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February 27, 2018 200 × 302 Serving the Community

Designing Adult Services: Strategies for Better Serving Your Community

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Dan Montgomery writes: “June brings a burst of anticipation to ALA. Colleagues and members put the finishing touches on our most important event of the year, our Annual Conference and Exhibition, which will be held June 25–29 in Chicago. I’m eager to meet many of you and make the most of those exciting, jam-packed days. While this is my first Annual as executive director, I attended the conference last summer and was blown away by the sheer number of participants, the depth of quality programming, and the infectious enthusiasm and energy from morning to night.

American Libraries column, Summer
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As ICE has raided homes, businesses, and public facilities in communities across the country, public libraries are grappling with how to prepare staff, protect patrons, respond to incidents, and develop resources for in-the-moment de-escalation and long-term recovery. In February, the Public Library Association convened a webinar called “Responding to ICE at the Library: Real World Approaches” to address these timely concerns. Comments below are paraphrased from their presentation.

American Libraries feature, Summer
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David Nield writes: “More than 30 years after Adobe came up with it, the PDF file remains essential for archiving, sharing, and publishing. It’s no surprise that commercial PDF software tools are in high demand. But you don’t necessarily have to pay to process these documents, especially for basic editing operations. A host of PDF tools are available on the web that will let you quickly and easily manipulate your documents for free (with more advanced features and usage limits available for a price).”

Wired, June 2
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Roxy Van Ruiten and Darcy Ramirez write: “A display inside San Antonio’s Central Library is turning the city’s love for the Spurs NBA team into a celebration of reading, and it’s now getting national attention. San Antonio Public Library’s ‘Read Like Wemby’ display, inspired by Spurs star Victor Wembanyama’s well-known love of books, was recently featured in The New York Times. Staff said visitors are stopping to snap photos with the display, which highlights books connected to Wembanyama and his reading habits.”

KENS-TV (San Antonio), May 28
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Molly Templeton writes: “There’s so much to reread. This is a lesson I keep having to relearn. I struggle with rereading. It’s because of all those new books. It is hard to turn my back on the to-be-read pile and commit time to something I’ve read before. But then I do it, and I wonder what’s wrong with me. Rereading isn’t wasting time. It’s finding what I didn’t see before, discovering the details and the threads that were hiding, and, sometimes, if I’m really lucky, finding something I didn’t even know about myself.”

Reactor, May 28
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John Cox writes: “A clear identity matters for libraries. It explains what the library is, what it does and why, as well as who can benefit from what it provides. Crucially, it makes it as easy as possible for everyone to understand its offering and its value. Without that clarity, institutional leaders, decision-makers, and other stakeholders can overlook the library. Students and academics may turn elsewhere, the library suffers from lower visibility and less recognition, its contributions are underestimated, it loses its competitiveness in the fight for resources, and it struggles to advance its position within the institution.”

Times Higher Education, May 25
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As part of ALA’s 2026 sesquicentennial, the Association is launching a comprehensive fundraising campaign, “For Our Libraries. For 150 Years More.” The $60 million campaign goal represents the most ambitious philanthropic initiative in ALA’s history and reflects a long-term investment in libraries, library workers, literacy, intellectual freedom, and equitable access to information. Key action areas for the campaign include advancing the library profession, advocacy, equitable access to information, and intellectual freedom. The campaign extends through December 31, 2027.

ALA Communications & Media Relations Office, June 3

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