Author Archive: Julie Cai

Top Ten(ish) Tweets – Monday (Day 4)

By Julie Cai | June 27, 2016

The end of conference means attendees are packing up, struggling to fit all their tote bags, ARCs, and swag into their luggage, and saying goodbye to old and new friends.

Top Ten Tweets—Sunday (Day 3)

By Julie Cai | June 26, 2016

How librarians unwind: All eyes on the night’s awards: Swag on swag on swag! How are the #alaleftbehind faring? Even those at Annual can experience some kind of #alaleftbehind!

Top Ten (And Then Some) Tweets—Day 2 (Saturday)

By Julie Cai | June 25, 2016

Now that Friday is over, many conference attendees are now settled in for #alaac16, but it’s only just beginning!

Top Ten(ish) Tweets—Day 1 (Friday)

By Julie Cai | June 24, 2016

The anticipation is over, and day one of Annual is here! With exhibits opening, fun activities, and awesome sessions, excitement was brewing IRL and on the Twitterverse.

Top Ten Tweets—Thursday (Day 0)

By Julie Cai | June 24, 2016

Get ready… Get (jet) set… Go! And, for those #alaleftbehind: Keep ’em coming!

The last big day of Midwinter started with a much-anticipated morning: The Twitterverse was abuzz with Youth Media Awards excitement. And as Midwinter drew to a close, attendees showed off their hauls. And one more Midwinter aftereffect:

Top Tweets—Sunday

By Julie Cai | January 12, 2016

Here’s a recap of the happenings at Midwinter this past Sunday: The musical Hamilton continued to bring out the musical side of attendees with Act II. What does ALA really mean? Some insights on conference: Catching up on Cognotes: Can this be our Meowinter mascot? Leaving a library conference like…

Top Ten Tweets—Saturday (Day 2)

By Julie Cai | January 10, 2016

Here are our picks for Saturday’s top tweets! Use and follow #alamw16 to keep up to date with Midwinter happenings! It was a very music-filled day at conference. The listening party for Act I of the musical “Hamilton” filled the halls of the North Lobby. The Force is strong at Midwinter… Meanwhile, the cake was … Continue reading Top Ten Tweets—Saturday (Day 2) →

Top Ten Tweets—Friday (Day 1)

By Julie Cai | January 10, 2016

The countdown to Midwinter 2016 is over. Midwinter is here! It’s day one and excitement is stirring IRL (in real life) and on the interwebs. Follow #alamw16 to keep up with what’s going on in Boston: You never know who you will meet at conference! This real talk delivered by author Cassandra Clare: The opening … Continue reading Top Ten Tweets—Friday (Day 1) →

Top Ten Tweets—Thursday (Day 0)

By Julie Cai | January 9, 2016

And it’s conference time again, everyone! As we gear up for Midwinter, we’re keeping our eyes out on all your tweets to see how you’re prepping for and experiencing the conference! On the way to conference . . . We never forget those who are #alaleftbehind! Use #alamw16 to tag all your tweets concerning Midwinter. … Continue reading Top Ten Tweets—Thursday (Day 0) →

Top Ten Tweets—Sunday (Day 3)

By Julie Cai | June 29, 2015

It’s day three of conference already? As conference edges closer to its end, reflections on the weekend hit the Twitterverse. The day was packed with award ceremonies and great speeches. We love you, #alaleftbehind! Keep up with Annual news with #alaac15!

Top Ten Tweets – Saturday (Day 2)

By Julie Cai | June 28, 2015

Here are some things to expect during an ALA conference: Saturday had a great assortment of inspirational speakers: We didn’t forget about you, #alaleftbehind! Keep up with Annual news with #alaac15!

Latest Library Links

1d

Michael Kan writes: “Are you still using ‘chocolate,’ ‘naruto,’ or ‘monkey’ for your passwords? You really need to stop. All three are among the most commonly used passwords, putting your accounts at risk of hacking, according to new data from NordPass. The password manager’s sixth annual list of the top 200 most commonly used passwords is pulled from a 2.5TB dataset of stolen logins taken from various sources.” ZDNet offers tips for creating stronger passwords and improved security measures.

PC Mag, Nov. 14; NordPass, Nov. 13; ZDNet, Nov. 14
1d

John Sharp writes: “Athens and Fairhope are two fast-growing cities in the fastest-growing areas of Alabama, and there is no mistaking their conservative bona fides. But according to early statistics about library card applications, their libraries appear to be bucking a trend embraced by conservative-leaning groups and the Alabama GOP: Their patrons appear to be trusting the libraries. More than 60% of parents at Fairhope Public Library and Athens-Limestone County Public Library have signed off on all-access passes for their children with no restrictions on library usage.”

AL.com, Nov. 17
2d

Katie Gaddini writes: “Book bans may have mushroomed in the Trump era of reactionary politics, but they have a well-established history in America. One woman in particular, Norma Gabler, redefined the current strategy and logic behind modern book bans. Called ‘education’s public enemy number one,’ by critics in 1980, Gabler led the crusade against the so-called secular trend in school textbooks throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Even though Norma and her husband Mel worked together, Norma was the public face of their efforts for decades.”

Time: Made By History, Nov. 13
2d

Many members know Bill Ladewski as executive director of the Reference and User Services Association, an ALA position he has held since 2019. In early September, Ladewski added another title to his CV: director of Member Relations and Services. In this role, he and his team are charged with providing service and information to the Association’s nearly 50,000 members. Ladewski answered our 11 Questions to reintroduce himself to the ALA community.

AL: The Scoop, Nov. 19
3d

John Warner writes: “I understand what people mean when they invoke the term ‘institutional neutrality,’ but I don’t know how it’s workable in today’s world. Higher education institutions are built upon a foundation of actual values, values that are, by definition, not neutral. The Kalven report, the Rosetta Stone of institutional neutrality produced by a faculty committee at the University of Chicago in 1967, is not a call to make all work emanating from an institution ‘neutral,’ but is instead a call to make the atmosphere for scholarly inquiry and debate as free as possible.”

Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 15
3d

Angela Hursh writes: “Ever wondered how your library’s email performance compares to others? Benchmarks help you understand how well your emails perform in key areas and identify opportunities for improvement. They also allow you to compare your email marketing performance, set goals, and stay on top of trends. However, the lack of industry benchmarks for email marketing metrics specific to libraries has been bugging me. Metrics from similar industries don’t fully capture the unique aspects of promoting a library. To help libraries accurately measure their email effectiveness, we’ve created the first-ever library email benchmark report.”

NoveList, Oct. 22
4d

Rachel Hendrick writes: “Students and library vendors are pushing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in higher education, but there are very few resources that help librarians and scholars separate the wheat from the chaff. Luckily, we here at Choice love a good assessment rubric. (In fact, we made a PDF of our assessment rubric.) Even the least tech-savvy of us can use a very simple AI literacy framework to think critically about whether an AI application is worth your time.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Nov. 13

View more Latest Library Links