#alamw15 Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Emerging Leaders: The Class of 2015

By Phil Morehart | April 21, 2015

Initiated in 1997 as a one-year program under former ALA President Mary R. Somerville and revived in 2006 under former ALA President Leslie Burger, Emerging Leaders recognizes the best and brightest new leaders in our industry. It’s open to librarians under 35 years of age or those new to the library profession of any age … Continue reading Emerging Leaders: The Class of 2015 →

ALA Midwinter Meeting Exhibits Attendees

Midwinter 2015: Members Talk Diversity and Technology

By Greg Landgraf | March 26, 2015

Diversity was a major theme of this year’s meeting. It culminated at the Youth Media Awards ceremony, where ALA President Courtney L. Young observed the need for all children to have access to materials that reflect their experiences. “Our country is a melting pot of cultures, yet the percentages of children’s books released each year … Continue reading Midwinter 2015: Members Talk Diversity and Technology →

2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting – Highlights

February 4, 2015

More than 10,000 library professionals attended the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Chicago. This touching video captures the highlights. [video:http://youtu.be/L676WoMaUEo width:560 height:315]

Doing the Impossible

by Phil Morehart | February 4, 2015

Mick Ebeling is an idea man, and his ideas transform lives. A film and television producer by trade, Ebeling stumbled upon a project that led to sweeping changes in life-altering technologies and the formation of Not Impossible Labs, an organization that develops low-cost, open source solutions to health care problems. His story is a testament … Continue reading Doing the Impossible →

Top Ten Tweets – Tuesday (Day 5)

by Julie Cai | February 4, 2015

It’s the official last day of #alamw15! 🙁 Adjusting to post-conference life and getting back to regular programming are proving to be difficult tasks after days in the winter wonderland of Midwinter. If you have any ARCs you want to donate, please visit this Google doc! Bonus tweets! Thanks for attending Midwinter, be it through … Continue reading Top Ten Tweets – Tuesday (Day 5) →

Top Ten (or so) Tweets – Monday (Day 4)

by Julie Cai | February 3, 2015

Sunday’s blizzard did not damper the spirits of #alamw15 attendees! The highly anticipated Youth Media Awards received a lot of attention and even made it to the top three trending topics in the United States! Scott Bonner showed that libraries are places of change and community. Many attendees said their farewells to Midwinter, reflecting on … Continue reading Top Ten (or so) Tweets – Monday (Day 4) →

Talking ’bout a Revolution

by Phil Morehart | February 3, 2015

In November 2013, the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) launched the Policy Revolution! initiative to advance national policy for libraries and their communities. The grant-funded effort focuses on establishing proactive policy priorities, engaging decision-makers and influencers, and upgrading ALA policy capacity. Speakers from the ALA Washington office, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, … Continue reading Talking ’bout a Revolution →

ALA Council III Meeting

by Laurie Borman | February 3, 2015

ALA Council III, the group’s final session of the 2015 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits, involved two hours of tributes, memorials, resolutions, and vigorous, yet civil debate. The following individuals were recognized in memorial: Diane P. Monnier, Jean E. Lowrie, Roger C. Greer, Chris Olson, Ruth V. Bell, Ferol Ann Accola Foos, Miriam Drake, Lois Mai … Continue reading ALA Council III Meeting →

Mita Williams on Makerspaces

February 3, 2015

In this ALA Master Series session, Mita Williams, user experience librarian at the University of Windsor, explains that fab labs and makerspaces can combat library patrons' anxiety about science. [video:http://youtu.be/7m8Jh3uiX7I width:560 height:315]

Mita Williams on Libraries, Maker Movement

February 3, 2015

In this ALA Master Series session, Mita Williams, user experience librarian at the University of Windsor, explains that some of our oldest public libraries were born out of mechanics institutes and many of our newest public libraries feature makerspaces. There is now a lengthy continuum of organizations that seem to share many similarities with the … Continue reading Mita Williams on Libraries, Maker Movement →

