Admit it: You snag free books and party at receptions. But who would come to PLA2012 if there weren’t also meaningful programs, new products, great speakers, and networking opportunities? At ALA’s Public Library Association (PLA) National Conference in Philadelphia March 13–17, more than 6,000 attendees packed meeting rooms and the exhibit hall for all of … Continue reading PLA 2012: Powerful Advice, Practical Solutions
As director of Hooper (Nebr.) Public Library, Karla Shafer worked to transform the institution into a vital place in the community for six and a half years. Those efforts ended abruptly in 2010, however, when controversy erupted over Shafer’s teaching of English classes to immigrants in a nearby town on her days off. She resigned … Continue reading Merritt Fund Aids a Colleague in Distress
Graham peppered his talk with anecdotes as he described how to create and maintain safer libraries. He should know. He’s a frequent presenter on security at ALA and the author of the 2006 classic Black Belt Librarians: Every Librarian’s Real World Guide to a Safer Workplace (now published as The Black Belt Librarian: Real-World Safety and … Continue reading To Catch a Library Thief: Black Belt Security
You receive a postcard in the mail from Colorado Springs. It says, “Wish you were here.” You look at it more carefully and notice the photograph is of a dead man. No, wait! A dead man—and a dead woman. The caption reads, “Frozen to death on Pikes Peak, August 21, 1911.” Really? Two people freezing … Continue reading QR Codes Extend Library Programming
Signage is one of the most important tools for wayfinding. If there is one truism about library signage, it is that most of it is not very good. Understanding the mistakes that lead to bad signage is the first step on the road to creating good ones. Libraries need to recognize that signage is a … Continue reading Directions to Library Wayfinding
Most librarians are educators in one sense or another, even when the role is not explicit. The best teachers learn from others and learn by doing. This is a good rule for improving at virtually anything: Seeking inspiration and accepting criticism makes your work richer and more well rounded. Many of the ideas I present … Continue reading Reflective Teaching for Librarians
Born in Manchester in 1959 but raised in the bleak working-class north England industrial town of Accrington, Winterson and her adoptive family had no phones, no cars, no indoor toilets, and lived in a community where few if any had job security. Her mother was an evangelical Pentecostal who was “apocalyptic by nature” and kept … Continue reading An Interview with Jeanette Winterson
As the transformation of libraries continues, it follows that the physical structure would have to transform as well to support changes in services, missions, and audiences. The 2012 Library Design Showcase highlights the best in new and newly renovated library buildings, divided into sections that each focus on one architectural aspect. Sections will be posted … Continue reading Library Design Showcase 2012
To some librarians it must seem like a perfect storm: Budgets are being slashed, ebooks suddenly are outselling their print ancestors, electronic movies on demand are slowing over-the-counter DVD lending, and the general public can find answers to their basic reference-oriented questions online. In what history may well mark as an important milestone in how … Continue reading The Once and Future Library
The convergence of women’s history and library history at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition heralded the beginnings of a tradition of advocacy that would shape our profession for the next 100 years and beyond. As American women entered librarianship in the late 19th century, they focused on issues of professional equity, on services to women … Continue reading Library History and Women’s History: An Ongoing Convergence
Next year will be the 120th anniversary of the World’s Columbian Exposition, more commonly known as the Chicago World’s Fair—a grand event that lasted six months, attracted 27 million visitors, and introduced attendees to the Ferris Wheel, shredded wheat, and belly dancing. Although you won’t learn it from Erik Larson’s bestseller The Devil in the … Continue reading Women in the White City
AMERICAN LIBRARIES: Your book offers so many lessons, especially for today’s youth. Is that why you decided to tell your story? JAMAL JOSEPH: It actually is. I work with young people in New York and travel the country speaking to high school and college students. The book is written through the curious eyes and passionate … Continue reading Newsmaker: Jamal Joseph
