Page 841 | American Libraries Magazine

APA Success Relies Upon Certification Program

January 21, 2010

ALA–Allied Professional Association Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels told members of the ALA-APA governing Council during the Midwinter Meeting that success of the financially struggling organization lies within its Library Support Staff Certification Program, set to begin accepting applications January 25. >Fiels said there are about 150,000 professional librarians working in libraries in the United … Continue reading APA Success Relies Upon Certification Program →

Best of Midwinter Meeting 2010

Rachel Yoke | January 21, 2010

ALA's Midwinter Meeting 2010 gave conference attendees a chance to socialize while attending events and gathering information. The meeting contained speakers, receptions, and signings, as well as time for relaxation and fun. This essay brings together the best of the photos from the Day In the Life essays, in attempt to tell the complete story … Continue reading Best of Midwinter Meeting 2010 →

10 Reasons Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library

By Mark Y. Herring | January 20, 2010

Read the updated version of this article. Reading, said the great English essayist Matthew Arnold, “is culture.” Given the condition of reading test scores among school children nationwide, it isn’t surprising to find both our nation and our culture in trouble. Further, the rush to internetize all schools, particularly K–12, adds to our downward spiral. … Continue reading 10 Reasons Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library →

Treasurer Candidates Forum, Closing Statements

January 20, 2010

Closing statements by American Library Association Presidential Candidates James Neal and Alan Kornblau at the Presidential and Treasurer Candidates Forum January 16, 2010. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.

Presidential Candidates Forum, Closing Statements

January 20, 2010

Closing statements by American Library Association Presidential Candidates Sara Kelly Johns and Molly Raphael at the Presidential and Treasurer Candidates Forum January 16, 2010. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.

Presidential Candidates Forum, Question 4: Work with Federal Offices

January 20, 2010

American Library Association Presidential Candidates Sara Kelly Johns and Molly Raphael answer the second question of the ALA Presidential and Treasurer Candidates Forum on their work with federal offices. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.

Treasurer Candidates Forum, Question 3: Support of Student Members

January 20, 2010

American Library Association Treasurer Candidates Alan Kornblau and James Neal answer the second question of the ALA Presidential and Treasurer Candidates Forum on their support of student members. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.

Presidential Candidates Forum, Question 3: Support of Student Members

January 19, 2010

American Library Association Presidential Candidates Molly Raphael and Sara Kelly Johns answer the third question of the ALA Presidential and Treasurer Candidates Forum on their support of student members. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.

Treasurer Candidates Forum, Question 2: Commitment to ALA-APA

January 19, 2010

American Library Association Treasurer Candidates James Neal and Alan Kornblau answer the second question of the ALA Presidential and Treasurer Candidates Forum on their commitment to ALA-APA. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.

Turock Appeals for Spectrum Funds; Donates $100,000 to Presidential Initiative

January 19, 2010

ALA past president Betty Turock, in her role as chair of the Spectrum Presidential Initiative, made a special appeal to the Association’s governing Council asking divisions, affiliates, and members to help reach a $1 million goal. Turock has provided a gift of $100,000 to the program on behalf of the Turock family. The gift will … Continue reading Turock Appeals for Spectrum Funds; Donates $100,000 to Presidential Initiative →

Presidential Candidates Forum, Question 2: Commitment to ALA-APA

January 19, 2010

American Library Association Presidential Candidates Sara Kelly Johns and Molly Raphael answer the second question of the ALA Presidential and Treasurer Candidates Forum on their commitment to ALA-APA. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.

Council Tackles the Association’s Business in Record Time

January 19, 2010

ALA’s governing Council ended two of its three Midwinter Meeting sessions early in dealing with the Association’s business and also received good news about conference attendance in Boston. A total of 11,095 people attended Midwinter—8,526 registrants and 2,559 exhibitors representing 432 companies. That compares with attendance of 10,220 from the 2009 Midwinter Meeting in Denver. … Continue reading Council Tackles the Association’s Business in Record Time →

Latest Library Links

9h

Jennifer A. Keach, Jenne M. Klotz, and Galen J. Talis write: “Library leaders at all levels are well-placed to create opportunities for joy in their organizations and to model how to do so with nuance and balance. Toward that end, we explored the multidisciplinary literature and compiled an annotated bibliography for leaders who wish to support joy within groups, organizational change agents who want to create equitable conditions for joy in the workplace, and readers seeking to develop their personal practice of joy. We provide a guide exploring five themes: defining joy, finding individual joy, work and organizational joy, empowering change with joy, and joy-adjacent emotions.”

Library Leadership and Management, June 30
11h

David Vickers Loertscher and Michelle Young write: “This tutorial introduces school librarians to the use of data visualization tools for documenting and communicating their impact on teaching and learning. By leveraging accessible platforms like Google Forms and Google Sheets, the authors demonstrate how librarians can build dashboards and real-time visual reports to showcase co-teaching, instructional collaboration, and student engagement. The tutorial features real-world examples, highlights common data sources already available to librarians, and argues that dynamic visual storytelling is a powerful alternative to traditional library statistics.”

Learning Hub, June 25
14h

Robin Camille Davis writes: “It wasn’t until seven years into my career as a user experience librarian that I realized I’d been accidentally excluding a sizable segment of users from my user research. Interviews, surveys, and usability studies favor people who are gifted at oral and written communication. What about people who are more gifted at visual communication? In the context of user research, this participatory design invites participants to design their own response to a given prompt.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, June 30
17h

Stories from communities nationwide come to life on ALA’s new Show Up for Our Libraries interactive site map. The stories illustrate the real-life consequences of potential funding cuts to rural, research, city, state, and university library programs and, in turn, to the hundreds of millions of library users across the country. Services such as summer reading programs, telehealth resources, interlibrary loan, and ebooks have all been affected. ALA collected the stories in conversation with patrons, library professionals, and advocates across the country to better understand the impact of federal funding cuts since the President’s executive order to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, June 25
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On June 27, the Supreme Court upheld the Universal Service Fund, which funds the E-Rate program. ALA issued a statement regarding the ruling that reads, in part, “The ALA applauds the Supreme Court’s 6–3 decision to uphold the Universal Service Fund. The system of telecommunications subsidies administered by the Federal Communications Commission includes the E-Rate program, which provides libraries and schools billions of dollars each year for broadband access and connectivity. More than half of all public libraries apply for funding to subsidize the cost of internet connectivity through E-Rate each year.”

AL: The Scoop, June 27
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On June 27, ALA announced its new executive director, Daniel J. Montgomery. ALA’s announcement read, in part, “Montgomery has worked on behalf of public education and the rights of workers for more than two decades. He was elected to a three-year term as president of the 103,000-member Illinois Federation of Teachers in October 2010 and has been unanimously reelected every three years since then. He will start at ALA on November 10. The steering committee chose Montgomery because of his commitment to public institutions, his comfort working across diverse and difficult political situations, his service to both cities and rural areas, and his experience managing a complex, member-driven organization.”
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Oliver Moody writes: “In the €100 million Oodi library, which looms over central Helsinki like a cruise ship from the future, robots called Tatu, Patu, and Veera trundle back and forth between the shelves and the reading rooms. Against this backdrop, foreign visitors might be surprised to see how many children and teenagers are engaged in an almost unsettlingly archaic activity: reading and borrowing books. In the age of TikTok, Netflix, and Candy Crush, it is not just Finland’s public libraries that are booming, but also demand for their physical paperbacks and hardbacks.”

The Times (London), June 20

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