American Libraries articles from June 2010

American Libraries archives from June 2010

Rolling with the Punches
June 1, 2010... I don't know anybody who hasn't been hurt by this economic debacle that seems to be turning the entire country on its head--any number of countries, in fact. At the American Library Association, we've been hit just like everybody else. It is...

Dinners for Spectrum Scholars: "Camila's Kitchen".
June 1, 2010... The Spectrum Presidential Initiative's Dinner for Spectrum Scholars program is encouraging ALA members to host dinners for their friends and colleagues to raise money for Spectrum Scholarships. In this AL Focus video, ALA President Camila Alire...

Reforma urges balance in Texas Curriculum Standards.(INSIDE SCOOP)(Resolution on Texas State Board of Education Curriculum Standards)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... John Sandstrom, a member of ALA's governing Council, circulated April 20 a "Resolution on Texas State Board of Education Curriculum Standards" developed by Reforma. "A few weeks ago there was an outcry about changes to the Education Curriculum...

American Libraries Direct.(INSIDE SCOOP)
June 1, 2010... Every Wednesday in your e-mail, AL Direct delivers the top stories of the week. Sign up free.

Rain barrels serve dual purpose.(GREEN your library)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... Laura Bruzas writes: "Who wouldn't want a rain barrel? Used to divert rain, they can also reduce the volume of water flowing to your local sewer treatment facility." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

iPad accessibility features.(PERPETUAL beta)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... Jason Griffey writes: "I'm going to be doing a series of videos showing off lesser-known features of the iPad important to librarians, such as this accessibility feature called White on Black."

Two new AL blogs.(WHAT'S NEW)(American Libraries' Membership Blog and Student Membership Blog)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... In May, American Libraries became the new permanent home to ALA's Membership Blog and Student Membership Blog. These formerly standalone products will continue to deliver essential information about ALA from the perspective of members and...

Books.(ALA STORE)
June 1, 2010... Highly practical and bursting with ideas, this guide will serve as a quick reference source for going green in your library. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Posters.(ALA STORE)
June 1, 2010... Everyone needs friends--especially the library! Recognize the important role of your Friends group and generate enthusiasm for new members with this poster. Developed in partnership with ALTAFF. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Sustaining Advocacy: A Presidential Journey Ends, but the Push Continues
June 1, 2010... My presidential year was all about a journey--literally and virtually. Part of reviving the old Route 66 from Chicago to LA (in this case, Library Advocacy), my presidential initiatives focused on frontline library advocacy and advocacy for...

Planning and Budgeting: Executive Board Grapples with Financial Challenges
June 1, 2010... At the ALA Executive Board's spring meeting, held April 23--25 at the Association's headquarters in Chicago, the board spent a significant amount of time discussing the draft ALA 2015 Strategic Plan and the latest revisions made to the plan...

Economic Impact: ALA Treasurer Sees Challenges Ahead
June 1, 2010... Over the last three years, I have tried to share information with ALA members about the Association's finances, and about how their membership supports the Association's programs and strategic objectives. This will be my last message as ALA...

Raphael Wins Presidency; Neal Elected Treasurer
June 1, 2010... Molly Raphael, former director of libraries at Multnomah County (Ore) Library, has been elected ALA president. "I am honored to be elected president of the American Library Association for the year 2011-2012," Raphael said. "Libraries are...

Myracle's ttyl tops most-challenged list.(ALA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... Lauren Myracle's bestselling Internet Girls young adult series (ttyl, ttfn, and L8r, G8r) the first novels written entirely in the style of instant messaging, tops ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom's list of the 10 Most Challenged Books of...

Six CPLA Program graduates added.(ALA)(Allied Professional Association's Certified Public Library Administrator Program )(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... The ALA--Allied Professional Association's Certified Public Library Administrator Program (CPLA) Certification Review Committee has granted certification to six candidates who are now officially certified public library administrators, bringing...

New awards, grants site launched.(ALA)(ala.org/ala/awardsgrants/allawardsgrants)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... ALA's online resource for awards, grants, and scholarships (ala.org/ala/awardsgrants/allawardsgrants) is now available for searching or browsing the many ways in which the Association offers recognition. Included are all the book awards,...

