On July 29, 1900, Mary Ayres died of consumption in Cincinnati, Ohio. An Irish immigrant who labored as a cook, Mary was 51 years old and a widow. On her official death record, no home address is given. Presumably when the disease set in, she was removed to the city infirmary. We do not know … Continue reading Born Here, Died Here
Surely, readers old enough to remember Andrew Carnegie may stare in wonderment at this title: Revive the spirit of Andrew Carnegie? Isn’t that like saluting Gordon Gekko? I am neither prepared nor qualified to untangle the robber-baron fact and fiction regarding Mr. Carnegie, but that isn’t why I am invoking his name. Rather, I hope … Continue reading Reviving the Spirit of Andrew Carnegie
Over the last decade, a fundamental shift has occurred in how students perceive and utilize libraries. No longer seen as traditional book warehouses, libraries are now collaborative environments where individuals and groups converge to study, socialize, and gain access to resources. The library was once a place to find and check out books. But today, … Continue reading The Evolving Library: Supporting New Teaching, Learning Styles
Individual books can be picked up and moved at will. It’s easy to walk a book out to the porch swing, and library books are constantly rotating out and back into the collection. But when you contemplate moving an entire collection of thousands of books, manuals, audiovisual materials, and furnishings, you need to figure out … Continue reading Booking Passage to a New Home
In this struggling economy, the local library remains the community bedrock, even as libraries report that use of service is up while their budgets are shrinking. As a librarian in Pennsylvania, I’m proud to say that we are finding creative ways to do more with less. The “One Book, Every Young Child” program is foremost … Continue reading One Book for Every Young Child
In New on the Job (2006), Ruth Toor and Hilda K. Weisburg provided useful advice for school librarians just starting out in their careers. Now, in Being Indespensable: A School Librarian’s Guide to Becoming an Invaluable Leader, they provide a template for librarians trying to save their jobs. The idea is that by “Knowing Who … Continue reading New From ALA Editions
Because many libraries are staff-strapped as well as cash-strapped, do-it-yourself programming is a growing trend. Amanda Moss Struckmeyer and Svetha Hetzler base their book, DIY Programming and Book Displays: How to Stretch Your Programming without Stretching Your Budget and Staff , on ideas they came up with at Middleton (Wis.) Public Library. They set up and … Continue reading DIY Programming
Michael P. Sauers used his own experience as a blogger (at travelinlibrarian.info) to explain the technology an easy-to-understand way in the first edition of Blogging and RSS: A Librarian’s Guide, published in 2006. Since then, he has gone into Twitter in a big way (more than 14.000 tweets) and an important change in the new … Continue reading (Micro)blogging in the Library
Though not unique to the United States, the public library movement has flourished here, sprung from a late-19th-century ideal of educating the masses and defined by pioneers such as Melvil Dewey. The mission remains essentially the same, but the public library (like all libraries) is undergoing some heavy self-examination. In the introduction to Public Libraries … Continue reading 21st-Century Public Libraries
A group of children gather in the children’s area to listen to a story. At first glance, this could be a program occurring any day of the week in any library across the country. However, it is a special day, April 30, and the children are enjoying books like Book Fiesta! by Pat Mora and … Continue reading Building a Culture of Literacy through Día
Mobile devices are ubiquitous in today’s society, and there’s no evidence that that is going to change. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, as of mid-2010, 82% of American adults own a mobile phone or a mobile computing device that works as a phone. it is crucial for librarians to understand mobile … Continue reading Libraries and Mobile Services
At a time when resources are shrinking, funding is scarce, and businesses are folding, finding partners to help realize goals is not just an interesting concept but a necessity. To provide support services to formerly homeless individuals and families, many with special needs, the Miami-Dade Public Library System joined forces with the county’s Homeless Trust … Continue reading Miami-Dade Partnerships Take Root
