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The Scoop

Q & A with Kareem

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar responds to audience questions at the ALA Midwinter Meeting President's Program, January 13, 2008, speaking about his greatest basketball memory, the reason he changed his name, how to get reluctant youth to read, his new book On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance, and more. More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
February 4, 2008
YALSA Gaming Extravaganza

Librarians at the Young Adult Library Services Association Gaming Extravaganza, held January 11 at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, share how they're developing gaming in their libraries and the importance of creating a "safe place" youth, while librarian/gamer/author Eli Neiburger runs a live tournament and explains the secret of getting 115 boys to come to his library on a Friday night. More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
January 31, 2008
Youth Media Awards 2008

In just 60 seconds of images and sound, AL Focus Editor Dan Kraus conveys his impressions of the Youth Media Awards 2008. For a full list of the winners, go to www.ala.org/yma08. More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
January 24, 2008
Dancing with the ALA Stars

Highlights from the "Dancing with the ALA Stars" contest at the 2007 ALA staff Winter Event.
January 23, 2008
FBI Whistleblower Answers Questions

Despite a warning from his superiors, FBI Special Agent Bassem Youssef answered questions at a January 12 session of the ALA Midwinter Meeting. In 2002, Youssef blew the whistle to the director of the FBI and Congress that discriminatory practices within the Bureau were undermining the effectiveness of America's counterterrorism efforts. In this video, Youssef and his attorney discuss the case, talk about the abuse of National Security Letters following the passage of the Patriot Act, and speak of Abu Ghraib as an example of the U.S. failure to understand Middle Eastern culture.
January 22, 2008

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Author Forum – Midwinter 2008

Best-selling historical novelists Mary Doria Russell (Dreamers of the Day) and Geraldine Brooks (People of the Book) talk about "book pusher" librarians, book lust, and where they stand on e-book readers like the new Amazon Kindle at the January 11 Exhibits Round Table Author Forum at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
January 15, 2008
Booklist Editors Read for Fun 2007

The 2007 Editors' Choice issue of Booklist also includes "Reading for Fun," a roundup of each editor's favorite personal reading choice of the year. In this video, seven of the editors get personal about unwieldy titles, Russian poetry, way-too-heavy hardbacks, and more. Check out more ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.
January 8, 2008
Welcome to Anaheim – ALA Annual Conference 2008 Preview

Thinking about attending ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California? After this rollercoaster ride of a preview (literally), you won't be able to resist. Several Orange County librarians tell us about the obvious draws (Disneyland, shopping, the beaches) and some attractions you might not know about - including a beautiful library or two. Also covered: your airport options, public transportation and hotel availability, and some adventurous daytrips. We'll see you in Anaheim June 26-July 2, 2008! More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
November 29, 2007
A Conversation with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Basketball legend and author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the keynote speaker at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, January 11-16, and he sits down for a conversation about growing up with libraries, his committment to literacy and learning, and how books help young readers understand both past and present turmoil. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.
November 27, 2007
AASL National Conference 2007

In this snapshot from the 13th American Association of School Librarians National Conference in Reno, Nevada, keynote speaker Dan Pink talks about his subversive high school librarian, keynote speaker Omar Wasow discusses how school libraries can compete in the age of Google, AASL President Sara Kelly Johns talks about the new AASL standards, and we are introduced to a project called "Sheet Happens." More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
November 14, 2007
After the Fire

The October 2007 fires in southern California burned hundreds of thousands of acres and destroyed thousands of buildings, and libraries were among those threatened. Helen Fried of the Orange County Public Library and Margaret Todd of the County of Los Angeles Public Library spoke to AL Focus on October 26, as the fires were still raging.
November 6, 2007
Rod Hersberger & Marilyn Hinshaw interview

ALA Treasurer Rod Hersberger and Marilyn Hinshaw, Chair of the Budget Analysis and Review Committee (BARC), sit down for a chat with Director of Membership Development John Chrastka. Hersberger offers a glimpse of his plans for the Treasurer's Online Forum and talks about brining ALA financial information to the members in a timely fashion, while Hinshaw speaks on the complexities and responsibilities of BARC. More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
October 8, 2007

