awards Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Melvil Dewey with the 1888 class of the School of Library Economy at Columbia College, New York City. Photo: ALA Archives

Bringing Harassment Out of the History Books

By Anne Ford | June 1, 2018

Though his moniker is absent from modern headlines, there’s one harasser whose name is known to librarians everywhere: Melvil Dewey. In the #MeToo era, how should the library profession handle Dewey’s legacy, tainted as it is by sexism and racism? Dewey—who was, of course, a founder of the American Library Association (ALA) and the inventor … Continue reading Bringing Harassment Out of the History Books →

Newsmaker: Jason Reynolds

By Alison Marcotte | April 12, 2018

This year’s theme for School Library Month is “Making Connections at Your School Library.” You’ve said reading the lyrics to Queen Latifah’s 1993 album Black Reign changed your life and inspired you to start writing poetry. When students connect with and see themselves in the music, multimedia, and books they read, it changes their relationship with reading completely. … Continue reading Newsmaker: Jason Reynolds →

2018 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced

February 11, 2018

The selections were announced February 11 at the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA) Book and Media Awards sponsored by NoveList, during the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. From New York mobsters to the first woman diver at the Brooklyn Naval Station during WWII to the archetypally motley … Continue reading 2018 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced →

2018 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Denver. Illustration: Kimberly Sly/Albie Designs

2018 Midwinter Preview

By Greg Landgraf | January 2, 2018

Featured Speakers Opening Session Friday, February 9, 4–5:15 p.m. Marley Dias, who started the #1000blackgirlbooks campaign as a 6th grader, will have a conversation with Patrisse Cullors, artist and cofounder of the Black Lives Matter movement, to reveal the determining factors and mindsets that motivated each of them to take action and how different generations … Continue reading 2018 Midwinter Preview →

Covers of the 2018 Carnegie Medals Shortlist books

ALA Unveils 2018 Carnegie Medals Shortlist

October 25, 2017

The 2018 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction shortlist titles include: Nonfiction The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner, by Daniel Ellsberg (Bloomsbury). In a mix of memoir and exposé, Ellsberg recounts long-hidden facts about the US government’s inadequate control of nuclear weapons—an arsenal that endangers all life on Earth—and … Continue reading ALA Unveils 2018 Carnegie Medals Shortlist →

From left: ALA President Jim Neal; Re:Create Executive Director Joshua Lamel, Prue Adler, associate executive director, Federal Relations and Information Policy; Matt Schruers, vice president for law and policy at the Computer and Communications Industry Association; Jonathan Band; Katherine Oyama, senior policy counsel for Google; and Carrie Russell, director of the Program on Public Access to Information at ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy

A Library Ally You Didn’t Know You Had

By Carrie Russell | October 3, 2017

But much of that defense would not be possible if not for a person most librarians don’t even know: Jonathan Band, who for nearly 20 years has represented libraries on behalf of the American Library Association (ALA) and other library associations. Band is this year’s recipient of the L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award. Band wrote … Continue reading A Library Ally You Didn’t Know You Had →

Winners of this year's Ignatz Awards at the Small Press Expo, held September 16-17 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Small Press Expo: Indie Comics for All

By Amie Wright | September 22, 2017

The Ignatz Awards recognize new talent and are a vital collection development tool for identifying indie comics and up-and-coming artists, similar to the Indie Next Picks for literature. Much like other prizes like the Eisner, Harvey, and Doug Wright Awards, the Ignatz Awards can provide a foundation to build and grow expansive, responsive, and diverse … Continue reading Small Press Expo: Indie Comics for All →

ALA Presidential Citations

By Delin Guerra | September 22, 2017

The winners are: University of Alberta’s Augustana Campus Library and the city of Camrose, Alberta, Canada Bibliotheekservice Fryslân in the Netherlands Wellington County Library in Ontario, Canada The recipients were selected by a team of IRRT members in consultation with then–ALA President Julie B. Todaro, who recognized them at the 2017 ALA Annual Conference and … Continue reading ALA Presidential Citations →

2017 ALA Award Winners

September 1, 2017

SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARDS Jen Bryant and Boris Kulikov Six Dots, written by Bryant and illustrated by Kulikov, won the award for young readers. Louis Braille, who became blind by age 5, didn’t allow his disability to prevent him from learning about the world around him. Unsatisfied with the options available, Braille tinkered with French … Continue reading 2017 ALA Award Winners →

Newsmaker: Margarita Engle

By George M. Eberhart | September 1, 2017

A Cuban-American, Engle is the first person of Latino descent to receive the honor. She was also the first Latina to be awarded a Newbery Honor in 2009 for The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom. What poets have had an influence on your writing? This is such a challenging question, because I … Continue reading Newsmaker: Margarita Engle →

The Malaysia delegation, who will host the World Library and Information Congress next year in Kuala Lumpur, takes the stage at the Closing Session.

