International Archives | Page 17 of 18 | American Libraries Magazine

Charlotte Mecklenburg Branches Saved; Fundraising Aims to Rehire Staff

By Beverly Goldberg | March 24, 2010

In an emergency meeting on the morning of March 24, the board of the Charlotte Mecklenburg (N.C.) Library rescinded its controversial week-old order to close half the system branches and lay off 148 staff members. Instead, trustees unanimously approved an alternative plan that will keep all 24 branches in operation at a reduced schedule; lay … Continue reading Charlotte Mecklenburg Branches Saved; Fundraising Aims to Rehire Staff →

$2 Million Sought by March 24 for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

By Beverly Goldberg | March 19, 2010

Frantic messages with hashtags of #cmlibrary and #2millioninoneweek are dotting the twitterverse about efforts to avert—or at least allay—sudden plans to close 12 branches of the Charlotte Mecklenburg (N.C.) Library and lay off 148 library workers April 3. The startling March 17 announcement was followed the next day by a library board meeting at which … Continue reading $2 Million Sought by March 24 for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library →

Bostonians Deplore “Downloadables” as Branch Substitutes

By Gordon Flagg | March 16, 2010

[UPDATED March 17] “Not the computers, not the high-tech, not the downloadables,” said Boston resident Maria Rodriguez at a March 9 Boston Public Library board meeting. “Libraries are about books and librarians. I didn’t hear anything about that in your vision.” Rodriguez was one of nearly 400 people who came for details about the planned … Continue reading Bostonians Deplore “Downloadables” as Branch Substitutes →

Save the Library, Urge Los Angeles Public Library Workers

By Beverly Goldberg | March 3, 2010

The union that represents Los Angeles Public Library workers has mounted a campaign to stave off an anticipated reduction in LAPL’s workforce over five years. As of early March, the FY2010 plan to help narrow a municipal deficit of $212 million hinged on the early retirement of 145 library employees and the elimination of 110 unfilled … Continue reading Save the Library, Urge Los Angeles Public Library Workers →

Evanston Branch Backers Won’t Back Down

By Beverly Goldberg | February 9, 2010

“For too long the libraries have been an easy mark for the city at budget time,” declared Evanston, Illinois, resident Lori Keenan in a February 6 statement on behalf of BranchLove.org, a grassroots group she cofounded. Keenan, along with other library backers in the Chicago suburb that is home to Northwestern University, is continuing a … Continue reading Evanston Branch Backers Won’t Back Down →

Your Virtual Brand

By Meredith Farkas | February 4, 2010

I recently started teaching another great group of future librarians at San José State University about Web 2.0 technologies. I’m always in awe of their enthusiasm for the subject matter and for their chosen field. This year, I also feel a little sad, knowing that some of them will likely struggle to find work after … Continue reading Your Virtual Brand →

Libraries Take Disproportionate Hit in New York Mayor’s Budget

By Gordon Flagg | January 29, 2010

New York City’s three library systems took a disproportionate hit in the $63.6-billion budget proposal released by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg January 28. In order to close a $4.9-billion deficit for FY2011, the plan makes $1.6 billion in reductions to city agencies. Of the 834 job cuts, 299—more than one-third—would come from library staff, prompting … Continue reading Libraries Take Disproportionate Hit in New York Mayor’s Budget →

Libraries Continue to Pitch in for Haiti

January 26, 2010

Library workers and educators are keeping their sleeves rolled up as they continue contributing to the international effort to provide moral and monetary aid to earthquake-stricken Haiti. Boston Public Library's Mattapan branch, which now houses the city's resource center for area families seeking contact with Haitian loved ones and ways to help them. Operated by … Continue reading Libraries Continue to Pitch in for Haiti →

Alan Lomax’s Haitian music collection

January 26, 2010

In 1937, American music archivist and historian Alan Lomax traveled to Haiti to capture that country’s music. He ended up recording more than 50 hours of music for the Library of Congress. These recordings were released in November on a 10-CD Alan Lomax in Haiti box set (video, 1:37), thanks to the work of University … Continue reading Alan Lomax’s Haitian music collection →

Books, Volunteers Needed for Ethiopia Reads

January 19, 2010

"Librarians are the best human beings that I have known," said Yohannes Gebregeorgis, who became one himself just to prove his point. Using the experience he gained at the San Francisco Public Library, he founded Ethiopia Reads in 1998 to bring books and reading to children in his native land, where he and his colleagues have established 30 children's libraries … Continue reading Books, Volunteers Needed for Ethiopia Reads →

