Newsmaker Archives | Page 9 of 9 | American Libraries Magazine

The Future of Libraries: Interview with Thomas Frey

Tom W. Sloan | July 16, 2010

Without consulting a crystal ball, Thomas Frey, executive director and senior futurist at the DaVinci Institute, writes and speaks about a promising future for those libraries strongly connected to their communities and quickly adaptable to the changing world around them. Tom Sloan, executive director of the DuPage Library System in Geneva, Illinois, asked Frey to discuss … Continue reading The Future of Libraries: Interview with Thomas Frey →

Award Winning Author Katherine Paterson Is Ambassador for Children’s Reading

April 16, 2010

Katherine Paterson, two-time winner of both the National Book Award (The Great Gilly Hopkins and The Master Puppeteer) and Newbery Medal (Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I loved), is the second person to be named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. She takes over for children’s author … Continue reading Award Winning Author Katherine Paterson Is Ambassador for Children’s Reading →

Nobel Prize Winner Al Gore on the Environment and the Eternal Role of Libraries

March 31, 2010

Nobel Prize and Oscar winner, former vice president and, in his own words, the man who “used to be the next president of the United States,” Al Gore delivered the Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture January 16 at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting in Boston. His message: The environmental threat facing the planet as a … Continue reading Nobel Prize Winner Al Gore on the Environment and the Eternal Role of Libraries →

Arnold Adoff on African-American Literature and the Legacy of Virginia Hamilton

By Pamela A. Goodes | February 23, 2010

The legacy of Virginia Hamilton, described as “America’s most honored writer of children’s literature,” continues through the efforts of her husband, poet and anthologist Arnold Adoff, who spoke exclusively with American Libraries during February’s observance of Black History Month. Hamilton, who died February 19, 2002, wrote more than 40 award-winning books. Through those books, her scores … Continue reading Arnold Adoff on African-American Literature and the Legacy of Virginia Hamilton →

Author Wesley Adamczyk Documents World War II Soviet Deportation of Poles to Siberia

January 4, 2010

In 1940, author Wesley Adamczyk was deported at age 7 from his native Poland to Siberia with his family. He was among more than a million poles who were exiled, imprisoned, or enslaved at hard labor. His father was murdered by the soviets in the Katyn Massacre; his mother died of disease and starvation while … Continue reading Author Wesley Adamczyk Documents World War II Soviet Deportation of Poles to Siberia →

Newsmaker: Mohammad Abbas

December 31, 2009

American Libraries Editor in Chief Leonard Kniffel interviewed Mohammad Abbas, head of the new Library Department of the Iraqi Coucil of Representatives (ICOR, the nation's parliament in Baghdad) August 24 during the World Library and Information Congress of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions in Milan, Italy, and by e-mail in the days following. American … Continue reading Newsmaker: Mohammad Abbas →

Newsmaker: Arne Duncan

October 31, 2009

The U.S. Secretary of Education shared his views on, among other things, volunteerism, No Child Left Behind, reading readiness, and libraries, in an exclusive June 22, 2009, telephone conversation with American Libraries Editor in Chief Leonard Kniffel. Arne Duncan at the Fanwood (N.J.) Public Library for the June 22 kick-off of "United We Serve." American Libraries: … Continue reading Newsmaker: Arne Duncan →

David Weinberger

October 23, 2009

Few have been able to capture the essence of the Internet Age like David Weinberger. In 1999, he coauthored The Cluetrain Manifesto, which took a seemingly radical approach to the web as a vehicle for cultural interaction, in a time when the media focused on the web’s commercial aspects. Recently released in a 10th anniversary … Continue reading David Weinberger →

OCLC’s Andrew Pace Reveals Plans for Web-Scale Management

April 28, 2009

The executive director for networked library services at the world’s largest library consortium paints the big picture regarding OCLC’s web-platform initiative in an April 24, 2009, conversation with American Libraries Editor-in-Chief Leonard Kniffel. American Libraries: Who is the target market for this new management service? Andrew Pace: You’re talking about the web-scale management services, not … Continue reading OCLC’s Andrew Pace Reveals Plans for Web-Scale Management →

Latest Library Links

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When Greg Hall and Morgan Matens met and fell in love as graduate students over a dozen years ago (he was studying library science; she was studying set design), they had no idea they’d wind up working together. Hall is now children’s librarian at Nashville Public Library (NPL), where Matens is a puppeteer with Wishing Chair Productions, NPL’s in-house puppetry troupe. Sheltering in place together, the couple has collaborated on weekly Facebook videos that bring NPL’s puppets to families across the country. The runaway hit so far is the music video “Curbside Baby,” set to Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” and featuring a DJ mouse who raps instructions for curbside library services.

American Libraries Bookend, Sept./Oct.
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A new project is helping people see the faces of educators and child care workers who have to wear masks to curb the spread of COVID-19 while at work. Waterloo (Ont.) Public Library launched the button project. Teachers, caregivers, long-term care home staff, and child care workers can send in a photo of themselves, and the library will put it on a button for free, which the person can wear at work.

CBC News, Sept. 14
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In an age of social distancing, public librarians, school librarians, teachers are working together more closely than ever to help students and parents navigate a school year unlike any they’ve experienced. At Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library, librarians administering the Brooklyn Connections program are not only faced with the challenge of reimagining their outreach to the 35 schools and thousands of 4th–12th graders they serve but are also grappling with students’ day-to-day struggles amid the pandemic.

AL: The Scoop, Sept. 18
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As libraries reopen, finding ways to reduce face-to-face interaction will minimize the risk of spreading disease for both library workers and patrons. From managing curbside pickup to integrating printer payment systems that minimize cash transactions, these platforms and apps are helping libraries improve their services during the pandemic.

American Libraries column, Sept./Oct.
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Youth Matters columnist Linda W. Braun writes: “In May, when I learned about the strategic leadership frameworks VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) and VUCA Prime (vision, understanding, clarity, agility) that are often used in business, I began to better understand the ways in which library staffers responded to COVID-19 building closures. I noticed that youth library workers were, understandably, operating in reactive mode.”

American Libraries column, Sept./Oct.
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When Boston College Libraries was forced to close its doors this spring during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodrigo Castro, head librarian for access services, made a list. “I started identifying the tasks that individuals could do remotely versus tasks they could do onsite,” he says. “When you are in this situation, your workforce needs to become flexible.” Castro is one of many library leaders who found themselves managing their teams remotely because of the pandemic, developing new approaches to meet unprecedented challenges and continue providing vital services to the community.

American Libraries Trend, Sept./Oct.
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Winston Szeto writes: “The Dewey Decimal Classification has long been the standard of organizing library collections around the world, but a First Nations tribal council in B.C.’s Central Interior says it will ditch the system because of its colonial legacy. The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council is transitioning to the Brian Deer Classification System, which was developed by the late Kahnawake Mohawk librarian Alec Brian Deer in the 1970s. Its taxonomy is based on the geographical locations of Indigenous communities.”

CBC News, Sept. 16

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