Author Archive: Lisa Krok

ALSC Charlemae Rollins President’s Program

By Lisa Krok | June 26, 2018

ALSC President Nina Lindsay kicked things off, revealing that the Caldecott award has an 87% rate of white authors, those of whom have mainly white characters. Librarian Charlemae Rollins was a critical voice in materials that reflect the black experience, and was the namesake of the program. Up first on the panel was Ebony Thomas, … Continue reading ALSC Charlemae Rollins President’s Program →

YA Coffee Klatch

By Lisa Krok | June 24, 2018

The discussion at table #20 commenced with a visit from author Cynthia Leitich Smith, who is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation. Cynthia discussed her forthcoming book Hearts Unbroken (Candlewick, 2018). She describes it as a book with diverse characters in a high school musical. It is also reflective of her relationship as a Native teen … Continue reading YA Coffee Klatch →

YA Leading the Way

By Lisa Krok | June 24, 2018

My day began with “Native YA Today: Contemporary Indigenous Voices and Heroes for the 21st Century and Beyond.” The panel was comprised of #ownvoices authors Cynthia Leitich Smith, Joseph Bruchac, and Dawn Quigley. Eric Gansworth’s travel was delayed, so we were graced with the pinch hitter of all time, Debbie Reese—aka the Diversity Jedi herself. Some themes that … Continue reading YA Leading the Way →

Meeting Authors at Annual

By Lisa Krok | June 23, 2018

The Bloomsbury Tea kicked things off. The beautiful venue of the Tomas Bistro provided a scenic environment in a large entertainment room that looked like it could accommodate weddings. Elegant finger sandwiches were served, along with a variety of teas. Authors Carolyn Mackler, Sarah Crossan, Ally Condie, and Brendan Reichs mingled with the crowd first … Continue reading Meeting Authors at Annual →

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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
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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
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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
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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
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Rowana Miller writes: “In my experience, many young library-goers identify as storytellers but not writers. These are the kids who draw Captain-Underpants-style cartoons, who craft meticulous Minecraft universes, and who plot elaborate Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, but who believe that ‘writing’ is limited to five-paragraph essays. But when children draw the connections between their natural storytelling proclivities and the written word, they can become self-motivated to develop the communication skills that will help them for the rest of their lives. Libraries, I believe, are uniquely positioned to help children make this connection.”

ALSC Blog, Nov. 15
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ALA has reopened its search for an executive director in partnership with executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. A committee of ALA member leaders will oversee the search. The selected candidate will succeed Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger, who was appointed in November 2023. “We are excited to embark on our search for a new executive director,” said ALA President Cindy Hohl. “This leadership position is critical as we navigate the years ahead. We seek candidates who have knowledge of the library community and the urgent issues we face.”

ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Office, Nov. 14
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Emily Weak writes: “Something I always hear from hiring managers is that they want to build a resilient, diverse workforce. Sometimes we say we want a resilient workforce, but what we mean is that we want staffers who are willing to go above and beyond, or to do more with less. These concepts are deeply entrenched in librarianship, but I think we’re beginning to see how they can cause problems. Instead of trying to hire people who will do more with less and who will thrive amid adversity, let’s think about resilience as an organizational feature.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.

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