In my first column, I mentioned the symbolic journey on the old Route 66 from Chicago to L.A.—Library Advocacy. Let's now embark on the second part of that trip. It is still the same route from Chicago to L.A., but this time the road leads to Literacy Advocacy. Although I include all types of literacy, … Continue reading Advocacy: Part II
Two small items in this month's American Libraries really connected for me. On page 34 we have a quote from the San Francisco Chronicle's open reader forum, in which the writer says facetiously, "Of all the current assaults on our noble republic, perhaps none is more dangerous than the public option-specifically, the public library option … Continue reading Fear of Socialism
I'm no prophet, but my guess is that 2009 will be known as the year of the great health care debate. While I haven't studied all the details of the various plans, I do support the concept of universal health care for all. I have felt strongly about this issue since 1972 when I broke … Continue reading The Librarian Is In
The first program I ever saw on television was a boxing match: Rocky Marciano versus Jersey Joe Walcott, September 23, 1952. My family didn't have a television at the time, but our neighbors across the street did, and my father, mother, and I were all invited over for the fight. Marciano won handily, but what … Continue reading Sugar Ray
Net Gen? Gen Y? Gen M? All are labels we've heard applied to the generation ranging in age from adolescents just entering or about to enter high school, to those just joining the work force. Whatever they're called, they have particular, technology driven learning styles, which are examined in Teaching Generation M: A Handbook for … Continue reading We Are All Millennials
The centennial of the Castleton (N.Y.) Public Library is being overshadowed by controversy, as area residents and local and state officials continue to demand the reinstatement of Darlene Miller as director of the library a month after the board summarily fired her. About 75 concerned citizens in the village of 1,600 gathered October 20 for … Continue reading Village Residents Demand Return of Beloved Library Director
Friends of William Petit, who was beaten and whose wife and two daughters were murdered when their Cheshire, Connecticut, home was robbed in July 2007, have asked Cheshire Public Library not to stock a book about the crime. The book, In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in … Continue reading Connecticut Residents Protest Book Detailing Local Murders
It’s Queens Borough Public Library v. SirsiDynix in a lawsuit filed by the library in United States District Court in New York and scheduled for an initial conference November 2. The library seeks more than $5 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages, alleging that the Sirsi and Dynix corporations, now combined … Continue reading Queens Library Sues SirsiDynix, Alleging “Bait-and-Switch” Fraud
In a bold recession-bucking move, Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, has launched the first PhD program in library and information science in its 108-year history. The Doctorate of Philosophy in Library and Information Science, to be administered through the suburban Chicago university’s accredited Graduate School of Library and Information Science, has accepted its first … Continue reading Dominican University Library School Establishes PhD Program
The stakes have risen in an ongoing dispute between Gwinnett County (Ga.) Public Library officials and area residents served by the Dacula branch, despite the board having rescinded its August decision to close the three-year-old facility and shift the staff and collection to the yet-to-be-built Hamilton Mill Library. Although GCPL trustees agreed September 22 to … Continue reading Angry Patrons Seek Gwinnett Director’s Ouster
The city commission of Leesburg, Florida, has voted 4–1 to have the young adult literature section of Leesburg Public Library divided into physically separated age-appropriate groupings, creating a separate area for books targeted for high school students. “It will be based on reviews to determine the intended audience for a book, not the content,” Director … Continue reading Florida Library to Label YA Books by Age, Not Maturity
Sara Kelly Johns, school library media specialist for grades 6–12 at Lake Placid (N.Y.) Middle/High School, and Molly Rafael, recently retired as director of Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon, are candidates for the 2011–12 presidency of the American Library Association. Running for ALA treasurer are Alan Kornblau, director of Delray Beach (Fla.) Public Library, … Continue reading Johns, Rafael Seek ALA Presidency; Kornblau, Neal Are Treasurer Candidates
