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Top Ten (or So) Tweets – Day 0 (Thursday): Facing Mother Nature

By Julie Cai | January 23, 2014

As attendees prepare for their travels to Midwinter, Mother Nature creeps up behind them. With temperatures hitting the negatives, flights being canceled, and 13.5 inches of—snow blanketing Philly earlier this week, it’s a ginormous understatement to say this winter storm packs a punch. Hilarity ensues in the biblio-twitterverse as attendees document their struggles. … Continue reading Top Ten (or So) Tweets – Day 0 (Thursday): Facing Mother Nature →

How Libraries Are Faring since Hurricane Sandy

By Beverly Goldberg | January 20, 2014

With early January's Polar Vortex already fading into distant memory, it is sobering to realize that communities are still struggling to recover from the October 2012 devastation left by Hurricane Sandy. The Category 3 storm destroyed thousands of homes and killed 286 people, 72 in the US alone. “While speedy repair work and first rounds … Continue reading How Libraries Are Faring since Hurricane Sandy →

Wynar, Bohdan Stephan

January 1, 2014

November 9 Bohdan Stephan Wynar, 87, founder of publishing company Libraries Unlimited, died. Born in Ukraine, he emigrated to the US and earned an MLIS from the University of Denver, where he later taught. He authored many books in library science, including Introduction to Cataloging and Classification. He also created the renowned guide to reference … Continue reading Wynar, Bohdan Stephan →

Wolpert, Ann

January 1, 2014

October 2 Ann Wolpert, 70, director of libraries at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 17 years, died.

Rudolf, Anita Ladden

January 1, 2014

November 1 Anita Ladden Rudolf, 90, former head librarian at Norwalk (Conn.) High School, died.

Royt, Sylvia

January 1, 2014

November 25 Sylvia Royt, a retired former ALA staff member, died. She was employed from 1969 to 1984 in ALA Publishing. Her last position was that of rights and permissions editor.

Romanelli, Catherine

January 1, 2014

October 29 Catherine Romanelli, 87, former director of Sachem Public Library in Holbrook, New York, died.

Epstein, Dena

January 1, 2014

November 14 Dena Epstein, 96, former assistant music librarian at the University of Chicago, died. Epstein documented the history of black American music, including the African origin of the banjo. She was president of the Music Library Association from 1977 to 1979.

Donley, Lorna

January 1, 2014

December 1 Lorna Donley, 53, librarian and former archival specialist at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago, died. Donley was a member of the post-punk band DA! in the early 1980s.

Danford, Ardath A.

January 1, 2014

November 22 Ardath A. Danford, 83, former director of the Toledo–Lucas County (Ohio) Public Library, died.

Chapman, Miriam “Mimi”

January 1, 2014

October 19 Miriam “Mimi” Chapman, librarian at the Ypsilanti (Mich.) District Library, died. In her 33 years of service at the library, she served as an adult services librarian, branch manager, interim director, and head of acquisitions.

Burton, Linda Brooks

January 1, 2014

September 19 Linda Brooks Burton, 51, southeast district manager for the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) and managing librarian at the Bayview branch, died. In more than 30 years with SFPL, Burton cofounded the Bayview Footprints Network of Community Building Groups and the Bayview History Preservation Project to build an archive of materials about African-American migration to … Continue reading Burton, Linda Brooks →

Latest Library Links

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Blake Brittain writes: “Shira Perlmutter, the US Copyright Office director fired by the Trump administration sued President Donald Trump and other government officials on May 22, arguing her firing was unconstitutional and should not be allowed to take effect.” According to Copyright Lately, Perlmutter’s motion for a temporary restraining order “lays out a broader purpose: to block what she portrays as an Executive Branch power grab—one that’s already disrupting operations, stalling critical policy work, and threatening the independence of the agency tasked with administering the nation’s copyright laws.”

Reuters, May 23; Copyright Lately, May 26
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Lizzie Ramirez writes: “Library board meetings have become ground zero for debates about banning certain books or making them harder for children to access. But Assemblywoman Brittney Miller (D-Las Vegas) is hoping to defuse the controversies through AB416, a bill that takes decisions about book removals out of local school and library officials’ hands and instead moving them to court. The bill would also criminalize trying to share sensitive information about library employees or threatening them as felonies.” The bill passed the Assembly May 21, but must pass several other legislative steps to become law.

Nevada Independent, May 22
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Mike Heuer writes: “A Texas public library did not violate patrons’ right to free speech by removing books due to their content, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled on May 23. The entire appellate court, in a 10–7 decision, overturned federal district court and appellate court rulings finding the Llano County (Tex.) Library System erred in removing 17 books due to their content. The majority decision also ruled that the library’s collection decisions are government speech and not subject to First Amendment–based free speech challenges.”

United Press International, May 24; Bloomberg Law, June 6, 2024
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On May 19, Teresa “Teri” Anderson became executive director of the Association of College and Research Libraries, one of the largest ALA divisions. Before joining ALA, Anderson spent more than three decades at ASIS International, a professional organization for security management professionals. She held several positions at the organization, most recently serving as vice president of innovation and outreach, a role in which she provided subject matter expertise and liaised with partners across the security industry. Anderson is a certified association executive through the American Society of Association Executives. She answered our 11 Questions to introduce herself to ALA members.

AL: The Scoop, May 27
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Rachel Milburn writes: “Teen advisory boards (TABs) are an excellent resource for libraries. TABs are the perfect group to promote a library’s young adult collection. What better way to do this than through social media? Plano (Tex.) Public Library regularly includes our TAB in social media posts to promote all sorts of things, including our collections. Our teens (and their caregivers) sign photo release forms, which allows us to include them in our online presence. Here are a few easy ways to incorporate your library’s TAB in social media posts.”

Young Adult Library Services Association: The Hub, May 23
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Kwame Alexander writes: After the firings of Carla Hayden and Shira Perlmutter from the Library of Congress, “It feels urgent for us, as citizens, to gather and plan together how to respond to this attack on our freedom to read, write, and learn. We are bringing together some smart folks, including Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi, Meg Medina, Amanda Jones, and Tracie D. Hall, to speak out about what intellectual freedom means to us and form an action plan to stand up for these freedoms.” The rally will be held May 31 at DC Public Library’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 5 p.m. Eastern and livestreamed for those not able to attend in person.

Kwamealexander.com; DC Public Library
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Danielle Melia, Lauren Kawasaki and Reshma Seth write: “George A. Jackson Elementary School’s library wants to provide a dynamic and inclusive learning environment. That makes podcasting a perfect fit. It gives students a platform to express their creativity, explore new ideas, and collaborate with peers while learning real-world skills. Our podcast project started as a collaboration between librarian Danielle Melia and coteachers Lauren Kawasaki and Reshma Seth. We wanted our 4th-graders to work in pairs to create an episode related to our unit on natural hazards. Students developed episodes to answer thought-provoking questions.”

American Libraries Trend, May

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