sipila

August 21, 2015 600 × 395 Rewarding the Past and Looking to the Future

IFLA President Sinikka Sipilä, secretary general of the Finnish Library Association, at the closing session of IFLA’s 2015 World Library and Information Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Jennifer Chapman writes: “Government information continues to be removed or altered; Executive Orders targeting law firms, non-profits, higher education, and other institutions and individuals are chilling speech; and now the dismantling of agencies like the Institute of Museum and Library Services is directly targeting archives and libraries. As librarians we pride ourselves on finding the unfindable, but finding the unfindable is becoming harder or impossible. What do we do? With this post I hope to provide some practical, concrete ways to support the dissemination of knowledge and help prevent the further erosion of information access.”

RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Apr. 16
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Danielle James writes: “In keeping with a lower court ruling, the Michigan Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to ban 14 ‘sexually explicit’ books from Rockford Public Schools’ libraries. The three members of the Court of Appeals’ Third District unanimously affirmed the lower court’s decision, writing that state laws regarding criminal dissemination of harmful content to minors contain ‘no express language providing a right of private action to enforce the statute.’” The ruling also said the plaintiffs “could not prove they were detrimentally affected by the books as non-current students, among other things.”

MLive, Apr. 15
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Free for All: The Public Library, a new documentary “the evolution of public libraries from their revolutionary beginnings to their role today as essential pillars of democracy, education, and community support,” will premiere on Independent Lens on PBS April 29. PBS Books is hosting an in-depth discussion with filmmakers Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulknor, and ALA President Cindy Hohl, on Facebook, YouTube, and the PBS app today, April 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern.

PBS Books
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Rosie Newmark writes: “On January 7, as local officials issued fire warnings for the area, Altadena (Calif.) Library District (ALD) closed early to let staff evacuate. About an hour later, at 6:18 p.m., the Eaton Fire erupted in the nearby Los Angeles County foothills. While many of the buildings and houses surrounding the library were destroyed, Altadena Main Library was not damaged. Still, the Main Library required cleanup from debris and smoke, and the building was without power, water, and internet for weeks. On March 4, ALD’s Main Library reopened its doors.”

AL: The Scoop, Apr. 22, Jan. 22
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ALA’s Games & Gaming Round Table (GameRT) has announced the second cohort of classic titles to be included in its Platinum Play Award Hall of Fame. These titles were selected by GameRT’s Awards Committee based on their historic and ongoing excellence for library use, whether in collections or programs. Classic titles are over 10 years old, and many are evergreen selections whether at home or in a library context. Honorees include Uno, Zork, Ticket to Ride, and others.

ALA Games & Gaming Round Table, Apr. 16
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Applications are now being accepted for two ALA Endowment Trustee positions. All applicants must submit an electronic application, as well as upload a CV and three references. Applications will be reviewed by the current ALA Endowment Trustees, who will make recommendations to the ALA Executive Board, which will make final selections at ALA’s 2025 Annual Conference in Philadelphia. The selected applicants will immediately begin a three-year term, which will expire after the ALA’s 2028 Annual Conference. The deadline is April 30.

ALA Governance Office, Apr. 4
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“Lisa Varga became associate executive director of ALA’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office in Washington, D.C., on April 21. Before joining ALA, she spent 15 years as executive director of the Virginia Library Association. Varga has been an ALA member for 20 years and has served on the ALA Policy Corps, Intellectual Freedom Committee, Intellectual Freedom Summit steering committee, ALA Leadership Institute, and Chapter Relations Committee. She answered our 11 Questions to introduce herself to ALA members.”

AL: The Scoop, Apr. 21

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