Though normative collections are a systematic problem and no one person is to blame, Manfredi said, the session sought to convey how librarians, educators, publishers, and reviewers are complicit in this problem. Manfredi began by identifying examples of microaggressions—comments or actions that may be hostile or demeaning to a minority or marginalized group—and popular misconceptions … Continue reading Less Normative Collections
With help from kids in the community, SCDL started its BikeSmart program in June 2015. BikeSmart allows patrons to use their library cards to rent bicycles at one of six bike lending stations in Canton and Massillon. The program has returned for its second season, which will run until about November 15. The program is … Continue reading The Freewheelin’ Library
In 2013, Highland Park (Mich.) High School was accused of throwing out a large collection of history materials, including some rare items, which had been cultivated over a 50-year period. That same year, the Urbana (Ill.) Free Library discarded nearly 10,000 items, apparently just based on age, rather than condition or use. The discarding was … Continue reading Weeding without Worry
The textbook treatment, The Complete Guide to Acquisitions Management, 2nd edition, by Frances C. Wilkinson, Linda K. Lewis, and Rebecca L. Lubas, covers the essentials of the purchasing process for monographs, serials, and digital items as well as out-of-print and antiquarian materials. Several chapters focus on industry partners in the acquisitions process: the publishers and … Continue reading Understanding Acquisitions
“We used to have an event in Glen Ellyn called BookFest involving local merchants and the library,” says Susan DeRonne, adult department director at Glen Ellyn Public Library (GEPL). “[It] had a tent where self-published authors could sell their works, and it became more and more popular in its last years.” GEPL is one of … Continue reading Solving the Self-Published Puzzle
The title of that tale was The Travels and Adventures of Three Princes of Serendip. The story inspired Walpole to coin the term serendipity. Who among us has never known, however trivial, a serendipitous discovery? More essentially, nearly every librarian has heard at some point in his or her career someone’s story about a serendipitous … Continue reading Collections Are for Collisions
