At ALA

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Manager of Public Policy Megan Ortegon left the Public Policy and Advocacy Office (PPAO) June 26.
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Emily Wagner, deputy director of advocacy communications in PPAO, left ALA June 19.
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Nick Aleck, IT user experience manager, left ALA May 29.
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Robert Skwarczynski, building services technician, left ALA’s maintenance department May 29.
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David Valentin, building services technician, left ALA’s maintenance department May 29.
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George Eberhart, American Libraries senior editor and an ALA employee since 1980, will retire June 8.
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Tim Smith, director of infrastructure in ALA’s IT office, retired May 4 after 22 years with the Association.
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Don Dixon joined ALA’s IT office in April as database administrator.
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Katie Bedford joined Conference Services as conference assistant February 17.
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Internet Administrator Rob Berquist left ALA February 25.
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Crystal Carrazco, previously ALA member communications specialist, became social media manager in the Communications and Marketing Office February 3.
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Association of College and Research Libraries Executive Director Mary Ellen K. Davis retired April 24.

Latest Library Links

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Queens (N.Y.) Public Library Assistant Director Fatma Ghailan writes: “Libraries have long been seen as safe havens for students, providing homework assistance and summer reading programs. Over the last decade, libraries have continued to embrace their role in training adults as well, offering them ways to learn digital skills that employers desperately need.”

American Libraries column, May
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Abigail Rosenthal writes: “Houston just opened a can of worms by asking us to help name the city’s new library. The yet-to-be-named new library will serve the Westbury, Meyerland, Brays Oaks, and Hiram Clarke areas and replace the Meyer Neighborhood Public Library, which flooded during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. A library naming committee will narrow down submissions from the public. Many a Redditor chimed in with suggestions when the news broke, with some form of Library McLibraryFace being the most popular.”

Houston Chronicle, May 6
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Kip Hill writes: “A four-way race for two seats on the board responsible for running the library system in parts of Kootenai County (Idaho) has prompted questions about censorship of materials and charges that the local Republican Party is injecting partisan politics into a nonpartisan position. Incumbents Bob Fish and Michele Veale face challenges from Vanessa Robinson and Rachelle Ottosen for their seats on the Community Library Network board of trustees, a body controlling a roughly $7 million budget and a seven-library system. The challengers have drawn the support of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee and have advocated for the removal of certain materials from the children’s section of the library dealing with social causes, including gender identity, racial discrimination, and sexual orientation.”

The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.), May 8
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Russell Brandom and William Joel write: “If broadband access was a problem before 2020, the pandemic turned it into a crisis. As everyday businesses moved online, city council meetings or court proceedings became near-inaccessible to anyone whose connection couldn’t support a Zoom call. Some school districts started providing Wi-Fi hotspots to students without a reliable home connection. After years of slowly widening, the broadband gap became impossible to ignore. This map shows where the broadband problem is worst. Specifically, the colored-in areas show US counties where less than 15% of households are using the internet at broadband speed.”

The Verge, May 10
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Research and instruction librarian David Sye writes: “The term intellectual freedom has been recently tossed around by state lawmakers to justify new laws targeting college campuses. The recent laws and policy changes mainly target one of three things: faculty tenure, curriculum, or freedom of speech. This post provides an update on new laws or incidents happening in various states. Many bills discussing curriculum target Critical Race Theory, whether directly or indirectly.”

OIF Blog, May 11
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Books written by Hong Kong pro-democracy figures and critics of Beijing have been removed from local public libraries in Hong Kong for review, after the authorities cited potential national security law violations. According to a May 7 report, the government’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department ordered library staff to remove copies of nine books by six authors from the shelves as the titles had to undergo a review. The LCSD confirmed on May 9 that they have suspended services relating to the nine books, saying the move was to “avoid breaking the law.”

Hong Kong Free Press, May 10
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Kevin Reome writes: “Every year around this time goats are sent to Simi Valley in California to the grounds near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum to combat the ever-present danger of wildfires. They do not put on fire helmets or ride around in firetrucks, though I bet we can find photos of that on the internet somewhere. The goats are brought in to eat the surrounding dry vegetation thus giving less fuel to any possible fires and creating a fire break.”

Boing Boing, May 7

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