Tough Times and Eight Ways to Deal with Them

By James LaRue | December 29, 2009

Many public libraries—in Colorado, the United States, and even worldwide—are facing significant financial troubles. We are part of a larger economic system, and this is a dip in the cycle. Such dips are inevitable over the course of one’s career. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of some strategies for reining … Continue reading Tough Times and Eight Ways to Deal with Them →

Libraries Get Broadband Stimulus Grants

By Gordon Flagg | December 21, 2009

Libraries in six states are among the beneficiaries of the first round of awards from the $7.2-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act broadband grant and loan programs. The initial $183 million in awards, going to 18 broadband projects in 17 states, was announced by Vice President Joseph Biden December 17 and detailed in a National … Continue reading Libraries Get Broadband Stimulus Grants →

Latest Library Links

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Librarians joined the world in mourning Dolly Parton and remembering both her artistic achievements and her philanthropy. Parton’s award-winning Imagination Library initiative, inspired by her father’s inability to read or write, has put hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children, and she considered it one of her greatest achievements. ALA conferred Parton with honorary lifetime membership, its highest honor, in 2023. American Libraries interviewed Parton in 2018 as the Imagination Library was delivering its 100 millionth book. Libraries, including Knox County (Tenn.) Public Library and Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library, created commemorative displays and book lists, while the University of Louisville (Ky.) Archives and Special Collections and the University of North Carolina Libraries shared rare photos and recordings.

I Love Libraries, Aug. 27; American Libraries Trend, Jan./Feb. 2018; Knox County (Tenn.) Public Library, Aug. 26; Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library, Aug. 26; University of Louisville (Ky.) Archives and Special Collections, Aug. 27; Chapelboro.com, Aug. 27
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Yasir Mahmood writes: “I’ve been gradually building up my Excel shortcut knowledge over time, and it has genuinely helped me work with spreadsheets more efficiently. Once you start incorporating shortcuts into your daily workflow, there’s honestly no going back to the old way.” Shortcuts can speed navigation, data selection, formatting, formula-building, data management, and simply working with worksheets.

MakeUseOf, Aug. 27
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Dan Johnson writes: “Viktoria Haidai surveys the mangled remains of the printing press, which should have been busy churning out textbooks ready for the new school year. The plant, on the edge of Kyiv, was hit during the night by a Russian missile, just as production was ramping up to deliver 1.3 million books—10% of Ukraine’s schoolbooks. Russia has hit printing presses and publishing houses across Ukraine in a series of recent attacks, destroying 12 million books and damaging other icons of Ukrainian history and culture.”

BBC, Aug. 30
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“Public libraries nationwide are reaching a breaking point as a result of mounting pressures to censor collections, increased intimidation against library staff, and disruptions to library operations, according to a September 1 report by PEN America. Out of Circulation: Expanding Censorship in Public Libraries examines the fallout from book bans, canceled story hours, harassment of librarians, funding cuts, and the undoing of libraries’ independent governance. Taken together, the report argues, these actions threaten ‘the very existence of public libraries’ as a cornerstone of democracy.”

PEN America, Sept. 1
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Hana Lee Goldin writes: “More than half a billion people around the world now listen to podcasts, across more than 4 million shows. Buried in that catalog is a kind of source material that barely existed a generation ago: experts talking about their own work, at length and in their own words. The clearest proof that podcasts already work as sources is how often we quote them. Each repetition runs on memory alone. So the archive is already in use as a source, just without a way back to the moment.”

Card Catalog, Sept. 1
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Leah Weinryb-Grohsgal writes: “As the steward of over 200 petabytes of data, the Library of Congress (LC) has spent decades building infrastructure and services to preserve and provide access to digital materials. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies offer enticing possibilities for maintaining, delivering, and analyzing some of the nation’s most influential research and treasured cultural and historical artifacts. Yet the use of these technologies requires extensive evaluation and monitoring before implementation. In 2025, LC introduced its AI Sandbox for Staff to do just that. The most recent cohort of the Library’s AI Sandbox for Staff supported over a dozen small-scale experiments.”

Library of Congress: The Signal, Aug. 31
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Tess Vrbin writes: “Saline County, Arkansas, agreed this week to pay $275,000 to Patty Hector, the former library director who was fired in October 2023 after speaking against local conservatives’ push to limit children’s access to books. County Judge Matt Brumley’s firing power came from an ordinance approved by the all-Republican quorum court, which previously urged Hector to move books with ‘sexual content or imagery’ out of children’s reach. The books in question pertained to LGBTQ+ topics, sex education, and systemic racism, which Saline County conservatives called ‘indoctrination’ and inappropriate for children.”

Arkansas Advocate, Aug. 27; Oct. 9, 2023; Aug. 21, 2023; Apr. 17, 2023

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