Advocacy Archives | Page 22 of 45 | American Libraries Magazine

IFLA Opener Showcases Singapore’s Asian Multiculturalism

By Leonard Kniffel, with photos by Carlon Walker | August 20, 2013

The 79th World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), whose theme is “Future Libraries: Infinite Possibilities,” began with a bang August 18 in Singapore. Beating drums and a long, colorfully lit dragon welcomed some 3,500 delegates from around the world with the music and dance of … Continue reading IFLA Opener Showcases Singapore’s Asian Multiculturalism →

Speaking Up for Libraries at National Library Legislative Day

By Jazzy Wright | August 19, 2013

Library advocates gathered May 8 for a policy briefing in Washington, D.C., at the start of the American Library Association’s National Library Legislative Day (NLLD). Close to 400 librarians, patrons, parents, educators, and other volunteers discussed key library issues with congressional representatives, and nearly 1,400 others contacted their legislators via phone calls, email, and social … Continue reading Speaking Up for Libraries at National Library Legislative Day →

Libraries Change Lives

By Barbara K. Stripling | August 19, 2013

As a child, I dreamed of changing the world. And then I encountered Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy: “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” I realized that dreams become reality only when we take action. So I embarked on a lifelong path to “being” the change through librarianship. I am deeply … Continue reading Libraries Change Lives →

Summer Doldrums (well, maybe not so dull)

By Alan S. Inouye | August 16, 2013

Conventional wisdom is that work slows down in August, especially in Washington, D.C., with the departure of Congress. But for the ALA Digital Content crew (DCWG), the summer doldrums have passed us by. It’s always busy for ALA staff members after Annual Conference, just because of follow-up activities, which often consume a month or more … Continue reading Summer Doldrums (well, maybe not so dull) →

The Void in Charter Schools

By Maria R. Traska | August 7, 2013

Linda Eschen began her first day as a library volunteer at Livermore Valley (Calif.) Charter School when the school itself opened in 2004, unpacking boxes and cataloging books. The newly formed school already had a library collection of sorts, says Eschen—an assortment of donated books in a teacher’s garage. Since then, she’s become the full-time librarian for 1,085 … Continue reading The Void in Charter Schools →

Analog Ideas, Digital Activism

By Andy Woodworth | July 30, 2013

Standing outside the ice cream freezers at the local grocery store, a notion struck me from out of the blue. “There ought to be a library-themed Ben & Jerry’s flavor.” Alas, to this day, this has not come to pass. But this single serendipitous thought on an otherwise uneventful evening shopping trip is a testament … Continue reading Analog Ideas, Digital Activism →

Declaration for the Right to Libraries

July 30, 2013

On July 30, ALA President Barbara Stripling unveiled the “Declaration for the Right to Libraries” during a signing ceremony at Nashville (Tenn.) Public Library. The Declaration is the cornerstone document of Stripling’s presidential initiative, “Libraries Change Lives,” which is designed to build the public will and sustain support for America’s right to libraries of all … Continue reading Declaration for the Right to Libraries →

Disaster Relief … with Books

By Leonard Kniffel | July 16, 2013

The activists behind Libraries Without Borders (Bibliothèques Sans Frontières) understand that priority must be given to food, water, shelter, and medicine. They also recognize that little attention is paid to another basic human necessity: the knowledge resources needed to cope with catastrophe. Founded in Paris in 2007, Libraries Without Borders (LWB) provides targeted books and … Continue reading Disaster Relief … with Books →

How Libraries Are Using Social Media

By Terra Dankowski | July 16, 2013

“You don’t even have to bring the author to your town anymore,” says Johannes Neuer, associate director of marketing for NYPL. “Google Hangouts are the perfect places to create brand engagement.” When Neuer talks about social media tools, libraries should listen. Hangouts is just one of many public-facing platforms NYPL has taken into the fold … Continue reading How Libraries Are Using Social Media →

Understanding Social Capital

By Laura Solomon | July 9, 2013

During the Save Ohio Libraries movement in 2009, some libraries in Ohio jumped into Twitter. Undoubtedly, they saw it as another avenue for getting the word out about the imminent and catastrophic budget cuts being proposed by Ohio’s governor. However, two major factors prevented them from really using Twitter as an effective rallying tool. The … Continue reading Understanding Social Capital →

