Archives

Serving Players Through Selection

November 3, 2011

While libraries are learning the value of gaming, there is not currently a great deal of information available discussing standards for videogame collection development, and few libraries with game collections have published their policies. To help librarians more effectively serve gamers, Team G of the 2011 class of ALA Emerging Leaders worked to study and … Continue reading Serving Players Through Selection


Preserving Bits

November 3, 2011

As video games gain influence in our culture, the need to preserve them for future study gains importance as well. “The computer game industry has had a major impact on the film industry,” said Richard Pugh of the Library of Congress’s Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Virginia. “The two industries have been feeding … Continue reading Preserving Bits


Summer Reading Levels Up

November 3, 2011

Like many libraries, Canton (Mich.) Public Library has traditionally operated a summer reading program to encourage children to keep reading through the summer months when they aren’t facing regular class assignments. But the library had two significant issues with the program. One was budgetary. “We have relied on the community, sponsors, donors, and our own … Continue reading Summer Reading Levels Up


Information Literacy 2.0

November 1, 2011

Ideas about information literacy have always adapted to changes in the information environment. The birth of the web made it necessary for librarians to shift more towards teaching search strategies and evaluation of sources. The tool-focused “bibliographic instruction” approach was later replaced by the skill-focused “information literacy” approach. Now, with the growth of Web 2.0 … Continue reading Information Literacy 2.0




No More Kidding Around

October 26, 2011

How often have you heard people complain in the last few months that our president, senators, and congressional reps are all acting like little children—especially during the shameful national debt ceiling crisis? There we were, on the brink of an unprecedented double-dip recession, and our federal elected officials persisted in pointing fingers at each other, … Continue reading No More Kidding Around




National Book Festival Stacks Up as Record-Breaker

October 5, 2011

Like a good book, the 11th annual National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., September 24–25, took read­ers to places they had never been before. The new expanded two-day schedule of events, record roster of writers, and new pavil­ions reflected recent literary trends. With the theme “Celebrate the Joys of Reading Aloud,” the festival was organized … Continue reading National Book Festival Stacks Up as Record-Breaker