AASL issues Common Core comments.(ALA)(American Association of School Librarians )(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... ALA's American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has issued comments on the grade--level bands of the Common Core Standards, a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and...

The Association's Associations: ASCLA.(ALA)(Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies )
June 1, 2010... WHO IS ASCLA? The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) is home to a wide variety of librarians representing diverse librarianship specialties and library types: library networks and cooperatives (Interlibrary...

Public Programs Office launches e-newsletter.(ALA)(programminglibrarian.org)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... ALA's Public Programs Office has launched new online features and a monthly e-newsletter that are designed for librarians who plan and present cultural programs and events. New features include job listings for librarians who plan, promote,...

Calendar.(ALA)(Conference news)(Calendar)
June 1, 2010... ALA EVENTS June 24-29: ALA Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., ala.org/annual. June 29: Library Advocacy Day, Washington, D.C., ala.org/annual. Aug. 4-8: National Conference of African American Librarians, Birmingham, Alabama,...

Glover joins NLW celebration.(ALA)(Danny Glover)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... Actor and humanitarian Danny Glover reads Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during "An Evening with Danny Glover," an April 15 fundraiser for the Lubuto Library Project at the Embassy of the Republic of Zambia. His visit...

Library Legislative Scorecards revealed.(ALA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... The ALA Washington Office has released the Association's 2009 Legislative Scorecards for the U.S. Senate and House. The scorecards outline votes and support of legislation that is important to and has an impact on the library community. It is...

ALA releases 2008-09 Annual Report.(ALA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... ALA Immediate Past President James Rettig focused his presidential activities around "Creating Connections" and addressed three critical issues--advocacy, diversity, and member participation. These initiatives and other highlights are featured...

Wisconsin Says "Cheese!" Snapshot Day Ups Awareness
June 1, 2010... Wisconsin Libraries Say Cheese! A Day in Pictures" is part of the ongoing Campaign for Wisconsin Libraries, a statewide effort to create a collective voice for Wisconsin academic, public, school, and special libraries. The campaign focuses on...

HAPLR Scores Rank Input, Output
June 1, 2010... The 2010 version of Hennen's American Public Library Ratings, using the latest federal data reported by 7,930 public libraries in the United States, was released April 15. Published since 1999, the HAPLR Index identifies the public libraries in...

Maybe the Play's the Thing
June 1, 2010... For millions of American schoolchildren, National Library Week wasn't quite the celebration that librarians wanted it to be. That's because the viability of properly staffed school libraries, whose direct impact on increased academic success has...

Library of Congress to Archive Twitter
June 1, 2010... The microblogging service Twitter has gifted its entire archive of tweets, totaling billions of 140-character posts dating back to March 2006, to the Library of Congress. "The Twitter digital archive has extraordinary potential for research...

Steampunking stress relief.(Perspectives)(Report)
June 1, 2010... Part-time staffers at Mount Vernon (Wa.) City Library (from left) Charlene Patten, Alisa Kester, Bonnie Hood, Mike Bonacci, and Sara Bangs celebrate "Steampunk Friday" by wearing attire based on the science fiction genre April 23. According to...

For Kids Only.(Perspectives)(Newport News Public Library System)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... Lazarreia Gholston (left), vice president of the Newport News (Va.) Public Library System's For Kids Only Youth Advisory Committee, and Jada Smith, secretary, set up one of the new games for the program's April 15 kickoff at the Pearl Bailey...

Drupal: The Change We Need
June 1, 2010... The change we need," according to Tim O'Reilly, keynote speaker at the 2010 DrupalCon San Francisco, "is DIY on a civic scale." We've come to rely on what O'Reilly called "vending machine government," where we put tax dollars in and expect...

Global Reach
June 1, 2010... UNITED STATES (1) Ash clouds from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano wreaked havoc on airline traffic worldwide in April, but the Martin Luther King Jr. central branch of the District of Columbia Public Library turned distress into an...

Why Librarians Should Care about the National Broadband Plan
June 1, 2010... In addition to a record snowfall, something else fell upon the inside-the-beltway community in the winter of 2010: The National Broadband Plan. For technology policy wonks, even the name of the plan makes your mouth water. And, yes, here in...

