|
The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) have joined the Association of University Presses, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, and Freedom to Learn Advocates in filing an amicus curiae brief that supports the request by several organizations to halt enforcement of the Texas law
HB 900 on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment rights of booksellers, publishers, authors, and students. HB 900 would compel a vendor to review and rate all books it has already sold to a Texas school, and any book it wishes to sell to schools in the future....
FTRF, AASL, Aug. 18
| |
 |
|
|
|
ALA has once again joined with
Nonprofit Vote as a premier partner for
National Voter Registration Day. As a partner, ALA encourages libraries across the country to participate in this coordinated voter registration effort that ends with an annual day of action on September 19. Library workers and partners can find sample graphics, social media posts, and other promotional resources at the
National Voter Registration Day website. More tools can be found at ALA’s
voter engagement resources page....
ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Aug. 18
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Phil Morehart writes: “Neil Gaiman wears many hats: novelist, journalist, comic book writer, screenwriter, television producer, musician. And he’s a fierce supporter of libraries. The author of American Gods, Neverwhere, Good Omens, The Sandman, Coraline, and many more has had a lifelong love affair with reading—he’s even featured on a brand-new Celebrity READ poster from ALA Graphics—and he credits librarians for fostering his curiosity about books and learning at a young age. Gaiman spoke with I Love Libraries recently about the importance of libraries, comic books, book banning in the US, movies, and more....
I Love Libraries, Aug. 15
| |
|
|
|
|
.png)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Victoria Van Hyning writes: “Online cultural heritage crowdsourcing invites people, usually volunteers, to enhance the descriptions of library, archive, and museum (LAM) items through tagging, transcription, and providing first-hand knowledge. Cultural heritage crowdsourcing has surged since 2015, when several tools and platforms became widely available. Crowdsourcing discussion platforms provide excellent opportunities for outreach, troubleshooting, and engagement between LAMs and participants. But these platforms can also be understood as spaces for conducting open reference services, and gathering information about what users need to know to engage with your collections online.”...
ACRL Keeping Up With…, August
| |
|
|
|
|
|
“Curating a circulating collection of games can be a daunting prospect. With books there are core references, professional review publications, and decades of circulation data to refer to when determining your selection criteria. With 3D items, many librarians are discovering the path as they go along, adapting their collection development policy as their collection expands. While this is an intimidating prospect, it can also be a very exciting one! This month, collection development is the focus of our Hive Mind’s collective knowledge.”...
ALA Games & Gaming Round Table, Aug. 18
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Kelly Hincks writes: “I know that holding a school library ‘open house’ for teachers is not a new idea, but I am hoping to make it fun while keeping it short and sweet. I have found communicating this type of information at the start of the year is the best time to get teachers’ attention and to allow them to plan to use the resources I have to share. We start with a tour of the library—and we definitely eat cookies too!”...
Knowledge Quest, Aug. 21
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rachel Cohen writes: “Under a tent outside the yellow library building on Monday afternoon, third-grader Sarah Enoki Thorp held up her latest read. ‘Today, I picked out Diary of a Wimpy Kid,’ she said. Enoki Thorp was one of more than 50 people—mostly children—who congregated outside the Bellevue (Idaho) Public Library for a ‘read in,’ a peaceful protest to send a message to the city council that they value the library and its librarian, Kristin Marlar-Gearhart. At the meeting that followed the read in, council members assured residents that cuts to the library were not on the table.”...
Boise (Idaho) State Public Radio, Aug. 15
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Chris Freeland writes: “Last Friday, the Southern District of New York court issued its
final order in Hachette v. Internet Archive, thus bringing the lower court proceedings to a close. We disagree with the court’s decision and intend to appeal. In the meantime, however, we will abide by the court’s injunction. It means that people who are not part of an elite institution or who do not live near a well-funded public library will lose access to books they cannot read otherwise. Because this case was limited to our book lending program, the injunction does not significantly impact our other library services.”...
Internet Archive Blogs, Aug. 17
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Nomin Ujiyediin writes: “The head of the Republican party in Buchanan County, Missouri, threatened the political futures of the St. Joseph City Council if they approved the reappointment of a gay pastor to the city’s public library board. On August 4, Steven Greiert, chair of the Buchanan County Republican Central Committee, sent an email to the mayor and city council saying that if Brian Kirk’s position on the library board was renewed, the Republican party would refuse to accept filing fees from members of the City Council if they sought to run as Republicans in future races for other positions.”...
KCUR-FM (Kansas City), Aug. 21
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Janet Manley writes: “What does a lieutenant governor do? Stand in for the governor when they’re out of state, certainly, but the rest of the time it’s more of a Veep-esque listening tour full of corndog-eating, posing with horses, and riding in monster trucks with your Bible and gun. So we must tip our tricorn hats to Vermont Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman, who is currently conducting a reading tour of banned books in the Green Mountain State. At a recent event reported on by the Associated Press, Zuckerman read aloud [the frequently-challenged] And Tango Makes Three.” ...
Literary Hub, Aug. 16
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Mary Hennington writes: “The battle over censorship in Arkansas libraries raged on Monday evening as the Saline County Quorum Court landed its latest jab. With an 11–2 vote, the county board cut the power of the Saline County Library Board and awarded the county judge the power to hire and fire librarians. A heat index nearing 110 in Benton didn’t stop about 100 people from showing up to support their library.” Observers have speculated that the change will be used to fire Library Director Patty Hector over her refusal to remove ‘inappropriate’ books, but a county representative said
no decision has been made....
Arkansas Times, Aug. 21; KATV-TV (Little Rock), Aug. 22
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Ruby Helyer writes: “Composition is the considered result of presented imagery. In graphic design, it’s about the arrangement of the elements and content. A well-rounded view of composition will consider layout, color, texture, and the elements themselves. These principles are essential in graphic design, as the design is about displaying information while being aesthetically pleasing. Designers should always consider composition to guide the audience’s eye through the design. To make your graphic designs more informational and functional to users while still retaining their aesthetic, follow these golden rules of composition.”...
MakeUseOf, Aug. 22
| | |
|
|
|
American Libraries Direct is a free electronic
newsletter emailed every Wednesday to personal members of the American Library Association.
Editor, AL Direct: Greg Landgraf
Direct ad inquiries to: Melissa Carr
Send news and feedback: 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 FAQ.
American Libraries 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 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.
To manage your American Libraries email preferences, please click here.
To unsubscribe from all American Library Association communications, click here.
American Library Association, 225 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
