Librarians in New Orleans for ALA 2011 saw a much different Big Easy than the devastated city they encountered in 2006, when the American Library Association Annual Conference was the first major convention to return to the city after Hurricane Katrina. It’s been a long struggle, but evidence of recovery is everywhere. This photo essay … Continue reading New Orleans on the Mend – Six Years After Hurricane Katrina
One of my biggest mistakes as a library administrator was getting rid of the card catalog. No, I’m not talking about replacing it with a digital version. Everyone did that back in the ’80s. That was a no-brainer. What I mean is that after we installed the OPAC, I sent the physical card catalog into … Continue reading Dead Trees We Have Known
Officials in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) Schools and the Mecklenburg County Commission have loosened their purse strings just enough to enable school libraries to remain staffed for the next academic year and the long-embattled Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to expand service hours at its six regional libraries from 37 to 54 per week. The day after Mecklenburg … Continue reading Do Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Library Reprieves Herald More Good News?
Engaging with library users on the web is no longer restricted to simply putting a static HTML file on a server and calling it a successful website. Yet without technical assistance and forethought, content management can be an actively complex and frustrating process. A content management system like WordPress lets you manage your website more … Continue reading WordPress as a Library CMS
However much one learns while studying for that MSLS degree, some skills are learned on the job—perhaps with the help of a guide like Be a Great Boss: One Year to Success by Catherine Hakala-Ausperk. Part of the ALA Guides for the Busy Librarian series, the book provides a month-by-month program, starting with “Attitude” and … Continue reading New from ALA
Every year, in late March and early April, I’m consumed with putting together Booklist’s annual Mystery Showcase issue. For more than a month, my mind is clogged with crime novels: reading them, writing about them, editing what others have written about them, etc. But when that issue finally sleeps its Big Sleep, I run as … Continue reading The Ancient World
American Libraries received an email from Springfield (Mass.) Public Libraries Director Molly Fogarty June 3 about the aftermath of a tornado that devastated several neighborhoods there June 1. The storm killed several people, injured many more, and destroyed and damaged hundreds of homes and businesses. The next day, Fogarty said, Springfield City Libraries’ Central Library … Continue reading Massachusetts Mayor: Library Service Is Essential after Tornado
A decision by the New York State Supreme Court branch in Suffolk County has vindicated the East Hampton Library board in its quest to get zoning variances for a 6,800-foot addition to the present facility. It has also reaffirmed in case law that public libraries in the state of New York are undeniably educational institutions—a … Continue reading Zoning Fight Yields Court Nod to Libraries as Educational Institutions
There are fewer and fewer print dictionaries, and in fact the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, once considered a mainstay of the dictionary collection, seems to have altogether disappeared. But language lovers can take heart in the publication of a new and wonderful resource, the three-volume Green’s Dictionary of Slang, compiled by British … Continue reading Volumes of Vernacular
We all know that “Libraries are the smartest investment.” Study after study shows that for every dollar invested by a community in library services, $2.38 (PDF file), or $4.48 (PDF file), or even $6.54 (PDF file) in economic benefits are returned to the community. Another measure of the value of libraries is the individualized calculation … Continue reading The Smartest Readers
In the summer of 1973, I attended my first conference of the International Federation of Library Associations (held in Grenoble, France) after becoming executive director of the American Library Association. The conference buzz was speculation about me (“Who is this Bob Wedgeworth?”), since I had just succeeded David Clift. Leo M. Weins, president of the … Continue reading A Tribute to H. W. Wilson
In a surprise announcement June 2, two of the leading names in digital reference publishing told their library customers that they have merged to strengthen the value of their databases and print resources. EBSCO Publishing, a subsidiary of EBSCO Industries founded in 1944 and headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, has acquired the staff and product lines … Continue reading The Merger of the Century: EBSCO Acquires H. W. Wilson
