As director of Hooper (Nebr.) Public Library, Karla Shafer worked to transform the institution into a vital place in the community for six and a half years. Those efforts ended abruptly in 2010, however, when controversy erupted over Shafer’s teaching of English classes to immigrants in a nearby town on her days off. She resigned … Continue reading Merritt Fund Aids a Colleague in Distress
Displays are hit or miss. So often we throw together a bunch of books on a theme. In our flurry to pull just the right items and create beautiful signage to market the display, we get lost in the process and fail to ask ourselves important questions. Will patrons find this useful? Should it be … Continue reading Building Displays That Move “the Merchandise”
Each January, librarians, publishers, parents . . . and, well, anyone who has an interest in books and reading . . . awaits the announcement of the Youth Media Awards at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. While awards help us define the criteria for “good” books, the lists of winners and notables are just a few … Continue reading Great Lists of Great Reads
The HBCU Library Alliance, a consortium that promotes collaboration among information professionals and excellence in library leadership, was established in 2002 and continues to provide an array of training and development opportunities for member institutions, including photographic preservation, reports, assessments, and leadership workshops. So far, the project has documented nine success stories. Here are two … Continue reading Preserving Black Academic Library History
I applaud the hard work of everyone who has tackled the thorny issues confronting libraries in the increasingly hostile ebook environment in which we find ourselves. However, I believe we are missing an essential component in any solution: copyright law reform. At last summer’s ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, I listened to an impassioned … Continue reading We Need Copyright 2.0
“Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other.” —Carol Saline and Sharon J. Wohlmuth, coauthors of Sisters (Running Press, 2004) What if libraries, like sisters, could be there for one another? What if public libraries with more resources partnered with underfunded ones to help them reach their … Continue reading O Sister Library, Where Art Thou?
In the 1990s, libraries were pioneers in providing access to the internet in their communities. Even today, libraries are the only place some community members can get online. Over the past few years, libraries have begun positioning themselves as the go-to place for digital creation technologies, providing hardware and software that most people wouldn’t have … Continue reading Providing the Tools
This piece is excerpted from the January 2012 issue of Library Technology Reports. You can purchase the full issue on the ALA Store. Google “smartphone user.” Click on Images. What do you see? When I tried this, I saw some graphs, pictures of devices (many of them BlackBerrys), and a bunch of white people, mostly … Continue reading Bridging the Digital Divide with Mobile Services
These are the top library stories of 2011, as selected by American Libraries editors. Share your top 10 in the comments. 1. Ebook Escapades HarperCollins imposed an arbitrary 26 loans per ebook license and Penguin refused to let libraries lend its new titles altogether. Even good e-news had a catch: Patrons who could now borrow … Continue reading Top 10 Library Stories of 2011
All of you who’ve weeded a collection know the challenges I face. Former American Libraries Editor Leonard Kniffel left me a legacy: file drawers stuffed with materials from his 15 years at the helm of this magazine. As someone new to the American Library Association and to this publication, it’s been somewhat daunting to determine what … Continue reading Treasure Hunt
Join the more than 10,000 library leaders, publishers, authors, and guests in discussions about the transformation of libraries, learn firsthand from frontline Occupy movement librarians, and engage in the excitement of Youth Media Award announcements during the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting January 20–24 at the Dallas Convention Center and area hotels. More than 1,800 … Continue reading The Conversation Starts in Dallas . . .
Few would disagree that a diverse work force makes us better stewards of the communities we serve. It enhances our ability to respond to an increasingly changing world of patrons, strengthens relations with our communities, and expands the creativity of our libraries. While efforts to diversify the profession have gradually improved in the past quarter-century, … Continue reading Reflecting Our Communities
