The citation began as an initiative of Loriene Roy, 2007–2008 ALA president. Since its inception, 38 groups have been presented with the honor. The four 2016 winners were recognized for designing and implementing highly visible, innovative services that greatly improve existing library services for users. The projects draw attention to the potential of library service … Continue reading International Library Innovators
RDA Toolkit usage RDA Toolkit subscriptions are an obvious method for assessing the growing internationalization of the standard. In 2015, the toolkit had 2,840 subscribers who purchased 8,866 users in 64 countries across six continents. That’s good global coverage, but this topic calls for closer scrutiny. RDA was developed by a collaborative group of representatives … Continue reading Is RDA a Global Standard?
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) has been running student service opportunities to Malawi for several years, so it was no coincidence the university was one of the first to hear about the fire. The student service initiatives, known as TEAM Malawi, are part of a multidisciplinary program based on a community wellness model … Continue reading Rebuilding in Malawi
Even if our undergraduates wanted to listen to a CD or watch a DVD, they probably couldn’t, as many of their tablets and laptops don’t include an optical disc drive. This is occurring at the same time that many faculty use the “flipped classroom” model, which requires students to engage with material, including videos, outside … Continue reading Streaming Video in Academic Libraries
Kelvin Watson ERNEST A. DIMATTIA JR. AWARD FOR INNOVATION AND SERVICE TO COMMUNITY AND PROFESSION of $5,000 recognizes a public librarian who demonstrates leadership in anticipating emerging trends in services, products, and technologies that will enhance the library’s position in its community. Donor: The DiMattia Family Watson, chief innovation and technology officer of Queens (N.Y.) … Continue reading 2016 ALA Award Winners
I’d been aware of screen readers, which read what is on a computer screen to a visually impaired user, but this was the first time I’d actually seen one in action. While the platform we were testing was deemed accessible because it was compatible with screen readers and its videos contained closed captions, multiple design … Continue reading Accessibility Matters
“I knew that I didn’t want to work in a traditional library,” says Brennan, who previously interned at Know Your Meme and MTV Networks’ tape library while earning her MLIS. Of her career path, she says, “It just kind of clicked—I was up at 2 a.m. researching some weird internet thing [on Know Your Meme] and … Continue reading Bookend: I Can Has Meme Job?
Until recently, researcher field notes and firsthand observations were difficult to digitize because of handwriting issues and formatting. Three projects—the Field Book Project, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) Field Notes Project, and Expanding Access to Biodiversity Literature—are changing that. Field notes are an invaluable resource for students and researchers alike. Edward Davis, assistant professor in … Continue reading Fielding a Field Notes Comeback
“Teens wanted a space to talk about what was happening in their communities,” says Adewole Abioye, teen program director at the West Englewood branch who organized and facilitates the program. “The barbershop concept was used as a catalyst to get them talking.” The program debuted in December 2015 and is held the third Monday of … Continue reading Bookend: The Cutting Edge
The ALA Archives have been around since 1973, and Bertram—who describes herself as an “archivist through and through”—knew about the Association and “how large an impact it had on history.” But she has been especially impressed with ALA’s World War I records, which she says are among her favorite items. Also prized is a scrapbook of … Continue reading Bookend: ALA through the Ages
How did you get involved with the Hogarth Shakespeare project? I got an email, of course—all of these things start that way. This email was from Becky Hardy, the Hogarth Shakespeare editor. She asked what play I would choose to do, and I said The Tempest. What was it about The Tempest that appealed to … Continue reading Newsmaker: Margaret Atwood
Journal publisher Elsevier, which claimed it was losing hundreds to thousands of dollars for each of its articles pirated on the site, sued to have it shut down. For these reasons, Judge Robert W. Sweet of the Southern District of New York ordered Sci-Hub.org to cease operations in October 2015. But that’s not the end … Continue reading Sci-Hub: What It Is and Why It Matters
