American Libraries articles from June 2004

American Libraries archives from June 2004

The Equity Struggle Must Continue
June 1, 2004... As my presidential term ends at the close of this year's Annual Conference, I am pleased to report that it has been an honor to share my experiences and observations within the pages of American Libraries. This opportunity has not only provided...

Gorman Wins Presidency; Switzer Reelected Treasurer
June 1, 2004... Michael Gorman, dean of library services at California State University at Fresno's Henry Madden Library, has been elected 2005-2006 ALA president. Gorman received 6,634 of the 12,562 votes cast and will serve one year as...

Democracy @ your library.(ALA News)
June 1, 2004... DEMOCRACY @ YOUR LIBRARY. ALA President Carla Hayden (right) and Becky Bond of Working Assets ready an Enoch Pratt Free Library computer in Baltimore April 22 during National Library Week in time for library users to register to vote. The...

ALA Councilors Elected
June 1, 2004... Thirty-four members have been elected to Council of the 2004-2007 term in results announced May 3. * Jose Aguinaga, associate librarian, California State University at Long Beach, 2,186 votes. * Salvador Avila, community outreach...

ASCLA Is the Specialized Career Expert
June 1, 2004... Many librarians are unfamiliar with the jobs held by the 1,000 members of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) who work in state library agencies and multitype library cooperatives, serve special populations,...

Texas gala.(ALA News)
June 1, 2004... TEXAS GALA. Dancers entertain more than 800 children participating in the Dia de los Ninos, Dia de los Libros at Irving (Tex.) Public Library April 24. The annual event included storytellers and local TV celebrities. Ballet folklorico,...

Endowment vacancy needs to be filled.(ALA News)
June 1, 2004... Nominations are now being accepted for one upcoming ALA endowment trustee vacancy. The ALA Executive Board will select the candidate during its October 29-31 board meeting in Chicago. The deadline for nominations is October 1. The...

3M security product donation continues.(ALA News)(American Association of School Librarians )
June 1, 2004... 3M has awarded a total of $1.5-million worth of security technology to 100 U.S. middle and high schools through the 2004 3M Salute to Schools program, sponsored in partnership with AASL. The Salute to Schools program provides 3M detection...

ALA launches funding website.(ALA News)(American Library Association)
June 1, 2004... School, public, and academic libraries in more than 40 states have absorbed more than $50 million in funding cuts over the past year, according to the results of a national ALA study available at www.ala.org/libraryfunding/. ...

Fifth Spectrum Institute slated.(ALA News)(American Library Association)
June 1, 2004... The fifth ALA Spectrum Leadership Institute will be held June 23-25 at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. A major component of the Spectrum Initiative, the institute supplements the $5,000 annual scholarships provided to...

Creative designing.(ALA News)
June 1, 2004... CREATIVE DESIGNING, such as this submission from the Newport (Oreg.) Public Library, featuring local actress Kate Sannella, could net you a $100 gift certificate by participating in the ALA Graphics Read CD Poster Contest. Get details at...

Woman's Day online book club underway.(ALA News)
June 1, 2004... The second year of Woman's Day magazine's librarian-recommended online book club (www.womansday.com) began June 1, targeting parents and caregivers. Club titles, selected for children and young adults, were developed by a 12-member group of...

Members to receive latest Oprah selection.(ALA News)(Oprah Winfrey)
June 1, 2004... ALA organizational members will receive free copies of Oprah's Book Club's latest selection, Carson McCullers's 1940 classic The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. At Oprah Winfrey's request, publishers of each book club selection donate free...

Bipartisan Issues Challenge Congressional Gridlock: Legislative Day Draws 500+ Advocates to D.C
June 1, 2004... Representing 49 states, more than 500 librarians, trustees, and library advocates delivered a message--federal support for libraries pays big local dividends--to their senators and representatives in Washington, D.C., May 4 during the 30th...

Library, education groups oppose Internet wiretaps.(News Fronts Washington)
June 1, 2004... Fourteen library and education groups including the American Library Association filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) April 12 opposing a petition by the Department of Justice to bring all broadband access to the...