Countdown to Kuala Lumpur

By Terra Dankowski | August 25, 2017

Scheeder, addressing the crowd for the last time as president before Glòria Pérez-Salmerón’s term begins, emphasized the organization’s commitment to supporting the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and strengthening regional strategy during her term. “I never imagined we would travel so far together, so fast,” she said. “You create the kind of change … Continue reading Countdown to Kuala Lumpur →

ALA Unveils 2017 Andrew Carnegie Medals Shortlist

October 25, 2016

2017 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction shortlist titles include: Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction 2017 Shortlist The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice, by Patricia Bell-Scott, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Penguin Random House LLC. Bell-Scott … Continue reading ALA Unveils 2017 Andrew Carnegie Medals Shortlist →

Latest Library Links

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The Equal Opportunities Commission has questioned the Hong Kong Public Libraries’ decision to move children’s books with LGBTQ themes to closed stacks, calling it an unnecessary move that may place “new limits on children’s access to books.” The EOC said that the removal of the books may be unnecessary, given that seven of the titles concerned were considered “neutral in nature” by the public libraries themselves. The EOC said that policy should be based on “sound reasons and solid evidence.”

Hong Kong Free Press, June 21
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Flo Leeta, covered in a sparkling white jumpsuit and a pastel wig swirled into a prominent unicorn horn, looked up from the book she had been reading, Jacob’s New Dress. She had just gotten to the part where Jacob was being told by his classmates that boys can’t wear dresses. The Buffalo-based drag queen peered at the more than 70 children in front of her at the Olean (N.Y.) Public Library with a thoughtful expression under her hot pink eyeshadow. “There are all sorts of ways to be a boy,” she said. “Right?”

Olean (N.Y.) Times-Herald, June 21
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Keir Graff writes: “The group-stage games are coming fast and furious at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and like most sports fans, you’re thinking only one thing: Yes, but what should I read? Fear not, for I have selected 32 titles, one for each team in the finals—and all but one published since the last World Cup concluded in Brazil—that will tell you more about the beautiful game than you could ever learn by, you know, just watching it.”

The Booklist Reader, June 21
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Eva Rios-Alvarado writes: “The first year of my employment at the community college level, I was tasked with leading Banned Books Week as the student equity and outreach librarian at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. Going into the planning was somewhat intimidating, since I had only heard of Banned Books Week as a public library community member. If you are thinking about holding events or interactive displays at your college library, here are a couple of ideas to rally the creative in you.”

Intellectual Freedom Blog, June 21
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Klint Finley writes: “Even as companies raced to comply with sweeping privacy rules that took effect in the European Union in May, EU lawmakers were working on another set of changes that could have a global impact on the internet. On June 20, a committee in the EU’s legislative branch approved a proposed model copyright law that would likely lead many apps and websites to screen uploaded content using automated filters to detect copyrighted material. The proposal will now move to a vote by the full European Parliament.”

Wired, June 20
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Barbara Fister writes: “In the next few weeks I’d like to take a look at the core values codified by ALA and speculate about how they could be applied to our wider information landscape. While libraries don’t always live up to their values, their many decades of at least trying to do so might provide some insight into what we could do to fix some of our information technology problems that seem so vexing. Though the core values are expressed in terms of things librarians should do, the technologies that increasingly influence our lives could use them for good.”

Inside Higher Ed: Library Babel Fish, June 21
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The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has added its name to a letter to Mauricio Macri, president of Argentina and host of the G20, a gathering of the governments of the world’s biggest economies. The letter sets out a number of areas where policy-makers should act to ensure the internet works, first and foremost, for its users. This year’s G20, November 30–December 1 in Buenos Aires, is looking at digital and internet policy issues.

IFLA, June 17

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