Archives

Alpi, Kristine

January 2, 2019

In September Kristine Alpi was named university librarian at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.

Freda, Cecelia

January 2, 2019

Cecelia Freda retired as library media specialist at Middletown (N.J.) High School South in September.

Brehm-Heeger, Paula

January 2, 2019

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County named Paula Brehm- Heeger as Eva Jane Romaine Coombe director October 12.

Carpenter, Meghan

January 2, 2019

Meghan Carpenter became children’s librarian and teen advisor at Sylvester Memorial Wellston (Ohio) Public Library in November.

Hanson, David

January 2, 2019

Bergen County (N.J.) Cooperative Library System appointed David Hanson as executive director October 26.

King, Jennifer Gunter

January 2, 2019

Jennifer Gunter King joined Emory University in Atlanta in October as director of the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.

Leak, Carl

January 2, 2019

September 10 Carl Leak joined the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries as health sciences librarian.

Morrow-Ritchie, Vikki

January 2, 2019

Huron (Ohio) Public Library appointed Vikki Morrow-Ritchie director September 24.

Schadl, Suzanne

January 2, 2019

The Library of Congress appointed Suzanne Schadl chief of its Hispanic Division October 15.

Shaffer, Gary

January 2, 2019

Glendale, California, appointed Gary Shaffer director of library, arts, and culture August 28.

Zeraatkar, Neda

January 2, 2019

Neda Zeraatkar became Middle East and Islamic studies librarian at Emory University’s Woodruff Library in Atlanta in May.

Ballou, Julie

January 2, 2019

Metropolitan Library System in Oklahoma City promoted Julie Ballou to executive director effective October 8.

Latest Library Links

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Samantha Kretschmer writes: “A staff survey conducted by administration at my library two years ago pointed to a general feeling of discontent amongst staff. The administration formed a Staff Advisory committee, which I was tasked with chairing. The point of this committee was to promote understanding and cooperation between the various branches and departments of the library; to promote productive cooperation between staff, management, and administration; to provide a place for a constructive exchange of ideas; to serve as a channel for staff questions, comments, and concerns; and to help create a community amongst staff.”

ALSC Blog, Nov. 28
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James Folta writes: “Authors Against Book Bans (AABB), a coalition of writers and creative workers who ‘stand united against the deeply unconstitutional movement to limit the freedom to read,’ released an open letter on social media November 25 demanding publishers prepare for the incoming Trump administration. The AABB conducted open forums with authors, and compiled their concerns and demands for the coming years. The letter outlines collective worries about the Trump administration and its threats, and how authors hope the corporations they work with will counter those coming dangers.”

Literary Hub, Nov. 26
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Rose Horowitch writes: “An alarming phenomenon has sprung up over the past few years: Many students are arriving at college unprepared to read entire books. The problem does not appear to be that ‘kids these days’ are incurious or uninterested in reading. Instead, young people might be responding to a cultural message: Books just aren’t that important. The professors I spoke with didn’t think their students were lazy. They saw that their students’ schedules are crowded with activities that are less about personal development and more relevant to future employment.”

The Atlantic, Nov. 29
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Mia Blixt-Shehan writes: “The ALA Core Metadata Standards Committee has developed a rubric to help information professionals evaluate metadata schemas in order to select one that would best fit the needs of a given project. The first official version of the Metadata Schema Assessment Framework is now available via the ALA Institutional Repository. The committee identified several criteria that can be used to evaluate metadata schemas, and the rubric also contains levels for assessing the extent that a given schema meets each criterion.”

Core News, Nov. 27
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Lorin M. Flores writes: “The ongoing need to rapidly acquire knowledge and skills related to new technologies and developments in the library field has been a preoccupation of library workers and administrators for years. Keeping current may seem impossible, given time and budget constraints. But microlearning in the form of short online courses, or microcourses, can be an efficient and effective strategy to fulfill professional development needs. Microlearning involves condensing instructional content into bite-sized chunks of information for maximum cognitive impact. Ideally, each course should range from five to 10 minutes to make the information graspable and maximize engagement.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
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Alison Marcotte writes: “Author-illustrator Vashti Harrison made history this year as the first Black woman to win the Caldecott Medal, which has been awarded since 1938, for her picture book Big. It tells the story of a big girl in a world that celebrates small, tracing her journey to self-love and showing the power of words to both hurt and heal. Harrison also received 2024 Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Honor awards. American Libraries spoke with Harrison about the response from readers nationwide, life after winning the Caldecott, and how the publishing world can continue to elevate untold stories.”

American Libraries Trend, Nov./Dec.
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Jessamyn West writes: “My drop-in time work used to be a lot of teaching basic skills. Then for a time it was teaching people about software, [and then] social media, then mobile phones. Lately the major thing I do is something I call ‘How do I connect this to that?’ Each of these things is not just a ‘read the help pages’ situation because it involves multiple interrelated systems. Understanding how these things work together is the main skill that’s required to help people troubleshoot. Here are a few concepts that are useful.”

Librarian.net, Nov. 23

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