To fulfill such an ambition, Morehart brought more hands on deck—“It’s a whole ALA family affair.” In this very special installment of Dewey Decibel (well, they’re all pretty special to us!) we bring you a variety of reporting from a variety of staffers. – The Pulse nightclub shooting, which happened two weeks before Annual, was … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Annual Recap
Michael Blackwell, director of the St. Mary’s County (Md.) Libraries, urged the library community to demand simplicity from content providers and platform developers by putting the user at the heart of the experience and by providing genuine integration of e-content. The e-content field is dynamic, and just as some standards and practices are implemented, new … Continue reading Digital Content Working Group at Annual Conference
The recent shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando was much on the minds of members and speakers. ALA President Sari Feldman and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table both released statements leading up to the conference about how members could support victims and their families and ensure their libraries are safe spaces … Continue reading Annual Returns to Orlando
You grew up in the inner city of Detroit. How did you discover literature? My mother was and is an extremely literate woman who read voraciously, and I picked up that habit from her. My Sunday school teachers encouraged literacy by recitation of set pieces in Sunday school. My 5th-grade teacher, Mrs. James, really jump-started … Continue reading Newsmaker: Michael Eric Dyson
Though turnout was a bit lighter than usual (16,597 total attendance), many exhibitors mentioned that traffic was brisk. Vendors appreciated the opportunity to engage with current and potential library customers. Consistent with the consolidation of the industry, there were fewer booths, and many vendors showed off an ever-expanding portfolio of gadgets and devices. Technology products … Continue reading Hot Venue, High Tech
“You are the gatekeepers; the keepers of the keys of education and words, and you’ve let me in the gate,” she said. “It’s my privilege to be in your presence.” Curtis’s deference was coupled with humble honesty. She spoke openly about her struggles in school as a youth and how it has affected all aspects … Continue reading This is Jamie Lee
Medlar wanted his Charlemae Rollins President’s Program to celebrate the places the organization chooses for conferences and what’s special about them. “Among the special things here [in Orlando, Florida] are these theme-park spaces,” he said. With that, he turned the program over to Marty Sklar, former president of Walt Disney Imagineering, who spoke about his … Continue reading Inspiring Creativity with Design and Space
How do we as librarians effectively serve today’s teens? That question was at the center of “3-2-1 Impact!: Inclusive and Impactful Teen Services,” Young Adult Library Services Association President Candice Mack’s President’s Program. Six speakers presented their programming successes at the American Library Association’s 2016 Annual Conference and Exhibition on Monday, in hopes that their stories would inspire colleagues and enable them to have similar impact in their communities.
Find your tribe. That’s what teen author, speaker, and trans rights activist Jazz Jennings, at the onset of her Auditorium Speaker Series session at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition on Monday, encouraged those in the LGBTQ community who do not have the support of their families to do.
On Monday, the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services held a session on “Saving Collections, Sharing Expertise: The FIPNet Collaboration across Library Specialties,” which explored the efforts of the Government Publishing Office (GPO) to preserve government information in both tangible and digital format.
Chair of Committee on Legislation (COL) Ann Dutton Ewbank gave her report and requested that the Deaf Culture Digital Library resolution (CD #46_62516) be deferred to Midwinter 2017 so that appropriate research can be conducted. The motion passed. The COL also presented four additional resolutions, which all passed. They included: A resolution (CD #20.4) to … Continue reading Council III Addresses Equity for School Libraries
The problems of keeping student data private in an increasingly complex world of networked information and online tracking were addressed in a Monday morning session, “Student Privacy: The Big Picture on Big Data,” sponsored by the ALA Office of Government Relations and the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). The featured speaker was Elana Zeide, a privacy advocate, attorney and research fellow at New York University’s Information Law Institute.