Bush's Nomination for U.S. Archivist Draws Fire; Groups Call for Hearings
June 1, 2004... President Bush's nomination of Allen Weinstein as archivist of the United States has come under fire from both professional and political quarters. Weinstein works at the International Foundation for Elections Systems as senior advisor for...

GPO requests funds to support move toward digital future.(News Fronts Washington)(Government Printing Office)
June 1, 2004... Public Printer of the United States Bruce James requested $151 million in funding for the Government Printing Office's 2005 budget--an increase of 12% over 2004--at an April 28 hearing before the Committee on House Administration. James...

Librarians for women's rights.(News Fronts Washington)
June 1, 2004... LIBRARIANS FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS. Among the 1.15 million demonstrators who descended on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., April 25 for the March for Women's Lives was at least one group of proud librarians. "We were stopped numerous times...

ALA Action No. 5 in a Series: Equity of Access
June 1, 2004... "Libraries in America are cornerstones of the communities they serve. Free access to the books, ideas, resources and information in America's libraries is imperative for education, employment, enjoyment and self-government." Libraries: An American...

Cleveland Staff Stage One-Day Strike, Threaten Longer Walkout
June 1, 2004... Cleveland Public Library workers who staged a one-day strike April 20 have threatened a longer walkout if they're unable to come to terms in their contract negotiations with the administration. The work stoppage shut down 19 of the system's...

NYU Student Caught Living in Bobst Library
June 1, 2004... New York University officials discovered in mid-April that a student was spending nights in the 24-hour study area of the Bobst Library subbasement. Sophomore Steven Stanzak claimed on his website (www.livejournal.com/users/homeless_at_nyu/) to...

Wade here for assistance.(News Fronts)(St. Louis County Headquarters Library)
June 1, 2004... WADE HERE FOR ASSISTANCE. Workers clean up the main reading room of the St. Louis County Headquarters Library after an underground pipe burst March 22 and shot thousands of gallons of pressurized, muddy water through a joint in the floor...

Analyst Claims UK Libraries in Decline; CILIP Begs to Differ
June 1, 2004... Public libraries in the United Kingdom are facing a crisis that could make them unused and irrelevant by 2020, according to a report released April 27 by business analyst Tim Coates. Titled Who's in Charge? the 25-page report, available online...

Strings attached.(News Fronts)(Nashville Public Library)
June 1, 2004... STRINGS ATTACHED. Some members of the audience get a closer look at the puppets after a recent performance at Nashville Public Library's main branch. This is one of more than 350 marionettes in the library's collection, which grew in December...

San Francisco PL board adopts RFID technology.(Updates)(radio frequency identification devices)
June 1, 2004... San Francisco Public Library commissioners approved a controversial plan May 6 to use microchip technology to track books and other materials (AL, Apr., p. 13-14). The tracking chips, known as radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs),...

Florida Filter-Mandate Bill Gets Third Strike
June 1, 2004... A filter-mandate bill opposed by Florida librarians and library supporters has died in the Florida legislature. Had the bill become law, it would have fined public libraries lacking operational filters and allowed citizens to sue libraries that...

Anchorage gay-pride exhibit draws few complaints.(Censorship Watch)
June 1, 2004... The first major gay-pride exhibit at Anchorage, Alaska's Z. J. Loussac Library under a new exhibit policy has ended its two-week run without significant protest. Three years ago, then-Mayor George Wuerch ordered the removal of a gay-pride...

Libby Libra's last lap.(Quick Takes)
June 1, 2004... After serving as cat-in-residence at the Haysville (Kans.) Community Library for over 20 years, Libby Libra passed away April 30. Abandoned outside the library as a kitten in 1983, she was brought inside "and we just kept her," said Library...

Lasting landmark lions.(Quick Takes)
June 1, 2004... A pair of library cats of even greater longevity than Libby are set for refurbishing: Patience and Fortitude, who have stood guard outside New York Public Library's Mid-Manhattan Library since 1911, will soon receive a long-needed makeover....

