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The Scoop

It Begins
October 9, 2008
Welcome to Inside Scoop
October 9, 2008
LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund

The LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund supports librarians who are facing financial difficulty due to discrimination or because they have taken a stand in support of intellectual freedom. In this video, trustees describe the fund, and why it's needed. More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
October 7, 2008
Why Not To Ban Books

Author Steven Chbosky shares a letter he received from a reader of his young adult novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Alternately funny and moving, it demonstrates the effect that a book can have on a life--even (and especially) a book that some would have removed from library shelves. Filmed at ALA's Banned Books Read-Out in Chicago September 27, 2008. More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
October 2, 2008
2008 Reforma National Conference: Promoting Library Services to Latinos and Spanish-Speakers

This overview of the Reforma National Conference, held September 18-21 in El Paso, Texas, features musicians at the exhibit hall opening, conversations with Author Luncheon speaker Diana Washington Valdez and former ALA President Carol Brey-Casiano, a tour of the Biblioteca de la Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad in Juarez, Mexico, and music and dance under the stars at the Awards Banquet. More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
October 1, 2008

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Banned Books Week: I’d Like to Find *BLEEP*

A library patron needs some books. Famous, award-winning, acclaimed books. Seems simple enough. And yet... Video produced in recognition of Banned Books Week, September 27-October 4, 2008, and in cooperation with ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. More ALA Videos available at alfocus.ala.org.
September 22, 2008
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.
August 19, 2008
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
Honoring Lois Ann Gregory-Wood

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.
July 23, 2008
King of Conference

David Lee King of the Topeka and Shawnee County (Kans.) Public Library offers a first-person travelogue of his experience at ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California. In between searching for swag in the exhibit hall and crashing the Open Gaming Night and OCLC Blogger's Salon, he takes a peek at Council, gets lost while traveling to a session, and shows us what geeks do at Disneyland. More videos at alfocus.ala.org.
July 23, 2008
Jamie Lee Curtis

Actor and author Jamie Lee Curtis entertains an audience of children and parents June 30 at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California. After warming up the crowd with her baby impersonation, Curtis reads from her new book "Big Words for Little People." Afterwards, she explains how she found the idea for her first book, and then speculates on why celebrities are often compelled to write children's books. More videos at alfocus.ala.org.
July 23, 2008
Booklist Adult Books Readers’ Forum: the Post-9/11 Novel

Booklist Senior Editor Keir Graff (My Fellow Americans) leads a panel of distinguished authors discussing the burgeoning genre of post-9/11 literature June 29 at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California. Carolyn See (Golden Days) speaks about conflating personal and global catastrophe, Janette Turner Hospital (Due Preparations for the Plague) talks about her visit to Ground Zero and how it influenced her book, and Ellen Gilchrist (A Dangerous Age) expresses her certainty that someone will one day write the definitive 9/11 book. More videos at alfocus.ala.org.
July 23, 2008

Latest Library Links

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Karin Greenberg writes: “There’s something about reciting a memorized poem that induces calm and shuts out the rest of the world for a few seconds. During National Poetry Month in April, I focused on this often forgotten activity. After putting together a display of poems by various poets, I posted them in a Canvas announcement titled ‘April Poetry Challenge.’ Most students who come into the library during lunch or free periods want to relax or do work. With the lure of a gift card, though, I got dozens of participants.”

Knowledge Quest, May 13
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Becky Spratford writes: “We are less than two weeks away from Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer. Summer Reading lists will start coming fast and furious, so best to get ready now. We know that some lists [such as those from Publishers Weekly] are meant to generate excitement about books that are coming soon, but the average reader does not understand that they are not out yet. If they see a book on a list, they expect you to have it. We need to be ready in a couple of key ways.”

RA For All, May 14
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Lisa Zhuang writes: “As a second-generation daughter of immigrants, I am often saddened by the stories that will be forever lost between my mother and me. Yet, as I grow as a reader and writer, I see the potential between the cracks: a chance to insert myself into my culture’s history. It is inevitable that myth will mutate with time. The right author will make the best of it. Below are eight works of fiction based on Asian folklore.”

Electric Lit, May 8
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Kara Arundel writes: “A newly issued federal rule to ensure web content and mobile apps are accessible for people with disabilities will require public K–12 and higher education institutions to do a thorough inventory of their digital materials to make sure they are in compliance, accessibility experts said. The update to regulations for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, published April 24 by the US Department of Justice, calls for all state and local governments to verify that their web content—including mobile apps and social media postings—is accessible for those with vision, hearing, cognitive and manual dexterity disabilities.”

K–12 Dive, May 6
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Andrew Albanese writes: “Amid a three-year nationwide surge in book bans, 2024 began on a hopeful note for freedom-to-read advocates, with legal victories in book-banning lawsuits in Iowa, Florida, and Texas. But after some early successes, several cases are poised to enter a critical next phase. As the wheels of justice grind on, Publishers Weekly rounded up the status of some of the more closely watched book-banning suits.”

Publishers Weekly, May 10
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Tess Vrbin writes: “The Arkansas State Library Board on Friday voted down two motions to withhold state funding from public libraries that board member Jason Rapert put forth in his ongoing opposition to the presence of certain books on library shelves. Rapert reintroduced a motion he proposed at February’s board meeting to suspend funding for libraries suing the state [over the state’s 2023 obscenity law]. He also moved to withhold funds for ‘any library that allows unrestricted access to books or materials that contain sexually explicit, obscene or pornographic materials to minors,’” Both motions failed 6–1.

Arkansas Advocate, May 10, Feb. 9
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Jennifer Matthews and Ane Turner Johnson write: “A focus on digital resources requires careful consideration of library policies by policymakers to ensure that they reflect the university’s public mission and ensure the success of all students. At Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, one such endeavor was to embark on this study to determine if our policies actually reflected the ways in which the student body used the library collection. Through a mixed-methods study, our team discovered that both continuing-generation and first-generation students primarily prefer print books for course materials.”

College & Research Libraries News, May

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