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Council III: Tributes, Memorials, and ALA Finances

January 28, 2020

Memorials were read for Ellen Greenblatt (M#1), Willis Bernard “Bill” Lukenbill (M#2), Hilda L. Jay (M#3), Bill Ptacek (M#4), Carolyn A. Markuson (M#5), Learned T. “Dag” Bulman (M#6), and Jennifer Ford Paustenbaugh (M#7). Tributes were read to recognize the 100th anniversary of the Florida Library Association (T#1) and to honor Dita Kraus, “The Librarian of … Continue reading Council III: Tributes, Memorials, and ALA Finances



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Committee Reports and Resolutions at Council II

January 27, 2020

Jim Neal, chair of the Committee on Organization (COO), presented the COO report (CD#27), which included a look at the requirement for committees to file biannual reports, an event that does not happen consistently. Kim Copenhaver, a member of the Committee Information Update subcommittee, presented a report on whether that requirement should be changed, based … Continue reading Committee Reports and Resolutions at Council II


Making the News

January 27, 2020

Christi Buker, executive director of the Pennsylvania Library Association, stressed that libraries should focus on what they do best when conducting advocacy, highlighting successful programs and outreach efforts that can justify continued or new government funding. Alternately, Buker said that libraries need to focus on the bad, too. If libraries are hurting due to lack … Continue reading Making the News


Exploring Speculative Design

January 27, 2020

Jung and Renee Albrecht-Mallinger, senior design researcher at IA Collaborative, hosted a reading group at a collaborative art space in Chicago to address climate change through speculative design, with an end goal of creating an art piece that would engage people and get them to think more deeply about the topic. Jung spoke about the … Continue reading Exploring Speculative Design


Top Ten Tweets

Midwinter 2020 Top 10 Tweets—Day 3

January 27, 2020

  What a day! Since I’m walking through Philadelphia, should probably take off the silly grin of happiness. #alamw20 I want to express gratitude to each and everyone but I’ve seen today for inspiring me! — Annie Bélanger (@Annie_Belanger) January 26, 2020 Robots #AI talk about to start @bohyunkim @URILibraries #alamw20 pic.twitter.com/yCBacN2Z99 — Karim B … Continue reading Midwinter 2020 Top 10 Tweets—Day 3


Being the Change

January 27, 2020

“I knew I wanted to do something about civics, but I didn’t know where to begin. I bribed [teens] with Pizza and Politics,” Remy, branch supervisor at Springfield City Library, told attendees at “Young Changemakers in 21st Century Libraries,” a January 25 program at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. Remy soon learned … Continue reading Being the Change


Scott Simon’s Sunny Side

January 27, 2020

The revered radio broadcaster, journalist, and author joined Matthew Winner, host of The Children’s Podcast, for a live taping of the show on the Pop Top Stage before a packed crowd of Midwinter attendees. Simon has authored eight fiction and nonfiction books for adults, but his new book, Sunnyside Plaza (Little, Brown Books for Young … Continue reading Scott Simon’s Sunny Side


Jeff Henderson

Hungry with Knowledge

January 26, 2020

“I was growing up hungry in a single-parent, dysfunctional home in the 1960s,” he told the crowd at American Library Association President Wanda Kay Brown’s program at the Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Philadelphia on January 26. “I had a little homeboy dream that I’d be able to buy a house on a hill with … Continue reading Hungry with Knowledge



"Books in Our Age of Anxiety" panel

Using Lit to Help Kids

January 26, 2020

Abigail Hing Wen (Loveboat, Tapei), I.W. Gregorio (This Is My Brain in Love, 2020), Gail Silver (Mindful Bea and the Worry Tree, 2019), Sharon Huss Roat (How to Disappear, 2017), and Beth Kephart (The Great Upending, 2020) were joined by Lauren Caldwell, director of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Children, Youth, and Families Office, for … Continue reading Using Lit to Help Kids


Creating a “Queer” Shelf in the School Library

January 26, 2020

“We are everywhere,” Montague said of the LGBT community. “That means, first of all, there are many potential curriculum connections, many ways we can be thinking about how to incorporate queer history and important people and events into the curriculum.” She highlighted the role of mindful collection development in educating about LGBT issues, pointing to … Continue reading Creating a “Queer” Shelf in the School Library