“The National Park libraries,” says Nancy Hori, supervisory librarian at the National Park Service (NPS) Pacific West Regional Library in Seattle, “are in some of the most beautiful and sacred areas of the United States. The remote locations, often in historical buildings without climate control, present many challenges for keeping materials safe and secure.” As … Continue reading Greetings from America’s National Park Libraries
Librotraficante has had a rollercoaster year. Led by Houston-based author and activist Tony Diaz, the organization (whose name means “book smuggler” in Spanish) formed last year in response to Arizona House Bill 2281 (PDF file), which outlaws teaching courses in Arizona public schools that promote the overthrow of the United States government, foster racial and … Continue reading A Year in the Life of Librotraficante
Walker’s books have been translated into more than two dozen languages, and 15 million copies have been sold. A world-traveler and tireless and courageous activist as well as a bestselling author, she has been recognized with numerous honors, including a National Book Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Lennon/Ono Grant for Peace, which she donated … Continue reading A Conversation with Alice Walker
One telling image embodies the ridicule he endured. In it, his face and that of his wife Mildred are superimposed on a drawing of two monkeys’ bodies. Movie stills and ephemera from the making of Inherit the Wind (1960) document the celebrity status achieved by his attorney, Clarence Darrow (fictionalized as the thinly veiled Darrow … Continue reading Cultivating a Special Collection
The voice on the phone sounded exhausted. “I have lost my life’s work,” the man said. He was an artist who had his paintings stored in a basement somewhere in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It was November 2, 2012, four days after Hurricane Sandy hit the New Jersey coast, and the call came … Continue reading To Protect and Preserve
Two Italian kids, planting their feet in America for the first time on Ellis Island in 1913. What had they left behind? And what lay ahead for them? It’s this photo—and others like it—that got Maura Marx into a bit of trouble. Marx is director of the effort to launch the Digital Public Library of … Continue reading A Digital Library for Everyone
They’re the new people greeting you at the reference desk, shelving books in the stacks, and experimenting with fresh ideas behind the scenes. These are the new library rising stars, the generation that will move, shape, and influence the present and future of the ALA and the library profession. These are the American Library Association’s … Continue reading Emerging Leaders: Class of 2013
Recent court filings, news reports, and online posts, however, have begun to shine a spotlight on libraries’ filtering policies and practices. According to legal complaints, some libraries are denying users access to websites that discuss Wicca and Native American spirituality; blacklisting websites that affirm the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities while whitelisting sites … Continue reading Filtering and the First Amendment
The demise of many manufacturing jobs during the recent recession and the continued downturn of Michigan’s economy left Jackson County suffering. Estimates showed that one in four children in the county lived below the poverty line. It was clear something needed to be done and the staff of Jackson (Mich.) District Library felt it could … Continue reading Investing at the Library
Roger Rosen, CEO of the educational house Rosen Publishing, calls himself a publishing brat. “I grew up in the business, packing books as a little boy and attending ALAconferences with my parents.” Lately, Rosen’s been making news as one of the first publishers to figure out a pricing and delivery structure for ebooks and databases, … Continue reading An Interview with Roger Rosen
Candidates for ALA President Barbara Immroth Visit blogs.ischool.utexas.edu/immroth Libraries will meet important individual and community needs through reimagining. In the face of nationwide economic pressures, we are reinventing our services to become virtual and physical spaces for conversation, personal growth, innovation, and knowledge building. ALA—the oldest, largest library association in the world—is ideally positioned to … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President and Treasurer
Caroline Kennedy has been a lifelong advocate for reading, literacy, and libraries. Her career has included work with the New York City Department of Education and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Most recently, she spoke at the 2013 ALA Midwinter Meeting and served this year as honorary chair of National Library Week. Kennedy has … Continue reading Newsmaker: Caroline Kennedy
