An online petition is demanding that the Obama administration mandate the full funding and staffing of school libraries. It’s posted to a new interactive We the People web page, hosted by the White House, where U.S. citizens can petition the government for a redress of grievances as stated in the First Amendment. The petition was … Continue reading Talking Turkey about School Libraries
Last week’s Election Day brought some remarkably good news for many public libraries across the country that sought operating millages and capital bonds for improvements. Seasoned advocates are well aware, however, that those victories were no reason for library boosters to rest on their laurels or stop reaching for the elusive brass ring of fiscal … Continue reading The Brass Ring of Sustainability
Today, ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels is sharing the following message with Members and the Association’s governing Council: As you know, ALA operates on a fiscal year that ends on August 31. Because of the complexity of the ALA budget, which reflects hundreds of thousands of transactions and adjustments each year, the unaudited year-end … Continue reading Budget Message from the ALA Executive Director
“All hands on deck” is the message ALA President Molly Raphael is sending in regards to funding for school library programs. Her Presidential Task Force on School Libraries comprises members from all facets of the library profession, and in that spirit she’s calling on library practitioners to get involved in the crisis affecting school libraries. … Continue reading Message from ALA President Molly Raphael
I’ve been a big advocate of open source software since I learned about the model of software licensing and development 10 years ago. I am a big believer that many minds produce great things, so the idea that a community of users would develop and improve software to the benefit of the community really appealed … Continue reading Open Source, Open Mind
“All of you represent assets in your communities that truly make a difference,” Texas State Librarian Peggy Rudd told more than 320 librarians gathered in Frisco, Texas, September 8–11, for the 2011 Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) Annual Conference. An affiliate of the American Library Association, ARSL is a nationwide network of library … Continue reading A Big Gathering of Small and Rural Libraries
The only recourse after disaster strikes is to recover and learn from it. The library community is well aware of the horror visited upon the Eastern seaboard by Hurricane Irene, and, hearteningly, how communities are strategizing about how they’ll restore library services even as they struggle to repair and rebuild other essential town infrastructure. Transplanted … Continue reading Unavoidable Disasters and Unfathomable Disconnects
The survival of many public libraries has been threatened as their funding has dried up in recent years. City and county officials are casting about for a lifesaver, and some have snagged a promising catch in the form of private companies that take over the management of public libraries. A September 26, 2010, New York … Continue reading Who’s the Boss?
A report by the Presidential Task Force for Improving the Effectiveness of ALA’s Council (Council Document #45), chaired by past ALA president Jim Retting, was the hot topic on the agenda of the third session of the Association’s governing Council in New Orleans. Three of the many suggestions required and received formal action. Others, except … Continue reading Council III: Effectiveness Task Force Recommendations Dominate Session
LearnRT’s “TEDx, Boot Camps, and Unconferences: Innovative and Low-Cost Staff Development Events” offered insights on using nontraditional methods to help library staff gain knowledge and insight to better perform their jobs. Janie Hermann, program librarian at Princeton (N.J.) Public Library, described how the library created a camp experience for its staff development day in 2009. … Continue reading Saving on Staff Development
Jill Nishi of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation kicked off a panel discussion of “Recovery along the Gulf Coast” by saying it was hard for her to believe that it has been five years since Hurricane Katrina ravaged large portions of Mississippi and Louisiana. “But so much has been accomplished,” she added. Nishi noted … Continue reading Librarians Share Front-Line Stories of Gulf Coast Hurricane Recovery
An Open Letter from ALA President Roberta Stevens and ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels: Dear Colleagues: Here is ALA’s new 2015 Strategic Plan (PDF file). The plan outlines the vision and goals that will guide us through what promises to be a period of unprecedented challenges and opportunities for libraries. It reflects the work … Continue reading Unveiling the ALA 2015 Strategic Plan
