41m
The Vancouver Island (B.C.) Regional Library, the Inner Mongolia Library in China, the National Library Board of Singapore, and the International School of Geneva, Switzerland, were honored with the ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects. The awards were presented by then–ALA President Sari Feldman, with support from the International Relations Round Table Advisory Award Committee, at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando.
American Libraries, international supplement, Sept.
50m
Sarah Begley writes: “For as long as humans have printed books, censors have argued over their content and tried to limit some books’ distribution. But the reasons for challenging literature change, and as Banned Books Week begins on September 25, it’s clear that public discomfort with particular ideas has evolved rapidly even in the last 20 years. When ALA started keeping a database of challenged books in the early 1990s, the reasons cited were fairly straightforward, according to James LaRue, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom.”
Time, Sept. 25
58m
The National Archives and Records Administration has opened a new online library of animated GIFs ready to share and use. All of the GIFs link back to the original National Archives catalog records. The images include historic events, celebrities, National Parks, newsreels, animated patents, dancing sailors, and more.
DigitalGov, Sept. 23
1h
ALA is looking for internationally active US-based librarians to serve as mentors for 50 new career librarians from diverse backgrounds. The new career librarians received support from an IMLS grant to attend the 2016 International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Congress in Columbus, Ohio, in August. The mentorship component of the grant is intended to help grant recipients build on their experience at the IFLA Congress. If you are interested, sign up for the program.
International Relations Office, Sept. 23
1h
Acknowledging the critical role of libraries across the nation, the bipartisan Museum and Library Services Act of 2016 (S. 3391) was introduced September 23 by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). A coalition of library groups led by ALA’s Washington Office worked closely with the bill’s cosponsors to include their recommendations. The bill will renew the current $230 million commitment to programs administered by IMLS.
ALA Washington Office, Sept. 23
3d
More than half of public schools in Boston do not have libraries, leaving thousands of students—the majority of them in distressed neighborhoods—without a safe place to study and access to resources so they can learn more, according to a new
Boston Public Schools report. Forty percent of students start high school without ever using a school library, according to the report, a serious disservice that officials say puts poorer kids at an even greater disadvantage.
Boston Herald, Sept. 23
3d
Children’s book authors Margarita Engle and Susan Tan will team up on January 21 n the Auditorium Speakers Series at the 2017 ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits in Atlanta to discuss diversity in children’s books and women authors. Margarita Engle is the Cuban-American author of many verse books, including The Surrender Tree; debut author Susan Tan grew up in a mixed-race family, and like Cilla, the heroine of her Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire, was bald until the age of five.
Conference Services, Sept. 23