Young Children and New Media in Libraries

By Mariam Pera | February 3, 2015

During the Young Children, New Media, and Libraries session on Sunday, Julie Roach, manager of youth services at Cambridge (Mass.) Public Library, moderated as J. Elizabeth Mills, PhD student at University of Washington iSchool (UW), and Amy Koester, youth and family program coordinator at Skokie (Ill.) Public Library, discussed the preliminary results of the Young … Continue reading Young Children and New Media in Libraries →

Screen cap from Emily Graslie's Brain Scoop web show

Geeking Out

By Mariam Pera | February 3, 2015

During the Women in Geekdom panel on Saturday, five self-proclaimed nerds shared their thoughts on how libraries can build communities by reaching out to local fans/patrons and creating programming that attracts people of all ages. The panel was moderated by Samantha Nelson, writer for the Onion A.V. Club, and included Emily Graslie, chief curiosity correspondent … Continue reading Geeking Out →

Latest Library Links

1d

Michael Kan writes: “Are you still using ‘chocolate,’ ‘naruto,’ or ‘monkey’ for your passwords? You really need to stop. All three are among the most commonly used passwords, putting your accounts at risk of hacking, according to new data from NordPass. The password manager’s sixth annual list of the top 200 most commonly used passwords is pulled from a 2.5TB dataset of stolen logins taken from various sources.” ZDNet offers tips for creating stronger passwords and improved security measures.

PC Mag, Nov. 14; NordPass, Nov. 13; ZDNet, Nov. 14
1d

John Sharp writes: “Athens and Fairhope are two fast-growing cities in the fastest-growing areas of Alabama, and there is no mistaking their conservative bona fides. But according to early statistics about library card applications, their libraries appear to be bucking a trend embraced by conservative-leaning groups and the Alabama GOP: Their patrons appear to be trusting the libraries. More than 60% of parents at Fairhope Public Library and Athens-Limestone County Public Library have signed off on all-access passes for their children with no restrictions on library usage.”

AL.com, Nov. 17
2d

Katie Gaddini writes: “Book bans may have mushroomed in the Trump era of reactionary politics, but they have a well-established history in America. One woman in particular, Norma Gabler, redefined the current strategy and logic behind modern book bans. Called ‘education’s public enemy number one,’ by critics in 1980, Gabler led the crusade against the so-called secular trend in school textbooks throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Even though Norma and her husband Mel worked together, Norma was the public face of their efforts for decades.”

Time: Made By History, Nov. 13
2d

Many members know Bill Ladewski as executive director of the Reference and User Services Association, an ALA position he has held since 2019. In early September, Ladewski added another title to his CV: director of Member Relations and Services. In this role, he and his team are charged with providing service and information to the Association’s nearly 50,000 members. Ladewski answered our 11 Questions to reintroduce himself to the ALA community.

AL: The Scoop, Nov. 19
3d

John Warner writes: “I understand what people mean when they invoke the term ‘institutional neutrality,’ but I don’t know how it’s workable in today’s world. Higher education institutions are built upon a foundation of actual values, values that are, by definition, not neutral. The Kalven report, the Rosetta Stone of institutional neutrality produced by a faculty committee at the University of Chicago in 1967, is not a call to make all work emanating from an institution ‘neutral,’ but is instead a call to make the atmosphere for scholarly inquiry and debate as free as possible.”

Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 15
3d

Angela Hursh writes: “Ever wondered how your library’s email performance compares to others? Benchmarks help you understand how well your emails perform in key areas and identify opportunities for improvement. They also allow you to compare your email marketing performance, set goals, and stay on top of trends. However, the lack of industry benchmarks for email marketing metrics specific to libraries has been bugging me. Metrics from similar industries don’t fully capture the unique aspects of promoting a library. To help libraries accurately measure their email effectiveness, we’ve created the first-ever library email benchmark report.”

NoveList, Oct. 22
4d

Rachel Hendrick writes: “Students and library vendors are pushing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in higher education, but there are very few resources that help librarians and scholars separate the wheat from the chaff. Luckily, we here at Choice love a good assessment rubric. (In fact, we made a PDF of our assessment rubric.) Even the least tech-savvy of us can use a very simple AI literacy framework to think critically about whether an AI application is worth your time.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Nov. 13

View more Latest Library Links