Author Archive: Maureen Sullivan

Librarians Working Together

The only certainty in the library community is that we live in uncertain times. Buffeted by technological turbulence, the very roles and functions of libraries are up for reexamination and reinvention, as evidenced by the articles in American Libraries’ June 2013 E-Content Digital Supplement. But the truly fundamental change is a shift in foundational relationships—as … Continue reading Librarians Working Together →

Representing ALA

By Maureen Sullivan | June 1, 2013

It has been a privilege this year to serve as your president. The experience exceeded my expectations in so many ways. I especially enjoyed representing ALA in the larger world. One of the special joys was working closely with Immediate Past President Molly Raphael and President-Elect Barbara Stripling to ensure continuity across our terms to … Continue reading Representing ALA →

Leadership in a Digital Age

By Maureen Sullivan | April 9, 2013

The increasingly digital context brings challenges and opportunities for librarians, library staff, archivists, and museum professionals. New roles and the competencies required to perform them are evolving. One overriding role for all of us is that of the leader. The complexity of the changes we experience leads to many unfamiliar situations in which deep learning … Continue reading Leadership in a Digital Age →

Community Building

By Maureen Sullivan | March 13, 2013

All around us, libraries of all types are discovering that as they look outward, they can make a dramatic difference in their communities. Long recognized as trusted educational and cultural institutions, libraries that more actively engage with their communities discover innovative services, increase their relevance, and build deeper community support. Last September, ALA announced the … Continue reading Community Building →

What You Can Do about Ebooks and Libraries

By Maureen Sullivan | January 14, 2013

I wanted to share ideas about what you can do to help solve the problem of publishers who will not sell ebooks to libraries. Stay informed. The ALA Transforming Libraries website and the American Libraries E-Content blog provide breaking news, as well as information about various studies, and reports. These include recent ebook research, information … Continue reading What You Can Do about Ebooks and Libraries →

We Are ALA

By Maureen Sullivan | October 24, 2012

I recently learned that another national library association has adopted the slogan “I am (my national library association)” as a means to engage its members. My immediate reaction was to think of ALA and how, if we were to follow suit, I would want our slogan to be “We are ALA.” We, the members of … Continue reading We Are ALA →

The Year Ahead

By Maureen Sullivan | September 4, 2012

I look forward to this year in which I have the privilege of serving as ALA president. To prepare for this important role I acted on the very good advice of a number of our past presidents and took advantage of every opportunity in my president-elect term to lay a strong foundation for what I … Continue reading The Year Ahead →

Rethinking ALA

By Maureen Sullivan | July 5, 2012

A year ago, then–ALA President Molly Raphael called for “all of us to work together and build a better future for all library communities.” As president-elect I took these words to heart and made the commitment to continue the work of Molly’s presidency during my term. Our strategic plan, ALA 2015 (PDF file), is an … Continue reading Rethinking ALA →

Latest Library Links

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Camruinn Morgan-Rumsey and Lexi Lepof write: “On December 3, Knox County (Tenn.) schools received a list from the district of books to be removed from school libraries under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act. Knox County’s board of education voted in July, passing a policy to remove ‘explicit’ books from everyday student access in response to the new law. Some of the books on the list of nearly 50 titles might surprise parents. Among those to be removed are Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.”

WVLT-TV (Knoxville, Tenn.), Dec. 4
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Joe Foley writes: “Copyright rules vary from country to country and have changed over time. In the US, works created between 1929 and 1963 that gave notice and renewed copyright have 95 years from their first publication date. That means that on January 1, 2025, a host of works from 1929 will enter the public domain. This means that copyright will expire on Buck Rogers, Captain Easy, Horace Horsecollar, Tintin, Hal Foster’s first Tarzan comic strips and, yes, Popeye.” Other notable works entering public domain in the United States include the Marx Brothers’ first film, The Cocoanuts, contralto Marian Anderson’s first record, and Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.

Creative Bloq, Dec. 7; Everybody’s Libraries, Dec. 3, Dec. 7; Public Domain Review, Dec. 10
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Brittany Adams writes: “The digital landscape of libraries is expanding rapidly, with an increasing shift towards electronic resources and online services. As members of the library community, we’re witnessing a transformative era where physical collections are complemented—and sometimes replaced—by digital ones. This transition offers new opportunities for enhancing accessibility and engagement, but it also presents challenges, especially for young patrons and their families. It is essential to equip children and their caregivers with the tools and knowledge they need to navigate this evolving space confidently.”

ALSC Blog, Dec. 9
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Karen O’Grady writes: “I am the embedded librarian for the Hahn School of Nursing at the University of San Diego. I am surrounded by nursing faculty, staff, and students rather than by librarians. This has proven to be an incredible gamechanger for the way I see things. Every student in my school knows me by name. I am often stopped in the hallway to answer questions. Every correct answer I give increases my authority and builds trust. Through these casual mini-lessons, this foreign animal called ‘librarian’ slowly becomes an approachable, knowledgeable person.”

College & Research Libraries News, Dec.
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ALA has selected 46 participants for its 2025 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). The EL program allows library staff and information workers to participate in project planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers. The group will take part in a day-long session during the 2025 LibLearnX conference in Phoenix this January and work for six months, culminating in a poster session at ALA’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia in June, where they will highlight results of their project planning work.

ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment, Dec. 4
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On December 9, ALA announced a $25 million bequest by James W. Lewis, of Washington, D.C. The gift, the largest individual bequest in ALA’s history, will fund scholarships for aspiring librarians with demonstrated financial needs. Throughout Lewis’s career at Merrill Lynch, where he leads the Lewis Group as senior vice president and senior relationship manager, he has demonstrated his commitment to libraries and their communities by generously volunteering his time, including as a member of the Board of Visitors at the library of his alma mater, Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He also served as a Library Trustee Board member at District of Columbia Public Library for 10 years.”

AL: The Scoop, Dec. 9
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Tess Prendergast writes: “I will never forget the surprised look on one mom’s face during storytime when I dropped a tip—technically called an aside—about how rhyming helps babies differentiate sounds and prepares them for reading. “You mean that all this singing will help her in school?” she asked. “I thought we were just doing this for fun!” Early literacy activities are certainly fun—but also valuable. Many parents and caregivers aren’t aware that simple, everyday activities can benefit their child’s early language and literacy development and have a lasting positive impact on their learning.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.

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