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The I Love My Librarian Award invites library users to recognize the accomplishments of exceptional public, school, college, community college, or university librarians. Each year, up to 10 librarians are honored at a ceremony held in their honor and receive a $5,000 cash award. Nominations are open now through September 30. Since the award was established in 2008, 140 librarians have received this distinguished honor. The award is sponsored by the American Library Association, New York Public Library, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York....
I Love Libraries, July 8
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The Reference and User Services Association is updating its Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers, with a focus on incorporating inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. You may provide feedback by commenting on the
draft guidelines within the document or taking a
feedback survey by July 29....
RUSA Update, July 7
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Chris Freeland writes: “The Internet Archive has asked a federal judge to rule in our favor and end a radical lawsuit, filed by four major publishing companies, that aims to criminalize library lending. The
motion for summary judgment explains that our controlled digital lending (CDL) program is a lawful fair use that preserves traditional library lending in the digital world.” Publishers have also
filed for summary judgment, accusing Internet Archive of providing “bootleg ebooks to users approximately 25 million times a year.”...
Internet Archive, July 8; Publishing Perspectives, July 8
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Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Alter write: “As highly visible and politicized
book bans have exploded across the country, librarians—accustomed to being seen as dedicated public servants in their communities—have found themselves on the front lines of an acrimonious culture war, with their careers and their personal reputations at risk. They have been labeled pedophiles on social media, called out by local politicians, and reported to law enforcement officials. Some librarians have quit after being harassed online. Others have been fired for refusing to remove books from circulation.”...
The New York Times, July 6, Jan. 30
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Avi Wolfman-Arent reports: “The Central Bucks School District is Pennsylvania’s third-largest— located in a bucolic swath of suburbia. It is certainly not the first place you’d look for an anti-LGBTQ backlash. But it is about to pass a policy, the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, that could allow the school board to stop books in their tracks before they even get to library shelves, and for community members to challenge the ones already there.”...
Schooled, WHYY-FM (Philadelphia), July 7
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Susie Dumond writes: “If you’re an advocate for free speech and open access to information and books of all kinds, then now is the time to speak out and contact your legislators and local school board. Your voice is especially needed if you live in an area where book bans are being actively considered or have recently passed. In this guide, I’ll provide the information you need to research the issue in your area and tips for how to contact your legislators about book bans. I also hope to explain why your voice is important for fighting censorship.”...
Book Riot, July 7
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Paul Negron writes: “While public libraries and their communities across North America continue to grapple with the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the collective strength of libraries continues to endure and grow. Public libraries have proven during these challenging times that they are essential community assets, and patrons and community members alike continue to hold up libraries as one of the most trusted institutions as they work together to overcome key challenges in the COVID-19 era.” The Urban Libraries Council offers resources on developing antiracist institutions, improving STEM education, reducing barriers to learning, and building entrepreneurial hubs....
WebJunction, July 5
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Steven Bell writes: “No matter what we seem to do to improve the experience of searching our library discovery systems, we always seem to return to the same dreadful conclusion. No one likes this experience. The problem, to my way of thinking, is not so much the initial search interface. We’ve figured out how to make that similar to the internet search engine experience. It’s what happens after our discovery tools do their thing. Actually getting to the content is both inconvenient and boring.”...
Charleston Hub, July 6
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Sandy Writtenhouse writes: “When you take advantage of Word’s built-in bibliography, you may still need to edit it, whether for a requirement or personal preference. If you want to save that bibliography format and reuse it in future documents, create a template. By saving the edited structure or font formatting, you can easily add that same bibliography to all of your Word documents and just swap out the details as needed. You can certainly create a bibliography yourself, but if you have citations in your document, Word can build it for you.”...
How-To Geek, July 8
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Hamlin Rozario writes: “Your digital devices have millions of eye-catching colors. Love any of those colors in particular? Want to use them in your designs or to theme your apps? First, you need to use a color picker utility able to determine the color code on-screen. There are plenty of free eyedropper tools that you can install to copy the color code of any pixel on your screen with just a few clicks.”...
MakeUseOf, July 5
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Barbara Krasnoff writes: “One of the best ways to restore space to your computer or phone—or to fix a problem that may have been caused by a temporary file screwing up the works—is also one of the simplest: to clear the browser cache. Here’s how to clear your cache on the major browsers and on your Android or iOS devices. We’ve also included instructions on how to clear the data for a single site if you need to.”...
The Verge, July 6
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Christine, the Uncorked Librarian, writes: “Travel across the universe—both real and imagined—with some of the best gay fantasy books, heading to remote islands with seal friends and navigating famous cities reimagined. Watch friendships ignite into something more powerful as characters transform and discover who they wish to be. [In this list by Jeremy Paterson, we] include a little sci-fi, everything paranormal, and devour-worthy graphic novels.”...
The Uncorked Librarian, July 5
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