Latest Library Links

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An Arizona antique dealer has discovered a long-overdue item from the Los Angeles Public Library, and it’s way too big to fit through the book-return slot. A bronze sculpture by US artist Lee Lawrie (best known for his free-standing Atlas in front of New York City’s Rockefeller Center) has turned up at Floyd Lillard’s antique shop in Bisbee, 50 years after it went missing from the iconic library in downtown L.A. Lillard said he plans to return the artwork to the library, just as soon as officials there decide how to transport the roughly 250-pound curved panel. He bought the sculpture about 10 years ago from a woman in Sierra Vista.

Tucson Arizona Daily Star, Sept. 20
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Rachel Kramer Bussel writes: “In April, librarian Jennifer Rothschild tweeted about the disparity between ebook and print prices publishers charge libraries vs. the public, garnering over 4,000 likes for a Tweet that read ‘So here’s the thing—I am worried that publishing is killing libraries, and that will, in turn, kill publishing,’ the first in a thread exploring the issue. The thread became so popular that Rothschild, collection engagement librarian for Arlington (Va.) Public Library, has continued them, expanding from discussing publishers’ library ebook prices to comparing prices for specific books on national bestseller lists, and noting when publishers change their terms.”

Forbes, Sept. 20
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Perhaps the largest Little Free Library in Mississippi is in Mize. It is a full-size reproduction of the TARDIS—Time and Relative Dimension in Space—a well-known device in the Doctor Who TV series that combines travel across time and space. The TARDIS is “much bigger on the inside” and full of adventure and mystery, so was an appropriate and engaging vehicle for a Little Free Library, said Dick Ford, who built most of the structure and was instrumental in getting it located outside the R. T. Prince Memorial Library in Mize. However, it is not the only TARDIS Little Free Library, as there are at least 37 others.

Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, Sept. 17
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Caroline Haskins writes: “One day in early September, Archivist Tony Cucchiara gave me a tour of the massive archival system for Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, accounting for all 570,000 burials. Green-Wood has millions of pages of burial orders, lot information, and family information spread across three buildings. The information in these files is useful to historians studying disease, to genealogists, to descendants of the deceased, and to New York history generally. However, climate change poses threats to archives around the country. In a worst-case scenario, climate change could mean that irreplaceable records documenting the course of human history are lost forever.”

Vice, Sept. 17
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A prolific book thief has been jailed for 25 months after he stole more than 7,000 books from three universities in Edinburgh, Scotland, before selling them online. Darren Barr is said to have made more than £30,000 by selling the textbooks through the online book markets WeBuyBooks, Ziffit, and Zapper. During an 11-month crime spree from October 2017, Barr is believed to have stolen thousands of textbooks from Napier University and hundreds more from Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities. The books included sought-after texts on nursing, business studies, human resources, criminology, and marketing.

The Guardian (UK), Sept. 18
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Joel Hruska writes: “Speeding up a slow PC can be a challenge, particularly when dealing with older hardware that may be on the cusp of needing an upgrade or replacement anyway. Sometimes, a system simply needs a fresh OS install or driver update to perform significantly better. In other cases, upgrade or wholesale replacement are necessary. This article is designed to help you troubleshoot a slow machine. Specifically, it walks through the process of determining whether your problem is more likely to be caused by software, hardware, or simply the age of the machine.”

ExtremeTech, Sept. 20
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Erin Nguyen writes: “Many public libraries can identify with the challenge of providing weekend programming to patrons. We know that weekends are an ideal time to provide programs for patrons who are unable to attend programming during weekday storytime sessions, yet we are often so leanly staffed on the weekends that adding the responsibility of presenting programs to our staff workload is next to impossible. Through grant funding and partnerships with a wide range of talented presenters, my library system is now able to provide Saturday family programming through our Saturday Stories and Songs series in order to meet this critical need.”

ALSC Blog, Sept. 20

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