Between August 17–19, the virtual conference drew thousands of attendees from around the world to more than 150 sessions with topics that ranged from digital controlled lending to new skill sets for school librarians to climate impact on libraries. Drawing inspiration from 2019–2021 IFLA President Christine Mackenzie’s theme “Let’s Work Together,” the 86th WLIC focused … Continue reading IFLA: Working Together for a Better Future
Shalom Sabar, professor of Jewish art and folklore at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, opened the conference with the session “The Hidden Treasures of Jewish Ephemera.” Sabar challenged attendees by asking, “What do we put in our museums? What treasures of cultural heritage are worthy of preservation for the future?” Discarded everyday items, he explained, are … Continue reading What We Keep
Digital preservation is a relatively young field. And as a result, it lacks established pathways and processes. What’s more, guidance for practitioners has been purposefully written from a high-level perspective to allow for flexibility by different types and sizes of institutions. But to translate lofty digital preservation theory into on-the-ground practice, we need workflow documents … Continue reading Recipe for Success
Our online column Letters of the Law explores a wide range of legal issues that arise in libraries, with the help of a pair of leading authorities: Mary Minow, a librarian who became a lawyer, and Tomas A. Lipinski, a lawyer who became a librarian. Together they have authored four books on the subject, including … Continue reading How Much of a Threat Are Copyright Trolls?
First, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with Felton Thomas Jr., executive director and CEO of Cleveland Public Library, about the library’s use of 3D printers to make personal protective equipment for emergency workers. Then Morehart talks with Evan Knight, preservation specialist at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, about … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Libraries Respond to COVID-19
Archivists and conservators from university libraries across the country have been pitching in to help bridge the supply gap, donating their supplies of the PPE typically used in the restoration of materials. Through networking with local health care providers, libraries are getting lifesaving supplies where they’re needed most. Eric Alstrom, head of conservation and preservation … Continue reading University Libraries Help Hospitals with PPE Donations
It’s an unprecedented situation. Conservators, who are experienced in diagnosing and repairing collection damage, say that historical information on sanitizing library materials is lacking. Besides a bit of anecdotal evidence from a 2019 Smithsonian Magazine article, there’s very little historical data available, says Evan Knight, preservation specialist at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners: “There’s … Continue reading How to Sanitize Collections in a Pandemic
The best type of program is an interlocking system of policies, workflows, technical solutions, and efforts meant to keep digital objects usable in the long term. Digital objects are made up of bitstreams—sequences of 1s and 0s that require specific software and hardware environments to remain accessible. Some are born digital (those materials with no … Continue reading Preservation as Risk Management
You have a law degree. How did you get started in genealogy? Do you see a correlation between the two fields? I absolutely see a correlation. I love research and writing. I love reading and digging and finding clues. And that’s what genealogy is. I started doing genealogy when I was in law school. I … Continue reading Newsmaker: Kenyatta D. Berry
The debate was moderated by Kara McClurken, director of preservation services at the University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville. The panel took place as part of the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans Monday, June 25. As the debate opened, McClurken explained that some of the debaters had been asked to defend … Continue reading Preservation Showdown: Environmental Edition
Twitty serves as honorary chair of Preservation Week, held April 22–28, which focuses this year on cooking and community archiving. American Libraries spoke with him about what can be learned about the past through food and about his work with Preservation Week. What drew you to food and its history? Going to living-history sites like Colonial … Continue reading Newsmaker: Michael W. Twitty
First, Steve Zalusky, manager of communications for the American Library Association’s Public Awareness Office, reports from the Mostly Lost film workshop at the Library of Congress’s Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Virginia. Next, Phil Morehart, Dewey Decibel host and American Libraries associate editor, talks to AJ Lawrence, media conservation and digitization assistant at the … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Saving Lost Cinema
