There is money in Azerbaijan and plenty of it. Petroleum wealth mostly. Two-thirds of the country is rich in oil and natural gas, and Western companies are tapping oil fields in the Caspian Sea that the communist regime left untouched during the 70 years Azerbaijan spent as a part of the Soviet Union. Change is accelerating … Continue reading Building a Pipeline to Education in Azerbaijan
Paul Rusesabagina’s last name translates to “he who disperses his enemies” in the Kinyarwanda language. There is no more fitting name for the man responsible for saving 1,268 Tutsi refugees from certain death at the hands of Hutu soldiers during the Rwandan genocide. Rusesabagina was the featured speaker at the always popular Alexander Street … Continue reading Finding Hope Through Tragedy
Emanuel used the event to announce that Chicago Public Library (CPL) had just received a $400,000 grant from the Knight Foundation for its Internet to Go program, which will allow library patrons in six neighborhood branches where digital access is low to check out Wi-Fi hotspot devices for three weeks at a time. The grant … Continue reading Creativity and Play at the Next Library Conference
Have you watched American Libraries Live, our free, streaming library program? If you want to sample it, we have an excerpt in our June issue from our mobile technology in the library program. Hosted by Heather Moorefield-Lang, education and applied social sciences librarian for Virginia Tech, the expert panel included Bohyun Kim, digital access librarian … Continue reading Don’t Let It Stay in Vegas
Earlier this week, I had the privilege of talking about US library ebook lending at the Salon du Livre—the Paris Book Fair. Representing ALA, I served on the panel “La Diffusion du Livre Numérique dans les Bibliothèques aux USA: Points de Vue des Acteurs” (Dissemination of Digital Book Libraries in the USA: Views of the … Continue reading An American in Paris
During the months of January and February 2014, the National Parliamentary Library of Ukraine found itself at the center of the anti-government clashes in Kiev…. Severe clashes between the protesters and government forces took place in front of the National Parliamentary Library. The square and streets around it were filled with smoke and fire from … Continue reading Ukrainian Library Association Releases Statement
Cafés, bars, souvenir vendors, and street artists line the narrow and densely populated promenades in the old colonial center of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where hawkers lure customers with promises of bargain prices. At night, throngs of young people stroll the oceanside of the Malecón, eating sweets and listening to street musicians, while the museums … Continue reading A Country of Hope and Promise
In 2011, I was elected as president of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the global voice of the library and information profession. With my term having ended at the World Information and Library Congress this past August, I wanted to share some thoughts on why libraries remain as relevant as ever … Continue reading Changes and Connections
Why did you decide to write a memoir about your childhood experiences in Sierra Leone? ISHMAEL BEAH: It came out of several frustrations about the lack of knowledge about the use of children in war and also the way my country was only presented as a place of violence. I wanted to put a human … Continue reading Newsmaker: Ishmael Beah
The count is in: The official wrap-up last week of the 32nd Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) in the UAE reported that 900,000 visitors had browsed more than 400,000 titles on display in Sharjah’s Expo Centre, 150,000 UAE schoolchildren had participated in more than 500 interactive activities and workshops as part of class trips, and … Continue reading For Love of the Written Word
As the first treaty devoted to copyright exceptions, the June 28, 2013, agreement represents a significant development in international copyright law. (The 1886 Berne Convention contains exceptions for quotations, illustration in teaching, and news reporting.) ALA worked closely with the US delegation throughout the negotiating process. Through the Library Copyright Alliance, ALA’s views were represented … Continue reading How the Marrakesh Treaty Opens Vistas for Print-Disabled Readers
The closing session of the 79th World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) August 22 offered the 3,750 attendees from 120 countries a recap of 224 sessions held over six days in Singapore. Along with thanks to the local organizers and volunteers for making the conference … Continue reading IFLA Closes Singapore Conference Looking to the Future