ALA Battledecks IV: Chicago Showdown

By Brita Zitin | July 2, 2013

Improv was an unstated but undeniable theme of this year’s ALA Conference. There was Friday’s Learning Round Table preconference with Chicago’s Second City Communications, Saturday’s ProQuest Scholarship Bash featuring Second City performers, Sunday’s LLAMA/NMRT discussion about what to do if you’re called upon to speak unexpectedly, and Monday’s Ignite session about collaboration based on the … Continue reading ALA Battledecks IV: Chicago Showdown →

LLAMA’s PR Xchange

April Schweikhard | July 2, 2013

When it comes to marketing, who couldn’t use a little help from their friends? Thankfully, LLAMA’s PR Xchange on Sunday provided librarians the opportunity to sample some of what has been judged to be the year’s the best marketing materials. This year’s … Continue reading LLAMA’s PR Xchange →

Latest Library Links

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Alvin Wanjala writes: “The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots has popularized the term large language model (LLM), the underlying AI tech working behind the scenes. LLMs generate output based upon a predicted set of language in response to the user input, making it appear as if the AI is capable of thinking for itself. But LLMs aren’t the only large models in town; large action models (LAMs) could be the next big thing in AI. An LAM is an artificial intelligence system capable of understanding human input and performing a corresponding action.”

MakeUseOf, July 11
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Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, was partially evacuated July 15 after university officials received an email claiming “In the name of Donald Trump I have hidden highly lethal lead azide devices in the library and cafeteria.” Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, evacuated its library and dining halls after receiving bomb threats July 11. Evacuation orders in both cases were lifted after searches found no bombs. Many public libraries in Illinois, Minnesota, and other states have experienced threats over the past year, most recently at River Forest (Ill.) Public Library.”

WDRB-TV (Louisville, Ky.), July 15; WGAL-TV (Lancaster, PA), July 15; Book Riot, July 16; WLS-TV (Chicago), July 9
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C. Allison Sills writes: “In the dance between safeguarding patron privacy and navigating the law, community colleges confront a pivotal question: How do we fulfill our legal obligations without compromising the ethical and legal bedrock of our profession? In North Carolina, where I work, since the Parents’ Bill of Rights became state law in December 2023, community colleges have been pressured to compulsorily activate all patron checkout history for the first time in decades. The need to shield individuals’ privacy from potential abuse is paramount.”

College & Research Libraries News, July
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Steph Campbell writes: “From a combination of hype from Stranger Things, captivating performances on Critical Role, acceptance of ‘nerd culture,’ and so many other reasons, tabletop role-playing games have greatly increased in popularity over the past few years, and youth activities are reflecting this. Running games is often seen as the core for facilitating this interest, but you can connect your library’s book collection to this too. By displaying books that focus on themes from your library’s game sessions, you can help players find other stories that they relate to.”

ALA Games & Gaming Round Table, July 11
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Share innovative strategies and resources with your peers by submitting an education program proposal for the 2025 LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, taking place January 24–27, 2025, in Phoenix. The submission site is open now through August 12. The programmatic theme of LibLearnX 2025 is Reimagine, Refocus, Reset: Charting a Path for the Future. The LibLearnX Program Submission Guide provides detailed explanations of the learning formats and step-by-step instructions for submitting a proposal. Consult the Program Proposal Rubric for evaluation criteria and scoring and view a video on using the submission site to create and submit your proposal.

ALA Conference Services, July 15
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Summer is in full swing. This means getting outside, soaking up some sunshine, and listening to our favorite tunes—from oldies-but-goodies to today’s hits. In Episode 97, Call Number covers music. This episode includes conversations with librarian and Grammy Award–winning French horn player Joy Worland, as well as librarians who have organized programs for local patrons who love Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and K-Pop. Attendees of ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego also share memories of the first concert they attended.

AL: The Scoop, July 15
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Sheila Craft-Morgan writes: “Citations are a key measure of the impact of a researcher’s work. However, research in a variety of disciplines has found that women are less likely to be cited than men; citations contain geographic bias; and the Matthew effect—in which those who begin with advantage continue to gain advantage—leads to more citations for prominent scholars in a specific discipline. These findings contribute to the notion that scholarly knowledge comes from a homogenous group of researchers, thereby overlooking the contributions of other groups.”

American Libraries column, June

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