August 2010

Features & Trends

Information Commons Reduces Energy Consumption

By Ted Strand

Conventional wisdom would tell you building an all-glass library on the shore of Chicago’s Lake Michigan is probably not a good idea if your plans call for a high-performance building that is supposed to reduce energy usage. But that is exactly what Loyola University Chicago did with its four-story Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons, an … Continue reading Information Commons Reduces Energy Consumption →

Librarians Head for the Hill to Rally for Reading

Librarians and their supporters spoke loudly and clearly about the value of libraries during the American Library Association’s 2010 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., June 24–29. On Library Advocacy Day, June 29, some 2,000 librarians and library supporters registered for a rally at Upper Senate Park, according to Emily Sheketoff, executive director of ALA’s Washington … Continue reading Librarians Head for the Hill to Rally for Reading →

Up, Up, and Away: A Bird’s-Eye View of Mission Marketing

By Donald H. Dyal and Kaley Daniel

Early in July 1982, Larry Walters tied more than 40 weather balloons to his lawn chair and rose 16,000 feet above the smog over Los Angeles. Spotted by various aircraft, he descended by shooting the balloons with a BB gun, eventually drifting some 20 miles. He ended up hanging from some power lines. FAA officials … Continue reading Up, Up, and Away: A Bird’s-Eye View of Mission Marketing →

Speaker Sound Bites: D.C. 2010
The Future of Libraries: Interview with Thomas Frey
Tom W. Sloan
Good Dog. Sit. Listen.
By Anna Hartman
Raising A Reader Gets Children Started Early
By Alicia Santamaria
Books and Literacy in the Digital Age
By Ralph Raab
Party On! at Your Book Discussions
By Alan Jacobson

Columnists

Unnecessary Choices
By Leonard Kniffel
Surveying My Sex Appeal
By Will Manley
Guided by Barcodes
By Meredith Farkas
Frankie Catches a Break
By Bill Ott
Hope, Hype, and VoIP: Riding the Library Technology Cycle
By Char Booth
Signage: Better None Than Bad
Leah L. White
What Came Home from D.C.
By Jennifer Burek Pierce
I’m Sorry, You’re Out
by Joseph Janes
Advancing Advocacy
By Roberta A. Stevens
Unquiet Library Has High-Schoolers Geeked
By Brian Mathews

Latest Library Links

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ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and the Writers Guild Initiative are hosting a unique series of writer’s workshops that help participants use writing to reflect on experiences, share insights, identify a path forward, and make their voices heard. The workshops will pair 25 librarians with professional film and television writers. All librarians are invited to apply by December 16. Participants will be randomly selected for the four-session online series taking place from February 1 through March 8, 2025.

Office for Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 20
16h

Cass Balzer writes: “What would you do to keep your child clean, dry, and healthy? Skip meals? Miss bill payments? Take on an extra job? For nearly half of US families with young children, the answer is: All of the above and more. A National Diaper Bank Network study found that in 2023, an unprecedented 47% of families with young children nationwide struggled to afford diapers. In response, libraries have stepped up to distribute these critical supplies. Though they can be challenging to fund and coordinate, these programs are immensely popular and—for many communities—vital.”

American Libraries Trend, Nov./Dec.
20h

Ana Ndumu writes: “For more than a century, American libraries of all types have helped immigrants integrate, worked with municipalities to cultivate welcoming communities, and supported laws to shape our immigration system. With immigrants making up 13.8% of our population, the US is more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse than ever before. But for many library workers, staying abreast of the fraught immigration policy landscape is challenging. Laws shift rapidly, with initiatives introduced or eliminated according to political agendas. Here are additional resources library workers can use to educate themselves or network with others administering to immigrant communities.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
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Michael Kan writes: “Are you still using ‘chocolate,’ ‘naruto,’ or ‘monkey’ for your passwords? You really need to stop. All three are among the most commonly used passwords, putting your accounts at risk of hacking, according to new data from NordPass. The password manager’s sixth annual list of the top 200 most commonly used passwords is pulled from a 2.5TB dataset of stolen logins taken from various sources.” ZDNet offers tips for creating stronger passwords and improved security measures.

PC Mag, Nov. 14; NordPass, Nov. 13; ZDNet, Nov. 14
4d

John Sharp writes: “Athens and Fairhope are two fast-growing cities in the fastest-growing areas of Alabama, and there is no mistaking their conservative bona fides. But according to early statistics about library card applications, their libraries appear to be bucking a trend embraced by conservative-leaning groups and the Alabama GOP: Their patrons appear to be trusting the libraries. More than 60% of parents at Fairhope Public Library and Athens-Limestone County Public Library have signed off on all-access passes for their children with no restrictions on library usage.”

AL.com, Nov. 17
5d

Katie Gaddini writes: “Book bans may have mushroomed in the Trump era of reactionary politics, but they have a well-established history in America. One woman in particular, Norma Gabler, redefined the current strategy and logic behind modern book bans. Called ‘education’s public enemy number one,’ by critics in 1980, Gabler led the crusade against the so-called secular trend in school textbooks throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Even though Norma and her husband Mel worked together, Norma was the public face of their efforts for decades.”

Time: Made By History, Nov. 13
5d

Many members know Bill Ladewski as executive director of the Reference and User Services Association, an ALA position he has held since 2019. In early September, Ladewski added another title to his CV: director of Member Relations and Services. In this role, he and his team are charged with providing service and information to the Association’s nearly 50,000 members. Ladewski answered our 11 Questions to reintroduce himself to the ALA community.

AL: The Scoop, Nov. 19

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