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Claire Zulkey writes: “US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests rose 11% in fiscal year 2018 over the previous year, and the agency has detained or arrested undocumented immigrants in homes, parking lots, courthouses, places of work, and even hospitals. But no raids have been reported to date in libraries. Will that change? No one is certain. Though ICE’s official policy states it will avoid carrying out enforcement actions at ‘sensitive locations’ such as daycare centers and places of worship, libraries are not specifically named. In this politically tense climate, some libraries wonder how they should respond if ICE agents show up.”...
American Libraries feature, Jan./Feb.; US Immigration and Customs Enforcement |
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Professor and author Imani Perry (right) will deliver the keynote address at the 21st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Observance and Sunrise Celebration during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia on January 27. Perry is the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and author of six books, including most recently Breathe: A Letter to My Sons. Joining Perry will be call-to-action speaker, ALA Past President Loida Garcia-Febo. A performance of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” will be provided by Philadelphia-area musician Beatrice Sessoms....
Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, Jan. 6 |
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ALA Treasurer Maggie Farrell writes: “It is my honor to serve as your treasurer and to receive the baton from Susan Hildreth. Susan provided strong leadership for our financial operations with expertise and diligence, and her collegiality is a model for me as we—ALA offices, divisions, round tables, and other units—work together toward a financially stable Association. I start my tenure by reporting mixed results for our finances, but I am optimistic about the work being done to advance libraries.”...
American Libraries column, Jan./Feb. |
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Are you involved in an interesting project or in an area of work that you would like to discuss with or show to other attendees at IFLA’s World Library and Information Congress in Dublin, Ireland, August 15–21? Why not present your work in a poster session? All poster proposals are subject to approval by IFLA’s Professional Committee. A jury will review all submissions and decide which posters will be accepted. Complete the online application form by January 31 to submit a proposal. ALA members can use the ALA IFLA Member Code US-0002 to register for WLIC at a reduced rate....
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions |
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The homepage for the US Federal Depository Library Program was briefly altered January 4 to show a pro-Iranian message and an image of a bloodied Donald Trump being punched in the face. A line at the bottom read: “Hacked by Iran Cyber Security Group Hackers. This is only small part of Iran’s cyber ability! We’re always ready.” Several experts who track cyber activity were not aware of the group, and its affiliation with Iran could not be confirmed. It was not clear that hackers penetrated past the homepage. The Department of Homeland Security is monitoring the apparent hack....
CBS News, Jan. 4; CNN, Jan. 5 |
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The Illinois Department of Corrections changed its policy guiding the way prisons are allowed to ban books for inmates—and it can’t be because of their social, sexual, religious, or political content. Inmates who are denied books can now appeal, and the procedure is the same for every state penal institution. The issue came to a head when Danville Correctional Facility suspended a University of Illinois program for inmates, one that was taught by qualified faculty and carried course credit. The prison confiscated 200 books in the curriculum, including Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Frederick Douglass’s memoirs....
The Center Square, Jan. 5; Illinois Public Media, Aug. 15, 2019 |
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Library and Archives Canada is providing $2.3 million to support 31 projects by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation organizations through its Listen, Hear Our Voices initiative. As part of the government of Canada’s reconciliation efforts, LAC is supporting Indigenous communities as they seek to preserve and make accessible their existing audio and video heritage for future generations. The funding will help Indigenous organizations to digitize their culture and language recordings, and build the skills, knowledge, and resources they need to carry out this work in their communities....
YALSA, Jan. 2 |
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Roy Chapman Andrews’s 1925 Mongolian passport. A wax cylinder recording device from the late 19th century. The planning notes for a visit by Marie Curie in April 1921. A physical artifact transports us to another time and place like nothing else. As the American Museum of Natural History in New York celebrates its 150th anniversary, its Research Library is working to make these items more accessible to the public and researchers through the new three-year Shelby White and Leon Levy Archive Initiative. The project will create a comprehensive asset management system for digitized papers, images, videos, and other digital materials....
American Museum of Natural History, Jan. 6 |
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Kathy Peiss writes: “No one had a well-defined plan to send microfilm specialists to war when Franklin D. Roosevelt established the InterDepartmental Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications. The agency initially struggled to gain traction; yet over the course of the war, the IDC developed an extensive operation to provide printed sources for intelligence purposes. As bookmen and women became intelligence agents, the ordinary activities of librarianship—acquisition, cataloging, and reproduction—became fraught with mystery, uncertainty, and even danger.”...
Time, Jan. 3 |
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Barbara Orbach Natanson writes: “This 1919 photo has caught many pairs of eyes around here. Look closely and you’ll no doubt deduce why. It shows the energetic campaigning on behalf of a notable book sharing effort: the American Library Association’s World War I program to bring books to those serving in the military. The Library War Service was initially directed by Herbert Putnam at the Library of Congress. Between 1917 and 1920, ALA raised $5 million from public donations, set up 36 camp libraries with Carnegie Corporation funds, and distributed approximately 10 million books and magazines.”...
Library of Congress: Picture This, Jan. 2 |
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Anna Gooding-Call writes: “You haven’t lived until you’ve listened to librarian podcasts. If you already think librarians are wild—and they are—then you’re about to get a whole new perspective. Obviously, if you’re already a member of #LibraryLife, you’re listening to at least five of these 13 podcasts. If not, tune in and find out why all the fun people become librarians.”...
Book Riot, Jan. 6 |
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Cristina Tardáguila writes: “Military conflicts—like the one that is sparking between the United States and Iran—are usually surrounded by false images and outdated videos that go viral on social media. It happened in Turkey a while ago. To avoid that misinformation scenario, the International Fact-Checking Network developed a step-by-step guide to teach citizens how to verify images, from asking simple and rhetorical questions to using reverse image search on cell phones.”...
Poynter, Jan. 7; Oct. 28, 2019 |
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