What Graves didn’t know was that by the time he brought them to the dealer, the owner had already seen the items at the library a few weeks earlier. “I had been talking about them to the owner while he was visiting our special collections area,” says special collections librarian Bill Cook of Bangor (Maine) … Continue reading Thwarting Book Thieves
Danielle Engelman, director of programs, began her presentation at ALA Annual with an explanation of Long Now’s signature project, the 10,000 Year Clock. The clock is an icon for long-term thinking, envisioned as a way to get people to think in very long terms about the consequences of their choices. Of significant interest to attendees … Continue reading Library of the Future: Learning with the Long Now Foundation
The Alice Marshall Women’s History Collection is named for Alice Kahler Marshall (1923–1997), a local journalist, researcher, and avid collector, who was fascinated by the “contradictions between the realities of women’s lives and the stereotypes of women’s behavior.” The collection, compiled over 50 years, encompasses material on all areas of women’s lives from the 15th … Continue reading Bookend: A History of Women’s Lives
ALA President Courtney L. Young opened the session, drawing a parallel between the mission of the Knight Foundation and ALA, both of which, she said, believe in the democratizing effect of keeping the public informed and engaged. This year’s News Challenge received 680 submissions, which were narrowed down to 41 semifinalists. In the end, 22 … Continue reading Knight News Challenge announces winners of $3 million in grants
That’s where Casey Davis, project manager for the American Archive of Public Broadcasting at WGBH Educational Foundation in Boston, comes in. Davis (standing in the WGBH vault) works with a team at the WGBH Media Library and Archives and the Library of Congress to coordinate a national effort to identify, preserve, and make accessible as … Continue reading Bookend: In the Vault
Rare book collections are not just limited to well-known libraries—they may be present in any size or type of library local history collection, or special collection surrounding an event of importance to the larger community. Sidney E. Berger’s Rare Books and Special Collections is a handbook to help an administrator understand the special aspects of … Continue reading The Convergence of LAMs
Steve Leggett, program coordinator of the National Film Preservation Board at the Library of Congress (LC), laughs as he retells this Hollywood urban legend. Nevertheless the story contains truth. Scores of films were destroyed during cinema’s early years by studios that viewed silents as obsolete. These silent classics were not seen as works of art … Continue reading Saving Our Celluloid Past
Two Italian kids, planting their feet in America for the first time on Ellis Island in 1913. What had they left behind? And what lay ahead for them? It’s this photo—and others like it—that got Maura Marx into a bit of trouble. Marx is director of the effort to launch the Digital Public Library of … Continue reading A Digital Library for Everyone
“Georgia’s Archives are a showcase of our state’s rich history and a source of great pride,” Deal said. In September, following the announcement of the closure, ALA President Maureen Sullivan wrote a letter to Gov. Deal, expressing her concern and dismay. Calling the Georgia State Archives a “treasure trove of unique documents and official records,” … Continue reading Georgia Archives to Stay Open
For libraries and archives, digitizing materials has become a key concern, especially as more and more patrons and users go online to research information. But several factors must be considered: Copyright law Librarians interested in beginning a digitization project must first consult copyright laws. If the item is in the public domain, copyright is fairly … Continue reading Think Digitization During Preservation Week
