Librarian's Library Archives | Page 11 of 11 | American Libraries Magazine

Tomes’ Tome

By Mary Ellen Quinn | April 15, 2010

If books disappear, they’ll have a fitting monument in The Oxford Companion to the Book. The first part of this hefty Companion comprises 48 in-depth essays offering a tour of the book’s evolution from Sumerian clay tokens to e-books. In between are discussions of printing, paper, illustration, bookbinding, children’s books, and other topics, as well … Continue reading Tomes’ Tome →

Taking Control of Technology

By Mary Ellen Quinn | April 9, 2010

If you feel as though technology is taking over your library (and your life), a solid technology plan can give you back some control. The Complete Library Technology Planner by John M. Cohn and Ann L. Kelsey is a guide to creating, evaluating, updating, and implementing a plan. The chapter “A Model Two-Day Process for … Continue reading Taking Control of Technology →

Art of Storytelling

By Mary Ellen Quinn | March 8, 2010

In 1974 the eminent Augusta Baker authored, along with Ellin Greene, Storytelling: Art and Technique. Now this classic has been brought into the twenty-first century by Greene and Janice M. Del Negro. As they state in their preface, the fourth edition “reflects the radical cultural and societal changes that have taken place since the first … Continue reading Art of Storytelling →

Gilded Age

By Mary Ellen Quinn | January 27, 2010

The phase “Gilded Age” may conjure up visions of Newport mansions, but the era was a formative time for libraries. Librarianship in Gilded Age America: An Anthology of Writings, 1868–1901 compiles articles, letters, and other documents from familiar names in library history, among them Charles Ammi Cutter, Melvil Dewey, and John Cotton Dana. Also here are … Continue reading Gilded Age →

Charleston on My Mind

Mary Ellen Quinn | December 4, 2009

I don’t usually get to attend the Charleston Conference (in fact, I’ve only been to one), so I look forward to seeing the annual Charleston Conference Proceedings. The 2008 edition showed up on my desk this past November (around the time that the 2009 Conference was taking place). The theme for 2008 was “The Best … Continue reading Charleston on My Mind →

Language-wise

By Mary Ellen Quinn | October 27, 2009

When the first edition of Garner's Modern American Usage was published in 1998, it quickly became a standard guide. The third edition continues to hack through the thickets of grammar, word choice, punctuation, and pronunciation. If it's unclear to you whether home in or hone in is correct, or you are certain that impact is … Continue reading Language-wise →

We Are All Millennials

By Mary Ellen Quinn | October 23, 2009

Net Gen? Gen Y? Gen M? All are labels we've heard applied to the generation ranging in age from adolescents just entering or about to enter high school, to those just joining the work force. Whatever they're called, they have particular, technology driven learning styles, which are examined in Teaching Generation M: A Handbook for … Continue reading We Are All Millennials →

Latest Library Links

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Steve Tetrault writes: “Despite what too many adults continue to believe, students are not very good with technology. For the most part, their use and understanding of technology is surface-level. Their technological inabilities are compounded by the fact that many of the productivity tools adults use on a regular basis are not regularly used by students. Email? Why would they, when they have texting? Printing, and/or understanding file types? They carry a display screen on their person—no need to deal with files or printing. So the kids aren’t alright when it comes to ‘basic’ tech use.”

Knowledge Quest, Oct. 7
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Jaime Eastman writes: “Whether in the library or in our lives, stress often doesn’t come from one big thing. Instead, it comes from lots of little things happening at once, or the cumulative effect of those little things over time. To reduce stress, we need to identify and address those causes. Programming should be exciting, not exhausting. Time spent at the desk should encourage connection, not avoidance. Well-rested staff bring more creativity and enthusiasm. Sustainable systems keep staff and patrons engaged and appreciative. When we can reduce stress, we improve consistency, and everyone wins.”

ALSC Blog, Oct. 8
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Sam Suber writes: “Choice’s latest white paper, “The Optimized Library: Prescriptive Foundations for Resource Stewardship in an Era of Fiscal Austerity,” shows academic libraries how to navigate fiscal threats by bridging library science and operations research. Through case studies and by translating operational research concepts into practical collection strategies, the paper grapples with a tension many libraries are facing: They have the data to identify future fiscal threats but lack the mathematical framework to steer around them.”

Choice, Sept. 29
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Ricardo Serrano Denis writes: “New York Public Library (NYPL) has put together a list of the best new comics of 2026 based on librarian input and feedback. It’s a special list as it offers a glimpse into the reading habits, intellectual leanings, and potential fandoms shared among New York’s book ambassadors. As such, it is an infectious selection of comics. Manga and young adult comics have always had a strong presence in NYPL’s best new comics lists, especially in recent years. This year, the selection is more varied, running the gamut of genres.”

The Beat, Oct. 1
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Eamon O’Connor writes: “Calling on public spaces to be the savior for our crisis of social connection can seem like a tall order. Can we really expect library- and park-goers to become fast friends just because they’re sharing the same space? Maybe with time—but the key is understanding that friendship is not the only goal. Indeed, many studies are showing the value in the weak ties, the casual encounters and loose acquaintances in our orbit that keep us connected to community.”

Reimagining the Civic Commons, Oct. 6
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Evie Cordell, Kate Lambaria, and Piper Martin write: “Springshare’s LibGuides platform is a widely used tool for sharing digital content, allowing librarians to curate resources about specific topics. However, at many libraries, the large number of guides and their inconsistent quality pose educational and practical challenges. Librarians at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library developed a systematic, multi-phase process to assess, update, and standardize LibGuides, balancing the importance of maintaining high-quality instructional content with the need for scalable, sustainable, and accessible LibGuides.”

Portal: Libraries and the Academy, vol. 26, no. 4, Oct.
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Chirag Shah writes: “Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has made production close to free. A report, a thread, a paper, a newsletter: one prompt and 30 seconds. So what changed? Everything on the supply side, and nothing at all on the demand side. Whatever generative AI has done to the supply of text, it’s done nothing to the thing that actually limits knowledge, which is a human being paying attention long enough to understand something. We automated the easy half of the loop and left the hard half exactly where it was.”

Information Matters, Sept. 30

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