Archives

Hayes, Amber

February 16, 2022

Amber Hayes, outreach and communications program officer for the Office of Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, left ALA November 5.

Hogan, Patrick

February 16, 2022

October 4 Patrick Hogan retired as senior acquisitions editor for ALA Editions after 26 years with ALA.

Robertson, Deb

February 16, 2022

Deb Robertson, founder and director of the Public Programs Office since 1992, retired October 8.

Sheffieck, David

February 16, 2022

ALA Connect Community Manager David Sheffieck left ALA September 10.

Shemroske, Briana

February 16, 2022

Booklist marketing associate Briana Shemroske left ALA October 1.

Amdursky, Saul

February 16, 2022

Saul Amdursky, 76, longtime director of Kalamazoo (Mich.) Public Library (KPL), died July 30. He oversaw the renovation of all KPL branches in the 1990s. Amdursky later served at libraries in British Columbia and Iowa.

Godwin, James

February 16, 2022

James L. Godwin, 78, former chief of the Automated Systems Office (now Information Technology Services Office) of the Library of Congress (LC), died September 13. Godwin joined LC in 1970 and worked there for more than 30 years, providing vision and leadership in developing and implementing its first online cataloging and information retrieval system. He … Continue reading Godwin, James →

Immroth, Barbara

February 16, 2022

Barbara Immroth, 79, faculty member at the University of Texas Graduate School of Library and Information Science (now iSchool) in Austin for 35 years until her retirement in 2015, died September 6. A specialist in children’s services, she served as 1989-1990 president of the Association for Library Service to Children. She also served as 1997-1998 … Continue reading Immroth, Barbara →

Locke, John William

February 16, 2022

John William “Bill” Locke, 83, director of Harold Washington College Library in Chicago for 35 years and recipient of a Distinguished Professor Award there, died September 7. In retirement, he volunteered at Chicago’s Newberry Library and several other Chicago cultural organizations.

Ross, Catherine

February 16, 2022

Catherine Sheldrick Ross, 75, dean of what is now the Faculty of Informa- tion and Media Studies at University of Western Ontario from 1996 to 1998 during its formation, and again from 2000 to 2007, died September 11. Ross was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2018. She coauthored scholarly works, … Continue reading Ross, Catherine →

Stoch, Ronald

February 16, 2022

Ronald V. Stoch, 70, director of Eisenhower Public Library District in Harwood Heights, Illinois, for 34 years until retiring in 2014, died October 6. Under his leadership, the library was one of the first in Illinois to automate its catalog and circulation processes, and it pioneered instituting patron-driven acquisition. After retirement, Stoch remained active in … Continue reading Stoch, Ronald →

Introducing LibLearnX

By Greg Landgraf | January 3, 2022

That planning comes to fruition when LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience debuts as an online event January 21–24. (ALA’s Executive Board voted in September to cancel the planned in-person component in San Antonio because of the ongoing pandemic and surge of COVID-19 variants, as well as the size, scope, and location of the event.) LibLearnX … Continue reading Introducing LibLearnX →

Latest Library Links

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Oguz Kayra writes: “An ancient marvel, unique in design and history, is being unearthed in the heart of southwest Türkiye. Archaeologists working in Stratonikeia, a vast ancient city located in Muğla Province and listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List, have uncovered significant portions of a rare Roman-era library, shedding light on the intellectual and architectural grandeur of the time. Nestled at the intersection of four major streets in the city center, the library was originally constructed during the Hellenistic period and later redesigned in the Roman era.”

Arkeonews, June 24
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Jessica K. Anderson and Yan Quan Liu write: “Public libraries are institutions that connect individuals with resources. However, not all patrons see themselves reflected in the selected books, and others struggle to discover relevant results in the catalog due to outdated or problematic search terms. Two emerging strategies to address these issues are diversity audits and critical cataloging. Although there is substantial literature on both individually, there is a noticeable lack of studies examining the relationship between the two. Our aim was to identify choices among libraries that have conducted collection audits to reveal patterns that can inform institutions with similar needs.”

Library Resources & Technical Services, July
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Angela Hursh writes: “Libraries have great stories to tell. But getting the media to listen isn’t always easy. Here are the top 10 practical tips that Leslie Marinelli, communications manager at Forsyth County (Ga.) Public Library; Ray Holley, communications manager at Sonoma County (Calif.) Library; and I shared [at a recent online panel] for getting your library into the news.”

Super Library Marketing, June 30
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Pranay Parab writes: “I’ve mostly been really happy with my M1 MacBook Air, which I’ve been using for nearly three years now. However, I regret not going for the variant with 16GB of RAM. The newer laptop still occasionally slows down when I open too many browser tabs. Luckily, I did some troubleshooting and fixed the problem, and I’m here to share what I’ve learned with you. So, if Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari or other browsers are slowing down on your computer, try some of these tips to nip that problem in the bud.”

Lifehacker, June 26
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Victoria Cox writes: “LaRue County (Ky.) Board of Education heard both criticism and praise last week when members were asked to remove 14 books from the high school library. Although the vote was split, the board ultimately refused to ban the books, citing the need to uphold the constitutional rights of students” by a 4–1 vote. Books the board considered include The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood; Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi; Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

LaRue County (Ky.) Herald News, June 25
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Jennifer A. Keach, Jenne M. Klotz, and Galen J. Talis write: “Library leaders at all levels are well-placed to create opportunities for joy in their organizations and to model how to do so with nuance and balance. Toward that end, we explored the multidisciplinary literature and compiled an annotated bibliography for leaders who wish to support joy within groups, organizational change agents who want to create equitable conditions for joy in the workplace, and readers seeking to develop their personal practice of joy. We provide a guide exploring five themes: defining joy, finding individual joy, work and organizational joy, empowering change with joy, and joy-adjacent emotions.”

Library Leadership and Management, June 30
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David Vickers Loertscher and Michelle Young write: “This tutorial introduces school librarians to the use of data visualization tools for documenting and communicating their impact on teaching and learning. By leveraging accessible platforms like Google Forms and Google Sheets, the authors demonstrate how librarians can build dashboards and real-time visual reports to showcase co-teaching, instructional collaboration, and student engagement. The tutorial features real-world examples, highlights common data sources already available to librarians, and argues that dynamic visual storytelling is a powerful alternative to traditional library statistics.”

Learning Hub, June 25

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