Georgia Reinvents Atlanta-Fulton Board
June 1, 2004... Years of accusations that the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Board has been hampering library operations through micromanagement culminated April 7 in the passage of a state law that would shrink the board composition from 17 members to 11 and...

Pennsylvania advocates rally for funding at capitol.(Updates)
June 1, 2004... Nearly 500 library advocates from across Pennsylvania rallied at the capitol in Harrisburg May 12 to seek a boost in state funding. Carrying signs saying "We love our libraries" and "We need our libraries," they asked legislators to restore...

Pawsing for prose.(News Fronts)(Seaside, Oregon Public Library)
June 1, 2004... PAWSING FOR PROSE. Neo, the resident Seaside (Ore.) Public Library feline, discovers the self-help genre in one of a series of "Who's Reading in Seaside?" posters created to promote reading in general and library use in particular. Other...

Belated tribute.(News Fronts)(Forsyth County Public Library, Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
June 1, 2004... BELATED TRIBUTE. Ninety-year-old Dr. H. Rembert Malloy (seated), and posthumously, his father Dr. H. D. Malloy Sr. and Dr. J. C. Jordan, receive recognition April 25 through the renaming in their honor of the oldest branch of the Forsyth...

Regina board delays cuts; four trustees resign.(Updates)
June 1, 2004... Ten days after the Regina, Saskatchewan, city council asked them to reconsider their decision to close three branches, the Dunlop Art Gallery, and the Prairie History Room (AL, May, p. 20), Regina Public Library trustees agreed to dip into...

Russell Crowe joins rush to aid firebombed library.(Updates)(United Talmud Torahs elementary school, Montreal, Quebec)
June 1, 2004... Some three weeks after the April 5 destruction by firebombing of the United Talmud Torahs elementary school in the Montreal, Quebec, suburb of Saint-Laurent (AL, May, p. 23), actor Russell Crowe joined dozens of people from all over Canada...

Ask and ye shall receive.(Ideas)(Burbank, California Public Library)
June 1, 2004... During a social function, Burbank (Calif.) Public Library Services Director Sharon Cohen asked school board member Paul Krekorian to help build the library's collection on Armenian history. Within a few weeks, Krekorian and his wife Tamar,...

Local memories for sale.(Ideas)(Ann Arbor (W) rites: A Community Memoir)
June 1, 2004... Washington Post foreign correspondent Robin Wright, actress Lucy Liu, and authors Nancy Willard and Joan W. Blos are among 41 contributors to Ann Arbor (W) rites: A Community Memoir, a collection of essays, short stories, poems, photographs,...

Stressless info literacy.(Ideas)(University of California at Los Angeles)
June 1, 2004... Archetypal students Carlos and Eddie are available online to guide undergrads through the University of California at Los Angeles library-based "Bruin Success with Less Stress" information-literacy tutorial that offers both web and print...

Lunch with royalty.(News Fronts)
June 1, 2004... LUNCH WITH ROYALTY. More than 300 guests attended the Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library's annual Literary Luncheon May 4 featuring the "Queen of Suspense," author Mary Higgins Clark (second from left), who read from her latest book,...

Lincoln library completion delayed.(Updates)(Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library)
June 1, 2004... Construction workers repairing a deficient heating and cooling system in the soon-to-be-completed Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois, have discovered a problem with the building's vapor barrier that will require an...

Harwell honored.(News Fronts)(Harwell, Ernie)
June 1, 2004... HARWELL HONORED. Longtime Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell and wife Lulu (center) mingle with fans after the April 16 dedication of the Lulu and Ernie Harwell Room, a new section of the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit...

Police Close Down Library for Mayor-Ordered Search
June 1, 2004... The Central Falls (R.I.) Free Public Library was shut down for 90 minutes April 20 as city police searched a staff member's computer for political documents. Detectives went to the library when the building opened on the orders of Mayor Charles...

