#alamw19 Archives | Page 2 of 4 | American Libraries Magazine

Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 3

By Crystal Carrazco | January 28, 2019

We started the day with Rick Steves and a refreshing perspective on travel. By far @RickSteves talk @alamwis the BEST talk I’ve ever heard in Year and by far in this conference! Waw #alamw19 — Essraa Nawar (@EssraaNawar) January 27, 2019 It turns out @RickSteves is pretty good at standup #comedy! Pretty cool to see … Continue reading Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 3 →

How Technology Helps Foster Research Connections

By Lindsay Gypin | January 28, 2019

Ngoc-Yen Tran, research impact librarian, and Emily Chan, interim associate dean for research and scholarship, both from San Jose State University, presented a plethora of data from various studies indicating that collaborating on research is up, and single author publication is down. In the first five years of College & Research Libraries’ existence, less than … Continue reading How Technology Helps Foster Research Connections →

From left: YALSA President Crystle Martin, Coretta Scott King Chair Claudette McLinn, ALSC President Jamie Campbell Naidoo, ALA President Loida Garcia-Febo, and Reforma President Madeline Pena Feliz at the 2019 ALA Youth Media Awards presentation.

2019 Youth Media Award Winners

January 28, 2019

A list of all the 2019 award winners follows: John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: Merci Suárez Changes Gears, written by Meg Medina, is the 2019 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by Candlewick Press. Two Newbery honor books also were named: The Night Diary, written by Veera Hiranandani … Continue reading 2019 Youth Media Award Winners →

Travel As a Political Act

By Terra Dankowski | January 28, 2019

“The book that beats mine [in sales] all the time is the guidebook to Disney World,” Steves told attendees of his Auditorium Speaker Series talk at the American Library Association’s 2019 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Seattle on January 27. “That’s la la land—I’m into gaining a better understanding of humanity.” Steves, who recently released … Continue reading Travel As a Political Act →

Betha Gutsche (seated) and Jennifer Peterson at the "Return to the Real" session, ALA Midwinter Meeting, Seattle.

Getting Real Again

By Terra Dankowski | January 28, 2019

“These are the new shiny things for [teens and 20-somethings],” Betha Gutsche, WebJunction program manager at OCLC, told attendees at “Return to the Real: The Library As Social Connector,” a Symposium on the Future of Libraries session at the American Library Association’s 2019 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Seattle on January 26. Analog objects give … Continue reading Getting Real Again →

Robin DiAngelo at the President's Program, ALA 2019 Midwinter Meeting, Seattle.

Robin DiAngelo Gets Real on Racism

By Amy Carlton | January 28, 2019

Garcia-Febo then discussed the libraries she visited on her Libraries = Strong Communities tour over the past several months and invited members of her diversity advisory team to join her onstage. ALA is creating a series of videos to help libraries with equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives; the first video should be available in March. … Continue reading Robin DiAngelo Gets Real on Racism →

Kate Deibel, inclusion and accessibility librarian at Syracuse University, speaks on disability access issues.

Always Use the Microphone

By Carrie Smith | January 28, 2019

Kate Deibel opened her session, “Pushing on the Frontier: Disability Access and the Future of Libraries” on Saturday, January 26, at the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Seattle, with this all-too-common question to make a point: “Always use the microphone. It’s one of the most important and easiest things you can do.” It helps … Continue reading Always Use the Microphone →

2019 Carnegie Medal winners, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai and Heavy by Kiese Laymon

2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced

January 27, 2019

The selections were announced January 27 at the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA) Book and Media Awards, sponsored by NoveList, during the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. Makkai’s novel explores the complexities of friendship, family, art, fear, and love in WWI-era and present-day Paris and 1980s Chicago while … Continue reading 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced →

Melinda Gates and Nancy Pearl at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.

The Moment of Lift

By Phil Morehart | January 27, 2019

Melinda Gates opened her talk at the 2019 American Library Association’s (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Seattle January 25 with effusive praise for her hosts. Her admiration for libraries is well documented: As cochair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, she has been at the forefront of philanthropic funding for libraries. The Gates Library Foundation, … Continue reading The Moment of Lift →

Council I Votes on Sustainability

By Amy Carlton | January 27, 2019

The minutes from the 2018 ALA Annual Conference (CD#2) were adopted. ALA Past President Courtney L. Young gave the report of the ALA Executive Director Search Committee (CD#34), which will begin its work in February. Candidates for Chapter Councilor to the committee are Susan Jennings, Samantha C. Helmick, Matt Beckstrom, and David Dahl. Councilor-at-large Round … Continue reading Council I Votes on Sustainability →

Melissa Lockaby, assistant professor of library science at the University of North Georgia, demonstrates how not to greet patrons in libraries.

