#alaac13 Archives | American Libraries Magazine

People with American Libraries

July 9, 2015

Octavia Spencer Chat Caps Annual

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | July 2, 2013

During the interview, Spencer entertained an estimated 1,000 conference-goers with humorous and inspirational tales about Hollywood, acting, and growing up poor in Alabama. One day, as she was preparing for her role as Minnie in The Help—the film for which she won an Academy Award for best supporting actress—Spencer said she realized she had the … Continue reading Octavia Spencer Chat Caps Annual →

Mark Frauenfelder Makes Stuff Happen

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | July 2, 2013

He began by looking at the history of making in the United States. In 1900, 80% of Americans worked on farms; today, only 2% do, Frauenfelder said. So if you worked on a farm back then, you likely lived far away from an urban area and therefore had to learn how to make your own … Continue reading Mark Frauenfelder Makes Stuff Happen →

Alice Walker: The Library Has Been a “Haven”

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | July 2, 2013

“That is the sound that I would like to go around to all the people who are standing, especially our sister down in Texas,” she said to applause, referring to Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, who recently filibustered for 11 hours to temporarily block a controversial anti-abortion bill in the state. Women must control our … Continue reading Alice Walker: The Library Has Been a “Haven” →

40 Great Apps for Mobile Reference and Outreach

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | July 1, 2013

More than 200 conference-goers packed the small room booked for the session, with many peering through the doorway and sitting on the floor. During their presentation, branch manager Richard Le and adult services librarian Mel Gooch, both from San Francisco Public Library, shared what they have found to be dozens of apps that provide innovative … Continue reading 40 Great Apps for Mobile Reference and Outreach →

John Lewis’s March

By George M. Eberhart | June 30, 2013

That was only one of many stories US Congressman John Lewis (D–Ga.) told a packed room of librarians during his Auditorium Speaker Series speech on Saturday afternoon. His deep, sonorous voice scarcely needed a microphone as he recounted his early years in the Civil Rights Movement—as one of the original Freedom Riders in 1960, as … Continue reading John Lewis’s March →

Freakonomics Author Keynotes the Opening General Session

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | June 29, 2013

ALA President Maureen Sullivan introduced the bestselling coauthor of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by quoting how the Wall Street Journal once described him: “If Indiana Jones were an economist, he’d be Steven Levitt.” Upon taking the stage, Levitt said that he was on cloud nine for about two weeks … Continue reading Freakonomics Author Keynotes the Opening General Session →

Latest Library Links

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Casey Newton writes: “At the moment, no one knows for sure whether the large language models that are now under development will achieve superintelligence and transform the world. And in that uncertainty, two primary camps of criticism have emerged. The first camp, which I associate with the external critics, holds that artificial intelligence (AI) is fake and sucks. The second camp, which I associate more with the internal critics, believes that AI is real and dangerous. Today I want to lay out why I believe AI is real and dangerous.”

Platformer, Dec. 5
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Latia Ward writes: “One way to keep current with what students think of the library and its services is through Student Library Advisory Committee meetings. These meetings are a way to gather feedback and reinforce the library as a welcoming place. How do librarians create a welcoming environment within Student Library Advisory Committee meetings? Librarians create a welcoming environment through community, purpose, and dedicated space.” Also see part 1 of this blog post.

RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Nov. 13, Dec. 5
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Eleanor Hecks writes: “Few things are as frustrating to a user as when a site won’t respond. Unfortunately, it’s also an all-too-common scenario. Graceful degradation is a design approach that ensures the basics of a website will still function even if specific individual parts of it stop working. The approach removes single points of failure: just because one thing stops working doesn’t mean the system as a whole fails. A site following this principle fails in pieces instead of all at once, so the most important features remain available when some components encounter an error.”

Smashing Magazine, Dec. 6
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Camruinn Morgan-Rumsey and Lexi Lepof write: “On December 3, Knox County (Tenn.) schools received a list from the district of books to be removed from school libraries under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act. Knox County’s board of education voted in July, passing a policy to remove ‘explicit’ books from everyday student access in response to the new law. Some of the books on the list of nearly 50 titles might surprise parents. Among those to be removed are Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.”

WVLT-TV (Knoxville, Tenn.), Dec. 4
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Joe Foley writes: “Copyright rules vary from country to country and have changed over time. In the US, works created between 1929 and 1963 that gave notice and renewed copyright have 95 years from their first publication date. That means that on January 1, 2025, a host of works from 1929 will enter the public domain. This means that copyright will expire on Buck Rogers, Captain Easy, Horace Horsecollar, Tintin, Hal Foster’s first Tarzan comic strips and, yes, Popeye.” Other notable works entering public domain in the United States include the Marx Brothers’ first film, The Cocoanuts, contralto Marian Anderson’s first record, and Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.

Creative Bloq, Dec. 7; Everybody’s Libraries, Dec. 3, Dec. 7; Public Domain Review, Dec. 10
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Brittany Adams writes: “The digital landscape of libraries is expanding rapidly, with an increasing shift towards electronic resources and online services. As members of the library community, we’re witnessing a transformative era where physical collections are complemented—and sometimes replaced—by digital ones. This transition offers new opportunities for enhancing accessibility and engagement, but it also presents challenges, especially for young patrons and their families. It is essential to equip children and their caregivers with the tools and knowledge they need to navigate this evolving space confidently.”

ALSC Blog, Dec. 9
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Karen O’Grady writes: “I am the embedded librarian for the Hahn School of Nursing at the University of San Diego. I am surrounded by nursing faculty, staff, and students rather than by librarians. This has proven to be an incredible gamechanger for the way I see things. Every student in my school knows me by name. I am often stopped in the hallway to answer questions. Every correct answer I give increases my authority and builds trust. Through these casual mini-lessons, this foreign animal called ‘librarian’ slowly becomes an approachable, knowledgeable person.”

College & Research Libraries News, Dec.

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