Multnomah proposes reducing hours, cutting staff.(News in Brief)
June 1, 2004... Multnomah County (Oreg.) Library Director Molly Raphael has proposed cutting hours at the system's five largest branches, as well as eliminating 35 full-time positions and reducing the materials budget by $200,000. Although voters approved a...

The library picture show.(News Fronts)(Louisville Free Public Library)
June 1, 2004... THE LIBRARY PICTURE SHOW. Filmmaker and actor Peter Bogdanovich spoke March 22 at the Louisville Free Public Library's main branch. Bogdanovich, who directed The Last Picture Show and Mask and portrays Dr. Elliot Kupferberg on HBO's The...

Earthquake-Proofing Project Still Shaky in Utah
June 1, 2004... Although the University of Utah got a $2.9-million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant April 6 toward seismic retrofitting of its library, the school has no guarantee it will secure the rest of the funds needed to make the building...

NYC Mayor plans children's libraries for housing projects.(News in Brief)
June 1, 2004... Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced plans to place children's libraries and parents' reading rooms in New York City's 345 public-housing projects as part of a literacy campaign to teach toddlers how to read before reaching school age. ...

Praising Arizona.(News Fronts)(Sierra Vista Public Library)
June 1, 2004... PRAISING ARIZONA. This lucky youngster was one of 30 lively 3-to-5-year-olds who got special treatment from Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano when she conducted storytime April 9 at Sierra Vista Public Library. The governor commented that she...

Nabokov materials to University of Michigan.(Collections)(Vladimir Nabokov)
June 1, 2004... Russian scholar Fan Parker has donated her collection of works by and about novelist Vladimir Nabokov to the University of Michigan Library in Ann Arbor. Included in the collection are first editions of Lolita; foreign-language editions of...

Andrew young papers to Atlanta-Fulton PL.(Collections)
June 1, 2004... Atlanta's Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History has acquired the papers, photographs, and media materials of former United Nations ambassador Andrew Young. Young was a two-term mayor of Atlanta and active...

Ebert papers to Illinois.(Collections)(Roger Ebert)(University of Illinois)
June 1, 2004... Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert, winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for criticism, has donated his papers to the University Archives at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The papers will join 22 cubic feet of videotape...

Texas staffer charged with felony theft.(News in Brief)(University of Texas at San Antonio library)
June 1, 2004... A former University of Texas at San Antonio library employee has been charged with stealing more than $200,000 in fines for overdue or lost books and videos from 1997 to 2003. Gloria C. Gonzales, 34, was indicted by a Bexar County grand jury...

Rare manuscript returns to Wales.(News in Brief)
June 1, 2004... The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth purchased an 18th-century Welsh manuscript March 23 through an auction house in Los Angeles, but curators are curious as to how the rare artifact got to North America. The previous owner wishes to...

Historic baseball document located in Massachusetts.(News in Brief)
June 1, 2004... A town bylaw that prohibits the playing of baseball within 80 yards of the meeting house in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has captured the attention of sports historians who think it may be the earliest extant reference in North America to the...

Metro Detroit school libraries brace for cuts.(News in Brief)
June 1, 2004... School libraries in the Detroit metropolitan area are bracing for a round of budget cuts that are likely to mean closings and layoffs before the end of summer. Even wealthier suburban communities such as Birmingham and Livonia are considering...

Global Reach
June 1, 2004... UNITED KINGDOM What experts consider the oldest surviving printed book in the world is on display through August as part of the British Library's "Silk Road" exhibit. The Diamond Sutra, dating from 868 A.D., is a Chinese Buddhist text printed...

Library Workers and Users Celebrate NLW 2004
June 1, 2004... Communities nationwide hosted a variety of activities for library workers and users in celebration of the 46th anniversary of National Library Week, April 18-24, and the first observance of National Library Workers Day (NLWD), April 20. ...

Straight Answers from Sohair Wastawy
June 1, 2004... Assignments don't get much more intriguing: one year as chief librarian of the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, beginning July 1. But for many Americans, the war in Iraq and the constant threat of terrorism in the Middle East would make...

