Many Voices, Many Nations

Author and filmmaker Sherman Alexie headlined the Many Voices, Many Nations program June 27 at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, following nine other speakers of Native American origin. This recap of the event showcases the literature, poetry, song, and extemporaneous humor delivered by Alexie, as well as master of ceremonies Jose A. Aponte from the San Diego County Library, Francisco X. Alarcon, Arigon Starr, Gordon Johnson, Kristy Orona-Ramirez, ALA President Loriene Roy, Tim Tingle, Jorge Tetl Argueta, Janice Gould, and Erika T. Wurth.

July 28, 2008

Author and filmmaker Sherman Alexie headlined the Many Voices, Many Nations program June 27 at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, following nine other speakers of Native American origin. This recap of the event showcases the literature, poetry, song, and extemporaneous humor delivered by Alexie, as well as master of ceremonies Jose A. Aponte from the San Diego County Library, Francisco X. Alarcon, Arigon Starr, Gordon Johnson, Kristy Orona-Ramirez, ALA President Loriene Roy, Tim Tingle, Jorge Tetl Argueta, Janice Gould, and Erika T. Wurth. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.

On July 2, 2008, ALA Council adopted a resolution to recognize the 40 years of service of Lois Ann Gregory-Wood. Beginning in ALA's distribution office October 11, 1968, Gregory-Wood went on to serve in a variety of positions leading up to her current role as Council Secretariat. The Council congratulated her on her outstanding work ethic, customer service, and promotion of ALA's missions. A photo montage of the celebration is available in this short video. More videos at alfocus.ala.org.

IFLA 2008 – Quebec

The 2008 International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) was held August 10-14 in Quebec, Canada, a city celebrating its 400th anniversary. As this video illustrates, library professionals celebrated as well, taking in various cultural events (including a rendition of the "Titanic" theme song played on a saw), honoring Ismael Serageldin of Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, presenting the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's 2008 Access to Learning Award, and applauding the announcement of the 2011 IFLA location. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.”

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Karen O’Grady writes: “I am the embedded librarian for the Hahn School of Nursing at the University of San Diego. I am surrounded by nursing faculty, staff, and students rather than by librarians. This has proven to be an incredible gamechanger for the way I see things. Every student in my school knows me by name. I am often stopped in the hallway to answer questions. Every correct answer I give increases my authority and builds trust. Through these casual mini-lessons, this foreign animal called ‘librarian’ slowly becomes an approachable, knowledgeable person.”

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ALA has selected 46 participants for its 2025 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). The EL program allows library staff and information workers to participate in project planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers. The group will take part in a day-long session during the 2025 LibLearnX conference in Phoenix this January and work for six months, culminating in a poster session at ALA’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia in June, where they will highlight results of their project planning work.

ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment, Dec. 4

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Many Voices, Many Nations

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Honoring Lois Ann Gregory-Wood

IFLA 2008 – Quebec