People

Appointments & Retirements

Duff, Sara

Sara Duff became assessment librarian in Acquisitions and Collection Services at the University of Central Florida Libraries in Orlando in April.
Faragan, Nicholas

In April Nicholas Faragan became director at Westport (N.Y.) Library Association.
Fitzsimmons, Vicky

Boca Raton (Fla.) Public Library named Vicky Fitzsimmons to the new position of digital librarian in May.
Guill, Kacy

Kacy Guill became county librarian at Trinity County (Calif.) Library in June.
Marr, Jenny

Ferndale (Mich.) Area District Library appointed Jenny Marr as library director, effective June 5.

At ALA

Ondrla, Tory

Tory Ondrla has been promoted to Association of College and Research Libraries conference manager.
Serrano, Elizabeth

May 8 Elizabeth Serrano joined the Association for Library Service to Children as membership marketing specialist.
Simon, Lindsey

Lindsey Simon joined the Public Awareness Office as public awareness campaign coordinator April 24.
Williams, Valerie

Valerie J. Williams joined ALA Editions/ALA Neal-Schuman as senior administrative assistant May 8.
Hoebbel, Hugh

Payroll Coordinator Hugh Hoebbel left ALA June 7.

Cited

Augsbury, Jennea

Jennea Augsbury, lead library technician for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Dallas, was named the Federal Library and Information Network’s Federal Library Technician of the Year May 5.
Hewitt, Vivian

Vivian Davidson Hewitt, retired chief librarian for the Rockefeller Foundation, librarian at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and librarian and instructor at Atlanta University’s School of Library and Information Science, received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh May 21.
Knapp, Alice

Alice Knapp, president of Ferguson Library in Stamford, Connecticut, received the Fairfield County Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award for outstanding community service by a
layperson and the promotion of civic responsibility and good government.
Mars, Amy

Amy Mars, research and instruction librarian at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, has received the Minnesota Academic Innovators Award from the Academic and Research Libraries Division of the Minnesota Library Association.
Safiullah, Safi

Safi S. M. Safiullah, manager of Salt Lake City Public Library’s Marmalade branch, was named Librarian of the Year by the Utah Library Association May 18.

Obituaries

Benne, Mae

Mae Maxine Benne, 93, a professor of library science at the University of Washington in Seattle from 1965 to 1988, died March 26. Prior to becoming a professor, Benne worked at Yakima (Wash.) Valley Regional Library, Southfield (Mich.)
Library, and (as coordinator of children’s services) North Central Regional Library in Wenatchee, Washington.
Blackmore, Elodie

Elodie Blackmore, 87, who retired in March as director of East Smithfield (R.I.) Public Library, died April 9.
Hudson, Phyllis

Phyllis J. Hudson, 83, a librarian at the University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries in Orlando for 34 years until her 2005 retirement, died April 20. Hudson received the UCF Excellence in Librarianship award in 1989. During her career,
she chaired the United Faculty of Florida Women’s Rights Committee, served as president of the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Florida Chapter, chaired the Florida Library Association Women in Libraries Caucus and
the Collective Bargaining in Libraries Caucus, and served as a director of the National Education Association Florida Teaching Profession Board.
Martine, Thomas

Thomas Martine, 66, assistant order librarian at Princeton (N.J.) University Library, died April 19.
Anen, Mary

Mary Anen, 80, assistant librarian for more than 25 years at the Lake Hiawatha (N.J.) branch of Parsippany-Troy Hills Public Library System, died March 6.

Latest Library Links

3h

Jeffrey T. Davis writes: “The romantic appeal of library cards is hard to deny. A look at the hashtag #firstlibrarycard on social media will turn up stories, photos, and enthusiasm about the milestone of receiving one’s first card. Whether they’re used or not, library cards are tokens of belonging and potential. They come with privileges and responsibilities and a whole new relationship to the world. They’re a big deal.” The author discusses how libraries are using the library card to establish close community bonds.

American Libraries feature, July/Aug.
3h

Valerie Nye writes: “Some of the most difficult challenges to library material that librarians have to deal with happen when one censorship issue snowballs and encourages multiple groups of people to challenge multiple books over several years. Jerilynn Williams is the library director of Montgomery County (Tex.) Memorial Library System. She encountered a series of challenges by groups opposed to material in the library, beginning in 2002. I asked Williams about her experiences and the lessons she learned.”

Intellectual Freedom Blog, July 24
4h

Rebecca Renner writes: “I love old, dead white men. There. I said it. F. Scott Fitzgerald is my boy. Tolstoy, Dickens, Steinbeck, Orwell, and Nabokov—Give me all the books. I even have a Vonnegut quote tattooed on my wrist. But because of that love, for the longest time, I experienced a very narrow sliver of what literature has to offer. The worst thing about that was that I didn’t know it. One of the most important reasons why I now try to read diversely is because I believe in the power of story. Story is transformative.”

Book Riot, July 25
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Staff time is a valuable resource, and automating certain tasks can allow staff members to focus on tasks that need a human touch. Automatic book sorting and self-checkout are not new ideas, but innovations in these areas continue, providing new ways for libraries to maximize their return on donated and discarded books, minimize the footprint of self-checkout, and maintain their collections—and save staff time.

American Libraries column, July/Aug.
5h

Each year, the Institute of Museum and Library Services recognizes outstanding libraries and museums that have made significant contributions to improve the well-being of their communities. The winning museums and libraries are presented with the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. IMLS is now accepting nominations for the 2018 awards. Applicants must complete and return a nomination form by October 2.

Institute of Museum and Library Services, July 24
6h

Kelly Hiser writes: “Rabble is a startup based in Madison, Wisconsin, that builds online local music collections with public libraries. Our open-source platform, MUSICat, helps librarians connect with local musicians to collect, curate, license, and publish music. We work with an amazing group of library partners. Rabble will turn three this fall, and we’re pleased that we’re still around. I credit Rabble’s success largely to the care we bring to our work with librarians and musicians.”

The Library As Incubator Project, July 25
6h

Brittany Levine Beckman writes: “Just as Snopes, one of the oldest fact-checking sites, seems to have hit its mainstream stride, it gets tangled in a dramatic legal mess, one that involves lots of finger-pointing, alleged backstabbing, and a contentious divorce. It’s the kind of backroom drama that tends to play out in secret until someone files a lawsuit. Now we have not one but two lawsuits, and on July 24 a cry for help. Snopes has become the go-to site for debunking internet hoaxes since its inception in 1995.”

Mashable, July 24