Many libraries have adopted the 23 Things Program to help staff learn about emerging technologies. Ellyssa Kroski has used the program as a starting point for the valuable 10-title Tech Set, of which she is the editor. Individual titles cover microblogging, wikis, gaming, and more, and present a five-step approach to “the entire life cycle … Continue reading Ten on Tech
Despite the continued economic downturn, at least three significant construction projects in Virginia are continuing as originially proposed. Plans for a new main library in are “on schedule,” Norfolk (Va.) Public Library Director Norman Maas told American Libraries July 13. “We hope to have the new building open in the next 36 months, and another … Continue reading Support for Virginia Construction Projects Unwavering
Without consulting a crystal ball, Thomas Frey, executive director and senior futurist at the DaVinci Institute, writes and speaks about a promising future for those libraries strongly connected to their communities and quickly adaptable to the changing world around them. Tom Sloan, executive director of the DuPage Library System in Geneva, Illinois, asked Frey to discuss … Continue reading The Future of Libraries: Interview with Thomas Frey
ProQuest unveiled plans at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., to roll out a completely redesigned platform this summer. The ground-up redesign promises to unify all ProQuest content into a single framework, while also connecting users to non-ProQuest databases through ProQuest Extended Search, and adding infrastructure to aid users in gathering, sharing, and creating … Continue reading New ProQuest Platform Improves Interface, Expands Access
After the initial hype is past, the real value of an emerging technology unfolds as librarians adopt, test, and learn from it on the ground. By understanding a tool’s practical library affordances and how they are adopted, adapted, and rejected, we can better evaluate its local promise critically, creatively, and with an eye toward sustainability. … Continue reading Hope, Hype, and VoIP: Riding the Library Technology Cycle
Several nonprofits in San Joaquin County, California, are sounding the alarm as the county board of supervisors considers the privatization of the management of Stockton–San Joaquin County Public Library (SSJCPL). “People have a right to be informed about this quiet move toward privatizing the library,” asserted Severn Williams, spokesperson for the SSJCPL Friends as well … Continue reading California Groups Oppose Library Privatization Talks
Before heading to ALA’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., young-adult author Adam Rapp spent an evening with fellow playwrights Edward Albee, Terrence McNally, and David Henry Hwang discussing censorship. Forty publishers, writers, artists, and supporters of the First Amendment gathered June 23 in the Manhattan apartment of Jane Friedman, former CEO of HarperCollins and current … Continue reading Playwrights Define Censorship
A quick search of the photo website Flickr for the keywords “library signage” can produce interesting results. You will find everything from café-style chalkboard advertisements to sheets of white paper with a few pieces of clip art thrown in. Poor visual communication can create a frustrating environment for users, but it's a practice that librarians … Continue reading Signage: Better None Than Bad
There are plenty of books on readers’ advisory service for adults, and in 2007 Heather Booth gave us Serving Teens through Readers’ Advisory (ALA Editions). Now comes Readers’ Advisory for Children and ‘Tweens. Service to this group requires special skills, author Penny Peck asserts. She describes some of the issues, including censorship challenges, before exploring … Continue reading Advising Tweens
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced July 1 that W. S. Merwin has been appointed as the library’s 17th poet laureate consultant in poetry. Merwin will serve as poet laureate for 2010–2011 and is scheduled to open the Library of Congress’s annual literary series October 25 with a reading from his work. “William Merwin’s … Continue reading W. S. Merwin Named Poet Laureate
The last thing I did before checking my suitcase at Washington National Airport was to tuck the pink steno pad in which I’d been scribbling all conference long into the front pocket of my suitcase. Well before the end of my trip, I had tired of lugging and protecting the accoutrements of conference life, so … Continue reading What Came Home from D.C.
Outraged at the prospect of no library service on Fridays due to lack of funding, the city council of Wheaton, Illinois, is considering an ordinance to require the Wheaton Public Library to remain open at least four hours per day for a six-day week during the summer and a seven-day week during the school year. … Continue reading Town Officials Threaten Cash-Strapped Board for Trimming Library Hours
