Uncategorized Archives | Page 36 of 58 | American Libraries Magazine

Teacher-Librarian Alert: Tutor.com Seeks Schools for Gates-Funded Professional Development Project

By Leonard Kniffel | December 21, 2010

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced December 7 that it has awarded a $1.8-million grant to Tutor.com for the creation of a new professional development model for middle- and high-school math teachers that offers ongoing online and on-demand professional development opportunities. Tutor.com is looking for school districts that want to be considered candidates for … Continue reading Teacher-Librarian Alert: Tutor.com Seeks Schools for Gates-Funded Professional Development Project →

DEMCO Acquires Highsmith

By Beverly Goldberg | December 21, 2010

DEMCO President Mike Grasee announced December 20 that his firm had acquired the assets of Highsmith from W. W. Grainger for an undisclosed amount. While Highsmith will become a division of DEMCO, Grasee told American Libraries that the two iconic library vendors would maintain their present toll-free phone numbers and websites. The businesses will operate … Continue reading DEMCO Acquires Highsmith →

Ethiopia Five-Month Update

By Janet Lee | December 20, 2010

The Segenat Children and Youth Library in Mekelle, Ethiopia, was dedicated in August 2010. Since that time, attendance has soared and a computer lab has been networked and records input into a fully functional online catalog. The Segenat Library caught the attention of Ethiopian TV and other broadcast media, opening up the possibility of adding … Continue reading Ethiopia Five-Month Update →

Forward Compared to What?

Brian Mathews | December 20, 2010

As a forward-looking library faces the future, one of the most vital steps it can take is to determine where it stands right now. You might have a destination in mind, but without knowing your current location the journey ahead will be difficult. We all have opinions on how well we are performing and the … Continue reading Forward Compared to What? →

Teen Read Week Mark Books With Beat

December 16, 2010

Teen Read Week 2010, celebrated October 17-23, carried theme "Books with Beat @ your library. The annual observance, which encourages teens to read poetry, audiobooks, books about music, and more, is hosted by ALA's Young Adult Library Services Association.

Federal Ban of WikiLeaks Website Embroils Librarians

By Leonard Kniffel and Beverly Goldberg | December 10, 2010

Reaction continues to pour in from all over the world since the Library of Congress confirmed December 3 that it was blocking access from all LC computers to the WikiLeaks website in order to prevent unauthorized downloading of classified records as ordered by the Office of Management and Budget. LC’s action raised red flags in … Continue reading Federal Ban of WikiLeaks Website Embroils Librarians →

No Relax

By Joseph Janes | December 9, 2010

I had a splendid time at the Internet Librarian conference last fall (and not just because I made it into a birthday-celebration weekend in Monterey, though that and the yummy meals didn’t hurt matters any). It’s a crisply conducted conference and draws a varied and eager crowd. This year, I was particularly attracted to an … Continue reading No Relax →

Californians Model How to Be Standards-Bearers for Strong School Libraries

By Beverly Goldberg | December 7, 2010

It seems only fitting that a blueprint for putting strong school library programs back on the to-do lists of education leaders should emerge from California, which hasn’t significantly increased its fiscal support for school libraries in at least two decades. In fact, former ALA President Patricia Glass-Schuman characterized the state as the “worst of the … Continue reading Californians Model How to Be Standards-Bearers for Strong School Libraries →

ULC Report: Libraries Are Sustainability Partners

By Greg Landgraf | December 7, 2010

Libraries are and will remain critical partners in ensuring sustainable local development, according to a new research report by the Urban Libraries Council. The purpose of Partners for the Future: Public Libraries and Local Governments Creating Sustainable Communities “is to qualify the public library as a vehicle for sustainability and to communicate the actions local governments … Continue reading ULC Report: Libraries Are Sustainability Partners →

Screening Your Reads

By Jennifer Burek-Pierce | December 6, 2010

In the office to my left, a colleague works with two oversized monitors and a driving simulator attached to his computer. From my right comes a steady bass thump as another colleague keyboards while listening to rap. In the midst of such 21st-century, tech-centric activity, an old-fashioned book-lover could feel decidedly dinosaur-like. Enter the book … Continue reading Screening Your Reads →

