#acrl2017 Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Newsmaker: Roxane Gay

By Amy Carlton | May 1, 2017

You have published work in so many formats: novels, books of essays and short stories, a comic book (Marvel’s Black Panther: World of Wakanda, with Ta-Nehisi Coates and Yona Harvey), plus an upcoming memoir and a screenplay. What are the different challenges and rewards of working in each medium? Storytelling is storytelling, I have learned, … Continue reading Newsmaker: Roxane Gay →

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden delivers the closing address at the Association of College and Research Libraries conference in Baltimore on March 25, 2017.

ACRL Closes with Carla Hayden

By Amy Carlton | March 27, 2017

Social justice and information literacy The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has declared that information literacy is a human right. If it’s a human right, what does this look like in practice? That question fueled the Social Justice and Information project discussed in “What’s Social Justice Got to Do with Information Literacy?” a … Continue reading ACRL Closes with Carla Hayden →

ACRL President Irene Herold (left) with Corey Williams, librarian and lobbyist at the National Education Association.

Learning to Lobby for Your Library

By Amy Carlton | March 25, 2017

In “Where Do We Go From Here? The Role of Special Collections in Collecting Social Media Content,” Petrina Jackson, head of special collections and university archives at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, described the challenges and rewards of becoming active collectors of social media content. “Just because the format is digital doesn’t mean it … Continue reading Learning to Lobby for Your Library →

Implications for Accessibility in Academic Libraries

By John Amundsen | March 24, 2017

Big Data Digital scholarship Library services platforms (LSPs) Online identity Artificial intelligence The “internet of things” These trends will certainly shape the way students and librarians interact with library resources. How will they affect accessibility? Melissa Green, academic technologies instruction librarian at the University of Alabama, Rachel Thompson, director of emerging technology and accessibility at … Continue reading Implications for Accessibility in Academic Libraries →

Technology Trends, Open Access, and Roxane Gay

By Amy Carlton | March 24, 2017

The panel discussion “Ready or Not: Trends, Challenges, and Tech in Academic and Research Libraries” marked the release of the New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Report, 2017 Library Edition. NMC has released 15 years of reports on technology that will affect higher learning, exploring academic and research libraries in a global context. According to Samantha … Continue reading Technology Trends, Open Access, and Roxane Gay →

Michelle Baildon, collections strategist for arts and humanities and a science, technology, and society librarian, presented a poster March 23 at ACRL titled “Creating a Social Justice Mindset.”

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Dispatches from ACRL

By John Amundsen | March 24, 2017

Incorporating social justice into the academic library What would it look like if academic libraries incorporated more equity, diversity, and inclusion into their everyday work? Members of the Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DISJ) task force of the MIT Libraries’ Collections Directorate have explored this question, looking at library activities—including archives, technical services, collection development, … Continue reading Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Dispatches from ACRL →

Data journalist David McCandless keynotes at the 2017 ACRL conference in Baltimore.

The Importance and Beauty of Information

By Amy Carlton | March 23, 2017

ACRL Executive Director Mary Ellen Davis began the proceedings by emphasizing ACRL’s mission of covering the trends and issues in academic and research librarianship and higher education. Davis said the conference was ACRL’s largest to date, with more than 3,400 attendees from 29 countries and all 50 states. American Library Association President Julie B. Todaro’s … Continue reading The Importance and Beauty of Information →

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Megan Bennett writes: “From the iconic to the incendiary, political messages like these have emblazoned buttons and pins since the start of US elections. Since 2012, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been archiving political buttons. The collection now spans thousands of items over a century’s worth of campaigns and causes. The collection has approximately 4,800 buttons and pins and 200 stickers. Most fit into one of three categories: campaigns (local and national), sociopolitical movements, and community organizations like unions.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
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Cindy Hohl writes: “Recognizing all of humanity in libraries requires a thoughtful approach and a humble spirit. I believe that we, as information professionals, have been called to this work because of our shared values. Every day, library workers provide a vital public function. We are entrusted to serve our communities, and we know that the best way to serve the public good is to welcome everyone into libraries to access accurate information.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
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Anne Ford writes: “For Susan Brown, December 17, 2004, was a perfectly normal day—until she saw the elevator doors open. Brown, director of Transylvania University’s J. Douglas Gay Jr./Frances Carrick Thomas Library in Lexington, Kentucky, was walking past the staff elevator on the library’s main level when the doors parted and she reflexively glanced inside. Her gaze locked on the great red books held by two young men inside. On the 20th anniversary of what became known as the Transy book heist, American Libraries looks back at one of the most brazen and puzzling thefts ever to take place in an academic library.

American Libraries feature, Nov./Dec.
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Chase Hunter writes: “Chabot College Library and Learning Center in Hayward, California, held a ceremonial opening last week, but students have already gone so often that it’s quickly become a campus cornerstone. More than 35,000 Chabot College students have visited the new library and learning center—the tallest building on campus—this semester, already surpassing last year’s total. The new building’s geometric clean lines and splashes of orange—the school’s color—over a chrome exterior is attracting students in a way that Chabot College hasn’t experienced since the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Mercury News (San Jose, California), Oct. 28
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Michelle Ehrhardt writes: “Like the Metaverse and NFTs before it, it feels near impossible to follow tech news right now without hearing about Artificial Intelligence (AI). I understand it can get annoying: The tech is still in development, and everyone’s still figuring out the ethics of generating AI Art, or how to make it not suck. It’s tempting to write AI off entirely. There are a few key use cases I’ve found where AI shines better than pretty much any other alternative. As an AI skeptic, here’s where I think AI is most useful.”

Lifehacker, Oct. 28
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Katherine Klosek writes: “The Librarian of Congress—based on recommendations by the register of copyrights—issued an expansion to the 2021 Digital Millennium Copyright Act regulation that permits researchers to circumvent technological protection measures to conduct text and data mining research. The updated regulation clarifies that academic researchers can securely access research collections of literary works or motion pictures hosted by other institutions of higher education for purposes of collaboration, or to facilitate their own independent research projects.”

Association of Research Libraries News, Oct. 28
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Michele Gile and Matthew Rodriguez write: “A group of Huntington Beach (Calif.) residents known as ‘Protect HB’ said they’ve gathered enough valid signatures to try repealing a new ordinance that could impact which books are put on public library shelves. More than 15,000 people have signed a petition that’s headed to the city clerk. If valid, voters will decide whether the city council majority’s community parent-garden review board [which has relocated books on puberty and potty training to the adult section] will exist.”

KCAL-TV (Los Angeles), Oct. 28

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