“Welcome to planet Tatooine. That’s what it feels like outside…..” Star Wars nerds and public librarians united on Friday for a hilarious and important panel about managing a circulation desk with moxie to match the Rebel Empire at “Boba Fett at the Circ Desk: Library Leadership Lessons from The Empire Strikes Back,” sponsored by the … Continue reading Boba Fett at the Circ Desk
E-Content Quarterly Editor Mirela Roncevic on Sunday served as moderator for a panel of librarians and publishers who discussed “Leading with Ebooks: New Strategies for Librarians and Publishers.” The event was sponsored by Total BooX, an ebook provider that offers a pay-as-you-read model, and it was dedicated to the late Ernie DiMattia, an early adopter … Continue reading Ebook Strategies for Librarians and Publishers
The American Indian Youth Literature Awards (AIYLA) ceremony took place on Sunday afternoon. The awards are presented every two years to authors whose works “identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians,” and present American Indians “in the fullness of their humanity” both past and present. Naomi Bishop, co-chair … Continue reading American Indian Youth Literature Awards
Advocacy and lobbying in the nation’s capital on behalf of libraries and the library profession was the focus of “Washington Update–2014 Congressional Election and Its Impact on Libraries,” an event held Saturday morning at ALA’s 2014 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas. Strides in the right direction are being made, but the work is … Continue reading Our Work in Washington
Doris Kearns Goodwin praises grassroots activism: Donna Tartt shares how New York Public Library staff helped her research The Goldfinch in this interview (MP4 file). See, hear, and read more about what’s going on at Annual—in real time and after. Twitter: @alaannual and #alaac14 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/489205011101981/ YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AmLibraryAssociation Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/alaac14/ Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/alaannual/ Tumblr: http://ala-con.tumblr.com
The American Library Association (ALA) is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, funded through a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt received the medal for fiction, and The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of … Continue reading Goldfinch, Bully Pulpit, win Andrew Carnegie Medals
Philadelphia photographer Kyle Cassidy generated so much interest with his portraits of librarians taken at the ALA 2014 Midwinter Meeting in a February 11 article in Slate that he returned to take more at the Annual Conference in Las Vegas. This time he is taking photos and interviewing some 100 library professionals of all types … Continue reading “Alexandria Still Burns” in Las Vegas
There is good news (PDF file) on the ebook front, as Simon & Schuster converts its pilot on library ebook lending to a national program. Frankly, some of us, yours truly included, once thought that this day would never come. Flash back to a wintry day in 2012 in New York City. This was the first … Continue reading Simon & Schuster Expands Its Library Ebook Pilot Nationwide
Marci Merola, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Library Advocacy, spoke on the importance of school librarians at an open hearing of the Chicago Board of Education June 25. Merola testified that “Around the country, school boards, principals, legislators, and parents are realizing that the school librarian is uniquely positioned to prepare students … Continue reading ALA Advocacy Director Urges Chicago School Board to Stop Librarian Cuts
In May, ALA’s Office for Diversity and Spectrum Scholarship Program partnered with libraries and graduate schools of library and information science in five cities—Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York—to present essential information workshops for people interested in graduate education and careers in library and information science as part of the Knowledge Alliance project. … Continue reading Creating Networking Bridges
Librarians need to take sharp notice of the sudden and disruptive trebling of intellectual content: mainstream (which we’ve always focused on), small and independent publishing (which has ramped up its annual title count by four or five times over as many years), and self-published (now more new annual titles than the other two combined). Three … Continue reading Smashwords and OverDrive
In some ways, it is the subtlety of the act of harassment that allows it to be so often overlooked: When I worked in IT, sexism and misogyny were the unspoken accepted practice. I learned to navigate that world to the best of my ability, knowing that to fight back could mean professional death. So … Continue reading Speaking Up
