Library & Information Technology Association Archives

Information Access for All

By Karen Muller | June 1, 2018

Let’s start with Revised Standards and Guidelines of Service for the Library of Congress Network of Libraries for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 2017, from the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Developed by the Library of Congress and ASCLA, these supersede the 2011 standards. … Continue reading Information Access for All →

Top Tech Trends: Advice for Makerspaces

By Samuel R. Putnam | June 25, 2017

“Makerspaces should meet the needs of your patrons and be built around your budget and staff,” shared Radniecki. Here are some other helpful tips she shared regarding managing makerspaces: Fees are fine. Some libraries cannot comprehend a makerspace model that charges anything, even if they are offering services that commercial services like Shapeways offer at … Continue reading Top Tech Trends: Advice for Makerspaces →

ALA Annual Chicago Conference and Exhibition

LITA Offers Camp for Women in Library Technology

By Athina Livanos-Propst | June 24, 2017

A multi-racial, multi-lingual group of nearly 40 women gathered on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, for a day of discussion around the roles and challenges of women in library technology. Out of respect for the privacy of the attendees, individual names and other specifics will not be shared. The intent was to create a genuine safe … Continue reading LITA Offers Camp for Women in Library Technology →

From left: Joelle Pitts, Camille Chesley, Jami Schwarzwalder, Kelly Sattler, and Jeff Lacy

Gamification for Teens and College Students

By Kara Pauley | June 27, 2016

The panel included: moderator Breanne Kirsch, public services librarian at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg; Joelle Pitts, instructional design librarian at Kansas State University Library in Manhattan, Kansas; Camille Chesley, reference and instruction librarian at the University of Montevallo in Alabama; Jami Schwarzwalder, teen librarian at South Hill Pierce County (Wash.) Library; … Continue reading Gamification for Teens and College Students →

Evviva Weinraub, Michelle Frisque, Jenn Riley, Karen Estlund, Monique Sendze, Brandy McNeil

Question the Status Quo: Challenges for Women in Technology Leadership

By Kara Pauley | June 26, 2016

Evviva Weinraub of Northwestern University Library in Evanston, Illinois; Michelle Frisque of Chicago Public Library; Jenn Riley of McGill University Library in Montreal, Karen Estlund of Penn State University Library, Monique Sendze of Tulsa City-County Library, and Brandy McNeil of New York Public Library led a LITA panel on Sunday to discuss the challenges of being a woman in technology leadership.

Closing the Gap

By Erika L. Jenns | June 28, 2015

The session, sponsored by the Library Information and Technology Association, offered two examples of public libraries that are experimenting with lending Wi-Fi hotspots to users in high-need communities in an effort to close the broadband adoption gap. Swarthout began the session by explaining how NYPL came to be a lender of Wi-Fi hotspots. He cited … Continue reading Closing the Gap →

Library Leaders Talk Tech

By Phil Morehart | February 2, 2015

Marshall Breeding, an independent consultant and editor of Library Technology Guides and the Smart Libraries Newsletter, Carli Spina, emerging technologies and research librarian at the Harvard Law School Library, Willie Miller, librarian for informatics and journalism at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Casey McCoy, program coordinator at Lincolnwood (Ill.) Public Library District, and Todd Carpenter, director … Continue reading Library Leaders Talk Tech →

Top Tech Trends 2014

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | January 26, 2014

“We are in the business of making resources available, and we shouldn’t forget that,” said Emily Gore, director for content of the Digital Public Library of America. Gore was one of five panelists speaking to an estimated 200 attendees at LITA’s popular event reporting on changes and advances in technology. Each panelist and the moderator … Continue reading Top Tech Trends 2014 →

Latest Library Links

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ALA has reopened its search for an executive director in partnership with executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. The search will be led by a steering committee comprising ALA member leaders. The selected candidate will succeed Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger, who was appointed in November 2023. “We are excited to embark on our search for a new executive director,” said ALA President Cindy Hohl. “This leadership position is critical as we navigate the years ahead. We seek candidates who have knowledge of the library community and the urgent issues we face.”

ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Office, Nov. 14
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Emily Weak writes: “Something I always hear from hiring managers is that they want to build a resilient, diverse workforce. Sometimes we say we want a resilient workforce, but what we mean is that we want staffers who are willing to go above and beyond, or to do more with less. These concepts are deeply entrenched in librarianship, but I think we’re beginning to see how they can cause problems. Instead of trying to hire people who will do more with less and who will thrive amid adversity, let’s think about resilience as an organizational feature.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
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Elisabeth B. White writes: “How can librarians ensure their instruction materials are as accessible as possible? One way is through Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, a set of best practices to improve teaching and learning and create inclusive and equitable educational experiences for all students. The guidelines include three principles that instructors must provide via multiple means: engagement (the ‘why’ of learning), representation (the ‘what’ of learning), and action and expression (the ‘how’ of learning). However, to create a truly equitable educational experience, school library workers need to consider accessibility principles as well.”

American Libraries feature, Nov./Dec.
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Elisa Shoenberger writes: “The comics I grew up reading were those in the newspapers, and they were called the funny pages for a reason. In time, I began exploring the wider world of comic books, covering a wide variety of genres from superhero comics to horror. But I do have a fondness for the seeming simplicity of one to four-panel comics in the newspapers and webcomics for humor. For this list, I’ve put together my tribute to the funny pages. Most of the comics are short form comics, but a few are longer narratives.”

Book Riot, Nov. 11
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Jay Peters writes: “Bluesky gained more than 700,000 new users in the last week and now has more than 14.5 million users total, Bluesky COO Rose Wang confirmed to The Verge. The ‘majority’ of the new users on the decentralized social network are from the US, Wang says. The app is currently the number two free social networking app in the US App Store, only trailing Meta’s Threads. Instagram-bootstrapped Threads, which recently crossed 275 million monthly users, is still significantly larger than Bluesky. But the independent platform has seen a lot of growth in recent weeks.”

The Verge, Nov. 11
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André Salkin writes: “A militant but peaceful protest movement is underway at Carlos Gilbert Elementary School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It started with a student petition and escalated to administration hearings, picket lines, and sit-in demonstrations. The movement’s aim? More library time. At the head of the protests is sixth grader Rainier Long, 12, an avid reader who was outraged to learn Carlos Gilbert Elementary would be cutting library time in half—to 30 minutes a week—this year to make more time for technology education.”

Santa Fe New Mexican, Nov. 9
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Timothy Peters writes: “Today’s organizations are making a concerted effort to demonstrate greater inclusivity in their workplace practices, processes, and larger cultures. Research has shown diverse organizations are more innovative, adaptable, and regarded as better places to work by current and potential employees. Systems thinking frames the organization as a single, interconnected and interdependent system, and abandons many of the traditional organizational concepts which stand in the way of inclusion. Through its emphasis on holism, fostering productive relationships, multidirectional communication, and transparency, systems thinking creates an organizational culture that actively includes and empowers.”

Library Leadership and Management, Oct. 2

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