Thus Said: How the World Sees Us
June 1, 2004... "Don't go to the library on your birthday. You'll just be disappointed." From a greeting card distributed by Hallmark. "Librarians--once the guardians, who now watch over their budgets instead--for destroying books which would last centuries...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
June 1, 2004... CORRECTIONS: In the April issue, Photographer David B. Seide's name was misspelled in a caption on p. 47. Fishbeck Thompson Carr and Huber was the associate architect on the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Public Library project (Apr., p. 39). ...

The Dollars and Sense of Equal Access
June 1, 2004... Ever since ALA embraced "equity of access" as one of its "key action areas" in 1997, Association leaders have been struggling to find a home in the organization for the lofty-sounding but amorphous concept. It's been difficult. The other four...

From outreach to equity: an introduction; Empowering underserved people is the core of our mission, according to a new book inspired by ALA President Carla Hayden.(Access)(From Outreach to Equity: Innovative Models of Library Policy and Practice )(Book Review)
June 1, 2004... Libraries as we know them have evolved through the centuries from well-preserved private collections for royalty and the wealthy to the free and open environments many people enjoy today in the United States. ALA's Library Bill of Rights...

Beware the Itinerant Director: These Nomadic Wonders Are Stronger on Interviewing Skills Than Competence
June 1, 2004... We have probably all had occasion to shake our heads in utter disbelief when a library director who has given a year or two or three of undistinguished or downright inept service to a nearby library lands a plum job in some distant state....

The Case for an outside Interim Director: Boards Can Avoid Settling for the Second-Rate by Looking Externally for a Temporary Head
June 1, 2004... Here is the typical scenario: The library director announces her retirement, is run over by a bus, takes another job, or is fired. Suddenly, there is a need for an Interim Library Director. The Hiring Group--library board, provost, search...

End PowerPoint Dependency Now! Ease off the Slides and Improve Your Presentations at ALA or Any Other Library Conference
June 1, 2004... I'm convinced that our profession's love affair with PowerPoint is stronger than ever. At the past three library conferences I attended, virtually every presentation by a librarian involved PowerPoint slides. On the other hand, nearly every...

On the Road to Equity: Destination Orlando; Highlights, Key Meetings and Events, and What's New for 2004
June 1, 2004... A new book, brochure, and several divisional programs focusing on equity of access in libraries are on tap for ALA's 128th Annual Conference, June 24-30, in Orlando, where some 20,000 librarians, library supporters, vendors, and others are...

Fun in the Sunshine State
June 1, 2004... The Orlando/Central Florida area offers ALA conferees an array of opportunities to break for fun. For over 100 years, both the young and young-at-heart have come to the Sunshine State for a variety of adventures and to experience natural and...

Dining in Style in Orlando: Don't Expect the Typical Tacky Tourist Eateries in This Popular Vacation Spot
June 1, 2004... Some sources say that while flying over central Florida searching for a location to build a new attraction, Walt Disney saw the intersection where the Florida Turnpike and Interstate 4 formed an X and decided to build his eastern theme park on...

2004 ALA Annual Conference Exhibits Locator: Orange County Convention Center; June 26-29, 2004
June 1, 2004... The Stacks, the exhibits at the 2004 ALA Annual Conference, will be held in the Orange County Convention Center, Halls B1-D1. This listing is provided for American Libraries by the Conference Services Department, and includes all exhibitors who...

ALA Executive Board: Tight Budget Leads Spring Meeting Agenda
June 1, 2004... A proposed FY 2006 budget with an emphasis on maintaining current programs in difficult economic times led the discussion at the spring meeting of the American Library Association's Executive Board, April 17-18 in Chicago, with ALA President...

Currents: Professionals on the Move
June 1, 2004... Stephanie Ballard has been appointed educational psychology and psychology librarian at California State University in Northridge. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * In May Kenneth Behringer started a new position as director at Dakota County...

Obituaries
June 1, 2004... * Margaret "Peggy" Dean Calhoun, 97, died March 6 at the Virginian retirement community in Alexandria. After working in the reference division of the United States Department of Agriculture, she taught library science at Mary Washington College...

