Magazine Archive | Page 2 of 11 | American Libraries Magazine

Latest Library Links

15h

Rebecca Hill writes: “As a former litigator and appellate litigator, Deborah Caldwell-Stone is a woman that you want defending libraries and their role in a democracy. A staunch supporter of intellectual freedom, Caldwell-Stone has been serving as the interim director for the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom since 2018. In October, she was appointed as director for the office and as executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation. I spoke with Caldwell-Stone about what we can expect to see in her new role.”

Intellectual Freedom Blog, Dec. 5
17h

The Dirt Hole and Its Variations might be a serious guide to hunting and trapping foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and raccoons, but the double entendre has helped it land the Diagram Prize for the oddest book title of the year. The late Charles L. Dobbins’s self-published guide blew away its competition, landing 40% of the public vote to put it ahead of the second-placed Ending the War on Artisan Cheese. Also shortlisted were How to Drink Without Drinking, Viking Encounters: Proceedings of the 18th Viking Congress, Noah Gets Naked, and Hitler’s Monsters: A Supernatural History of the Third Reich.

The Guardian (UK), Nov. 29
17h

Thoroughly updated and expanded to include genres such as graphic novels and nonfiction, the new second edition of Teaching Banned Books: 32 Guides for Children and Teens, published by ALA Editions, is a classroom- and library-ready book of discussion guides. Inside, award-winning champion of children’s literature Pat R. Scales shows that there is a way to teach these books while respecting all views. Also freshened to include only books that are in print, this resource spotlights titles dealing with sensitive but vital issues such as bullying, racism, bigotry, making tough choices, other cultures, and our uncertain future.

ALA Editions, Dec. 5
18h

The UCLA Film and Television Archive, the second-largest repository of motion pictures and broadcast programming in the US, is now part of the UCLA Library. The archive, which had operated under the auspices of the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television, will now be more closely aligned with the UCLA Library’s world-class archival and research collections. The move positions the archive’s holdings to be better integrated in instruction and research at UCLA, and it will expand access to the archive through the library’s robust digital platforms.

UCLA Newsroom, Dec. 4
18h

The Wood River (Ill.) Public Library will be receiving a new bike rack that was donated by the Wood River Library Foundation. The rack was going to cost about $3,000, but thanks to community outreach and support, the library foundation saved a lot of money. Upon hearing the original price of the rack, foundation member Andy Russell contacted East Alton–Wood River High School welding teacher Jacob Sitze to help construct a bike rack from scratch. Sitze was happy to help, and students also played an important part, figuring out mathematically how long the pieces needed to be, as well as cutting the pieces out for welding.

Alton (Ill.) Telegraph, Dec. 4
19h

The ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Section invites new and emerging special collections professionals to submit proposals for “The Power of New Voices,” a panel session to be held at the upcoming RBMS 2020 Conference in Bloomington, Indiana, June 23–26. The session will consist of approximately eight lightning round talks (7 minutes each) by students, recent graduates, new professionals, or past RBMS scholarship recipients. Talks must address the theme “Power, Resistance, and Leadership” and should relate to special collections or archives practice and related research.

RBMS blog, Dec. 3
19h

Brandi Bowers writes: “Providing readers’ advisory is an art that librarians are skilled at. However, sometimes you just can’t reach every student for one-on-one help finding the perfect book. To combat this issue, I try to make my library more accessible by providing passive readers’ advisory in a variety of ways. In my four years as a school librarian, I have made a number of changes to the library collection and library space with passive readers’ advisory in mind. For example, I started by adding genre labels to all of my fiction titles. I also added series number stickers to the spines of books so it is clear which volume in a series each book is.”

Knowledge Quest blog, Dec. 4