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Sallyann Price writes: “Every year,
United for Libraries Virtual brings together trustees, foundation and Friends members, and those who work with them for a virtual conference to discuss the library advocacy landscape.
It’s also a space to brainstorm practical solutions for rallying communities around key issues, such as intellectual freedom, equitable access, and sustainable business practices that contribute to a vibrant, sturdy future.
Many sessions at the most recent event focused on cultivating the library advocate, from preparing trustees to lead and communicating impact to funders to shaping the public narrative about why the library matters.”...
American Libraries feature, Jan./Feb.
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Dan Montgomery writes: “By now, you’ve likely heard of
ALA Forward, the initiative that has resulted from more than a year’s worth of conversations and focus groups among members, leaders, staff, and affiliated folks, and has set a course for reinvigorating ALA with a clearer strategic vision and a defined process to realize that vision.
As I write this, still in my early weeks at the Association, I’ve been asked often about my own priorities for ALA.
Well, my primary goal is this: to support us in achieving the vision outlined in the ALA Forward initiative.
This includes ensuring ALA’s financial stability, fostering membership trust and growth, and bolstering advocacy.”...
American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.
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The annual Martin Luther King Jr.
Holiday Observance and Sunrise Celebration will
stream on YouTube at 10 a.m. Central on January 15. The celebration commemorates King's legacy and the connection between his work and libraries.
This year's theme is "Where Do We Go from Here?" and will feature a joint keynote from Reverend Dr.
Liz Theoharis, director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary, and organizer and writer Noam Sandweiss-Back.
Amanda Jones, author of That Librarian, will deliver the call to action....
ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, Jan.
12; American Libraries, Sept./Oct. 2023
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Advance your knowledge while building your career as a library and information professional. Ranked in the top 21 by US News and World Report, our portfolio of 100% online programs includes graduate certificates, customizable MLIS options, an EdS and a PhD. Focus on school libraries, archival studies, youth services, digital stewardship and more.
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Jessica Brownley writes: “January can feel especially long.
Short daylight hours, gray skies, and bitter cold make it harder to stay energized, even as our work continues at full speed.
After the whirlwind of holiday programs, many librarians face a ‘winter slump,’ when both physical and emotional energy feel in short supply.
But self-care doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. Small, intentional strategies can help you stay steady, healthy, and energized—even during the darkest months of the year.”...
ALSC Blog, Jan. 7
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Sam Suber writes: “Libraries are swimming in data, but raw numbers rarely lead directly to good decisions.
To move from a messy spreadsheet to a defensible strategy, you need a process to refine that raw material.
In this post, we will walk through the entire data pipeline, which is the structured process of transforming raw data into decision-ready information. We will be using the example of a new video subscription where the vendor’s reporting server crashed in June, leaving a hole in your data.
We are going to take that messy data set and turn it into a solid prediction.”...
Choice 360: LibTech Insights, Jan.
7
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ALA has officially launched its 150th anniversary year, marking a century and a half of empowering library professionals, advancing access to knowledge, and protecting the freedom to read.
The Association will celebrate year-round in 2026 with key flagship events, kicking off with the 2026
Youth Media Awards, honoring outstanding books, videos, and materials for children and teens, on January 26 at the Hilton Chicago.
ALA President Sam Helmick marked the anniversary with
an essay at
ala150.org, and ALA has produced a new
anniversary video....
ALA Communications and Media Relations Office, Jan.
8; ALA150.org, Jan. 5; YouTube, Jan. 8
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Kelly Jensen writes: “On January 12, the first day back on campus for many universities following winter break, at least eight college and university libraries received bomb threats.
Campuses received the threats via email.
None resulted in the discovery of a physical threat in or near the targeted area.” At least
15 universities faced similar threats in August, believed to be
made by the swatting group Purgatory and mostly directed at library buildings.
In January, universities in Nebraska, Missouri, Kentucky, and Massachusetts received the threats.
The Association of College and Research Libraries and Core offer a
LibGuide on safety and security....
Book Riot, Jan. 13; Inside Higher Ed, Aug.
26; Center for Internet Security and Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Aug.
27; ACRL, June 25, 2024
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Hillel Aron writes: “The estate of legendary author Kurt Vonnegut, three authors, and two unnamed high school students
sued the Utah Board of Education on January 6 over the removal of hundreds of books from school libraries.
Among the books that have been effectively banned from certain school libraries are Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Utah’s so-called
“book removal law,” H.B. 29, was updated in 2024 and automatically removes books from all school libraries that have been banned by three or more school districts.”...
Courthouse News Service, Jan.
6
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Hong Zhou and Hiba Bishtawi write: “For decades, discovery has revolved around keywords: carefully chosen terms, Boolean operators, and increasingly sophisticated relevance ranking.
Today, generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems are introducing a different interaction model altogether.
Instead of asking how to search, researchers are starting to ask what they want to know and expecting the system to figure out the rest.
When does natural language outperform traditional approaches, and what do current AI-powered discovery tools actually do well? We conducted a comparative analysis of four widely used AI-enabled research discovery tools.”...
The Scholarly Kitchen, Jan.
6
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Janette Wright writes: “I was appointed to a leadership role in local government during a period of corporate change and budget constraint.
Staff had a low level of trust in leadership, a history of conflict and incivility, and low expectations of the opportunity for service improvements or development.
In this article, I’ll reflect on the leadership challenges inherent in such transitions, drawing on my personal experience across the library sector and applying a theoretical framework to offer practical insights for leaders navigating similar terrain.”...
Katina, Jan. 8
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Stefan Milne writes: “Seattle Public Library is the only US library system that makes its anonymized, granular checkout data public.
The hitch is that the library’s data set contains nearly 50 million rows. To track trends in the catalog over the last 20 years, University of Washington researchers
analyzed the checkout data of the 93 authors included in the post-1945 volume of The Norton Anthology of American Literature, which is instrumental in standardizing the books and writers we’ve deemed culturally important.”...
University of Washington News, Jan.
8
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“For many readers and viewers, HBO Max’s recent adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry has become an entry point for casual observers of the game played on ice with a puck—and hockey romances. You may not know what exactly is happening on the rink, or even in the locker room, but you can guess, and that's half the fun!” See other lists from
Johnson County (Kans.) Library,
Multnomah County (Oreg.) Library,
Mesa County (Colo.) Libraries, or
Omaha (Nebr.) Public Library....
St. Louis Public Library, Dec. 27; Johnson County (Kans.) Library, Dec. 13; Multnomah (Oreg.) County Library, Dec. 11; Mesa County (Colo.) Libraries, Dec. 18; Omaha (Nebr.) Public Library, Dec. 4
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