The following is a summary of the meetings ALA President Molly Raphael and an ALA delegation held in New York City January 30–February 1 with members of the publishing industry: As recently reported, I led an ALA delegation to New York last week to meet separately with Penguin, Macmillan, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and … Continue reading Ebook Talks: The Details
This week, ALA leadership met with senior management from Penguin, Macmillan, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Perseus publishing houses to discuss ebooks and libraries. ALA went in with a strong mission statement from ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels: “Dialog begins with saying you need to deal with libraries and you need to do … Continue reading ALA Goes to New York, Things Don’t Get Violent
Here’s a first take on the talks held this week between American Library Association leaders and the senior management of several New York–based publishers: Dear Colleagues: Here is a brief report on our meeting with publishers in New York on January 30–February 1. Others participating in these talks besides myself were: Maureen Sullivan, ALA President-elect … Continue reading Ebook Talks: First Report
Congratulations, Libraryland! School library boosters hit the 25,000-signature threshold this morning on the White House petition urging that every child in America have access to an effective school library program. (To be exact, there were 25,594 signatures as of 1:49 p.m. Central time.) You’ve got the attention of the Executive Branch now, per the rules … Continue reading What Comes After Victory
As reported to ALA Council and at other venues during the 2012 Midwinter Meeting, I will be leading an ALA delegation next week to meet separately with Penguin, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. I am now pleased to announce that Random House has invited ALA leadership to meet with them as well. The four meetings … Continue reading Random House Also Agrees to Meet with ALA
“We live in serious times,” Richard C. Harwood, president and founder of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, told the audience at the start of his presentation at the ALA President’s Program on Sunday about the condition of the United States. The head of the catalytic nonprofit dedicated to helping people imagine and act for … Continue reading Harwood: Libraries Must Do Better Job in Addressing Community Needs
“Librarians adopted our social media presence way before anyone else,” said New York Times bestselling young adult author and vlogger extraordinaire John Green, who was at the 2012 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Dallas to promote his new book, The Fault in Our Stars. “And the only people who watched us were either librarians … Continue reading John Green: Nerdfighter, Fighter for Free Speech
The concept of World Book Night, April 23, 2012, is simple. Just sign up by February 1 as a volunteer to give away 20 copies of a popular book to new or reluctant readers in your community to encourage reading. Carl Lennertz, former publisher and now executive director of World Book Night, spoke on Sunday … Continue reading Excitement Builds for World Book Night 2012
Five librarians associated with the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement’s People’s Library offered their views on democracy, protest, and the difficulties of providing reader’s services under radically different circumstances at “A Library Occupies Wall Street,” Saturday morning as part of the ALA Midwinter Meeting Masters Series. All five spoke of their personal experiences as part … Continue reading The Librarians of Occupy Wall Street
Boing Boing is one of the coolest places on the internet. It’s edgy, irreverent, collaborative, and hugely popular. And guess what—Boing Boing has agreed to partner with ALA to help promote libraries. Today I attended a brainstorming session at the Networking Uncommons to discuss how ALA members will contribute content to this effort. The result … Continue reading Libraries, Meet Boing Boing
Jennifer Martin, senior associate provost and dean of the Graduate School at Texas Woman’s University, offered her perspective as a non-librarian advocate for the university’s library at the Advocacy Institute Workshop. “I see libraries making a difference in the development of human capital, and I think we need to think about it in that way,” … Continue reading Advocacy without Assumptions
Just a month after the Simi Valley (Calif.) City Council voted to withdraw its city library from the Ventura County Library System, the union local that represents southern California library workers is suing to have the decision reversed. Filed January 10 in Ventura County Superior Court by Local 721 of the Service Employees International Union … Continue reading Union Sues to Block Library Outsourcing RFP
