The Scoop

The Long and Short of Trombone Shorty

Jazz musician entertains at the Wrap Up/Rev Up celebration
By Sanhita SinhaRoy | February 2, 2015
ALA Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.

Professor describes civil rights leader as 'a special man'
by George Eberhart | February 2, 2015
Dark Fantasy and Sci-Fi Pop

Authors relish their genre, while debating its relationship to fantasy as a whole
by Phil Morehart | February 2, 2015
ALA Council holds second session at Midwinter

Group agrees to revise accreditation standards for library schools
by Mariam Pera | February 2, 2015
How to Foresee The Futures: Learning with AAM’s Center for the Future of Museums

Plan for possibilities, rather than a specific future.
February 2, 2015

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2015 Youth Media Award Winners

The top books, video, and audiobooks for children and young adults
February 2, 2015
Creating a Dialogue

Controversial author says libraries inspired her to question authority
by Mariam Pera | February 2, 2015
Behind the Scenes at 2015 YMAs

See the moments when 2015 Youth Media Award-winning authors learn the news
February 2, 2015
Ayaan Hirsi Ali reads from her book “Infidel”

Bestseller recounts author's Muslim childhood
February 2, 2015
Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Islamic Reform

'Infidel' author says Muslims want wholesale change
February 2, 2015
LeVar Burton Delights

The actor and Reading Rainbow host discusses his important influences
By Sanhita SinhaRoy | February 2, 2015
Top Ten (plus!) Tweets – Sunday (Day 3)

LeVar Burton and winter weather dominate the Sunday #alamw15 Twitterverse
by Julie Cai | February 2, 2015

Latest Library Links

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Michael Kan writes: “Are you still using ‘chocolate,’ ‘naruto,’ or ‘monkey’ for your passwords? You really need to stop. All three are among the most commonly used passwords, putting your accounts at risk of hacking, according to new data from NordPass. The password manager’s sixth annual list of the top 200 most commonly used passwords is pulled from a 2.5TB dataset of stolen logins taken from various sources.” ZDNet offers tips for creating stronger passwords and improved security measures.

PC Mag, Nov. 14; NordPass, Nov. 13; ZDNet, Nov. 14
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John Sharp writes: “Athens and Fairhope are two fast-growing cities in the fastest-growing areas of Alabama, and there is no mistaking their conservative bona fides. But according to early statistics about library card applications, their libraries appear to be bucking a trend embraced by conservative-leaning groups and the Alabama GOP: Their patrons appear to be trusting the libraries. More than 60% of parents at Fairhope Public Library and Athens-Limestone County Public Library have signed off on all-access passes for their children with no restrictions on library usage.”

AL.com, Nov. 17
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Katie Gaddini writes: “Book bans may have mushroomed in the Trump era of reactionary politics, but they have a well-established history in America. One woman in particular, Norma Gabler, redefined the current strategy and logic behind modern book bans. Called ‘education’s public enemy number one,’ by critics in 1980, Gabler led the crusade against the so-called secular trend in school textbooks throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Even though Norma and her husband Mel worked together, Norma was the public face of their efforts for decades.”

Time: Made By History, Nov. 13
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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
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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.”

NoveList, Oct. 22
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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.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Nov. 13