With this in mind, I challenged myself to not only build on ideas and successes within the Association and the profession but also reinforce themes I have focused on throughout my career. All the work on presidential initiatives is coordinated with teams of member experts as well as Association employee experts. Thus, Libraries Transform: The … Continue reading The Expert in the Library
At the same time, I felt like I had unlimited stores of passion, energy, and ideas that year. My colleagues took me seriously even though I was green, and some of those rookie ideas became services the library still offers, like chat reference. I frequently hear about new-to-the-profession librarians who are treated by their colleagues … Continue reading From Both Sides Now
Apollo automation at Biblionix Public library automation provider Biblionix has updated its award-winning integrated library system, Apollo, with new functions to make life easier for librarians. Apollo helps public librarians streamline their day-to-day tasks such as circulation management, collection management, and new patron sign-up. Because of its multi-tenant design, changes and updates are available as soon … Continue reading Streamlined Software
The Intellectual Freedom Manual is a guide to providing library service in support of First Amendment rights. For the manual’s 9th edition, the background information on its policies has been pulled into a separate volume, A History of ALA Policy on Intellectual Freedom: A Supplement to the Intellectual Freedom Manual, compiled by editor Trina Magi … Continue reading Preserving Our Values
What if I said that that’s not how that program—or any library program—should work? By running a program in that way you aren’t really supporting youth learning. Imagine instead if you: Start by asking youth to talk with one another, in small groups or in a full group, about what they like and don’t like … Continue reading Using Design Thinking
As a librarian who works for Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services—part of the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped cooperative network—I feel a sense of oneness with less-served communities. After seeing this video, I believe Starbucks has reminded us of an insight we need to better integrate into … Continue reading Inclusivity in Any Library
A few days ago brought a minor news item describing refinements Google has made to the process to request the removal of links in search results that are “inadequate, irrelevant, or no longer relevant,” popularly known as the “right to be forgotten,” in response to a 2014 ruling by the European Court of Justice. Ever … Continue reading Forget Me Not
Thanks to my colleagues, I heard incredible stories about the library professional’s role in education, employment, entrepreneurship, engagement, and empowerment. From the librarian who stood for intellectual freedom by fighting to keep LGBT titles in her collection to the professional who developed a social media curation tool to support academic research at his university, there … Continue reading Gaining Insight
Secure communication on the web provides two important benefits: identifying the website authoritatively enabling encrypted communications between the user’s browser and the server that provides the resource Encryption algorithms transform the data into a seemingly garbled form that, if intercepted, cannot be deciphered. The use of a secure communication protocol (HTTPS) provides the best approach … Continue reading Protecting Patron Privacy
In February, I led the first official delegation of American librarians and library supporters to Cuba for the Havana International Book Fair. I learned that the country had a longstanding commitment to literacy, and I began my visit with a meeting of renowned Cuban library leaders, including the remarkable Marta Terry González, and our own … Continue reading Connecting with Cuba
Thanks to the American Library Association’s new public awareness campaign Libraries Transform, it has never been easier to spread the word about the transformative and critical role libraries play in the digital age. Since the October 2015 launch, more than 1,600 libraries have registered to participate in the campaign, and that number is growing daily. … Continue reading A United Effort
Indeed he did. A lot of names were circulating, of people who would be great and a few that made my hair stand on end. Mercifully, we don’t have to contemplate a future with a Librarian of Congress with just a background in business or technology—though as director of a major urban public library, Hayden … Continue reading One of Us
