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ALA announced June 14 that Raymond Pun will not assume the role of ALA president in 2025–2026 because of health reasons. Pun was
elected in early April with 67% of the vote. The 2024–2025 Executive Board will fill the vacancy within 30 days of taking office, subject to a confirmation vote by ALA Council, in accordance with
ALA bylaws. ALA President Emily Drabinski has convened a working group, which includes incoming and outgoing board members, to select and vet candidates for recommendation to the 2024–2025 ALA Executive Board....
AL: The Scoop, June 14
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Diana Panuncial writes: “Next week, we’re on route to San Diego for ALA’s
2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition. In Episode 96, Call Number explores ‘America’s Finest City’ through the lens of local librarians. We speak with Tim Tully, instruction and outreach librarian for San Diego State University’s Surf and Skate Studies Collaborative, and Kelley Woolley, who oversees the library for San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. Plus, local librarians recommend their favorite San Diego taco joints.”...
AL: The Scoop, June 18
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Jessica Jones Capparell writes: “Our democracy is at a turning point. In mere months, we’ll head to the ballot for a critical presidential election. The past few years have seen a slew of antivoter laws that make it harder for people to cast ballots and for voting rights organizations to assist people at the polls. At the same time, forms of mis- and disinformation such as artificial intelligence–generated deepfakes—which spread false information through digitally manipulated images, videos, or audio recordings—pose a major threat. In the face of these antivoter attacks, civic organizations must take a stand.”...
AL: The Scoop, June 18
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ALA invites library users nationwide to nominate their favorite librarians for the prestigious
I Love My Librarian Award. The national award recognizes the outstanding public service contributions of librarians working in public, school, college, community college, or university libraries.
Nominations are accepted through September 30. Ten librarians will each receive $5,000 in recognition of their outstanding achievements. Awardees will be honored at the I Love My Librarian Award ceremony at ALA’s
2025 LibLearnX Conference in Phoenix; honorees will also receive free full conference registration as part of their award packages....
ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Office, June 17
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Darek Makowski writes: “Since the COVID-19 pandemic, manga has surged in popularity in the US. Barnes and Noble, the largest brick-and-mortar bookseller in the US, has prioritized expanding its manga section in redesigned stores. In 2022, manga sales nearly reached $250 million here, making up more than half of all graphic novel sales. How can librarians cater to the growing number of manga enthusiasts in their communities? Here are some ideas.”...
Public Libraries Online, June 14
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Ken Irwin and Mike Bomholt write: “Miami University Libraries in Oxford, Ohio, developed an open-source software checkout system to allow patrons to make use of software licenses owned by the library. The service currently supports Adobe Creative Cloud, Final Cut Pro, and Logic Pro software. Built on a model developed by Pixar for managing employee software licenses, the Software Checkout system is believed to be the first of its kind for circulating licenses to library patrons.” ...
Information Technology and Libraries, June 17
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Christina Sikorski writes: “The community of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners is important and growing as the number of global immigrants increases. These English language learners form a community around their need to increase access and ultimately increase knowledge, not only of the English language, but of other services that support their community. This research paper seeks to understand the information needs of the ESL community and how libraries and information centers can best serve those needs.”...
Endnotes: The Journal of the New Members Round Table, June
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Misha Stone writes: “The phrase ‘more than books’ continues to crop up when someone in leadership or on staff is asked to talk about all the amazing and varied services and programs that libraries provide. While I understand why it is said, and how many people have no clue how much libraries have changed over the years, it irks me deeply that we use a phrase that plays into the rhetoric of library detractors that simultaneously dismisses how much the ‘books’ invoked still do to serve our diverse communities.”...
RA for All, June 18
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Jennie Rose Halperin writes: “In October 2023, Library Futures gathered a dozen library experts and practitioners to
create principles for library ownership of digital books. These principles are meant to establish a foundation of trust between publishers and libraries so that publishers can sell digital books to libraries and libraries can build permanent digital collections. Library ownership is key to an equitable digital future. We continue to believe that authors should write books, publishers should publish them, and libraries should purchase, preserve, and share them. We believe these principles can guide libraries and publishers as we continue our work in the digital age.”...
Library Futures, June 12
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Julia Carpenter writes: “In 2022, the number of people living in prison increased for the first time in nearly 10 years,
according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The overwhelming majority of the more than 1.23 million incarcerated people in America are serving sentences of one year or more. And many of them say that access to libraries, books, magazines, and other reading material is both sanity-saving and life-preserving. But navigating the prison library system and obtaining books from the outside can be fraught.”...
Esquire, June 17
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Carmen Nesbitt writes: “Before school begins this fall, Utah officials will send a list of books to all public schools, ordering their ‘disposal.’ Under a
new law that takes effect July 1, a book can be removed from all schools across the state if at least three school districts (or at least two school districts and five charter schools) determine it amounts to ‘objective sensitive material.’ Until now, a statewide ‘objective’ sensitive material standard has never existed, but June 7, the state school board solidified that process.”...
Salt Lake Tribune, June 11
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Melissa Heikkilä writes: “If you post or interact with chatbots on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or WhatsApp, Meta can use your data to train its generative artificial intelligence (AI) models beginning June 26, according to its recently updated privacy policy. If you’re uncomfortable with having Meta use your personal information and intellectual property to train its AI models in perpetuity, consider opting out. Although Meta does not guarantee it will allow this, it does say it will ‘review objection requests in accordance with relevant data protection laws.’”...
MIT Technology Review, June 14
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