American Libraries Direct is celebrating its fifth birthday with the January 5, 2011, issue. The e-newsletter was launched on January 11, 2006, just prior to the ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. It was a modest affair, but since then it has grown to become an essential news resource for ALA members and nonmembers … Continue reading Five Years of AL Direct
1. Supply and Demand Several Fox TV affiliates aired a segment June 28 titled: “Are Libraries Necessary, or a Waste of Tax Money?” The answer should have been apparent before the question was even asked: Gate counts and circulation documented that libraries were more in demand than ever, and patrons were not about to surrender … Continue reading The Year in Review 2010
Americans love their libraries, and advances in technology have multiplied the ways in which libraries enrich the quality of life in their communities. Whether they are in an elementary school or a university, a museum or a corporation, public or private, our nation's libraries offer a lifetime of learning. To library supporters everywhere—Friends, trustees, board … Continue reading 12 Ways Libraries Are Good for the Country
ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels notified the Association’s governing Council today the decision by the Library of Congress and other government agencies to block online access to the WikiLeaks website will be added to the Midwinter Meeting discussion agenda in San Diego in January. Here is his message to Council in full: The Committee … Continue reading WikiLeaks Earns Spot on Midwinter Agenda
ALA President Roberta Stevens announced yesterday that Ted Danson, whose has had a 35-year, award-winning career in films and television, will be featured at her Sunday’s President’s Program, January 9, during ALA's Midwinter Meeting in San Diego. "While most people know him from his popular roles in Cheers, Becker, Damages and Bored to Death," said Stevens, … Continue reading ALA President to Interview Ted Danson at Midwinter Meeting in San Diego
Edith McCormick, 76, an editor for American Libraries from 1968, when it was still known as the ALA Bulletin, until her retirement in 1999, died October 31 in Chicago, of natural causes after battling failing health for several years. McCormick was a stalwart member of the ALA staff for 34 years, beginning as an assistant … Continue reading Former American Libraries Editor Edith McCormick Dies at Age 76
During the ALA Executive Board's fall meeting, October 22–24, at ALA Headquarters in Chicago, Keith Michael Fiels signed on for five more years as ALA executive director, through FY 2015. Fiels said this afternoon that he hoped five more years at the helm would help give the Association the stability it needs to come through these … Continue reading Keith Fiels Signs on for Five More Years
Noting that "many are aware that we have been talking with Reed Exhibitions/BookExpo America about the possibility of co-locating the ALA Annual Conference and BookExpo," ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels made the following announcement today: “The American Library Association and BookExpo America are today jointly announcing that discussions regarding any co-location of the two … Continue reading ALA-Reed Discussions Conclude, No Co-location Planned
ALA is mourning the loss of Norman Horrocks, professor emeritus, School of Information Management, Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who died peacefully during the night October 14 at age 82, according to his daughter Sara Horrocks. A favorite among many ALA members and a member of ALA’s governing Council for 21 years, Horrocks received … Continue reading Longtime ALA Member Norman Horrocks Dies at 82
The 13th annual LITA National Forum brought library and information technology professionals together in Atlanta September 30–October 3 to discuss projects and developments surrounding the conference theme, “The Crowd and the Cloud.” Expert speakers shared knowledge of, and experiences with, the leading trends and innovations in library technologies, including mobile, social, and web services. Keynoting … Continue reading Crowd Discusses the Cloud at LITA Forum
ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels today announced big changes in Conference Services, including a new arrangement with conference management firm Hall-Erickson that will include replacing Conference Services Director Deidre Ross with Hall-Erickson Vice President Paul Graller, who will act as ALA’s conference services coordinator. The announcement from Fiels to staff: Effective October 4, the … Continue reading Major Changes in Place for ALA Conference Services
Yahoo headlines blared out the shocking news today that “Rupert Grint has risked upsetting parents of young Harry Potter fans—he’s urging them to read controversial novel A Clockwork Orange.” Grint did so by joining his costars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson to pose for a trio of American Library Association READ posters. The Yahoo News … Continue reading Rupert Grint’s Shocking Book Choice for Potter READ Poster
