Page 846 – American Libraries Magazine

IFLA Opening Session Spotlights Italian Art, Theater, History

August 23, 2009

Mauro Guerrini, president of the Italian Library Association, was the first to welcome some 3,000 delegates from 136 countries to Milan for the August 23 opening session of the five-day World Library and Information Congress. Themed "Libraries Create Futures: Building on Cultural Heritage," the conference is the 75th in IFLA's 82-year history and the first … Continue reading IFLA Opening Session Spotlights Italian Art, Theater, History →

Americans Kick Off IFLA in Milan with Caucus

August 22, 2009

The five-day 75th IFLA General Conference and Assembly in Milan, Italy, began for most delegates on Saturday, August 23, with a caucus. These dozen annual one-hour pep rallies, bewildering to beginners who don't know quite what to expect from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, are designed to update attendees on issues specific … Continue reading Americans Kick Off IFLA in Milan with Caucus →

Deadline Looms for Broadband Grant Applications

August 3, 2009

The ALA Washington Office released its final push today to remind librarians that August 14 is the deadline for the first-round of Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grants. It will hold the third in a series of webinars Wednesday, which will focus on the fundamentals of the application process. Libraries serve as broadband access anchor institutions across the country … Continue reading Deadline Looms for Broadband Grant Applications →

2009 ALA Annual Conference Overview

July 28, 2009

Our grand overview of the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, including sights and sounds from the ALSC Charlemae Rollins President’s Program, Laurie Halse Anderson, the Bookcart Drill Team World Championships, the Exhibit Hall, the ALA Presidential Inauguration, Cokie Roberts, and more. More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.

Fifth Annual Bookcart Drill Team World Championships

July 28, 2009

A photo essay from the Bookcart Drill Team World Championships, held at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, set to “Ride of the Valkyries,” the winning team’s music (available under public domain Creative Commons license via http://www.archive.org/details/EDIS-SRP-0197-06). More ALA videos available at alfocus.ala.org.

Annual Videopalooza

July 28, 2009

Just wanted to offer an alert that this year's crop of videos from Annual Conference—twelve of them in total—are now posted on AL Focus. Of course, you're here, and the videos can easily be put here as well, so… 2009 ALA Annual Conference OverviewChristie Hefner InterviewCokie Roberts InterviewWanda Urbanska InterviewWanda Urbanska at the 2009 ALA … Continue reading Annual Videopalooza →

Paula Poundstone at Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!

July 27, 2009

AL Focus visited ALTAFF Spokesperson Paula Poundstone July 9 before a taping of National Public Radio’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! attended by 500 librarians. The conversation covered Poundstone’s role as ALTAFF spokesperson, her kids’ reading habits, The Three Stooges, the dreaded acronym game, and the horrors of math. Transcript to come.

Christie Hefner Interview

July 27, 2009

Before her Opening General Session speech at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference, American Libraries spoke with former Playboy Enterprises CEO Christie Hefner about her message to librarians, her memories of Judith Krug and the important First Amendment battles they fought, and what helped her to succeed in what some would call a man’s job. Transcript … Continue reading Christie Hefner Interview →

Tracy Kidder Interview

July 27, 2009

AL Focus catches up with author Tracy Kidder before his Auditorium Speaker Series presentation at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference. Kidder discusses his new book, Strength in What Remains, as well as his ideal vision for libraries–and you will want to hear what he calls libraries and librarians. Transcript to come

Cokie Roberts Interview

July 27, 2009

Before her PLA President’s Program speech at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference, journalist Cokie Roberts spoke with AL Focus about the new revised and expanded edition of her book We Are Our Mother’s Daughters, as well as the state of libraries and the future of journalism. Transcript to come.