Ask for cake.(Perspectives)(Brief article)
June 1, 2010... Reference librarian Virginia Cole serves cake at Cornell University's Olin Library April 8 to note the 10th birthday of the library's chat reference service. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Listing the Top 10 Lists in the Librarian's Book of Lists
June 1, 2010... At some point in my life, I realized that making lists belongs on my list of top 10 favorite things to do," says American Libraries Senior Editor George M. Eberhart, "and that's how I came up with the idea for The Librarian's Book of Lists." To...

How the World Sees Us
June 1, 2010... "I've never read The Chocolate War, but complaining about nudity in a novel that contains no pictures is like complaining about there being too much sound in a sandwich." Writer AMELIE GILLETTE, writing about ALA's Top Ten Most Frequently...

A Passion for Copyright: One Librarian's Love-Hate Relationship
June 1, 2010... Copyright is a subject with which I believe most librarians have a love-hate relationship. I am mostly in the love-it camp, but not necessarily in the love-all-the-regulations-and-guidelines one. I enjoy immensely the detective-work aspect of...

Aggregating Digital Data: Interoperability Changes How We Build Collections
June 1, 2010... The Open Archives Initiative Object Reuse and Exchange specification defines a set of new standards for the description and exchange of aggregations of web resources. This presents an exciting opportunity to revisit how digital libraries are...

The Public Book: The Access/ownership Dilemma Persists
June 1, 2010... You know those days where, totally by happenstance, all your meetings and conversations wind up being about the same thing? (Excepting the "Why did she wear that to the Oscars?" sort of thing, I mean.) I had one of those the other day,...

A Library in Your Pocket: Building a Web Presence for Mobile Users
June 1, 2010... In Vermont, it was easy to ignore the mobile computing craze until 2009. Before that, AT&T didn't have a presence here, so we couldn't purchase iPhones in the state. That all changed last year, and now, barely a day goes by that I don't see...

Instructional Literacy: As Librarians, We Can Shape Ourselves into Educators by Devising Our Teacher Identities
June 1, 2010... Face it: Teaching is hard. It's hard from any angle, using any technology, to any learner. Even for those enviable (and few) "natural teachers," being an educator is as at least as challenging as it is rewarding. Not only does teaching take...

10 Tips for Tracking Trends: Libraries Can Stay Relevant to Their Users by Strategically Riding the Wave of Societal Trends
June 1, 2010... As a public library director I spend a great deal of time searching out ways to keep my library relevant in today's fast-changing environment. I've found that one method is to keep myself current about societal trends and to strategize regularly...

Mastering Moderation: Running a Successful Program Is More Than Just Naming the Names; It Means Being an Integral Part of the Proceedings. A Veteran Moderator Presents Advice on How to Make Sure Your Session Is a Great Experience for Everyone Involved
June 1, 2010... You just found out you're going to moderate a conference program or webcast. Congratulations. Now what? What exactly are you going to do? If what you do is emulate what you've seen most moderators do at library conferences, both physical and...

The Myth of Browsing: Academic Library Space in the Age of Facebook
June 1, 2010... A headline in the November 12, 2009, issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education tells what is becoming a familiar story: "In Face of Professors' 'Fury,' Syracuse U. Library Will Keep Books on Shelves." Pressed by economic realities, hurting for...

Advocates to Rally in D.C.: Library Advocacy Day Rally; Appearances by Authors Toni Morrison; Sarah, Duchess of York; and John Grisham Highlight Conference Agenda
June 1, 2010... A LA's Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., June 24-29, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (WWCC) and surrounding hotels offers a full program agenda and an array of guest speakers culminating with members converging on Capitol Hill...

Dining in the District: A Guide to Great Restaurants to Try at Annual
June 1, 2010... The last several years have seen a boom in Washington restaurants. D.C. is attracting both top talent and celebrity chefs. Couple that with some legendary institutions and you can get yourself some good eats. The city is broken up into four...

Frontline Advocacy Is Everybody's Job: ALA President Camila Alire's Presidential Initiative Offers a Systematic Approach to Staff Participation
June 1, 2010... What makes this initiative different from previous advocacy initiatives is that it engages and empowers frontline library staff to work on advocacy at a different level than how library administrators, trustees, friends, and grassroots users...

William R. Baldridge.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In April William R. Baldridge was appointed commissioner of the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Public Library by the Board of Library Commissioners.

