Uncategorized Archives | Page 55 of 58 | American Libraries Magazine

Bush Presidential Library Unveiled

By Leonard Kniffel | November 20, 2009

The George W. Bush Presidential Center has been designed to achieve LEED platinum certification and will include numerous sustainable design strategies, including locally sourced and 20% recycled building materials, solar hot water panels, native landscaping to reduce irrigation, and a storm-water management system that conveys, cleanses, and collects surface runoff and roof rainwater and will … Continue reading Bush Presidential Library Unveiled →

Supreme Court Lets Miami-Dade’s Vamos Ban Stand

By Beverly Goldberg | November 18, 2009

Intellectual-freedom advocates are expressing disappointment at the November 16 refusal of the Supreme Court to hear their appeal of ACLU of Florida v. Miami-Dade School Board. The decision lets stand a February appeals-court ruling that permits the Miami-Dade School Board to keep Vamos a Cuba and its English-language translation A Visit to Cuba off media-center … Continue reading Supreme Court Lets Miami-Dade’s Vamos Ban Stand →

Revised Google Books Settlement Tackles Foreign Titles, Orphans

By Gordon Flagg | November 18, 2009

Shortly before a midnight deadline on November 13, Google, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers filed a revised version of their proposed settlement of lawsuits challenging Google’s Book Search project. The original deal, reached in October 2008, drew criticism over antitrust concerns and treatment of orphan works and foreign publications, and an … Continue reading Revised Google Books Settlement Tackles Foreign Titles, Orphans →

Board President Denounces Closing of Colton Libraries

By Beverly Goldberg | November 17, 2009

Five days after the abrupt November 12 decision to close the only two libraries in Colton, California, library board President Peter Carrasco was anticipating an outpouring of library support from disaffected area residents at the city council’s November 17 meeting that night. “A library is an institution in the community. It’s not like closing down … Continue reading Board President Denounces Closing of Colton Libraries →

Cheshire Library Retains True-Crime Book about Town Murders

By Greg Landgraf | November 17, 2009

The Cheshire (Conn.) Public Library Advisory Board voted 5–1 November 16 in favor of Director Ramona Harten’s decision to purchase two copies of Brian McDonald’s In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in Cold Blood for the collection. The library’s acquisition of the title drew controversy because the … Continue reading Cheshire Library Retains True-Crime Book about Town Murders →

Children’s Champion Effie Lee Morris Dies

By Pamela Goodes | November 16, 2009

Effie Lee Morris, 88, children’s librarian extraordinaire and advocate for children’s literature and library service to youngsters with impaired vision, died of cancer November 10 at her home in San Francisco. Calling Morris the “Grand Dame of children’s librarianship,” Andrew P. Jackson, former president of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), made … Continue reading Children’s Champion Effie Lee Morris Dies →

Hawaiian Librarians Aid in Tsunami Recovery in American Samoa

By Gordon Flagg | November 11, 2009

A pair of librarians traveled from Hawaii to Pago Pago to help in recovery efforts following the devastating tsunami that struck September 29. Triggered by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake, the waves killed 34 people in American Samoa and around 160 in neighboring Samoa and Tonga. Lynn Davis, head of preservation at the University of Hawaii … Continue reading Hawaiian Librarians Aid in Tsunami Recovery in American Samoa →

Open Source Advocates Reject SirsiDynix’s Warning

By Sean Fitzpatrick | November 11, 2009

In the ongoing discussion about open source ILSs, one wouldn’t expect a big ILS vendor selling closed, proprietary products to have anything nice to say. Nonetheless, when SyrsiDynix Vice President of Innovation Stephen Abram did weigh in on the issue, his harsh criticism created quite a dust-up on Twitter and the blogosphere. But Abram’s white … Continue reading Open Source Advocates Reject SirsiDynix’s Warning →

It May Cost Too Much to Close Libraries in Reading, Pennsylvania

By Beverly Goldberg | November 4, 2009

Concerned citizens in Reading, Pennsylvania, have been brainstorming about how to keep the three branches of the Reading Public Library open ever since the board announced in late October that it had to close the three facilities at year’s end and lay off nine of the 20 branch library workers, leaving the city of about … Continue reading It May Cost Too Much to Close Libraries in Reading, Pennsylvania →

Library Levy Landslides Make History in Ohio

By Beverly Goldberg | November 4, 2009

Election Day in Ohio reaped an unprecedented show of library support: Voters in Ohio approved 29 of the 37 library levies placed on ballots by cash-starved public libraries reeling from 11th-hour cuts to state aid for FY2010–12, with one more apparently passing but close enough to require a recount. The impressive display translates into a … Continue reading Library Levy Landslides Make History in Ohio →

Tech Services Consolidation Looms Over Massachusetts’ Five Colleges

By Leonard Kniffel | November 4, 2009

Based in Amherst, Five Colleges Incorporated—a nonprofit consortium composed of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst—is examining a consolidation of the schools’ library technical services, but the push for greater efficiency has left some librarians worried about their jobs. The Librarians Council spearheading the plan issued a … Continue reading Tech Services Consolidation Looms Over Massachusetts’ Five Colleges →

Newsmaker: Arne Duncan

October 31, 2009

The U.S. Secretary of Education shared his views on, among other things, volunteerism, No Child Left Behind, reading readiness, and libraries, in an exclusive June 22, 2009, telephone conversation with American Libraries Editor in Chief Leonard Kniffel. Arne Duncan at the Fanwood (N.J.) Public Library for the June 22 kick-off of "United We Serve." American Libraries: … Continue reading Newsmaker: Arne Duncan →

Latest Library Links

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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, Arizona. 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 librarians who have organized programs for local patrons who love Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and K-Pop, as well as librarian and Grammy Award–winning French horn player Joy Worland. 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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Mel Baldwin writes: “Regardless of why someone comes into a library, every patron should be free to interact with staff, browse materials, and use the internet without fear of harassment or worse. That freedom depends on libraries upholding patron privacy. With nearly 400 active anti-trans bills pending in state legislatures as of April 2024, it is a dangerous time in the US to be gender nonconforming, someone whose gender expression does not align with the traditional male or female binary. And for trans people of color, studies show the risk of discrimination and violence is higher.”

American Libraries column, June
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Greg Landgraf writes: “On a school morning last September, small groups of 5th-graders crowded around tools connected to scientific research—a microscope, a robotic camera, and even a snake named Morgan Freeman—clipboards and pencils in hand. They were at the Melrose branch of Roanoke (Va.) Public Libraries (RPL), judging graduate students from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on their research. The event was RPL’s second Flip the Fair, introduced in 2022 to help graduate students develop skills to effectively communicate their research while engaging local elementary students with STEM topics and the library.”

American Libraries Trend, June
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Aaryn Bierly writes: “Disability Pride Month is traditionally celebrated in July to celebrate the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The ADA regulates laws regarding service animals, requires employers to accommodate their employees’ physical and medical needs, stipulates the number and placement of accessible parking spaces and restrooms, and more. One in five Americans has some type of disability that makes working more difficult, and the ADA has made working conditions easier for a significant number of Americans. We’ve got several great lists of books for kids and teens of different ages featuring characters with a range of disabilities.”

Herrick District Library (Holland, Mich.), July 1
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“Many people already turn to libraries as sources of trusted information ahead of elections, and organizations like ALA and the League of Women Voters are hoping to expand those numbers. We’ve curated a selection of resources, tools, and ideas to help inform your library’s approach to this important work.”

WebJunction, July 3

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