“When you’ve been so deeply touched by violence, you don’t glorify it. You’re not fascinated by it in any way,” author Ishmael Beah told a captivated crowd of several hundred on Saturday afternoon at the Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture during the 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits in Philadelphia. Beah grew up in the southern … Continue reading Tales of a Former Child Soldier
Among Sweet’s awards are a Caldecott Honor for A River of Words (Eerdmans, 2008) and, more recently, a 2014 Sibert Honor for A Splash of Red (Knopf), which was announced at the January 27 Youth Media Awards. Video: Melissa Sweet on the Influence of Libraries See, hear, and read more about what’s going on … Continue reading Interview with Melissa Sweet
Topics at this one-hour informal gathering ran the gamut, from conversations about the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to parental leave policies at various institutions to discussions about child care services, both at professional conferences and on campus. The consensus among attendees was that each employee felt she needed to advocate for herself when arranging … Continue reading Working Parents of Small Children, Unite
“We are in the business of making resources available, and we shouldn’t forget that,” said Emily Gore, director for content of the Digital Public Library of America. Gore was one of five panelists speaking to an estimated 200 attendees at LITA’s popular event reporting on changes and advances in technology. Each panelist and the moderator … Continue reading Top Tech Trends 2014
At a Sunday morning Midwinter session, presenters Chris Prom, Cara Bertram, and Denise Rayman, all from the U of I library, discussed the open-access repository, known as the ALA Institutional Repository (ALAIR), which has more than 3,000 cubic feet of physical records and more than 460 GB of digital records from the various divisions, offices, … Continue reading Preserving the Association’s History
Unlike TED (technology, entertainment, design) talks, TEDx is planned and coordinated at the local level and is meant to give communities, organizations, and individuals the ability to independently host TED-like events. Presenter Teri Skillman, outreach coordinator at the Hamilton Library of the University of Hawaii Manoa, has organized two such events—one in 2012 and the … Continue reading Bringing TEDx to the Library
The one-hour session, titled “HR Confidential: Insider Tips from Library HR Directors,” was presented by Kathryn Kjaer of the University of California, Irvine, and Leo Agnew of the University of Iowa. The search The two HR directors began by explaining what search committees look for. For starters, speak to the job duties, especially the requirements … Continue reading So You’re Looking for a Job: Now What?
As attendees prepare for their travels to Midwinter, Mother Nature creeps up behind them. With temperatures hitting the negatives, flights being canceled, and 13.5 inches of—snow blanketing Philly earlier this week, it’s a ginormous understatement to say this winter storm packs a punch. Hilarity ensues in the biblio-twitterverse as attendees document their struggles. … Continue reading Top Ten (or So) Tweets – Day 0 (Thursday): Facing Mother Nature
Why did you decide to write a memoir about your childhood experiences in Sierra Leone? ISHMAEL BEAH: It came out of several frustrations about the lack of knowledge about the use of children in war and also the way my country was only presented as a place of violence. I wanted to put a human … Continue reading Newsmaker: Ishmael Beah
Flying to Philly is the only thing I don’t look forward to when it comes to Midwinter. Flying is not pleasant business. The indignity of airport screening, waiting to board an overcrowded plane, jamming my carryon into the overstuffed bins. The sole redeeming feature of air travel is my 15 minutes of quiet reading because … Continue reading Fear of Flying
Over the next several years, ALA will be leading a major initiative to help libraries of all types utilize proven community engagement tools and techniques to better understand their communities and to encourage community-based innovations in library service. This effort, which is part of the Association’s strategic goal of assisting in the ongoing transformation of libraries, … Continue reading The “Kitchen Table” Conversations and ALA
Franklin clearly envisioned that libraries would play an active role in advocacy and the improvement of communities. On January 24–28, librarians from around the country will arrive in Franklin’s native Philadelphia for the 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits to discuss the future of their profession and its impact on the communities they serve in … Continue reading Philadelphia: 2014 Midwinter Preview
