Collegiality extends across time and borders, as ALA Library Director Karen Muller was recently reminded when she saw a colleague’s photo in the media and realized that her former coworker was toughing out an unenviable ordeal. The person Muller recognized in the photo accompanying an April 5 USA Today; story was Jane Gillis, rare book … Continue reading Jane: Karen Says “Hi”
While much has been written recently about using Facebook as a promotional tool for libraries and librarians, opinions vary widely on Facebook’s effectiveness in reaching library users. It’s indisputable, though, that Facebook can successfully promote advocacy on behalf of library-related issues, based on the creation of a Facebook Page that generated community awareness in western … Continue reading Fanbase to the Rescue: A Massachusetts Tale
Suffering from the after-school network grinding-to-a-halt syndrome? Have a flat or declining budget with little state or local political support? Can’t figure out how to pay for a bandwidth upgrade to support patrons’ online activities such as searching for jobs and applying for e-government services? If you haven’t considered the e-rate program lately, now’s the … Continue reading Refresh Your View of E-rate
President Barack Obama signed into law the evening of May 26 a four-year renewal of the Patriot Act that included none of the reader-privacy and Fourth Amendment protections sought by freedom-to-read groups such as the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE). Obama authorized … Continue reading Patriot Act Renewal Renews Reformers’ Determination
Today, I spent part of the day connecting with people. I complained about a silly election video, chatted with a college friend about a band, and put some finishing touches on plans for a conference taking place at the library. I did all this through Facebook. These days, it seems like everyone has a Facebook … Continue reading Facebook for Libraries
The John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award (JCD) turned 65 years old this year and celebrated this milestone with the Midwinter announcement of the 2011 winners. Five vibrant libraries demonstrated innovative, outstanding marketing strategies in campaigns ending in 2010: Anythink Libraries of Adams County, Colorado; Edmonton (Alberta) Public Library; Loudoun County (Va.) Public Library; … Continue reading The Best in Library Branding
An Open Letter from ALA President Roberta Stevens and ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels: Dear Colleagues: Here is ALA’s new 2015 Strategic Plan (PDF file). The plan outlines the vision and goals that will guide us through what promises to be a period of unprecedented challenges and opportunities for libraries. It reflects the work … Continue reading Unveiling the ALA 2015 Strategic Plan
Two major topics dominated discussions during the ALA Executive Board Spring Meeting April 22–24 at the Association’s Chicago headquarters. ALA’s new 2015 strategic plan now includes a Transforming Libraries goal that calls for the Association to “provide leadership in the transformation of libraries and library services in a dynamic and increasingly global digital library environment.” … Continue reading The Digital Revolution and the Transformation of Libraries
Google emailed its newspaper partners May 19 to inform them that it would be discontinuing its effort to digitize the world’s newspaper archives and make them available online, the Search Engine Land blog reported. The project, which was started in 2008, has digitized material from about 2,000 newspapers. Existing content, about 60 million pages worth, … Continue reading Google Ends Newspaper Digitization Project
Librarians, library support staff, vendors, and guests will once again bring their economic and muscle power to assist New Orleans’ public libraries, schools, and community rebuilding projects during the American Library Association’s 135th Annual Conference, June 23–28, taking place at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, area hotels, and other venues. ALA held the first … Continue reading Renewing Our Mission in New Orleans
After “10 Reasons Why the Internet is No Substitute for a Library,” a 2001 article in American Libraries, received some unwelcome attention two weeks ago, we sought your feedback to help create an updated version. Based on reader comments and staff discussions, we’ve drafted this list of reasons why libraries matter in a digital age. … Continue reading 10 Ways Libraries Matter in a Digital Age
The ability to digitize hard copies, the proliferation of born-digital content, and increased access to online distribution hold the promise of improved access to library materials. Despite these advances, the legal issues surrounding collections increasingly hinder libraries and archives in providing this access. This hurdle can be overcome by a mixture of good policy, careful … Continue reading Keeping Library Digitization Legal
