The Scoop

Defeating Bullies and Trolls
By Phil Morehart | March 15, 2019
“All hell broke loose when just the title of the grant was discovered” she said. In the weeks that followed the report’s release, Cooke’s email address and phone number were disseminated by hate groups and their online followers, leading to harassing phone calls and emails. When she asked for her contact information to be removed … Continue reading Defeating Bullies and Trolls →
ALA #FundLibraries Campaign Kicks Off for FY2020
By Kathi Kromer | March 11, 2019
In a statement issued shortly after the budget was released, American Library Association (ALA) President Loida Garcia-Febo said, “As discouraging as it is that the administration has again proposed eliminating IMLS, the bipartisan support in Congress over the past two years gives us reason to hope.” The president’s proposal slashes IMLS yet again despite his … Continue reading ALA #FundLibraries Campaign Kicks Off for FY2020 →
Save the Internet Bill Introduced
By Ellen Satterwhite | March 8, 2019
In February 2015 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved an order that gave internet users the strongest net neutrality protections to date, after a rulemaking process that generated the greatest number of public comments in the agency’s history. Those rules limited the power of internet service providers (ISPs)—like Verizon and Comcast—to slow websites, block mobile … Continue reading Save the Internet Bill Introduced →
Washington Fly-In Teaches Strategic Library Advocacy
By Amy Carlton | February 26, 2019
The fly-in began with a full day of training and plenary sessions from advocacy and lobbying professionals. Though ALA’s approach has changed this year, the techniques are familiar to librarians: research, personal stories, and community impact were at the forefront. After Committee on Legislation (COL) Chair Mario Ascensio, ALA Executive Director Mary Ghikas, and ALA … Continue reading Washington Fly-In Teaches Strategic Library Advocacy →
Dewey Decibel Podcast: Fostering New Businesses
February 15, 2019
In Episode 35, Dewey Decibel looks at libraries that are leading the charge. First, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski speaks with Amy Fisher, information readers services manager, and Morgan Perry, business outreach specialist, at Mid-Continent Public Library in Missouri about that library system’s Square One Business Services program. Next, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Fostering New Businesses →

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New Task Force for Federal Funding for Libraries
By Alan S. Inouye | February 14, 2019
In fall 2018, ALA’s Washington Office engaged in a policy strategy retreat looking forward to the 116th Congress and the 2020 elections. Discussions addressed federal funding, improved broadband access, copyright, and other topics. The ALA Committee on Legislation (COL) then invited representatives from the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) to explore possibilities of … Continue reading New Task Force for Federal Funding for Libraries →
Libraries = Strong Communities Tour Heads to Florida
By Steve Zalusky | February 12, 2019
NMPL has experienced a dramatic transformation, recently finishing a renovation that included the addition of new public computers, interactive learning devices, and a multipurpose area for classes and workshops. Library Director Lucia M. Gonzalez opened the proceedings, telling the crowd, “Libraries bring communities together.” Members of the North Miami City Council presented a proclamation issued … Continue reading Libraries = Strong Communities Tour Heads to Florida →
Meet the 2019 ALA Policy Corps
February 5, 2019
Policy Corps members will attend two training sessions in Washington, D.C. The first is a spring meeting, which will provide a survey of key library advocacy issues, major players in the legislative and policy processes, and the processes of engaging national decision makers and influencers. A second workshop will take place in the fall. Regular … Continue reading Meet the 2019 ALA Policy Corps →
Net Neutrality Updates
By Ellen Satterwhite | February 4, 2019
The American Library Association (ALA), which filed an amicus brief in 2018 with other groups seeking to defend net neutrality in Mozilla, asserts net neutrality is essential for a library to meet its public mission of increasing access to information. In 2015, the FCC adopted strong net neutrality policies to require all internet traffic to be … Continue reading Net Neutrality Updates →
Council III: Resolutions, Tributes, and Memorials
By Amy Carlton | January 29, 2019
Memorials were read for Amber Clark, Wanda V. Dole, Leroy Hommerding, James Ray Jarrell, Merlyn Miller, and Carlton C. Rochell. A tribute resolution was read for ALA Round Tables Program Manager Danielle M. Ponton (Alderson), and a standing ovation was given in honor of JoAnne Kempf, director of the Office of ALA Governance, who is … Continue reading Council III: Resolutions, Tributes, and Memorials →
Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 4
By Crystal Carrazco | January 29, 2019
We started the day bright and early with the Youth Media Awards. My 2nd time hearing the announcements in person and just as thrilling! #caldecott #newbery #alayma19 #alamw19 pic.twitter.com/KBozSWatjE — Julie Hembree (@mrs_hembree) January 28, 2019 https://twitter.com/agentpenfold/status/1089999113280782343?s=21 Forget the Super Bowl, we have the @ALALibrary Awards!!!! Congrats to all the winners and thank you to … Continue reading Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 4 →
A Tiny Space for Big Issues
By Carrie Smith | January 29, 2019
Estelita’s Library opened only eight months ago in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood with a goal to be a community space where people feel at home enough to have the kinds of tough conversations that typically don’t happen in coffee shops—on social justice topics like race, poverty, and gentrification. Edwin Lindo, the library’s founder, spoke about … Continue reading A Tiny Space for Big Issues →

