The Scoop

Libraries as Community Catalysts

Recapping OCLC's Library Futures Conference
By Miguel Figueroa | October 4, 2019
Global Themes and Reflections in LIS Education

A recap of ALISE 2019
By Raymond Pun | October 1, 2019
Dewey Decibel Podcast: Libraries of All Shapes and Sizes

Episode 42 looks at library design and renovation projects
September 30, 2019
Chicago Public Library Goes Fine-Free

CPL is largest library system in US to stop collecting fines
September 30, 2019
Mind Your Business(es)

Top tips for supporting the entrepreneurial spirit | Sponsored
By Anne Ford | September 30, 2019

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2019 Inclusive Internship Initiative Concludes in D.C.

This year's interns and mentors meet at Library of Congress to discuss successes, challenges
By Mary Hirsh | September 24, 2019
Librarians Bridge the Gap: Accessing Public Health Information

Researching the impact of past health policies and practices | Sponsored
By Laurie D. Borman | September 17, 2019
Wrapping Up Digital Book World 2019

ALA and OverDrive discuss the future of libraries
By Stephanie Hlywak | September 13, 2019
ALA Announces #eBooksForAll Campaign

Library leaders rally opposition to Macmillan ebook embargo
By Steve Zalusky | September 12, 2019
The Center of the Community

Author speaks on small-town libraries' impact at ARSL 2019
By Sarah Ostman | September 10, 2019
Book Clubs, the Census, and the Five Es

A roundup of programs at ARSL 2019
By Jamie Santoro | September 9, 2019
Update on Ebook Advocacy

ALA and others to address publishers at Digital Book World
By Alan S. Inouye | September 9, 2019

Latest Library Links

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The four-week ASGCLA web course, “Library Services for People Living with Alzheimer’s,” will cover the basics of Alzheimer’s and related dementias, including the variety of specific needs those living with the disease might bring to a library: medical, legal, financial, ethical, and emotional. The course begins on October 28. The instructor, Timothy J. Dickey, is an adult public service librarian with Columbus (Ohio) Metropolitan Libraries. Register online.

ASCGLA, Oct. 18
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No deal had been reached late October 17 as negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Public Schools continued and thousands of striking teachers marched downtown. Teachers say 1,300 classrooms are overcrowded. They also want more librarians, nurses, and counselors. Mayor Lori Lightfoot did say, in a 2018 Chicago Sun-Times article, that she would “provide each school with basic educational support positions like librarians, nurses, and social workers.” That is still a point of contention now. Andrea Park, teacher at Robert Fulton Elementary, said, “My school does not have a librarian. We have a library with books, but there is no librarian. So guess what. I have to be the librarian.”

WBBM-TV, Chicago, Oct. 17
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A former Florida police officer who fatally shot a 73-year-old retired librarian during a demonstration for the public on August 10, 2016, will not serve jail time. Then-officer Lee Coel was performing in a “shoot/don’t shoot” exercise with the Punta Gorda Police Department when he shot Mary Knowlton, who had volunteered to participate. She was struck by the fatal bullet in front of about three dozen people, including Knowlton’s husband of 55 years, who were at the citizen police academy watching the drill about police use of firearms. The gun was loaded with bullets instead of blanks.

NBC News, Oct. 17
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As the 2020 US Census approaches, Americans overwhelmingly are aware of it, and 84% say they definitely or probably will participate, a new Pew Research Center survey finds. Still, 16% express at least some uncertainty about responding, with higher shares among some demographic groups. Black and Hispanic adults, as well as those with lower income levels, are more likely to say they probably or definitely will not participate in the census, or that they might or might not. Young adults—those ages 18 to 29—are least likely to be on board of the four age groups included in this analysis.

Pew Research Center: Fact Tank, Oct. 18
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The ALA Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table has been working on the criteria and structure for a new Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List. Eligible graphic novels for the 2020 list will include all fiction and nonfiction titles published between September 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020, that appeal to adults age 19 or older. Nominations can be made by all members of the public, including committee members and ALA members, through an online form that will be available in January 2020 on the GNCRT website.

Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table, Oct. 18
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In Michigan, the state levies a fine every time a weigh station determines a truck is overweight. Most of the money goes to a local public library. But penal fines administered by courts—and they go well beyond overloaded semis—have been decreasing in recent years. This means libraries across the state are losing out on thousands of dollars that would pay for books, programs, even utility bills. In FY 2019, Pinckney (Mich.) Community Public Library received $23,787 in penal fine revenue, $8,108 less than it received in 2018. An annual fundraiser held the last few years has helped, Director Hope Siasoco said.

Livingston (Mich.) Daily, Oct. 17
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To shed light on the software that has tilted the world on its axis, the editors of Slate polled computer scientists, software developers, historians, policymakers, and journalists. They were asked to pick: Which pieces of code had a huge influence? Which ones warped our lives? About 75 responded with all sorts of ideas, and Slate has selected 36. It’s not a comprehensive list—it couldn’t be, given the massive welter of influential code that’s been written. Like all lists, it’s meant to provoke thought—to help us ponder anew how code undergirds our lives and how decisions made by programmers ripple into the future.

Slate, Oct. 14