Soft Skills: Hard to Teach?

By Lindsay Gypin | January 27, 2019

Melissa Lockaby, assistant professor of library science at the University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, drew on her background in human resources to present a career development workshop on “The Soft Skills: What Library School Doesn’t Teach You” at ALA’s 2019 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Seattle on Saturday, January 26. As a veteran library professional … Continue reading Soft Skills: Hard to Teach? →

Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 2

By Crystal Carrazco | January 27, 2019

Me entering #ALAMW19 for the first time pic.twitter.com/Y3cJpb4iSR — Kelly Knox (@kelly_knox) January 26, 2019 We started the day with listening to the amazing Sylvia Acevedo. https://twitter.com/abbylibrarian/status/1089229910940372992 The exhibits were open for a full day today and well, some attendees, couldn’t contain themselves. https://twitter.com/_ACoops_/status/1089299370552356864 It’s also a great day to stop by a booth and … Continue reading Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 2 →

Latest Library Links

10h

Joe Árvai writes: “As artificial intelligence (AI) creeps further into people’s daily lives, so do worries about it. At the most alarmist are concerns about AI going rogue and terminating its human masters. But my own research as a psychologist who studies how people make decisions leads me to believe that all these risks are overshadowed by an even more corrupting, though largely invisible, threat. That is, AI is mere keystrokes away from making people even less disciplined and skilled when it comes to thoughtful decisions.”

The Conversation, Apr. 12
14h

Tess Prendergast writes: “As someone who teaches contemporary children’s literature, I have been following the surge of picture books about climate and environment topics for several years. While there has been some great scholarly research about such books, I have devised a simple framework for grouping these kinds of books. This four-tiered categorization may help you decided what to read, suggest, or display in various scenarios and for different audiences.”

ALSC Blog, Apr. 11
1d

Max Eddy writes: “It’s a nightmare scenario: You’ve protected all of your online accounts with two-factor authentication (2FA), but then your phone is broken, lost, or stolen, and you’re locked out of everything. Past You’s effort to protect Future You has made Present You’s life a living hell. 2FA is supposed to keep attackers and scammers out of your online accounts, but what if something happens to your second factor? With a little planning, you can reduce that risk and still keep your accounts safe.”

New York Times Wirecutter, Apr. 12
2d

Nik Altenberg writes: “About 100 librarians and their supporters rallied outside San Francisco Public Library’s Main Library on April 9 to demand the city hire security guards for every branch. Workers decried a lack of security at most of the city’s branches and said they are often forced to de-escalate volatile situations and step into the role of providing security themselves. The rally is the latest in a series of union actions [from 10 unions representing more than 25,000 city workers across city departments] seeking to draw attention to what they say is a pervasive understaffing crisis.”

KQED-TV (San Francisco), Apr. 9
2d

“Two years after Brooklyn Public Libraries’ (BPL) launch of Books Unbanned, an initiative to protect the freedom to read for young people, In Their Own Words: Youth Voices on Books Unbanned gives new insight into the impact of censorship on teen and young adults across the US and how restrictions and other barriers to access build upon and reinforce each other. The new report, published April 11 by BPL and Seattle Public Library, analyzes 855 stories shared by young people who signed up for a free Books Unbanned ecard from April 2022 through December 2023.”

Seattle Public Library, Apr. 11
3d

Samantha Guss, Sojourna Cunningham, and Jennifer Stout write: “Recruitment and retention are both critical to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in academic libraries, and failing to improve retention has and will continue to derail these initiatives. Research that addresses retention tends to focus on proposed strategies, such as stay interviews (structured interviews aimed at strengthening employee and employer relationships) and mentorship programs. But there is no agreed-upon definition of retention that would allow us to assess these strategies. We should recognize that involuntary staying can be just as negative an outcome for the individual and the organization as leaving, setting the stage for legacy toxicity.”

In The Library With The Lead Pipe, Apr. 10
3d

Jackie Edwards writes: “As spring rolls around, seasonal allergies can flare up among library workers, resulting in symptoms like sneezing; runny or stuffy nose; itchy eyes, ears, and nose; coughing; and asthma. Not only are these symptoms detrimental to well-being and productivity, but they can also mean you’re less able to provide excellent customer service to library users. Fortunately, by purifying the air, preventing mold, and keeping your work area clean, you can improve indoor air quality and combat allergies in your library.”

Library Worklife, Apr.

View more Latest Library Links