So, it was cool to find out zombies and Google are on our side in the fight to for information literacy. At “Crossing the K–20 Continuum,” Ken Burhanna of Kent State University and Tasha Burgeson-Michelson of Google’s Search Education (@iteachawesome on Twitter) covered a range of resources aimed at uniting librarians across the education continuum. … Continue reading On Zombies and Google
The ALCTS President’s Program on Monday morning featured Erin McKean, lexicographer and founder of Wordnik, an online dictionary. She came right out and confessed to being a “data packrat” who keeps her Evernote files and Pinterest boards filled with text and images. “Only someone with as strong a data packrat drive as mine ends up … Continue reading Erin McKean, Digital Packrat
Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, knows how to win over a roomful of librarians, as he proved at the RUSA President’s Program, where he was the keynote speaker. He’s generous with both his flattery (“Every day spent with librarians is a good day”) and his cat photos (the feline census of … Continue reading The Myth and the Reality of the Evolving Patron
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Peter Arnett was the keynote speaker at ProQuest’s annual customer appreciation breakfast on Monday, and with good reason. Arnett, who had covered the Vietnam War for the Associated Press from 1962 to the fall of Saigon in 1975, was single-handedly responsible for preserving the entire archive of unpublished stories and service messages … Continue reading Peter Arnett and the Preservation of the AP Archives
More than 200 conference-goers packed the small room booked for the session, with many peering through the doorway and sitting on the floor. During their presentation, branch manager Richard Le and adult services librarian Mel Gooch, both from San Francisco Public Library, shared what they have found to be dozens of apps that provide innovative … Continue reading 40 Great Apps for Mobile Reference and Outreach
The ALA Washington Office held a special informational session on Sunday afternoon to let librarians get a head start on helping their patrons enroll for healthcare through the new Affordable Care Act, which aims to provide reasonable health insurance for all Americans equally, regardless of any pre-existing conditions. Washington Office Executive Director Emily Sheketoff replayed … Continue reading The Prescription for Finding Healthcare Information
At the opening of the panel “Bleak New World: YA Authors Decode Dystopia” authors Lois Lowry (whose iconic The Giver won the Newbery in 1994 ), Patrick Ness (the Chaos Walking trilogy), Veronica Roth (the Divergent series), and Cory Doctorow (Homeland; Boing Boing coeditor) were asked how they would fare if they suddenly found themselves in one … Continue reading YA Authors Decode Dystopia
There are so many wonderful things that come along with attending Annual. Amazing and innovative sessions; the exhibit hall . . . the accompanying blisters, and of course the people. Librarians from all corners of the profession come together to talk, share, laugh, and sometimes get a little silly. (I’m looking at you, J. P. … Continue reading The Thing about Money . . .
Update: On Tuesday of Annual Conference, Council III substituted the resolution on Snowden mentioned below for another resolution on the need for reforms for the intelligence community to support privacy, open government, government transparency, and accountability. See the Council III report. A special video presentation by President Barack Obama encouraging librarians to help disseminate information … Continue reading Council I Supports Whistleblower Edward Snowden
Chinese-American computer scientist Ping Fu came to her Auditorium speech dressed in red shoes, red belt, and white scarf—appropriately enough, all manufactured by a 3D printer. As chief strategy officer of 3D Systems, a technical design company founded in 1986 by Chuck Hall, the inventor of 3D printing, Fu is an enthusiastic proponent of makerspaces … Continue reading Making, Not Breaking
Unconference is a participant-guided experience that aims to reinvent the informal, unstructured conversations that colleagues have at conferences. Instead of being talked at, the attendees decide on topics to discuss, and talk with one another. The #ala2013 Unconference began when the moderators, Ayanna Gaines, associate librarian at Ventura (Calif.) College, and Matthew Ciszek, head librarian at Penn … Continue reading Unconference: Changing the World One Place at a Time
Summer camp was a pretty big deal to me growing up. Christmas couldn’t even compete—summer camp was my very favorite time of year. It was also the only chance I got to see my camp friends. This being my second annual ALA conference, I can’t shake the feeling I’m at Library Camp, and that this … Continue reading Welcome Back, “Campers”!
