Launching at your computer: American Libraries Live!

October 18, 2012

American Libraries knows how essential it is to stay up to date on new developments in our industry. That is why we have created AL Live, a free streaming video broadcast that you can view from your home, library or on-the-go. The program allows you to watch broadcasts in real time and interact with our hosts via a live chat giving you immediate answers to all of your pressing questions.
This first of its kind program will include experts like Jason Griffey, author of Mobile Technologies and Libraries in The Tech Set and TechSource columnist, and Warren Graham, author of Black Belt Librarian. Look to them to learn more about compelling topics, including how to get an ideal library job, the latest innovations in mobile services, and what the real deal is for libraries and ebooks.
The first program—on Friday, November 16, at 1 p.m. Central time—features ALA TechSource author Jason Griffey talking about libraries in the near future in “Library 2017: Tech at Warp Speed.” Topics for other shows include strategies for landing your ideal library job, digging into databases, and what’s the real deal about ebooks for libraries. It’s easy to view the programs—just go to www.AmericanLibrariesLive.org, add your email for future reminders, and just click on the play button for the following events:
• November 16: Library 2017: Tech at Warp Speed
• January 10: Landing Your Ideal Library Job
• February 14: Mobile Services: The Library in Your Pocket
• March 14: Library Safety and Security
• April 11: The Present and Future of Ebooks
• May 9: Library Learning Goes Online
• June 6: New Technologies in Library Equipment
• July 30: Discovery Services: The Future of Library Systems
• September 12: Digging into New Databases

AL Live is a personal way to get to the heart of the real issues in our industry. The introduction of real-time technology means that it is like having your own expert on-hand to solve problems from anywhere in the world.

2d

Genevieve Trainor writes: “The Guinness World Record holder for Most Prolific Book Thief is Ottumwa (Iowa’s) Stephen Blumberg. The 23,600 volumes he accumulated between the 1970s and his arrest in March of 1990 were all stashed in his 17-room home. Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, got involved with Blumberg as part of the FBI’s efforts to return the stolen manuscripts and rare books to their museums and libraries. Referred to as the Omaha Project, the information science proving ground involved four weeks, 44 catalogers and reference librarians and 600 volunteer hours to determine who might be the rightful owners.”

Little Village (Dubuque, Iowa), Dec. 4
2d

Casey Newton writes: “At the moment, no one knows for sure whether the large language models that are now under development will achieve superintelligence and transform the world. And in that uncertainty, two primary camps of criticism have emerged. The first camp, which I associate with the external critics, holds that artificial intelligence (AI) is fake and sucks. The second camp, which I associate more with the internal critics, believes that AI is real and dangerous. Today I want to lay out why I believe AI is real and dangerous.”

Platformer, Dec. 5
3d

Latia Ward writes: “One way to keep current with what students think of the library and its services is through Student Library Advisory Committee meetings. These meetings are a way to gather feedback and reinforce the library as a welcoming place. How do librarians create a welcoming environment within Student Library Advisory Committee meetings? Librarians create a welcoming environment through community, purpose, and dedicated space.” Also see part 1 of this blog post.

RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Nov. 13, Dec. 5
3d

Eleanor Hecks writes: “Few things are as frustrating to a user as when a site won’t respond. Unfortunately, it’s also an all-too-common scenario. Graceful degradation is a design approach that ensures the basics of a website will still function even if specific individual parts of it stop working. The approach removes single points of failure: just because one thing stops working doesn’t mean the system as a whole fails. A site following this principle fails in pieces instead of all at once, so the most important features remain available when some components encounter an error.”

Smashing Magazine, Dec. 6
4d

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
4d

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
5d

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