“We can learn a great deal about what may happen in the future by looking systematically at what is actually happening now,” wrote Edward Cornish, one of the founders of the World Future Society. We study change so we can prepare for the many futures that might happen. We start seeing what’s coming next. We … Continue reading Our Futures in Times of Change
Initiated in 1997 as a one-year program under former ALA President Mary R. Somerville and revived in 2006 under former ALA President Leslie Burger, Emerging Leaders recognizes the best and brightest new leaders in our industry. It’s open to librarians new to the library profession of any age with fewer than five years of experience … Continue reading Emerging Leaders 2017
Providing information regularly to employees will help create a responsive organizational culture and a reiterative process that helps veteran staffers onboard new staff members with accurate information. Details about serving people with disabilities should become an ongoing part of this training. Disability awareness training Professional organizations are an excellent place to start for staff training … Continue reading Creating Inclusive Library Environments
The goal, says former ALA President Maureen Sullivan, is to introduce theories, concepts, and practices for effective leadership and “help people develop self-awareness of their strengths and areas for development.” Sullivan, who developed and leads the institute with library consultant Kathryn Deiss, says the institute accomplishes this goal with a mixture of presentations, small group … Continue reading Leading to the Future
Libraries have been collecting audio and video for many years, and audiovisual librarians well know the value of voices and moving images. Within the profession itself, Technical Services Manager A. Arro Smith—author of Capturing Our Stories: An Oral History of Librarianship in Transition (ALA Editions, 2017)—has been chronicling the oral histories of retired librarians on … Continue reading Saving At-Risk Audiovisual Materials
One could expect that wine libraries are concentrated in California, the top-producing state, but wine collections and digital archives are also popping up in places like Indiana, New York, and Oregon. Institutions are providing for the information needs of wine enthusiasts of all stripes, and in doing so are reinventing and reinvigorating the meaning of … Continue reading Preserving the Vintage
One response was direct and immediate action, with at least 200 information professionals joining the Atlanta March for Social Justice and Women on January 21. That event was part of the Women’s Marches series of protests, which drew an estimated 60,000 participants in Atlanta and as many as 4.6 million worldwide. Midwinter attendees gathered in … Continue reading 2017 Midwinter Wrap-Up
Given this reality, every one of us faces choices about the work we want to do, the institutions we hope to save, and the world we wish to build for our friends, family, neighbors, and children. Libraries, archives, museums, and schools have a special role to play in the coming years in defense of informed … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Scott Walter
Strengthening relationships. Together we can more productively advocate for libraries across the board. The relationships we can strengthen within ALA will create opportunities for advocacy outside the Association. ALA has been described as having silos that prevent divisions and units from working together. My plan is to encourage joint projects and support them financially. The … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Terri Grief
I serve as an advocate for libraries every day. Why? Because libraries change lives in every community in our nation. Our strong value system propels us to create new ways to do such things as help children read, assist job seekers, support first-generation college students, and connect battered women and children with shelters. As confirmed … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Loida Garcia-Febo
Looking at the scope of your career, from stand-up to a one-man show to podcasts to TV, what led you to write a book? I grew up in a house with bookshelves to the ceiling, and in every room there were books. Books were an aspirational thing. When I was in high school, my mom … Continue reading Newsmaker: W. Kamau Bell
Libraries are employing unique methods to make their digital collections available to patrons outside of the library. As a part of its Digital Library Community Project, San Antonio Public Library (SAPL) created digital wallpapers—virtual bookshelves that give patrons access to ebooks by simply scanning a QR code with a smartphone—that can be placed throughout the … Continue reading Digital Wallpapers Open Doors
