equity diversity and inclusion Archives | Page 45 of 48

Dominican Republic President Consults with ALA on Library Development

October 1, 2010

In what looks very much like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández paid a visit to 50 East Huron Street today, accompanied by First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, to talk with American Library Association staff about libraries. Joined by an entourage that included Dominican Consul General Giselle Castillo-Veremis and … Continue reading Dominican Republic President Consults with ALA on Library Development →

Twenty Years of Assistive Technologies

By Barbara T. Mates | September 14, 2010

On July 26, 2010, thousands of people applauded the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which mandated that disabled individuals be accorded the same rights as persons without disabilities. The celebration stimulated reflection and debate on the effectiveness of the law. No consensus about success has been reached, but … Continue reading Twenty Years of Assistive Technologies →

Libraries Host September Project Programming

By Greg Landgraf | September 10, 2010

Libraries around the country and the world are hosting events this month as part of the September Project, a grassroots effort to encourage library programming about freedom during the month of September. The September Project was founded in 2004 by Sarah Washburn, library program manager at TechSoup, and David Silver, associate professor of media studies … Continue reading Libraries Host September Project Programming →

Fighting Fire with Free Speech: ALA Will Protest Book Burning with 9/11 Qur’an Reading

September 8, 2010

Book burning is the most insidious form of book banning, and just as the American Library Association is preparing to celebrate the freedom to read during Banned Books Week, along comes one Rev. Terry Jones of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida. The good reverend's idea of world outreach is to commemorate … Continue reading Fighting Fire with Free Speech: ALA Will Protest Book Burning with 9/11 Qur’an Reading →

Dynamic Doers

August 27, 2010

Welcome to a showcase of the dynamic doers—a snapshot of those who have dedicated themselves to the profession, who have gone above and beyond, and whose contributions have been so significant and so varied. These individuals and institutions have been recognized by their colleagues and friends for jobs well done. From Joseph W. Lippincott recipient Thomas C. … Continue reading Dynamic Doers →

New Youth Library in Ethiopia Makes Impossible Dream Reality

By Leonard Kniffel | August 23, 2010

The need in Ethiopia is great but the vision and perseverance of Yohannes Gebregeorgis is greater, which helps explain why a new library worthy of any developed country opened August 20 in Mekele, the first of its kind in this small and grindingly poor city. The Segenat Children and Youth Library in the region of … Continue reading New Youth Library in Ethiopia Makes Impossible Dream Reality →

Charles Ogletree on Race, Reading, and the Presumption of Guilt

August 20, 2010

Charles Ogletree, Harvard Law School professor and founder of Harvard Law’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, serves as one of several celebrity honorary co-chairs of the American Library Association’s Spectrum Presidential Initiative, an effort to raise $1 million in scholarships for minority students pursuing a master’s degreee in library and information science. … Continue reading Charles Ogletree on Race, Reading, and the Presumption of Guilt →

Dollar General Invests in the American Dream

By Leonard Kniffel | August 18, 2010

Through community partnerships, Wauconda (Ill.) Area Public Library developed Spanish- and English-language brochures, as well as a video that was posted to YouTube. Housed in a brand-new doublewide trailer, the tiny Pinewoods branch of the Athens (Ga.) Regional Library System developed a volunteer ESL training manual that’s on the library’s website. These are among the … Continue reading Dollar General Invests in the American Dream →

IFLA in Gothenburg, Day 2: Opening Event, Swedish Style, with Jan Eliasson

August 11, 2010

It began with the guitar stylings of Thomas Andersson, crested with a keynote address by Jan Eliasson, former president of the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly, and ended with a get-up-and-dance happening to the music of Sweden's most famous pop singers Abba. In between, the opening ceremony of the 76th General Conference … Continue reading IFLA in Gothenburg, Day 2: Opening Event, Swedish Style, with Jan Eliasson →

Librarians Urged to Get Back to Basics

August 11, 2010

Librarians and libraries should join with parents and other family members in “going back to the basics,” Roland S. Martin told the audience during the August 8 closing session of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s seventh National Conference of African American Librarians in Birmingham, Alabama. “When I look at the breakdown of … Continue reading Librarians Urged to Get Back to Basics →

Son of Musical Icon, Food Justice Activist Headline BCALA Author Luncheon

August 11, 2010

"Visions of Hope: Lunch with Two Extraordinary Men" was the title of the author luncheon featuring Ray Charles Robinson Jr. and Bryant Terry August 7 during during the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's seventh National Conference of African American Librarians in Birmingham, Alabama. "The work of librarians is vital for our youth," Robinson, … Continue reading Son of Musical Icon, Food Justice Activist Headline BCALA Author Luncheon →

