Gauging Your Interest

November 5, 2012

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A few weeks ago, ­American Libraries sent you a survey. And despite all the other surveys and polls and requests that likely came to you this election season, more than 4,000 of you responded. Thank you for taking time to provide feedback.

We want to know what you think about the magazine, and indeed, all the media streams of American LibrariesAL Direct, AmericanLibrariesMagazine.org, Twitter (@AmLibraries), Pinterest, and Facebook. We’ll be looking at all the data and plan to make improvements to the look and content of the magazine as well as our online site. We’ve signed up with a new design team at ALA, headed by Kirstin Krutsch and Chris Keech, to develop this new look with your input, with a planned launch in 2013. In the interim, watch for subtle changes to features, added infographics, and sidebars. We hope you’ll like what you see.

American Libraries Live Starting this month, we’re also launching American Libraries Live, a streaming video broadcast that you can view for free (at AmericanLibrariesLive.org) in your library, at home, or while sipping coffee at your favorite Wi-Fi-enabled café. The first program—on Friday, November 16, at 1 p.m. Central time—features ALA TechSource author Jason Griffey talking about libraries in the near ­future in “Library 2017: Tech at Warp Speed.” Topics for other shows include strategies for landing your ideal library job, digging into databases, and the real deal about ­ebooks for libraries, and will be hosted by Marshall Breeding, Warren Graham, and other experts. This is not a webinar with voice-overs but a chance to watch presenters live onscreen. Got questions? Ask away, because the sessions feature a live chat, too. It’s like having your own personal expert to solve problems on the spot. See the full lineup of shows on AmericanLibraries­Live.org.

If you’re wondering whether we’re developing a mobile app or want a way to view our content on your smartphone, well, we’ve got you covered there, too. Our digital editions and uploads (which you can launch right from our Facebook page or from AmericanLibrariesMagazine.org/archives) will scale to fit your tablet or smartphone.

However you want to encounter us—in print, online, on your smartphone, in a chat, by social media, or email—we’re ready. Oh, and who was the lucky survey-respondent winner of the $500 gift certificate, good toward any ALA Editions, TechSource, Neal-Schuman, Chandos, or Facet books? Stephanie Mallak Olson, district library director of Iosco-Arenac District Library in Oscoda, Michigan. Congratulations, Stephanie!

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