anime for All” series, which is being presented in conjunction with Otakon, Washington, D.C.’s annual convention celebrating East Asian pop culture (anime, manga, music, movies, video games) and its fandom. “Anime for All” will be held July 25–26, in the Thomas Jefferson Building. The film screening—along with a collection display of rare Japanese graphic art, a panel discussion on the emergence of Japanese hip-hop, and a live Studio Ghibli performance—will showcase the evolution of Japanese storytelling traditions....
Library of Congress, July 17; Animation Magazine, July 18 |
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San Diego (Calif.) Public Library is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Comic-Con by offering an exclusive library card to commemorate the convention’s return to San Diego. The card will be available to visitors at all 36 branches as well as at booth #5523 for those attending Comic-Con. Featured on this year’s edition is Waldo—the iconic bespectacled character at the center of the Where’s Waldo? children’s books. Only 3,000 Comic-Con library cards have been produced and will be available on a first come, first served basis....
KFMB-TV, San Diego, Calif., July 17 |
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On July 3, Kimberly and Elias Paone, 10, of East Brunswick, New Jersey, set out for a fun mother-son adventure. They loaded up the car with a new audiobook and set out to hit as many libraries as they could in one day. The goal: to collect Libraries of Middlesex (N.J.) Automation Consortium trading cards. The 32 libraries of the consortium issued the cards to promote their services in the summer. Each of the trading cards has a picture of the library on the front and contact information, address, and a fun fact about that library on the back. Patrons who collect all the cards from each of the libraries can be entered into a drawing for an iPad....
Bridgewater (N.J.) Courier News, July 19 |
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At only 27, Freshta Karim is founder of Charmagz, an Afghan organization that transforms buses into mobile libraries. Volunteers drive them around Kabul so that young citizens can develop and foster a love of critical thinking and reading. “We are a group of young Afghans who have witnessed war and its direct impact on our childhood firsthand,” says the Charmagz mission statement. “Our childhood, like millions of other Afghan children, was lost before we could live it. The pain brings us together in order to make a difference in other children’s lives.” Children are encouraged to drop by before or after school to read, play chess, learn, and debate....
The National (United Arab Emirates), July 13 |
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Jill Duffy writes: “Email can make us feel like we’re struggling to keep our heads above water. Is your inbox pages long? Do you begin every day reading email, thinking you’ll reply to the most important messages, only to look up and realize an hour has slipped by and you’ve done nothing so far? Are you running out of space for your email every few days? Does email feel like a productivity multiplier, or a productivity killer? Here are 11 tips for making email less of a burden. Let me warn you that these tips are rooted in common sense and don’t provide a magic bullet, which means they won’t blow your mind or become an overnight sensation. But neither will flossing.”...
PC Magazine, July 15; Oct. 12, 2015 |
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Anna Gooding-Call writes: “As a librarian, I think I could be forgiven for thinking that not enough people use the library. In fact, I feel this way most of the time. However, I have my days. These are the days when I encounter that 2% of the public that does not know how to be a good library patron. This isn’t just about not damaging the books. It’s about being a good citizen in a unique public space where personal boundaries can feel a bit fuzzy. I’m convinced that this is a lapse in education, so I’m gonna edumacate you right here and right now. If you think you’re a stellar patron, read this anyway.”...
Book Riot, Apr. 22, July 19 |
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