Kim Wayans/Kevin Knotts Writing Team Brings Laughter to Authors Luncheon

August 7, 2010

Kim Wayans, joined by her husband Kevin Knotts, shared a bit of her life growing up in a family of comedians at the August 6 author luncheon during the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's seventh National Conference of African American Librarians in Birmingham, Alabama, "Culture Keepers VII: Bridging the Divide with Information, Access, … Continue reading Kim Wayans/Kevin Knotts Writing Team Brings Laughter to Authors Luncheon →

Latest Library Links

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Year-end “best of” lists are a common phenomenon, and many libraries have created lists of staff or patron picks of their favorite reads of the year. See staff picks from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Seattle Public Library, Kent (Mich.) District Library, Los Angeles Public Library, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, Farmington (Conn.) Libraries, and King County (Wash.) Library System. Seattle Public Library and Kent (Mich.) District Library have also released lists of patron favorites

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Dec. 11; Seattle Public Library; Kent (Mich.) District Library, Nov. 20, Dec. 13; Los Angeles Public Library, Dec. 16; New York Public Library, Nov. 26; Chicago Public Library, Nov. 18; Farmington (Conn.) Libraries, Dec. 6; King County (Wash.) Library System; Seattle Times, Dec. 17
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The Library of Congress announced 25 additions to the National Film Registry December 17. The new selections date back nearly 130 years and include a diverse group of films, filmmakers, and Hollywood landmarks. The selections range from Annabelle Serpentine Dance, a silent film created to entice audiences at the dawn of cinema in 1895 to the 2010 film The Social Network. Films are selected for their cultural, historic, or aesthetic importance, and this year’s selections bring the number of films in the registry to 900.

Library of Congress, Dec. 17
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Douglas Soule writes: “To support some of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ most prominent and controversial K–12 education laws, Florida has agreed to spend millions of dollars on a service it says is a tool for transparency. But free expression advocates warn it could be a vehicle for censorship. In a contract signed this September, the Florida Department of Education agreed to pay up to $15.6 million over four years to Maryland-based education technology company Trinity Education Group. The company has been tapped to develop a ‘statewide, centralized, easily accessible’ system for people to review and even object to instructional materials and library books in Florida school districts.”

Tallahassee Democrat, Dec. 12
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Olivia Olander and Jeremy Gorner write: “Starting this year, public libraries in Illinois had a choice: Adopt principles against book banning or give up state grants. [About 40] school districts, many of them in deeply conservative areas of south and central Illinois, appear to have taken the latter option. Administrators at some of those districts acknowledged being concerned about giving up any measure of control on what books are allowed on their schools’ library shelves. Some 700 school districts statewide have regularly applied for state library grant funding in the last two years.”

Chicago Tribune, Dec. 8
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Despina Gerasimidou and Maela Rakočević Uvodić write: “Displaced persons are scattered all over the world looking for the safest place for them and their families to settle and when they move to a new country are faced with legal, cultural, educational, and economic challenges, while in need of information, guidance, and support. The new IFLA Guidelines for Libraries Supporting Displaced Persons showcase how libraries can champion their core mission for universal and equitable access to information, ideas, and works of imagination, aiming at social, educational, cultural, democratic, and economic well-being.”

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Dec. 16
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Rebecca Bryant writes: “In 2021, the University of Calgary Libraries in Alberta launched a multilingual reference chatbot by leveraging a commercial product that combines a large language model with retrieval-augmented generation technology. The chatbot is trained on the library’s own web content, including LibGuides and operating hours, and is accessed from the library’s website. Before launch, the implementation team estimated that the chatbot could answer 14%–24% of reference chat questions, but today the chatbot answers about 50% of all questions with a rating of at least 4/5.”

Hanging Together, Dec. 12
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Chase Ollis writes: “On December 16, ALA announced 10 recipients of the 2025 I Love My Librarian Award, nominated by library users for their expertise, dedication, and impact in their communities. Four academic librarians, three public librarians, and three school librarians were selected to receive the 2025 award. ALA received nearly 1,300 nominations from library users across the country. Nominations highlighted librarians’ outstanding service in expanding access to literacy and library services, outreach to their communities, and supporting the needs of the most vulnerable. Each honoree will receive a $5,000 cash prize and complimentary registration and a travel stipend to attend ALA’s LibLearnX conference in Phoenix.”

AL: The Scoop, Dec. 17

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