In “Where Do We Go From Here? The Role of Special Collections in Collecting Social Media Content,” Petrina Jackson, head of special collections and university archives at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, described the challenges and rewards of becoming active collectors of social media content. “Just because the format is digital doesn’t mean it … Continue reading Learning to Lobby for Your Library
The panel discussion “Ready or Not: Trends, Challenges, and Tech in Academic and Research Libraries” marked the release of the New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Report, 2017 Library Edition. NMC has released 15 years of reports on technology that will affect higher learning, exploring academic and research libraries in a global context. According to Samantha … Continue reading Technology Trends, Open Access, and Roxane Gay
ACRL Executive Director Mary Ellen Davis began the proceedings by emphasizing ACRL’s mission of covering the trends and issues in academic and research librarianship and higher education. Davis said the conference was ACRL’s largest to date, with more than 3,400 attendees from 29 countries and all 50 states. American Library Association President Julie B. Todaro’s … Continue reading The Importance and Beauty of Information
Patti Fleser, ISLMA president and school librarian at Deer Path Middle School in Lake Forest, Illinois, says the open letter addresses the “trend of school districts cutting their librarian positions at a time when it’s been proven over and over again that school librarians and effective school library programs increase students’ academic achievement.” ISLMA’s letter … Continue reading Speaking Out Against Chicago School Library Cuts
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
Aldrich and her copresenter Matthew Bollerman of Hauppauge (N.Y.) Public Library, who spoke Saturday at the 2016 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, said libraries can become sustainable by focusing on the triple bottom line, a term borrowed from the accounting world. For libraries, this means finding the overlap between decisions that are environmentally … Continue reading Sustainable Thinking for Libraries
Policy Monitoring Committee Chair Vicky Crone presented the Policy Monitoring Committee report (CD#17.1). A motion to insert a change to the policy manual adopted at the 2016 Midwinter Meeting passed. Sue Considine, chair of Committee on Organization, presented two action items (CD#27.1): Item 1 makes the definition of “subdivision” as an ALA division or round … Continue reading Council II Marks ALA’s 140th Anniversary
Maya Penn says she started her first business when she was just a kid, selling plastic pizzas to her stuffed animals. But that was only make-believe. She started her real first business years later, at the ripe old age of 8—an Etsy shop called Maya’s Ideas, selling headbands she sewed herself using recycled and repurposed fabrics, with a portion of the profits going to charity.
AASL President Leslie Preddy opened the program by emphasizing the spectrum from public library to school library to academic library in each learner’s life. Communities with strong libraries have increased student success. Vailey Oehlke, Public Library Association president and director of libraries at Multnomah County (Oreg.) Library, explained how the provisions in ESSA are a … Continue reading Unpacking ESSA for the Library Ecosystem
The 2016 Midwinter Meeting minutes were accepted with one correction (CD#2.1). President-Elect Julie B. Todaro, chair of the 2015–2016 Committee on Committees, presented the candidates for the 2016–2017 Council Committee on Committees election (CD#12). The nominees are Diane R. Chen, Ed Garcia, Cyndee Sturgis Landrum, Hanna K. Lee, Kimberly Ann Patton, Alexandra P. Rivera, Sandy … Continue reading Council I Passes Two Resolutions, Discusses Libraries Transform
Having a functioning makerspace depends more on your people and your relationships in the community than on your technology. That’s the message a group of experienced makers gave to attendees at a packed session on Friday.
Despite her body of work in futuristic and speculative fiction, Margaret Atwood displayed a somewhat uneasy relationship to modern technology in her address at the 2016 American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition. When the announcement was made before the Canadian author and poet took the stage that she requested no photos be taken during her talk, the disappointment in the room was audible.
