The following is a summary of the meetings ALA President Molly Raphael and an ALA delegation held in New York City January 30–February 1 with members of the publishing industry: As recently reported, I led an ALA delegation to New York last week to meet separately with Penguin, Macmillan, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and … Continue reading Ebook Talks: The Details
This week, ALA leadership met with senior management from Penguin, Macmillan, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Perseus publishing houses to discuss ebooks and libraries. ALA went in with a strong mission statement from ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels: “Dialog begins with saying you need to deal with libraries and you need to do … Continue reading ALA Goes to New York, Things Don’t Get Violent
Here’s a first take on the talks held this week between American Library Association leaders and the senior management of several New York–based publishers: Dear Colleagues: Here is a brief report on our meeting with publishers in New York on January 30–February 1. Others participating in these talks besides myself were: Maureen Sullivan, ALA President-elect … Continue reading Ebook Talks: First Report
The email below was sent January 27 to all ALA members with email addresses. The goal is a mere 6,344 signatures away from reaching the 25,000 goal: the magic number that allows the petition to reach the desk of President Obama. I hope that by now you have heard about AASL President Carl Harvey’s White House Petition on School … Continue reading Just Over 6,000 More Signatures Needed on White House School Petition
As reported to ALA Council and at other venues during the 2012 Midwinter Meeting, I will be leading an ALA delegation next week to meet separately with Penguin, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. I am now pleased to announce that Random House has invited ALA leadership to meet with them as well. The four meetings … Continue reading Random House Also Agrees to Meet with ALA
If you missed the fair-use panel presented by the ALA Washington Office at Midwinter, you may want to check out ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy and get access to policy briefs, webinars, and more. Also, the Association of Research Librarians has a webinar today from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern time about ARL’s new … Continue reading Copyright Fair Use – Update
Booklovers ended yet another Midwinter Meeting Monday afternoon sipping tea and dining on finger sandwiches while listening to a group of authors tell stories and read from their works before attendees lined up for autograph copies at the Gala Author Tea, hosted by the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends, and Foundations. Former American Libraries … Continue reading Booklovers Partake of High Tea and Authors
In a session that ended nearly two hours early Tuesday, Council III took action on measures that covered such issues as the refusal of some publishers to sell ebooks to libraries and the threat to intellectual freedom in the Mexican American Studies Program of the Tucson (Ariz.) Unified School District. After three votes, a series of … Continue reading Council III Ends Final Session Early
ALA Council approved programmatic priorities in line with the ALA Ahead to 2015 strategic plan and as a guide to the preparation of the fiscal year 2013 budget, as presented by Treasurer Jim Neal (Council Document #13.0), during its second session on Monday. The Association’s priority areas are diversity, equitable access to information and library … Continue reading Council II Hears Financial Report, Details on Neal-Schuman Acquisition
With a voice that echoed the melodious tone in sermons and speeches delivered by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. Dr. Lewis V. Baldwin, an ordained minister, addressed the theme “Honoring a Legacy That Still Inspires” during the annual King Sunrise Celebration on Monday. Rev. Baldwin, who has written and edited several … Continue reading Honoring a Legacy That Still Inspires
Though the Gale booth at Midwinter had all the trappings of the 21st century, their new products are going old school with a 19th-century focus. The Nineteenth Century Collection offers a broad look at everything from the 1800s, including newspapers, books, maps, and more. This period of history saw an incredible growth of publications as … Continue reading From the Floor: Gale Goes 19th Century
“We live in serious times,” Richard C. Harwood, president and founder of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, told the audience at the start of his presentation at the ALA President’s Program on Sunday about the condition of the United States. The head of the catalytic nonprofit dedicated to helping people imagine and act for … Continue reading Harwood: Libraries Must Do Better Job in Addressing Community Needs
