|
Alison Marcotte writes: “In 2023, ALA’s Public Programs Office launched the largest grant initiative in the Association’s history—the Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Accessible Small and Rural Communities grants. During the first round of funding, 240 small and rural libraries, located within towns with populations of under 25,000 people, received awards of $10,000 or $20,000 to improve the accessibility of their facilities, services, and programs. American Libraries spoke with five libraries that participated in the program’s inaugural year about their projects’ impact on those they serve.” Applications for the
third round of LTC funding will be accepted through December 11....
American Libraries feature, Nov./Dec.
| |
|
ALA announced on November 11 the candidates running for ALA leadership positions. The candidates for the 2026–2027
ALA
president are Lindsay Cronk, dean of libraries at Tulane University in New Orleans; Andrea Jamison, assistant professor of school librarianship at Illinois State University in Normal; and Maria McCauley, director of libraries at Cambridge (Mass.) Public Library. Larry Neal, director of Clinton-Macomb Public Library (CMPL) in Michigan, and Joel Thornton, associate dean of collections and scholarly communication for University of Utah in Salt Lake City, are candidates for the 2025–2028
ALA treasurer. ALA also announced
21 councilor-at-large candidates. Members interested in running by petition may do so by completing a
candidate biographical information form and a
petition form with the signatures of no fewer than 200 ALA current personal members (25 members for Council positions) by December 13....
AL: The Scoop, Nov. 11
| |
|
Small and rural libraries don’t always have the same resources and opportunities that urban libraries do. But they still have big ideas about how to serve their communities, and as we hear in Episode 98, they find ways to realize them. At Burlingame (Kans.) Community Library, sensory spaces and a new loanable resource collection are improving the lives of patrons with disabilities and their families. Meanwhile, at North Liberty (Iowa) Library, staffers are moderating discussions on hot-button topics that are getting community members to open up, listen to one another, and connect....
AL: The Scoop, Nov. 11
| |
.png)
|
|
|
Amy Katzenberger became director of ALA’s Development Office in early September. Among other fundraising activities, Katzenberger and her team have been shepherding the campaign for the Association’s 150th anniversary, which will culminate in 2026. Prior to joining ALA, Katzenberger worked at Riley Children’s Foundation in Indianapolis as director of foundation relations, where she secured millions of dollars in grants. Before Riley, she served as chief program officer for the American Camp Association. Early in her career, Katzenberger worked in ALA’s Conference Services department as a meetings and scheduling manager. She answered our 11 Questions to introduce herself to ALA members....
AL: The Scoop, Nov. 12
| |
|
ALA announced on November 12 the six books shortlisted for the
2025 Andrew Carnegie Medals
for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. Established in 2012, the awards honor the previous year’s best fiction and nonfiction books written for adult readers and published in the US. The two Medal winners will be announced at 10:30 a.m. Mountain on January 26, 2025, at the livestreamed Reference and User Services Association Book and Media Awards during ALA’s LibLearnX conference in Phoenix....
AL: The Scoop, Nov. 13
| |
|
Timothy Peters writes: “Today’s organizations are making a concerted effort to demonstrate greater inclusivity in their workplace practices, processes, and larger cultures. Research has shown diverse organizations are more innovative, adaptable, and regarded as better places to work by current and potential employees. Systems thinking frames the organization as a single, interconnected and interdependent system, and abandons many of the traditional organizational concepts which stand in the way of inclusion. Through its emphasis on holism, fostering productive relationships, multidirectional communication, and transparency, systems thinking creates an organizational culture that actively includes and empowers.”...
Library Leadership and Management, Oct. 2
| |
|
|
|
Shannon Young writes: “In June, Prince George’s County (Md.) Memorial Library System embarked on a partnership with Maryland Public Television (MPT) to develop programs that empower families and caregivers to cultivate healthy media habits. MPT’s Early Learning Media Ambassador initiative is tailored for early childhood educators interested in helping families and caregivers learn how to use media effectively. Material provided by MPT includes
Media STEPs, which outline strategies like selecting appropriate content, talking about what children are seeing, exploring new things that they learned, and playing in both virtual and physical environments.”...
ALSC Blog, Nov. 9
| |
|
Nick Tanzi writes: “Whenever an emerging technology arises, there are inevitably those who will question the value and relevance of the library. Throughout my career, I have heard some version of the refrain ‘Why do I need the library when I have:’ the World Wide Web, Google, ereaders, the iPad, or ChatGPT. In each instance, the library adopted and/or adapted to these technologies. As we enter the age of artificial intelligence, we can expect the same skeptical voices challenging the relevance of our institutions. A closer look at the library and our brand reveals that their value has only grown.”...
The Digital Librarian, Nov. 7
| |
|
Kyle Werner writes: “State Librarian Michael Lynn Scott has been arrested and charged with dissemination of obscene material for allegedly sending lewd images to someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy but was actually a deputy. Police arrested Scott, 54, on November 6. He had been the state librarian since 2014. Scott was reported to have been messaging a minor on the messaging app KiK according to a criminal complaint. The conversation, allegedly initiated by Scott, began on August 13, police said. Brenda Hall was appointed the interim state librarian on November 7.”...
Des Moines Register, Nov. 8
| |
|
|
|
André Salkin writes: “A militant but peaceful protest movement is underway at Carlos Gilbert Elementary School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It started with a student petition and escalated to administration hearings, picket lines, and sit-in demonstrations. The movement’s aim? More library time. At the head of the protests is sixth grader Rainier Long, 12, an avid reader who was outraged to learn Carlos Gilbert Elementary would be cutting library time in half—to 30 minutes a week—this year to make more time for technology education.”...
Santa Fe New Mexican, Nov. 9
| |
|
Jay Peters writes: “Bluesky gained more than 700,000 new users in the last week and now has more than 14.5 million users total, Bluesky COO Rose Wang confirmed to The Verge. The ‘majority’ of the new users on the decentralized social network are from the US, Wang says. The app is currently the number two free social networking app in the US App Store, only trailing Meta’s Threads. Instagram-bootstrapped Threads, which recently crossed 275 million monthly users, is still significantly larger than Bluesky. But the independent platform has seen a lot of growth in recent weeks.”...
The Verge, Nov. 11
| |
|
Elisa Shoenberger writes: “The comics I grew up reading were those in the newspapers, and they were called the funny pages for a reason. In time, I began exploring the wider world of comic books, covering a wide variety of genres from superhero comics to horror. But I do have a fondness for the seeming simplicity of one to four-panel comics in the newspapers and webcomics for humor. For this list, I’ve put together my tribute to the funny pages. Most of the comics are short form comics, but a few are longer narratives.”...
Book Riot, Nov. 11
| | |
|
|
|
American Libraries Direct is a free electronic newsletter emailed every Wednesday to personal members of ALA.
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, click here.
To unsubscribe from all ALA emails, click here.
American Library Association | 225 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1300 | Chicago, IL 60601
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg){kind=spacer}
