Daily Archives: May 31, 2016

Lexington (Ky.) Public Library's technological scavenger hunt, BattleKasters, links players with a book. Photo: BattleKasters

How to Get Teens in the Library this Summer

May 31, 2016

Colleen Hall, Lexington Public’s youth services manager, hopes that having beacons placed in the city’s retail establishments will get the whole town reading. “We’ve been targeting the middle schools because that’s the target audience of the book,” says Hall, of outreach efforts. “But I think we’re going to get a lot of people who aren’t … Continue reading How to Get Teens in the Library this Summer






Kathy Clay, president of the ­Waukegan Public Library’s Friends of the Library, restocks children’s book for an upcoming book sale. Photo: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries

Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers

May 31, 2016

“We were both trying to instill a volunteer culture in an environment that didn’t have that culture,” says Gorman, assistant dean for special collections and university archives. “[Yet] there were people in the community who were very educated, highly motivated, with a range of skills I could leverage.” Along with Smith—a photographs, artifacts, and textiles … Continue reading Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers


In Practice by Meredith Farkas

From Both Sides Now

May 31, 2016

At the same time, I felt like I had unlimited stores of passion, energy, and ideas that year. My colleagues took me seriously even though I was green, and some of those rookie ideas became services the library still offers, like chat reference. I frequently hear about new-to-the-profession librarians who are treated by their colleagues … Continue reading From Both Sides Now


“Baseless Hysteria”?

May 31, 2016

Section 215, which became known as the “library records provision,” not only allowed law enforcement agencies to secretly monitor electronic communications emanating from libraries, it also required librarians to turn over patron information if requested and even imposed a gag order on those forced to comply, thus preventing them from telling anyone. ALA opposition to … Continue reading “Baseless Hysteria”?


Apollo. Biblionix's Public Catalog

Streamlined Software

May 31, 2016

Apollo automation at Biblionix Public library automation provider Biblionix has updated its award-winning integrated library system, Apollo, with new functions to make life easier for librarians. Apollo helps public librarians streamline their day-to-day tasks such as circulation management, collection management, and new patron sign-up. Because of its multi-tenant design, changes and updates are available as soon … Continue reading Streamlined Software


Karen Muller

Preserving Our Values

May 31, 2016

The Intellectual Freedom Manual is a guide to providing library service in support of First Amendment rights. For the manual’s 9th edition, the background information on its policies has been pulled into a separate volume, A History of ALA Policy on Intellectual Freedom: A Supplement to the Intellectual Freedom Manual, compiled by editor Trina Magi … Continue reading Preserving Our Values



At the Open Textbook Network’s Summer Institute, members build community and address obstacles to advancing open educational resources on campus. Photo: University of Minnesota

Pushing for Open Textbooks

May 31, 2016

But with prices skyrocketing—the cost of textbooks has increased 73% since 2006, according to a 2016 report by the Student Public Interest Research Groups—some libraries and networks are using creative incentives to get OERs into the classroom. Texas A&M University Libraries, in partnership with the school’s student government, has established what it believes to be the … Continue reading Pushing for Open Textbooks