Page 858 | American Libraries Magazine

Denver Bibliophile’s Bedbugs Take a Bite Out of ILL Loans

By Sean Fitzpatrick | September 30, 2009

Denver Public Library has destroyed 31 books and fumigated four areas of its central library after a bedbug infestation caused, ironically, by a patron dedicated to preserving classic literature. The contaminated books, which are rare works that were borrowed from DPL through interlibrary loan, had been checked out by Roger Goffeney, a retired poet and … Continue reading Denver Bibliophile’s Bedbugs Take a Bite Out of ILL Loans →

Executive Director Apprises Staff of Tight Financial Outlook

September 30, 2009

ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels met with staff last week for a frank assessment of the financial outlook for the Association. On everyone’s mind was what the recession means to libraries and how it will affect our work at ALA. Fiels indicated that information on ALA’s year-end performance for 2009 and updated 2010 projections … Continue reading Executive Director Apprises Staff of Tight Financial Outlook →

2009 Banned Books Read-Out

September 29, 2009

Each of the top 10 most challenged books were represented at the 2009 Banned Books Read Out, which kicked off Banned Books Week September 26 at Chicago’s Bughouse Square (across the street from the Newberry Library.) This video features ALA President Camila Alire, authors Cecily von Ziegesar (Gossip Girl) and Lauren Myracle (ttyl), and a … Continue reading 2009 Banned Books Read-Out →

E-readers in Action

By Anne Behler | September 24, 2009

E-books are nothing new, and librarians and library patrons have long struggled with their lack of utility. Reading on a computer screen for long periods of time is not most people's cup of tea and leads to hundreds of pages-long printouts in many a library lab. However, in early 2008, e-books began to make waves … Continue reading E-readers in Action →

The Children We Serve

By Virginia A. Walter | September 23, 2009

In Children and Libraries: Getting It Right (ALA Editions, 2001), I proposed three alternative visions for the children we would be serving as we moved into the 21st century: the original notion of the child reader, an idea that inspired and guided the founders of library service to children; the child of the information age; … Continue reading The Children We Serve →

Killjoy Was Here

By Thomas Washington | September 23, 2009

Recently I listened to a commencement speaker who said, "If faculty members can't offer students some hope and optimism for their future, some path of confident thinking in uncertain times, then we have no right or reason to be around them." I'd prefer offering students a sunnier picture from behind the reference desk, but the … Continue reading Killjoy Was Here →

Pathfinder in a Box

By Meredith Farkas | September 23, 2009

Librarians have been creating internet guides or pathfinders since before the birth of the graphical web. Look at most libraries' websites and you'll find lists of what their librarians consider the most useful and authoritative resources on a variety of academic, work-related, or general-interest topics. If someone wants to zero in on a specific piece … Continue reading Pathfinder in a Box →

What Do You See?

Joseph Janes | September 23, 2009

On what was apparently a slow news day, the front page of the July 29, 2009, New York Times featured YAWA—yet another Wikipedia article—a variation on the enduring theme of “Wikipedia is changing the world; how shocking” (or how wonderful, depending on the mood of the reporter). This one highlighted an exploration of the ethics of … Continue reading What Do You See? →

Building a Digital Branch

By David Lee King | September 23, 2009

Library websites have been around for about 15 years. The list of what has changed in the past 15 years could fill a library. Programming languages have changed. Web browsers have changed. Internet connections have gotten faster, and websites have come to serve a wider variety of functions. Interaction has also changed. Many library websites, … Continue reading Building a Digital Branch →

Banned Books Week: Puppet Book Banners

September 23, 2009

Chad, Rustle, and Mooch, the Crash Pad puppets, misinterpret the meaning of Banned Books Week, trying to throw some books with objectionable content–including Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, The Joy of Cooking, and the phone book–out of the library, until Herb points out the error of their ways. More ALA videos at … Continue reading Banned Books Week: Puppet Book Banners →

From a Distance

By Kenneth E. Hartman | September 22, 2009

As of November 2008, there were 62 ALA-accredited MLS graduate programs offered by 57 U.S. and Canadian institutions of higher education; 50 of these programs either teach their curricula entirely online (see box) or offer a blend of face-to-face and online courses. A study released this spring by the U.S. Department of Education jibes well … Continue reading From a Distance →

Philly Dodges “Doomsday”; Other Pennsylvania Libraries in Limbo

By Beverly Goldberg | September 18, 2009

With less than a day to spare before layoff notices were to be sent to library staff, the Pennsylvania Senate approved a law September 17 that gives Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter the revenue to fund the Free Library of Philadelphia. “This is indeed the legislation that was needed for the City of Philadelphia to avoid … Continue reading Philly Dodges “Doomsday”; Other Pennsylvania Libraries in Limbo →

Latest Library Links

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Angela Hursh writes: “Libraries have great stories to tell. But getting the media to listen isn’t always easy. Here are the top 10 practical tips that Leslie Marinelli, communications manager at Forsyth County (Ga.) Public Library; Ray Holley, communications manager at Sonoma County (Calif.) Library; and I shared [at a recent online panel] for getting your library into the news.”

Super Library Marketing, June 30
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Pranay Parab writes: “I’ve mostly been really happy with my M1 MacBook Air, which I’ve been using for nearly three years now. However, I regret not going for the variant with 16GB of RAM. The newer laptop still occasionally slows down when I open too many browser tabs. Luckily, I did some troubleshooting and fixed the problem, and I’m here to share what I’ve learned with you. So, if Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari or other browsers are slowing down on your computer, try some of these tips to nip that problem in the bud.”

Lifehacker, June 26
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Victoria Cox writes: “LaRue County (Ky.) Board of Education heard both criticism and praise last week when members were asked to remove 14 books from the high school library. Although the vote was split, the board ultimately refused to ban the books, citing the need to uphold the constitutional rights of students” by a 4–1 vote. Books the board considered include The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood; Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi; Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

LaRue County (Ky.) Herald News, June 25
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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
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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
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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
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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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