Screenshot from University of Minnesota, Morris's "Welcome to Briggs Library," featuring the school's cougar mascot, Pounce.

Pounce into the Spotlight with a Library Introduction Video

August 10, 2018

There was only one problem: We had never created a library video before. The process was as much an introduction to video making for us as the finished product was an introduction to the library for our students. Assembling the cast and crew As with any Hollywood blockbuster, a team had to be assembled to … Continue reading Pounce into the Spotlight with a Library Introduction Video


Attendees of the American Library Association's 2018 Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans display matching Michelle Obama T-shirts ahead of the Opening General Session. Photos: Cognotes and Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries

2018 Annual Wrap-Up

July 18, 2018

Among the many big-name speakers in the Big Easy was former First Lady Michelle Obama, who opened the conference with an inspiring talk about work ethic, raising children, being a woman, striving for work/life balance, and the importance of remembering one another’s humanity. “I know that there are so many people in this country, in … Continue reading 2018 Annual Wrap-Up




Lights, Camera, Libraries!

June 25, 2018

Daardi Sizemore Mixon, university archivist and special collections librarian at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU), and her colleague Monika Antonelli, outreach librarian, explained how, as part of the university’s 150th anniversary celebration, the MSU library produced a 50-minute documentary titled Two Weeks in May. The basis for the film was Out of Chaos (Minnesota State University Mankato Foundation, … Continue reading Lights, Camera, Libraries!


Sally Field

Putting the Pieces Together

June 24, 2018

That will soon change with the publication of her forthcoming autobiography, In Pieces (Grand Central Publishing, 2018). It’s an unflinching, honest account of a life shaped by Hollywood—one marred by childhood abuse at the hands of her actor stepfather but uplifted by perseverance, artistic success, and the love and respect of her family and peers. … Continue reading Putting the Pieces Together


Dewey Decibel Episode 23: Saving Lost Cinema

Dewey Decibel Podcast: Saving Lost Cinema

March 5, 2018

First, Steve Zalusky, manager of communications for the American Library Association’s Public Awareness Office, reports from the Mostly Lost film workshop at the Library of Congress’s Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Virginia. Next, Phil Morehart, Dewey Decibel host and American Libraries associate editor, talks to AJ Lawrence, media conservation and digitization assistant at the … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Saving Lost Cinema


Newsmaker: Emilio Estevez

March 1, 2018

What was the inspiration behind The Public? I was inspired by a moving 2007 essay called “Written Off” by Chip Ward, now-retired assistant director of the Salt Lake City Public Library System, published in part in the Los Angeles Times (and in full at tomdispatch.com under the title, “What They Didn’t Teach Us in Library … Continue reading Newsmaker: Emilio Estevez


Left to right: Violaine Iglesias, Danielle Whren Johnson, and Stefan Elnabli were speakers at the ALCTS Forum

Making Video Content Accessible

February 13, 2018

Violaine Iglesias, director of business development for GVPi, a company in Arlington, Virginia, that provides hosting platforms for electronic publishers, opened by saying that “Accessibility is in very high demand among higher education institutions. Publishers are only now beginning to understand that accessible and discoverable video” is a high priority for educational institutions. She said … Continue reading Making Video Content Accessible


During the tour of the Library of Congress Culpeper facility, guests learn about nitrate film decomposition from Nitrate Film Vault Manager George Willeman (center). Photo: Steve Zalusky

Crowdsourcing Cinema

June 22, 2017

Nearly 200 people had gathered for a labor of love and a test of their research skills and knowledge of film history June 15–17 at the Library of Congress’s (LC) Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Virginia. The 45-acre campus is where LC acquires, preserves, and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive … Continue reading Crowdsourcing Cinema


Mary Miller assists with the rehousing of the Orange County (Fla.) Regional History Center media collection during the inaugural Preservation in Action (PIA) service project at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference. She is helping to preserve a film about the underwater "mermaid" performers at Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida. Photo: Jessica Bitely

Saving At-Risk Audiovisual Materials

March 1, 2017

Libraries have been collecting audio and video for many years, and audiovisual librarians well know the value of voices and moving images. Within the profession itself, Technical Services Manager A. Arro Smith—author of Capturing Our Stories: An Oral History of Librarianship in Transition (ALA Editions, 2017)—has been chronicling the oral histories of retired librarians on … Continue reading Saving At-Risk Audiovisual Materials


Crowley Imaging Services’s new 100MP digital back camera system

Saving Your Media

March 1, 2017

Document capture at Crowley Imaging Services The Crowley Company has been providing micrographic and digital archiving services for more than 30 years. Crowley Imaging Services uses equipment from its own manufacturing arm and other vendors to offer services to libraries and archives that don’t have an in-house digitization department. The company recently purchased two Phase One IQ3 … Continue reading Saving Your Media