speakers Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Attendees crowd around travel author Rick Steves for autographs following his Auditorium Speaker Series presentation at the 2019 ALA Midwinter Meeting. Photo: Cognotes

2019 Midwinter Wrap-Up

By Anne Ford | February 5, 2019

The Emerald City played host to more than 9,200 attendees (as compared with 8,036 in 2018 and 8,995 in 2017), who came to soak up the words of big-name speakers, learn from the practices of their peers, and network around subjects practical and theoretical. As with recent Midwinters, many sessions focused on the empowerment of … Continue reading 2019 Midwinter Wrap-Up →

Preview of the American Library Association's 2019 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Seattle.

2019 Midwinter Preview

By Greg Landgraf | January 2, 2019

Featured speakers Opening Session Friday, January 25, 4–5:15 p.m. Philanthropist Melinda Gates, cofounder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has dedicated her life to transforming the health and prosperity of families, communities, and societies. Core to her work is the empowerment of women and girls. Gates is the author of the forthcoming The Moment … Continue reading 2019 Midwinter Preview →

Skip Prichard addresses the crowd at the 2018 OCLC Americas Regional Council Conference on October 25 in Chicago. (Photo: OCLC)

Game Changers for Libraries

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | October 26, 2018

When Skip Prichard opened the 2018 OCLC Americas Regional Council Conference on October 25 in Chicago, the president and CEO of OCLC ran through a list of changes that have occurred in recent years to the ways in which we live and work. “What influences change is control,” he told the more than 200 people … Continue reading Game Changers for Libraries →

Attendees of the American Library Association's 2018 Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans display matching Michelle Obama T-shirts ahead of the Opening General Session. Photos: Cognotes and Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries

2018 Annual Wrap-Up

By Anne Ford | July 18, 2018

Among the many big-name speakers in the Big Easy was former First Lady Michelle Obama, who opened the conference with an inspiring talk about work ethic, raising children, being a woman, striving for work/life balance, and the importance of remembering one another’s humanity. “I know that there are so many people in this country, in … Continue reading 2018 Annual Wrap-Up →

Welcome to Jason Segel’s Nightmare

By Phil Morehart | January 31, 2015

Segel is the co-author with writer Kirsten Miller of Nightmares!, the first entry in a new book series for kids. Nightmares! follows a young boy named Charlie as he battles the witches, goblins, and more that inhabit his nighttime dreamworld. Segel spent much of his very funny Saturday morning talk at Midwinter, part of the … Continue reading Welcome to Jason Segel’s Nightmare →

Interview with Melissa Sweet

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | January 27, 2014

Among Sweet’s awards are a Caldecott Honor for A River of Words (Eerdmans, 2008) and, more recently, a 2014 Sibert Honor for A Splash of Red (Knopf), which was announced at the January 27 Youth Media Awards. Video: Melissa Sweet on the Influence of Libraries See, hear, and read more about what’s going on … Continue reading Interview with Melissa Sweet →

Latest Library Links

2d

ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions will host a new multi-session event, “Library Programming Rehab” with Amy Alessio, that will take place on Mondays, April 8–29. Alessio will help you learn with and from your peers as you share your experience, concerns, and issues with one another. In your one-on-one consultation with her, you will have a chance to get direct feedback and advice on your programming. Registration is through the ALA Store.

eLearning Solutions, Feb. 15
2d

Trevor Owens has received the 2019 ALCTS Outstanding Publication Award for his book The Theory and Craft of Digital Preservation. The award honors the author of the year’s outstanding monograph, article, or original paper in the field of technical services, including acquisitions, cataloging, collection management, preservation, continuing resources, and related areas in the library field. Owens’s book serves as an introduction to digital preservation issues.

ALCTS, Feb. 15
2d

ALCTS has selected Collaboration Across Borders: Opening Access to Holdings of the National Library of Cuba as the recipient of the ALCTS Outstanding Collaboration Citation for 2019. The effort is a collaboration among the University of Florida, the Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba José Martí (Cuba’s national library), and OCLC intended to expose the rich resources of the BNJM to scholars around the globe. The citation recognizes and encourages collaborative problem-solving efforts in the areas of acquisition, access, management, preservation, or archiving of library materials.

ALCTS, Feb. 15
2d

Jennifer K. Nelson, reference librarian at the Robbins Collection, University of California-Berkeley School of Law, has been selected to receive the 2019 ACRL European Studies Section’s De Gruyter European Librarianship Study Grant for her project “Iucundum mihi est reperiri typographum: A Case Study of an Early Modern Publishing Success Story.” Sponsored by the Walter de Gruyter Foundation for Scholarship and Research, the grant provides €2,500 to support a trip to Europe.

ACRL, Feb. 15
2d

February 16–23 is National Entrepreneurship Week. As community hubs and incubators, libraries are perfectly positioned to help new businesses get off their feet and thrive—whether it’s by offering resources and books to spark ideas or hosting programs on the ins-and-outs of business management led by local business leaders. In Episode 35, Dewey Decibel looks at libraries that are leading the charge. The podcast features Amy Fisher, information readers services manager, and Morgan Perry, business outreach specialist, at Mid-Continent Public Library in Missouri; and Roosevelt Weeks, director of Austin (Tex.) Public Library.

AL: The Scoop, Feb. 15
3d

Neil J. Rubenking writes: “Authentication via password is a system designed to protect your online accounts from misuse by others, but half the time it seems to protect against your own access. Was that password Tr0b4dor&3? Or Tr0m30nE#8? What’s that you say? You can’t afford to buy yet another security tool? In truth, you can’t afford not to. The potential hit, financial and otherwise, that could result from using weak passwords could cost you plenty. Never fear. Quite a few password managers cost precisely nothing, and some of them come close to the best paid password managers.”

PC Magazine, Feb. 15
3d

The powerful connection between nutrition and education has been revealed by new research from the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin. Primary school children in India who attended a public free lunch program over an extended period were shown to have significantly better learning outcomes. According to the study, children with up to five years of midday meals had reading test scores that are 18% higher than those of students with less than a year of school lunches. They also showed an improvement of 9% for mathematics test scores.

Science Daily, Feb. 13

View more Latest Library Links