Cited.(People)
June 1, 2004... Lillian Gassie, senior systems librarian at the Dudley Knox Library of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, was named Federal Librarian of the Year at a March ceremony at the Library of Congress. Cited for her innovative...

Grassroots Report: A Groundbreaking Consortium Model
June 1, 2004... The attraction and superiority of California are in its days," Ralph Waldo Emerson proclaimed. In Lafayette, California, an East Bay community in Contra Costa County, efforts are underway to make the local public library as notable as the...

The Crawford Files: What Happened to Technological Fixes?
June 1, 2004... I recently ran into an old friend who was reentering the library field. He'd been reading my columns and noted that I seem to be much more humanistic these days than in years past. I appreciated the compliment--but I wonder whether readers who...

Internet Librarian: Privacy Ain't What It Used to Be
June 1, 2004... This is not a column about Google. Okay, maybe a little at the beginning, but I promised myself I wouldn't write about Google for at least another several months. How can I resist, though, when they keep coming out with new and provocative stuff...

Technically Speaking: Much Ado about Metasearch
June 1, 2004... The single search box--that simple gateway to a world of knowledge--has been the pipe dream of libraries since the advent of online library services. As with most things, we must be careful what we wish for. But as discussion lists, professional...

Contracts and agreements.(Quick Clicks)
June 1, 2004... * Dynix sales of Horizon: Bibliomation, a nonprofit group serving more than 40 Connecticut libraries, replacing CARL. St. Mark's School of Texas, in Dallas; replaces Dynix. * Endeavor sales of Voyager: Arkansas State University...

Working Knowledge: Checking out Background Checks
June 1, 2004... Q I am among the finalists for a position in a public library and am getting nervous about the fact that they want to conduct a background check. Colleagues tell me this is becoming standard practice in many organizations. Is this true? What...

Son of Pulp Friction.(Resources for Continuing Education)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 1, 2004... Outspoken library educator Blaise Cronin characterizes Jeremiad Jottings, his latest collection of essays, as a "self-indulgent look at life in Libraryland and beyond, with the institutionally damaging effects of political correctness as the...

KM's Dynamic Duo.(Resources for Continuing Education)(Knowledge Management Lessons Learned: What Works and What Doesn't)(Knowledge Management: Libraries and Librarians Taking Up the Challenge)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 1, 2004... Two new books on knowledge management (KM) demonstrate that this relatively new field is rapidly evolving: * KM experts Michael E. D. Koenig and T. Kanti Srikantaiah provide an up-to-date survey of the field in Knowledge Management...

Can We Chat?(Resources for Continuing Education)(Digital Reference Services)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 1, 2004... Editor Bill Katz and his team of experts examine the latest approach to answering reference questions in Digital Reference Services. Included among the essayists are Kelly M. Broughton, who shares user reactions to the service; R. David...

Become Info Literate.(Resources for Continuing Education)(Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 1, 2004... In the extensively revised second edition of Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age, Michael B. Eisenberg, Carrie A. Lowe, and Kathleen L. Spitzer examine past and current research in the field. They define information...

Round 'Em Up.(Resources for Continuing Education)(The Kovacs Guide to Electronic Library Collection Development: Essential Core Subject Collections, Selection Criteria, and Guidelines)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 1, 2004... Developing and keeping track of electronic resources is about as easy as herding cats, but experts Diane K. Kovacs and Kara L. Robinson give easy-to-follow lasso lessons in their new book The Kovacs Guide to Electronic Library Collection...

Jack and Jill Learn to Read.(Resources for Continuing Education)(Rhymes, Writing, and Role-Play: Quick and Easy Lessons for Beginning Readers)(Brief Article)(Book Review)(Concert Review)
June 1, 2004... Librarians working with beginning readers can draw lots of ideas from Mary A. Lombardo in Rhymes, Writing, and Role-Play: Quick and Easy Lessons for Beginning Readers. Lombardo divides the book into four sections--nursery rhymes, sight word...