Some are white-tablecloth establishments that present culinary masterpieces with warm formality, while others are so casual they practically toss you your food, a paper plate, and a napkin from out of the side of a truck. It’s impossible to get in and out of San Francisco without having a gastronomic epiphany, or at least a … Continue reading Dining in the Golden City
This is an issue of integrity, of the collective adherence to a code and standard of values, of maintaining human records as complete, unimpaired, and undivided as possible. The ability to consult the evidence and sources used by researchers and authors will be lost if those digital records are not available. The ability to research … Continue reading Preserving the Born-Digital Record
Two issues came to the fore in the fall. Adobe Digital Editions experienced a privacy breach that led to unencrypted personal information being transmitted online. DCWG responded, and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) and ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) assisted with technical and policy advice. Adobe took quick action to address the … Continue reading ALA’s DCWG, Ebooks, and Directions
Not only can students learn from these presentations but so can professors who develop LIS courses and help students gain the necessary skills to succeed in 21st-century libraries. This need to bring the real and the academic worlds together underscores the importance of the work that the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has done … Continue reading The Future of Library Services to Teens
Social media is a cost-effective marketing tool, but libraries should still market in traditional media. Social media is not intended to replace real-world marketing altogether. An overarching theme One key to successful marketing is to make your promotional materials memorable so they don’t get lost in the clutter that inundates people daily. Libraries can accomplish this … Continue reading Marketing in the Real World
“Their ideas told us that they wanted this to be a fun and happy place,” says Sarah Shuster, children’s librarian at Richland Library. “We learned a lot about the vibe that we needed to create for the tweens.” Although the library obviously cannot create a miniature theme park inside the branch, the kids’ suggestions will … Continue reading Stuck in the Middle
Focus on the future As community centers and technology hubs, libraries are always forward-focused. ALA’s Center for the Future of Libraries presents various sessions concentrated on the Library of the Future. Hear experts from Google, Steelcase, and the Long Now Foundation discuss trends in libraries and the latest on innovative learning, online search, and literacy. … Continue reading 2015 ALA Annual Must-Dos
Tied to the economy of libraries, the vendors that make up the library technology industry support a stable but highly constrained economic sector, with global opportunities. Library budgets may never recover to pre-recession levels, fueling interest in technology to improve their efficiency and the impact of collection resources. Products able to deliver efficiency, innovation, and … Continue reading Library Systems Report
Initiated in 1997 as a one-year program under former ALA President Mary R. Somerville and revived in 2006 under former ALA President Leslie Burger, Emerging Leaders recognizes the best and brightest new leaders in our industry. It’s open to librarians under 35 years of age or those new to the library profession of any age … Continue reading Emerging Leaders: The Class of 2015
I was a part of the Emerging Leaders class of 2007. The experience was transformational. I grew as a professional and became a more informed ALA member and a leader in our Association. It was also the catalyst to developing a wonderful new network of colleagues, many of whom became great friends. I have to … Continue reading My Time as an Emerging Leader
It’s not at all what she envisioned herself doing while in library school in Arizona, but she’s thrilled at this new slant on librarianship. Sanchez is among the growing group of MLIS grads using their degrees as passports to an array of fascinating jobs available outside the traditional library setting. They’re flying to exotic places … Continue reading The Bohemian Librarian
Muto interviewed, packed up, and flew out anyway. She had worked at LexisNexis for 10 years after finishing an MLIS at Kent State University and a JD at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Ohio. She was a ready for a change, and she got it. “I walked off the plane and it was a cacophony … Continue reading An Unconventional Librarian
