While there are vendors who offer apps that libraries can customize to their needs, some libraries have taken the step of developing mobile apps in-house. OCLS’s Shake It! was one of the first library-developed apps. Shake It! offers randomized recommendations of library materials based on age group, genre, and material type. After setting any combination … Continue reading Libraries Explore Mobile Options
Digital resources in the form of ebooks, audiobooks, and other media are beginning to take flight—literally—across the country by way of airport library branches. Branches are have popped up in airports around the country, including Philadelphia International; Seattle–Tacoma International; Manhattan (Kans.) Regional; Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood (Fla.) International; Boise (Idaho); and San Antonio International, over the last … Continue reading Digital Books Are Up in the Air
After being informed that classes would be canceled, Carrie Pace, an art teacher at Ferguson’s Walnut Grove Elementary, wanted to do something, anything, to help with the recovery. While driving through town she passed the Ferguson Public Library. That’s where she got the idea to use the facility as a place for kids to go … Continue reading Ferguson’s Safe Haven
At the 37th UNESCO General Conference in Paris in November 2013, a parallel resolution passed overwhelmingly. Endorsed by the Governing Board of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and developed by its Libraries Serving Persons with Print Disabilities (LPD) section, the “Manifesto for Libraries Serving Persons with a Print Disability” (the LPD … Continue reading Promoting Access for Blind and Visually Impaired Patrons
“It’s a natural partnership,” Lissa Staley, public services librarian at Topeka and Shawnee County (Kans.) Public Library (TSCPL), tells American Libraries. “We have everything you need to write a novel.” TSCPL offers two four-hour “write-ins” in November, allowing NaNoWriMo participants to work surrounded by others writers. A fiction-writing workshop and a kick-off event are held … Continue reading A Novel in 30 Days
Before study hall was over, the principal was dealing with the perpetrators. “We handled it all immediately,” Watson tells American Libraries. “That’s a key role of what librarians can do in schools to be a force against bullying. If the students know you’re there, and that you’re an advocate for them, they’ll come to you.” … Continue reading How Libraries Help Kids Stand Up to Bullying
“We were lucky with the weather, really,” Eric Litschel, adult services associate at Cleveland Heights–University Heights Public Library (CHUHPL), tells American Libraries. “The worst day I rode was probably a little over 10 degrees.” Sam Lapides, special projects coordinator at CHUHPL, says the library’s Book Bike program, initiated in spring 2013, was supposed to run … Continue reading Custom Library Book Bikes Roll Out Across US
“Our kids come to our library branches starving,” says Merritt, executive director of the Friends of the Detroit Public Library Foundation. “They can’t concentrate.” Luckily, the person who asked the question was also someone who was poised to help—Brian Glowiak, vice president of the Chrysler Foundation, the charitable arm of the Detroit-based car company. The … Continue reading Detroit Public Library Provides Food to Fight Child Hunger
The complexities involved are exemplified by a court case in Michigan, Capital Area District Library v. Michigan Open Carry (CADL v. MOC). The library sued MOC in 2011 for conducting open-carry protests inside CADL despite firearms being forbidden there. MOC prevailed in the lower courts, and the state supreme court declined to hear CADL’s appeal … Continue reading Taking Aim at the Reality of Guns in Libraries
“We avoided it for awhile,” says Gail Shackleton, director of library services at Appleby College, a 7–12 grade school in Ontario. She and library technician Stefania Mulyk administer the library’s social media presence, which already includes Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and YouTube. They waited to adopt Vine until four months after the app’s introduction because of … Continue reading Libraries on the Vine
Eannel, then director of the children’s library, tapped the mom on the shoulder and told her she had something for her son. A short while later she brought out a Side-Lyer toy—a device made for children with special needs, with beads and lights that make sounds and vibrate when lightly touched. “Within a minute, he … Continue reading Toy Libraries: A Place to Play
