Libraries, which are always searching for new ways to connect with their communities, have offered reading gardens and outdoor storytelling to foster a connection with nature and the environment. Today, via a library’s outdoor learning space, librarians are participating in the growing movement to connect children with the environment. The Nature Explorium at the Middle … Continue reading Discovering the Nature Explorium
The internet, along with Facebook and Twitter, was the Open University that facilitated learning about democracy for Egypt’s young people. The revolution had been brewing for the past 10 years or so, increasing by the day as more people acquired mobile devices. The ground in Egypt was ripe for revolution: Corruption was at its peak, … Continue reading Egyptians Find Their Power in Access to Information
Libraries’ staffs and users alike are showing a keen interest in e-learning. Fortunately, there is no shortage of books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and online materials and internet-based resources about best practices in e-learning. However, a review of these sources suggests that libraries are far behind other organizations in developing effective and comprehensive e-learning programs. If … Continue reading E-Learning: The Product of a Risk Is a Lesson
I am not a behavioral psychologist but it seems to me the most basic element of establishing a connection with someone is making eye contact. Take my granddaughter, Sophia. She’s 3 years old and is always the most popular person wherever she goes because she loves to go right up to people, look them in … Continue reading Approachable You
At dinner the other night with friends, we learned that their eldest daughter, a college sophomore, had had her boyfriend visit for a few days over the holidays. The visit went fine, or so it seemed, and then the relationship ended, abruptly and unexpectedly. A sad, if not uncommon story; the punch line was how … Continue reading Lost and Found
Becoming a PAF has paid off for Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Public Library. Last April, we made passport processing and photo services available seven days a week at seven branches from opening until one hour before closing. We have since collected more than $100,000 in execution fees. This new revenue stream has enabled us to restore … Continue reading Running a Passport Acceptance Facility at Your Library
ALA Executive Board meetings in San Diego focused on how to engage younger members, the ALA Membership Meeting, and the Midwinter Meeting itself. At the top of the list was a report from the Young Professionals Task Force, chaired by Laurel Bliss. The task force has been reaching out to younger members and is working on … Continue reading Engaging Members, Charting the Future of Midwinter
Princeton (N.J.) Public Library hosted a two-day TEDx event, December 7-8, 2010, while thousands of “Tedsters” simultaneously attended over 100 similarly organized events about women’s issues in cities as diverse as Geneva, Pittsburgh, and Dubai. TEDx events, spinoffs of the TED annual nonprofit conference whose mission is “ideas worth spreading” are free, independent, and highly … Continue reading Plugging into the TED conference @ your library
Just a few years out of Harvard, Avi Steinberg left his job writing obituaries for the Boston Globe and applied for a position as a prison librarian, even though he was not a librarian and had never been inside a prison. As he tells it in Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison … Continue reading The Accidental Prison Librarian
“I grew up as a follower of Martin Luther King,” said Michael K. Honey, Fred T. and Dorothy G. Haley Endowed Professor of the Humanities and professor of labor and ethnic studies and American history, University of Washington, Tacoma. “When I was in high school, I followed his campaign for desegregation in the South on … Continue reading King Sunrise Celebration Features Michael K. Honey
A measure that encourages clarification within job listings as to the presence or absence of domestic partner benefits was the sole action taken by the ALA’s governing Council during its first session today. Introduced by Peter Hepburn, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table councilor, the resolution (Council Document #35) originally called for requiring potential … Continue reading Council I: Domestic Partner Job Listing Measure Passes
Just in time for the switch from AACR2 to the new RDA (Resource Description and Access) standard designed specifically for the digital environment comes Chris Oliver’s Introducing RDA: A Guide to the Basics. Readers looking for a how-to will need to look elsewhere, but this book provides a useful overview on RDA, its alignment with … Continue reading New from ALA
