Dewey Decibel Podcast: Insider’s Guide to Washington, D.C.

Episode 39 looks at things to do during the 2019 ALA Annual Conference

June 14, 2019

Dewey Decibel podcast: Insider's Guide to Washington, D.C.

On Thursday, June 20, Washington, D.C., will become the capital of Libraryland as thousands of librarians, library workers, students, scholars, and vendors descend upon the district for the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2019 Annual Conference and Exhibition.

In Episode 39, Dewey Decibel explores where to eat and see live music during Annual. First, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski speaks with Meredith Pratt, author of Frommer’s EasyGuide to Washington, D.C. 2020 and the Annual Conference dining guide featured in American Libraries’ June issue, about the best places to dine in the district. Next, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks with Maggie Gilmore, librarian at D.C. Public Library (DCPL), and Bobbie Dougherty, manager of DCPL’s Northwest One branch, about DCPL’s Punk Archive and their favorite places to see live music.

For more must-see events and speakers at the 2019 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition, check out the conference preview in American Libraries’ June issue.

If you have feedback for the Dewey Decibel team, email deweydecibel@ala.org. Tell us what you like, what you don’t like, or what you’d like to see us cover. Follow us on Twitter and leave us a review on iTunes.

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The American Library Association's 2019 Annual Conference and Exhibition will be held in Washington, D.C., June 20–25. Photo: ©Tono Balaguer/Adobe Stock

2019 Annual Conference Preview

Washington, D.C. | June 20–25, 2019

A Culinary Capital

Dining in D.C. during Annual Conference

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31m

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Time: Made By History, Nov. 13
4h

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
1d

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.”

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2d

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.”

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2d

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3d

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