Chicago May Vie with Hawaii for Obama Presidential Library

By Leonard Kniffel | November 30, 2010

Competition appears to be growing between universities hoping to become the site of Barack Obama’s presidential library. A working group at the University of Hawaii’s main campus in Honolulu is considering whether or not the university should make a formal bid. Meanwhile, the University of Chicago, located in the city where the president’s political career … Continue reading Chicago May Vie with Hawaii for Obama Presidential Library →

Chicago Public Library Funding Holds Steady for 2011

By Leonard Kniffel | November 30, 2010

Despite the rampant budget deficits facing municipal and state government all over Illinois, the Chicago Public Library has been allocated a 2011 budget that calls for no reductions. Ruth Lednicer, CPL director of marketing, contacted American Libraries November 29 “to let you know how happy we are to report that the Chicago city council’s 2011 … Continue reading Chicago Public Library Funding Holds Steady for 2011 →

Latest Library Links

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Alvin Wanjala writes: “The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots has popularized the term large language model (LLM), the underlying AI tech working behind the scenes. LLMs generate output based upon a predicted set of language in response to the user input, making it appear as if the AI is capable of thinking for itself. But LLMs aren’t the only large models in town; large action models (LAMs) could be the next big thing in AI. An LAM is an artificial intelligence system capable of understanding human input and performing a corresponding action.”

MakeUseOf, July 11
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Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, was partially evacuated July 15 after university officials received an email claiming “In the name of Donald Trump I have hidden highly lethal lead azide devices in the library and cafeteria.” Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, evacuated its library and dining halls after receiving bomb threats July 11. Evacuation orders in both cases were lifted after searches found no bombs. Many public libraries in Illinois, Minnesota, and other states have experienced threats over the past year, most recently at River Forest (Ill.) Public Library.”

WDRB-TV (Louisville, Ky.), July 15; WGAL-TV (Lancaster, PA), July 15; Book Riot, July 16; WLS-TV (Chicago), July 9
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C. Allison Sills writes: “In the dance between safeguarding patron privacy and navigating the law, community colleges confront a pivotal question: How do we fulfill our legal obligations without compromising the ethical and legal bedrock of our profession? In North Carolina, where I work, since the Parents’ Bill of Rights became state law in December 2023, community colleges have been pressured to compulsorily activate all patron checkout history for the first time in decades. The need to shield individuals’ privacy from potential abuse is paramount.”

College & Research Libraries News, July
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Steph Campbell writes: “From a combination of hype from Stranger Things, captivating performances on Critical Role, acceptance of ‘nerd culture,’ and so many other reasons, tabletop role-playing games have greatly increased in popularity over the past few years, and youth activities are reflecting this. Running games is often seen as the core for facilitating this interest, but you can connect your library’s book collection to this too. By displaying books that focus on themes from your library’s game sessions, you can help players find other stories that they relate to.”

ALA Games & Gaming Round Table, July 11
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Share innovative strategies and resources with your peers by submitting an education program proposal for the 2025 LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, taking place January 24–27, 2025, in Phoenix. The submission site is open now through August 12. The programmatic theme of LibLearnX 2025 is Reimagine, Refocus, Reset: Charting a Path for the Future. The LibLearnX Program Submission Guide provides detailed explanations of the learning formats and step-by-step instructions for submitting a proposal. Consult the Program Proposal Rubric for evaluation criteria and scoring and view a video on using the submission site to create and submit your proposal.

ALA Conference Services, July 15
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Summer is in full swing. This means getting outside, soaking up some sunshine, and listening to our favorite tunes—from oldies-but-goodies to today’s hits. In Episode 97, Call Number covers music. This episode includes conversations with librarian and Grammy Award–winning French horn player Joy Worland, as well as librarians who have organized programs for local patrons who love Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and K-Pop. Attendees of ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego also share memories of the first concert they attended.

AL: The Scoop, July 15
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Sheila Craft-Morgan writes: “Citations are a key measure of the impact of a researcher’s work. However, research in a variety of disciplines has found that women are less likely to be cited than men; citations contain geographic bias; and the Matthew effect—in which those who begin with advantage continue to gain advantage—leads to more citations for prominent scholars in a specific discipline. These findings contribute to the notion that scholarly knowledge comes from a homogenous group of researchers, thereby overlooking the contributions of other groups.”

American Libraries column, June

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