As I have said before, we continue to be completely transparent and regularly communicate with the membership about the finances of the Association. As you are aware, we entered the year with a cautious outlook; however, ALA’s management made a number of organizational and operational changes, to ensure that expenses would be in line with … Continue reading Financially Healthy
I believe diversity is an essential value for everyone working in a library or pursuing a degree in library and information science or a related field. Libraries that have the most significant impact on their communities understand and embrace the importance of diversity. They showcase their librarians, staff, and volunteers as members of a vibrant … Continue reading Everyone’s Work
She was working full-time as a general manager at a bakery while taking classes toward her associate’s degree at Los Angeles Harbor College. “I’ve always done really well without my high school diploma, but there were a few classes that I wanted to take,” she says. “At the time, I was thinking of possibly becoming … Continue reading Second Chances
When you began writing Outlander, you didn’t think anyone would ever see it, but you shared some of what you wrote on literary forums. Can you talk about what role the online literary community played for you as a novelist starting out? I started showing people a bit of what I was doing on [a … Continue reading Newsmaker: Diana Gabaldon
The basic concept of a seed library is fairly simple: Gardeners “check out” seeds to plant in their own gardens, and when the growing season is done, they save seeds from the plants they grew and return them for other gardeners to use next year. In practice, seed libraries adapt this basic concept to the … Continue reading Not Your Garden-Variety Library
Sandburg could have been talking about librarians. As societal and technological shifts continue to influence (and create gaps in) who has access to information and how, librarians’ roles as the bridges connecting different and diverse communities to relevant resources becomes more prominent. Big shoulders indeed. Librarians from around the world will arrive in Chicago for … Continue reading 2015 ALA Midwinter Preview
The vote on library referenda determines whether or not libraries can support their operating budgets, make improvements, and stay current with technology resources. Passage of referenda also helps build new libraries that support the growing US population. The Institute of Museum and Library Services reports that 299.9 million people, or 95.3% of the US population, … Continue reading Referenda Roundup 2014
That’s where Casey Davis, project manager for the American Archive of Public Broadcasting at WGBH Educational Foundation in Boston, comes in. Davis (standing in the WGBH vault) works with a team at the WGBH Media Library and Archives and the Library of Congress to coordinate a national effort to identify, preserve, and make accessible as … Continue reading Bookend: In the Vault
Where in a library can families share their stories? Where can teens create music videos and upload them online? Where can a veteran revisit his Army buddies? The answer is in the library’s own digital media lab (DML). A DML consists of equipment for either creating original digital content or converting older media to digital … Continue reading Digital Media Labs
School Library Victories Successful grassroots efforts in Iowa and Vermont saw legislation that benefited school librarians, while states like Kansas are working to pass a mandate requiring that each school have a library staffed by a credentialed librarian. In June, Los Angeles Unified School District passed a budget that restored some school library services. … Continue reading 2014 Year in Review
While the ultimate Windy City comfort foods are the oh-so-familiar Chicago-style hot dogs and deep dish pizza, each neighborhood offers its own soothing culinary creature comfort: noodles in Chinatown, tacos in Pilsen, and reinvented diner fare in the trendy West Loop. (All of the spots listed within this guide are within an easy El or … Continue reading Hot Eats for Cold Nights
I recently attended the Library Assessment Conference in Seattle, which is a fantastic event for anyone who wants to keep up with trends in library assessment. At this year’s conference, one thing was abundantly clear: Data is king. All three keynote speakers spoke about the use of data in libraries to improve services, better … Continue reading Drawing the Line on Data
