EDITOR'S NOTE
AL Direct is taking a break for the holidays. See you in the new year!
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ALA has announced that Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone, coauthors of How to Be a (Young) Antiracist, will speak at the
opening session of
LibLearnX, to be held January 27–30 in New Orleans. Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Ani Di Franco, author of the upcoming picture book The Knowing, will speak at the
closing session.
LibLearnX registration is open, and registrants can save with advance rates through January 15....
ALA Conference Services, Dec. 13, Dec. 15
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ALA is seeking nominations for its 2023 recognition awards and grants. These honors include the Beta Phi Mu Award for distinguished service to education in librarianship; the ALA Medal of Excellence for creative professional achievement in library management, training, cataloging and classification, or the tools and techniques of librarianship; the Equality Award, for a contribution that promotes equality in the profession; and the Joseph W. Lippincott Award for distinguished service to the profession. You may nominate yourself, colleagues, or your library for these honors. Most have deadlines of February 1, 2023. For more information, visit
ALA’s Awards, Grants, and Scholarships page....
ALA Governance, Dec. 15
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Joni Auden Land and Ryan Haas write: “People packed into the Crook County (Ore.) Library on Thursday night for a meeting of its board. The topic at hand had drawn the standing room crowd: namely, whether or not to segregate LGBTQ-friendly children’s books into a separate section. By the end of the night, the crowd had spoken overwhelmingly in support of keeping the books where they are, and the board voted 4–1 to not place the books in a special section of the library.”...
Oregon Public Broadcasting, Dec. 9
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There are various reasons why someone might be experiencing difficulties or facing mental health challenges during the holidays. Strategies to help cope with emotions such as loneliness and depression, which often arise during festive times, may be the key to deflecting increased stress. In this
Guide to Managing Mental Health around the
Holidays from McLean Hospital, mental health experts identify six common issues that come up this time of year and suggestions for ways to address them....
Library Worklife (vol. 19, no. 12), Dec.; McLean Hospital, Dec. 5
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Annie Waldman, Aliyya Swaby, and Anna Clark write: “Nearly 60 years ago, the federal government established funding to provide free education for adults who could not read to help them improve their literacy and obtain employment. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson recognized how low literacy intertwined with poverty and all the ills that came with it. The adult education system they built was supposed to give people everywhere a second chance at success. But access to this instruction is limited, increasingly insufficient, and highly dependent on geography and the political will of elected officials.”...
ProPublica, Dec. 14
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Larry T. Nix writes: “As a collector of postcards featuring libraries, I seek out those that are less typical. Few are less typical than those that have a winter holiday theme. Here are a few in my collection.” Nix’s selections include public libraries in Santa Rosa, California; Rockville, Connecticut; and Boise, Idaho....
Library History Buff Blog, Dec. 12
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Marta W. Aldrich writes: “Tennessee’s textbook commission has wide new powers to determine which books students can and can’t access in public school libraries. But members say the panel doesn’t have enough resources to finish its most pressing new task: providing guidance to school leaders on how to comply with several recently enacted library laws. The all-volunteer commission blew past a statutory December 1 deadline to finalize its guidelines and decided last week that it can’t do so without first getting legal advice.”...
Chalkbeat: Tennessee, Dec. 16
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David Morgan writes: “The comic book adventure Iron Man, which helped spearhead the massively successful Marvel Cinematic Universe; The Little Mermaid, which launched a renaissance of Disney animated musicals; and the Billy Crystal–Meg Ryan romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, whose fake sex scene offered a punchline for the ages, are among the films named today to the Library of Congress’
National Film Registry, aimed at preserving classic motion pictures for future generations.” LC has selected 25 films for preservation based on their cultural, historic, and aesthetic importance to America’s film heritage every year since 1989....
CBS News, Dec. 14; Library of Congress, Dec. 14
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Maija Kappler writes: “In the 1880s, a newspaper owner named Jasper Meek was looking out the window of his print shop in Coshocton, Ohio, when he saw a young girl drop her school books. As the story now goes, the sight inspired him to fashion a burlap bag in which people could carry books. In the decades that followed, totes have grown from a journeyman staple to a ubiquitous literary trophy on the streets of many major cities as well as on Instagram and TikTok. But there’s also a mystique to the tote.”...
The Walrus, Jan./Feb.
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Maureen Johnson writes: “At one time wealth came from the land, and those who owned the land were all powerful. Times have changed. Everyone wants to eat the rich, and the rich do not want to be eaten. The impoverished noble is one of the deadliest creatures on earth, and the manor house is their weapon of choice. Should you insist on visiting a manor, familiarize yourself with this basic guide. You’ll last an extra day or so, and that may be time enough for you to make your escape.”...
CrimeReads, Dec. 14
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Richard Byrne writes: “Clipping a section of a video that you’ve already uploaded to your YouTube account can be a convenient way to remedy a small problem that you didn’t notice when you initially uploaded it. For example, after uploading you might notice that you forgot to cut out a section of downtime or a transition between scenes, like stage change-overs at school music recitals. You might also use the clipping function to remove the appearance of people who don’t want to appear in a published video.”...
Free Technology for Teachers, Dec. 16
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Carrie McBride writes: “Lest your holidays be too sweet and saccharine, how about a dash of mystery and even a sprinkling of murder? These holiday-themed cozy mysteries won’t keep you up at night with fright but may keep you up turning the pages until the crime is solved.”...
New York Public Library Blog, Dec. 14
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