Sheets de Gracia, Karen | American Libraries Magazine

Karen Sheets de Gracia, director of design, layout, and composition for ALA Editions, left ALA June 10.

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Rosie Newmark writes: “Since multiple wildfires erupted in Los Angeles on January 7, tens of thousands of residents have been displaced or remain on evacuation watch, as fire-fanning winds threaten to continue. Amid the disaster, library systems including Los Angeles County Library, Los Angeles City Public Library, and Altadena Library District, are spearheading efforts to help community members as well as library staff through fundraising and onsite support. ALA has also set up a relief effort through its ALA Disaster Relief Fund.”

AL: The Scoop, Jan. 22
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Gabriel Tynes writes: “An appeal of a lower court January 14 became an inquiry into the broader First Amendment question of whether an inmate’s limited access to reading materials amounted to a de facto ban on books, religious materials and newspapers. A three-judge Eighth Circuit panel heard arguments after officials from Washington County, Arkansas, sought qualified immunity from a lawsuit filed by an inmate who claims his constitutional rights were violated by the jail’s policy limiting access to certain reading materials to electronic tablets and kiosks.”

Courthouse News Service, Jan. 14
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Tara García Mathewson writes: “New data released this week by the DC-based Center for Democracy and Technology shows just how often [blocking of information in schools] happens nationwide. The nonprofit digital rights advocacy organization conducted its fifth annual nationally representative survey of middle and high school teachers and parents as well as high school students about a range of tech issues. About 70% of both teachers and students this year said web filters get in the way of students’ ability to complete their assignments.”

The Markup, Jan. 16; Center for Democracy and Technology, Jan. 15
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ALA filed an amicus brief affirming the importance of the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund and the E-rate program that helps power broadband-enabled services and access through US public libraries and schools. More than half of all public libraries each year apply for E-rate funding. The brief is part of the record the Supreme Court will review in two consolidated cases (24-354 and 24-422) that will determine the future of vital funding for universal broadband access.

ALA Public Policy & Advocacy Office, Jan. 17
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ALA’s Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) seeks nominations for the Herb Biblo Outstanding Leadership Award for Social Justice and Equality, sponsored by Library Juice Academy. Leadership can be demonstrated by accomplishments through SRRT or other ALA bodies, socially responsible groups within state, provincial, regional, or city library organizations, and/or international library organizations. To be eligible for this award, individuals must be members of SRRT or other library organizations or groups with similar goals and objectives. The deadline for nominations is February 15.

Social Responsibilities Round Table
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Cass Balzer writes: “Libraries are often gateways to new experiences, and a growing number are now offering patrons the chance to see the world in full color—literally. In recent years, libraries of all sizes have begun adding color-corrective glasses to their Library of Things collections. Made possible primarily through partnerships with manufacturers, patrons can test these glasses out before committing to purchasing their own pair.”

American Libraries Trend, Jan./Feb.
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American Libraries collects statistics related to the LibLearnX host city’s literary scene. Find the size of Arizona State University Library in Tempe’s Nicholas A. Salerno Star Wars Collection; the 1974 purchase price of Changing Hands Bookstore, one of Arizona’s largest independent booksellers; the number of Indigenous artists represented in the Heard Museum’s Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives; and the number of books sold by Phoenix author Stephenie Meyer.

American Libraries Trend, Jan./Feb.

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