The Download Dilemma

By D.J. Hoek | July 27, 2009

A little over a year ago, I received an e-mail from Cantaloupe Music announcing the release of a new live recording of Brian Eno’s Music for Airports, available solely as a download-only digital file through iTunes and the label’s website (Cantaloupe CA21045). At Northwestern University we typically buy most CDs released by Cantaloupe, so I … Continue reading The Download Dilemma →

Chicago Crowd a Record

By Leonard Kniffel | July 27, 2009

We expect to close the revenue/expense gap in ’09,” said James Neal, chair of ALA’s Budget Analysis and Review Committee, “but the conference revenue picture will be critical.” The Annual Conference saw an attendance bump-up in Chicago, he noted today at the final meeting of the ALA Executive Board, but the final numbers will tell. … Continue reading Chicago Crowd a Record →

Latest Library Links

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Cindy Hohl writes: “As we look ahead to meet the information needs of our membership, it is important that we stand united to remember why we work in this trusted profession. ALA has some big goals ahead with the hiring of the next ALA executive director, celebrating the Association’s 150th anniversary, creating a strategic plan to elevate the role of ALA throughout the field, and ensuring that we have strong member leadership to offer guidance and support. Our core values help us see that what one holds sacred is a touchstone in advancing this work as we strive to serve everyone in #AGoodWay together.”

American Libraries column, July/Aug.
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Trey Walk writes: “Over the past few years, new policies and laws in Florida have stopped teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity, while also repressing any honest efforts to grapple with systemic racism and slavery. [But] many people have taken a stand against these prejudiced policies, including in Florida. Their goal: to build a brighter future for the state. We hope today’s leaders fighting censorship in Florida can offer a blueprint to people across the US to further truly free and just education.”

Human Rights Watch, July 18
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Angela Dennis writes: “Young scholars, parents, and staff from the East Tennessee Freedom Schools program, a local summer enrichment program, marched in downtown Knoxville July 17 to protest literary censorship in public schools and libraries across the country. Recent legislation in Tennessee has fueled concerns about literary censorship. In May, Gov. Bill Lee signed into law an expansion of the Age-Appropriate Materials Act. Opponents fear the new law might exclude the perspectives of marginalized groups in educational materials. The Knox County Schools Board recently revised its library policy to align with the new state law, further fueling debate.”

Knoxville News Sentinel, July 18
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Daniel Pfeiffer writes: “Information literacy has become a watchword for librarians—not merely a pedagogical aim but a moral obligation in a digital and political landscape riddled with misinformation. The clear necessity of information literacy in society belies a more difficult question: Should librarians be the ones to take on the full weight of this mantle?” Pfeiffer interviewed Amber Willenborg and Robert Detmering, librarians at the University of Louisville in Kentucky and authors of a new paper examining this question through interviews with 20 academic librarians.

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, July 17
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Jennifer Nardine writes: “I recently finished a second master’s degree, in counseling, from Virginia Tech’s School of Education (in Blacksburg). Shortly after graduating, I was startled when a colleague asked, ‘How are you going to show that [mental health] counseling is related to your work?’ Her implication: even though I’d put in the work to earn the degree, it wouldn’t serve me when it came time to apply for promotion. My response: It’s obvious to me that education, librarianship, and counseling are related.”

ACRLog, July 18
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Willem Marx writes: “Sometimes it’s not about catching up on the newest news or the hottest debut. Sometimes it’s about taking a bath with a cup of tea on a Sunday morning and listening to famous writers laugh about their MFA students while going nuts about their favorite short story writers. Sometimes it’s about taking a plane across the Atlantic just to visit a bookstore and pretend it’s still 1922 and Ulysses is all the rage. The book life is about a lot of things and these podcasts cover every single one.”

Electric Literature, July 19
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Stephanie Buffamonte writes: “Altamonte Springs (Fla.) residents came together to save their local library. In an Altamonte Springs City Commission meeting July 18, commissioners voted to keep the city’s local library after the city previously announced it would close. The city held a special meeting to discuss the library shutting down, and residents came out in droves. Most argued to commissioners that the library should not shut down and is vital to the city.” Commissioners voted at the meeting to raise the city’s property tax rate from 3.01 mills to 4 mills.

WRBW-TV (Orlando), July 19; WESH-TV (Orlando), July 9; Orlando Sentinel, July 19

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