Okay, now I’ve got this bright, shiny new column to play with. What will I do with it? Be provocative? Reassuring? Speak the uncomfortable truth? Turn to history for lessons? Look to the future for inspiration? More than likely. For now, let me ponder this month’s title question. It doesn’t take much to find numerous … Continue reading Why Do Publishers Hate Us?
Not everything you need to know about school librarianship is taught in graduate school. No matter how comprehensive the training for school library certification is, there are a few aspects of teaching that may still surprise you. What follows is a top 10 list of what to expect as a newbie school librarian—areas in … Continue reading Teacher Librarian Tips
Regardless of how large (or small) your library is, or whether you serve elementary school students, college professors, or retirees seeking the latest book by their favorite author, you are affected by issues that may change how we “do” librarianship. Here are a few recent titles that discuss these topics, sometimes raising more questions than … Continue reading Disaster Recovery, Going Green, Protecting Privacy: How We Do Librarianship
Over the past few months, the ALA Executive Board has been involved in a range of discussions that reflect some of the more urgent issues facing libraries, and the Association’s strategic priorities. Because the Association, like libraries, must change and evolve to best serve our communities, a series of brainstorming meetings this fall asked both … Continue reading Reenvisioning ALA
I wanted to share ideas about what you can do to help solve the problem of publishers who will not sell ebooks to libraries. Stay informed. The ALA Transforming Libraries website and the American Libraries E-Content blog provide breaking news, as well as information about various studies, and reports. These include recent ebook research, information … Continue reading What You Can Do about Ebooks and Libraries
Digital literacy is supposedly what will save the public library, and I don’t doubt that. While you hear stories about welfare recipients and street people carrying around the latest in iPhone technology, those of us who labor in the public library vineyard know that those kinds of tales are triumphs of distortion over reality. Supposedly, … Continue reading Digitized to Distraction
In 1978, when I first read Ivan Doig’s This House of Sky, I was a librarian at Timberland Regional Library in Washington State. Doig’s memoir of growing up in the Montana high country as the third member, along with his father and grandmother, of an unconventional but loving family struck me as a very special … Continue reading Visiting Two Medicine Country
A thread through ALA President Maureen Sullivan’s mission has been “leadership.” Leadership takes many forms throughout our professional lives. We lead colleagues to accomplish the work of our libraries; we lead community groups to advocate on behalf of the library; we lead teams to learn new skills or to adapt a service in new ways. … Continue reading Leadership and Advocacy
Did you know that about 95% of incarcerated people eventually reenter the general population? Neither did I. Nor did I know that a high proportion of them are high school dropouts, though I suppose that’s not all that surprising. Given those circumstances, the importance of, say, health literacy training for inmates seems pretty obvious. Obvious, … Continue reading Making Friends with Research
And here we are, at my 100th column. Readers with long memories (or nothing better to do) may recall that for my 50th (Feb. 2007, p. 27) and 75th (Aug. 2009, p. 36) columns, I pioneered the groundbreaking idea of letting the internet do my work by, respectively, googling the numbers “50” and “75” and … Continue reading The Wheel Turns Again
Without a doubt, the past decade has experienced a sea change in favor of LGBTQ rights. During the 2012 election, voters decided on a series of landmark ballot initiatives at the state level that championed marriage equality; a sitting president (and vice president) has for the first time voiced support for same-sex marriage; and the … Continue reading Libraries as Safe Spaces
Mobile phones, personal electronic devices, and tablet computers have infiltrated most corners of the academic library. Although many institutions are interested in exploring these new technologies, some are focusing on tablet computers in particular to enhance and even reimagine their services to better support their communities. Library and information professionals who are finding ways to … Continue reading The Tao of Tablets
