Archives

Washington, Michelle

June 8, 2017

Michelle Harrell Washington, director of the ALA Office for Diversity and Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, left ALA March 13.

Zervas, Emily

June 8, 2017

Emily Zervas was appointed director of Putney (Vt.) Public Library in January.

Goldberg, Beverly

July 23, 2015

Beverly Goldberg retired as senior editor for American Libraries February 19 after 33 years of service.

Lehner, John

July 23, 2015

John Lehner, associate dean of personnel, planning, and systems at the University of Houston Libraries, was named the recipient of the libraries’ inaugural Ambassador Kenneth Franzheim II Endowed Library Professorship, which recognizes individuals who have advanced their discipline and are regarded for leadership. The professorship is effective April 1.

Bohman, Mary

July 23, 2015

Mary Bohman recently retired as children’s librarian at Algoma (Wis.) Public Library.

Dickson, Phebe

July 23, 2015

Phebe Dickson became industrial relations librarian at Princeton (N.J.) University January 26.

Dotson, Nichole

July 23, 2015

Nichole Dotson joined ALA as accounting manager, accounts receivable, in December.

Dolamore, Heidi

July 23, 2015

January 26 Heidi Dolamore became assistant director of San José (Calif.) Public Library.

Eisler, Melody

July 23, 2015

Melody Sky Eisler left as director of Kitsap (Wash.) Regional Library’s Silverdale branch in January to become director of Port Townsend (Wash.) City Library.

Biometric Access

By Ernest Dixon | May 26, 2015

Paul Sawyier Public Library implemented a biometric identification system in October 2008. Since then, patrons who sign up for a library card have the option to enroll in the finger identification system, which is required only when using the public computers and the media box located in the lobby. To check out materials or log … Continue reading Biometric Access →

The Future of Library Services to Teens

By Linda W. Braun | May 22, 2015

Not only can students learn from these presentations but so can professors who develop LIS courses and help students gain the necessary skills to succeed in 21st-century libraries. This need to bring the real and the academic worlds together underscores the importance of the work that the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has done … Continue reading The Future of Library Services to Teens →

RFID to the Rescue

By Phil Morehart | May 21, 2015

Smart returns The new Smart Bin from FE Technologies uses RFID technology to speed up the returns process for patrons and staffers. The bin uses a reading algorithm that can simultaneously receive multiple items, allowing patrons to drop several items into the bin at the same time. The Smart Bin has a capacity of approximately … Continue reading RFID to the Rescue →

Latest Library Links

2d

Genevieve Trainor writes: “The Guinness World Record holder for Most Prolific Book Thief is Ottumwa (Iowa’s) Stephen Blumberg. The 23,600 volumes he accumulated between the 1970s and his arrest in March of 1990 were all stashed in his 17-room home. Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, got involved with Blumberg as part of the FBI’s efforts to return the stolen manuscripts and rare books to their museums and libraries. Referred to as the Omaha Project, the information science proving ground involved four weeks, 44 catalogers and reference librarians and 600 volunteer hours to determine who might be the rightful owners.”

Little Village (Dubuque, Iowa), Dec. 4
2d

Casey Newton writes: “At the moment, no one knows for sure whether the large language models that are now under development will achieve superintelligence and transform the world. And in that uncertainty, two primary camps of criticism have emerged. The first camp, which I associate with the external critics, holds that artificial intelligence (AI) is fake and sucks. The second camp, which I associate more with the internal critics, believes that AI is real and dangerous. Today I want to lay out why I believe AI is real and dangerous.”

Platformer, Dec. 5
3d

Latia Ward writes: “One way to keep current with what students think of the library and its services is through Student Library Advisory Committee meetings. These meetings are a way to gather feedback and reinforce the library as a welcoming place. How do librarians create a welcoming environment within Student Library Advisory Committee meetings? Librarians create a welcoming environment through community, purpose, and dedicated space.” Also see part 1 of this blog post.

RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Nov. 13, Dec. 5
3d

Eleanor Hecks writes: “Few things are as frustrating to a user as when a site won’t respond. Unfortunately, it’s also an all-too-common scenario. Graceful degradation is a design approach that ensures the basics of a website will still function even if specific individual parts of it stop working. The approach removes single points of failure: just because one thing stops working doesn’t mean the system as a whole fails. A site following this principle fails in pieces instead of all at once, so the most important features remain available when some components encounter an error.”

Smashing Magazine, Dec. 6
4d

Camruinn Morgan-Rumsey and Lexi Lepof write: “On December 3, Knox County (Tenn.) schools received a list from the district of books to be removed from school libraries under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act. Knox County’s board of education voted in July, passing a policy to remove ‘explicit’ books from everyday student access in response to the new law. Some of the books on the list of nearly 50 titles might surprise parents. Among those to be removed are Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.”

WVLT-TV (Knoxville, Tenn.), Dec. 4
4d

Joe Foley writes: “Copyright rules vary from country to country and have changed over time. In the US, works created between 1929 and 1963 that gave notice and renewed copyright have 95 years from their first publication date. That means that on January 1, 2025, a host of works from 1929 will enter the public domain. This means that copyright will expire on Buck Rogers, Captain Easy, Horace Horsecollar, Tintin, Hal Foster’s first Tarzan comic strips and, yes, Popeye.” Other notable works entering public domain in the United States include the Marx Brothers’ first film, The Cocoanuts, contralto Marian Anderson’s first record, and Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.

Creative Bloq, Dec. 7; Everybody’s Libraries, Dec. 3, Dec. 7; Public Domain Review, Dec. 10
5d

Brittany Adams writes: “The digital landscape of libraries is expanding rapidly, with an increasing shift towards electronic resources and online services. As members of the library community, we’re witnessing a transformative era where physical collections are complemented—and sometimes replaced—by digital ones. This transition offers new opportunities for enhancing accessibility and engagement, but it also presents challenges, especially for young patrons and their families. It is essential to equip children and their caregivers with the tools and knowledge they need to navigate this evolving space confidently.”

ALSC Blog, Dec. 9

View more Latest Library Links