Treacy Blair.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * May 14 Treacy Blair retired as children's librarian at Boaz (Ala.) Public Library.

Barbara Buss.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * April 29 Barbara Buss retired as webmaster from Fairfield (Conn.) Public Library.

Beverly Cain.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * June 1 Beverly Cain was appointed Ohio state librarian.

Martha Catt.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * Martha Catt retired May 14 as director of Hussey-Mayfield Public Library in Zionsville, Indiana.

Barbara I. Dewey.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * August 1 Barbara I. Dewey will become Penn State's dean of university libraries and scholarly communications in University Park.

Lynette Dickow.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In June Lynette Dickow will retire as librarian of Duniway Elementary School in Portland, Oregon.

Howard Dodson Jr.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In February 2011 Howard Dodson Jr. will retire as director of the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Mark Fink.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * May 3 Mark Fink was appointed community librarian at Cupertino (Calif.) Library.

Jay Gaidmore.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * May 3 Jay Gaidmore became university archivist of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jeffrey W. Gallant.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * April 15 Jeffrey W. Gallant joined the faculty of Valdosta State University at Odum (Ga.) Library as instructor of library science and reference librarian.

Nora Goldsmith.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In March Nora Goldsmith was appointed administrator for public services for Glendale (Calif.) Public Library.

Gerald Gordon.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In June Gerald Gordon will retire as collection development librarian and associate professor at Radford (Va.) University's McConnell Library.

Dave Hayes.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In May Dave Hayes retired as university librarian at McConnell Library at Radford (Va.) University

Sandra Hirsh.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In August Sandra Hirsh will become director of the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose (Calif.) State University.

James Hoogstra.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * May 15 James Hoogstra retired as branch manager at Detroit Public Library.

Jane Howell.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * June 30 Jane Howell will retire as director of library services from Montana State University Billings Library. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Rachel Jorgensen.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * May 1 Rachel Jorgensen was appointed information literacy librarian at the University of the District of Columbia.

Tom Lamb.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * April 12 Tom Lamb became cataloging and metadata librarian at Car-leton College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Rosanne Macek.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * April 30 Rosanne Macek became director of library services at Mountain View (Calif.) Library.

David Mao.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In June David Mao was appointed the first deputy law librarian of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Lora Martinolich.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In March Lora Martinolich was appointed supervisor for adult services of Glendale (Calif.) Public Library.

Gary McCone.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * On April 3 Gary McCone retired as associate director, information systems at the National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Maryland.

Jennifer Morris.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * May 28 Jennifer Morris retired as executive director of the Pioneer Library System in Canandaigua, New York.

Melanie Moss.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * March 23 Melanie Moss became director of the Waverly (N. Y.) Free Library.

Walter Murphy.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * July 1 Walter Murphy will retire as executive director of the Flint River Regional Library in Griffin, Georgia.

Kay Noguchi.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * May 14 Kay Noguchi retired as supervising librarian at San Rafael (Calif.) Public Library.

Christine Porter.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In April Christine Porter was appointed head librarian at Middletown (Pa.) Public Library.

Theresa Robinett.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * Theresa Robinett became supervisor for children's services at Glendale (Calif.) Public Library in March.

Marcia Schneider.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * June 30 Marcia Schneider will retire as chief of communications and adult services at San Francisco (Calif.) Public Library.

Richard Schwegel.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * March 16 Richard Schwegel was named director of the Performing Arts Library at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Ronald Shaw.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * May 5 Ronald Shaw became director of Chemung County Library District in Elmira, New York.

Isabel Dale Silver.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In March Isabel Dale Silver was appointed director, academic and scholarly outreach, at George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida, Gainesville. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Cherie Spencer.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * January 25 Cherie Spencer was appointed associate director of Hancock County Public Library in Greenfield, Indiana. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Thomas F. Staley.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In August Thomas F. Staley will retire as director of the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas, Austin.

Joe Toth.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * In February Joe Toth became director of library services at Ocean County College in Toms River, New Jersey.

Darro Willey.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * September 30 Darro Willey will retire as director of the DeKalb County (Ga.) Public Library.

Nat Wilson.(Currents)
June 1, 2010... * March 1 Nat Wilson was named digital archivist and library technology coordinator at Garleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.