Latest Library Links

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Jane Roberts writes: “Earlier in March, Hoopla—an online service that allows public library cardholders to download or stream movies for free—quietly pulled the documentary Vaxxed from its collection. The film, which peddles a repeatedly debunked theory linking vaccines to autism and claims to expose a vaccine-related coverup within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can still be found in libraries around the US. Terry Donahue, Hoopla’s communications manager, indicated that several libraries had contacted the service asking that the film be removed. ‘They didn’t want to be a source of misinformation,’ Donahue said.”

Undark Magazine, Mar. 22
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The Federal Communications Commission has settled a case over its refusal to comply with a public records request, agreeing to pay $43,000 to a journalist who sued the commission. Freelance writer Jason Prechtel filed a FOIA request with the FCC in mid-2017, asking for data that would identify who made bulk comment uploads in the proceeding that led to the repeal of net neutrality rules. Prechtel was trying to research comments that were falsely attributed to people without their knowledge. A settlement agreement says the FCC agreed to pay Prechtel to cover attorneys’ fees and court costs. Chairman Ajit Pai’s FCC did not admit any wrongdoing.

Ars Technica, Mar. 22
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Whitson Gordon writes: “Want to play the latest games, but aren’t sure if your PC can handle them? Graphics are a huge part of the PC gaming experience, but not every computer is built for the best games on the market. You’ll need to know what graphics card you have installed and compare that to the minimum requirements for the game you want to play. Here’s how to figure it out.”

PC Magazine, Mar. 20
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Mark Hachman writes: “Now that Google Stadia and Microsoft XCloud have been unveiled at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, it’s safe to say cloud gaming has arrived, promising a future where content will be streamed to smartphones over high-speed Wi-Fi and 5G. But if these services are to flourish, something else must die: the data caps ISPs impose upon most consumer internet service plans. No one ever liked these limits except the ISPs. Now that major tech companies have some skin in the streaming game, data caps may finally have too many enemies to survive.”

PC World, Mar. 22
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The Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library board of trustees approved 16 “possibly controversial” LGBTQ, diversity, and health programs in a packed meeting room March 21, but pushed off a vote on the policy that put the programs in limbo in the first place. After two extensions on the meeting and multiple motions to adjourn, the board at the Odenton Regional Library meeting voted to allow library staff to begin planning the “possibly controversial” programs CEO Skip Auld presented to the board in February. The library system will also participate in the Annapolis City Pride Parade.

Annapolis (Md.) Capital Gazette, Mar. 21
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Welsh government officials threatened to cut National Library of Wales funding in a dispute about a Welsh-language job advertisement, emails show. The library had gone against the government’s wishes when it advertised for a Welsh-speaking chief executive. Partially redacted emails reveal government officials discussed using funding for the National Broadcast Archive as leverage against the move. The Welsh government said matters with the library had been resolved. Apparently Welsh Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport, and Tourism Dafydd Elis-Thomas was adamant there should be no Welsh language requirement in the job description.

BBC News, Mar. 21
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On a typical day in the Spokane (Wash.) Public Library, a custodian could be greeted by blood in bathroom stalls, needles in the toilets, and paper towels spread everywhere. Now library leaders are trying to put a stop to it by installing blue lights in the men’s public restrooms, which are designed to make needle injections more difficult. So far it seems to be working, as evidence of drug use has decreased. The blue lights make it more difficult for drug users to find a vein. Library Director Andrew Chanse said increased drug use in the bathroom is just one symptom of a larger opioid epidemic.

Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review, Mar. 22

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