W. Kamau Bell exclaimed that phrase often during his Opening Session talk at the 2017 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta. His candor was necessary. The stand-up comic and host of the CNN program The United Shades of America and the Politically Re-Active and Denzel Washington Is the Greatest Actor of All Time Period podcasts was … Continue reading Building Strength Through Laughter
Alvarez is corporate communications specialist at Kohler Company. She formerly served as business liaison librarian for Barrington (Ill.) Area Library. She was awarded the Public Librarian Support Award from the Business Reference and Services Section/Morningstar in 2015. An excerpt from her book was published in the January/February 2017 issue of American Libraries. What made you want … Continue reading A Conversation with Barbara A. Alvarez
Haines is a youth services librarian and media mentor at Homer (Alaska) Public Library, and Campbell is a children’s librarian, author, and founder of LittleeLit.com. An excerpt from their book was published in the November/December issue of American Libraries. What made you want to write this book? Haines and Campbell: Over the past few years there has been a … Continue reading Discussing Media Mentorship
Velásquez is a lecturer at San José State University School of Information and coordinator of teen services for San Antonio Public Library. She is the recipient of the 2005 New York Times Librarian Award and holds a master’s degree from Rutgers University School of Communication and Information. An excerpt from her book was published in the … Continue reading A Conversation with Author Jennifer Velásquez
Welcome to the 2016 Library Design Showcase, American Libraries’ annual celebration of new and renovated libraries. These are shining examples of innovative architectural feats that address user needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. New construction dominated this year’s submissions, but renovated and repurposed spaces were a close second, showing how today’s libraries are both … Continue reading 2016 Library Design Showcase
The following libraries are winners of the 2016 Library Interior Design Awards, sponsored by ALA and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). The biennial competition honors international library interior design. Winners demonstrate excellence in aesthetics, design, creativity, function, and satisfaction of the client’s objectives. The competition is managed by the Library Leadership and Management Association … Continue reading ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Awards
ALA president-elect James G. “Jim” Neal opened his segment of “Brave New World: The Future of Collections in Digital Times,” a program at the IFLA 2016 World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, Ohio, with a warning. Digital content is growing exponentially. The world produces daily ebooks, online games, 3D-printed work, MOOCs, social media content, … Continue reading The Future Is Digital
Stinson and Orlowitz began with a general Wikipedia overview, and the stats were staggering. Wikipedia ranks in the top five visited websites on the planet, with 15 billion page views each month. It features 40 million articles; has 80,000 monthly contributors; contains 32 million media files in its Wikimedia Commons; and has 280 different language … Continue reading Come Together, Right Now
Marie Ostergaard, head of community engagement at Dokk1, a large cultural center in Aarhus, Denmark, that includes the Aarhus Public Library, led the session with a detailed presentation on the Dokk1 project and how it reenvisions the library-going experience. Dokk1 is a massive, open-air complex located in the city center on the waterfront that encompasses … Continue reading Moving Beyond the “Third Place”
The panelists addressed the topic from a variety of angles. Bogdan Filip Zerek, head of the conservation department at the National Library of Poland, presented an exhaustive study of how the library combated the effects of water damage in the Krasiński Palace in Warsaw, built in the 17th century, which houses the library’s iconographic collections. … Continue reading Preparing for the Worst
“You are the gatekeepers; the keepers of the keys of education and words, and you’ve let me in the gate,” she said. “It’s my privilege to be in your presence.” Curtis’s deference was coupled with humble honesty. She spoke openly about her struggles in school as a youth and how it has affected all aspects … Continue reading This is Jamie Lee
Successful geek programming for teens can be a costly endeavor. But there are shortcuts.
