Michelle Obama at Annual At the Annual Conference of the American Library Association (ALA) in New Orleans, former First Lady Michelle Obama and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden conversed before an overflow crowd of 8,000. Obama spoke about her family, her career, and writing her memoir—and about getting her first library card at age 4. … Continue reading 2018 Year in Review
Invite your representative to your library to see in person how your library is meeting the needs of your community. The value of your library’s services may be crystal clear to you and the families, students, researchers, and other patrons you serve, but your elected leaders may not understand the value of your services unless … Continue reading August Is Peak Season for Advocacy
And every year since 2004, the American Library Association (ALA) has celebrated librarians, support staff, and others for their valuable contributions on National Library Workers Day (NLWD), which this year falls on Tuesday, April 10. The American Library Association–Allied Professional Association (ALA–APA) asked patrons throughout the US to nominate stellar library workers for their hard … Continue reading National Library Workers Day 2018
During this time of rapid social change, libraries of all types are providing welcoming spaces to an increasingly diverse population; working with the community to offer social service support and health resources, career, and small business development assistance; and combating fake news by providing tools to assess and evaluate news sources. The function of libraries … Continue reading State of America’s Libraries 2018
To invite members of Congress and their staffers into the world of library makerspaces, the Washington Office is working with DC Public Library (DCPL) to bring its Fab Lab to Capitol Hill in an event hosted by Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.Mex.) on Wednesday, April 11. Luján is a participant of the Congressional Maker Caucus, … Continue reading Making Space for Libraries on Capitol Hill during National Library Week
The American Library Association (ALA) and the American Book Publishers Council formed the National Book Committee (NBC) in 1954 to fight these trends. One of their ideas: a National Library Week (NLW). The concept wasn’t new. As Larry T. Nix’s Library History Buff blog notes, at the 1922 ALA Annual Conference ALA’s Publicity Committee had … Continue reading “Wake Up and Read” to “Libraries Lead”
Copeland is author of Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina (Simon and Schuster, 2014); Firebird (Putnam, 2014), with illustrator Christopher Myers, which won the 2015 Coretta Scott King Book Illustrator Award; and Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger, and More Grateful You (Grand Central Life and Style, 2017). She spoke with … Continue reading Newsmaker: Misty Copeland
Where did the title Choose to Matter come from? It comes from a summer leadership academy we’ve been doing for 10-plus years, which is a combination of sports and leadership woven together for a weeklong residential camp. Our tagline is “Choose to Matter” with the kids, because our message is that leadership is personal, not … Continue reading Newsmaker: Julie Foudy
The term “fake news” is recent, but the skills needed to evaluate information are not. Librarians provide users with expertise and the training needed to evaluate the quality of information in all formats. The report shows that the library community continues to share best practices to help fuel efforts to combat disinformation. With the massive … Continue reading State of America’s Libraries 2017
Host Phil Morehart talks to Julie Foudy, former professional soccer player for the US women’s national team, ESPN analyst and reporter, and 2017 National Library Week Honorary Chair, about her book, Choose to Matter: Being Courageously and Fabulously You (Disney Publishing Worldwide, 2017). American Libraries associate editor Terra Dankowski sits down with Donna Seaman, editor of adult books at Booklist, to discuss … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Celebrating Women’s History
By any measure, the event was a huge success: Some 68 million subscribers to 22 national magazines could read well-placed articles about libraries. A total of 170 million homes served by radio and TV could hear or view 14 network programs on libraries. Readers could glean 11,607 stories celebrating libraries running in newspapers at the … Continue reading National Library Week
This and other library trends of the past year are detailed in the ALA’s The State of America’s Libraries 2016 report, released April 11 in recognition of National Library Week, April 10–16. The report shows that libraries of all types add value in five key areas: education, employment, entrepreneurship, empowerment, and engagement. Local and national … Continue reading The State of America’s Libraries 2016
