American Libraries articles from May 2008

American Libraries archives from May 2008

Agreeing on Advocacy
May 1, 2008... Warm fuzzies about libraries have always been easy for me to take. Through the years, I've listened as ALA conference speakers--celebrities and authors and ordinary people--issued dozens of sentimental reflections and waxed poetic on the special...

Working Well Together: Budding Flowers Moon Month or Zaagibagaa-Giizis
May 1, 2008... This year of service as your president has brought many gifts--chief among them the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and colleagues and establish strong, new connections. This has also been an educational experience for me as I continue...

Money Watch: General Fund Mysteries Unveiled
May 1, 2008... In my first Treasurer's Report to the governing Council during ALA's 2008 Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, one of the financial themes was the importance of the Association's General Fund. What is the General Fund, and why is it important to...

The numbers.(Treasurer's Message)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... SOURCES OF GENERAL FUND REVENUE 2007 Dues $5,212,266 Conference Net Revenue 1,977,576 Publishing Net Revenue 1,757,841 Interest Income 986,676 Miscellaneous Income ...

ALA Unveils Study on Library Service to New Americans
May 1, 2008... About 21 million people in the United States speak limited or no English, 50% more than a decade ago. As the country's demographics continue to change, U.S. public libraries continue their efforts to meet the service needs of non-English users....

Librarians to converge on Capitol Hill.(ALA)(National Library Legislative Day)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Librarians will flock to Washington, D.C., May 13-14 for National Library Legislative Day, a time for advocacy and issue-training sessions, interaction with Capitol Hill insiders, and visits to congressional members' offices. ...

Groundbreaking held for new choice office.(ALA)(Choice celebrated the groundbreaking)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Choice magazine, a publishing unit of ALA's Association of College and Research Libraries, celebrated the groundbreaking of its new office March 25 that will be located on Main Street in Middletown, Connecticut. The Liberty Square building...

Honorary Member nominations open.(ALA)
May 1, 2008... Nominations are being accepted for ALA honorary membership, the Association's highest honor, which is bestowed on living citizens of any country whose contributions to librarianship or a closely related field are so outstanding that they are...

Candidates Sought for 2009 Election
May 1, 2008... The ALA 2009 Nominating Committee is soliciting nominees to run on the 2009 spring ballot for the offices of ALA president and council-or-at-large. The committee will select two candidates to run for president-elect and no fewer than 50...

Rettig testifies on EPA libraires.(Jim Rettig, Environmental Protection Agency)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... ALA President-elect Jim Rettig testified March 13 before the U.S. House of Representatives on the impact of library closings at the Environmental Protection Agency. Speaking to the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee...

New Advocacy Committee formed.(ALA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Carol A. Brey-Casiano, director of El Paso (Tex.) Public Library, has been appointed chair of the new 13-member Advocacy Committee created by Council during the 2008 Midwinter Meeting upon recommendation by the Committee on Organization. ...

Hospitalized teens receive free books.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Teen patients in pediatric hospitals across the United States and Canada received 10,000 young adult novels, audiobooks, and graphic novels April 17 as readergirlz and ALA's Young Adult Library Services Association prepared to celebrate the...

Magazine health initiative ends May 11.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Libraries have until May 11 to promote a new health initiative sponsored by ALA's Campaign for America's Libraries and Woman's Day. The magazine is looking for stories on how readers have used the library to improve a family member's or their...

"Jewish Literature" libraries named.(ALA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... A total of 86 public and academic libraries have been selected by ALA's Public Programs Office and Nextbook to receive grants for "Let's Talk About It: Jewish Literature" programs. The awards mark the final round of monies awarded through a...

Assessment Immersion program added.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... "Assessment Immersion Track: Assessment in Practice" is the latest addition to ALA's Association of College and Research Libraries Institute for Information Literacy Immersion program. The deadline to apply is June 2 for the program to be...

Booklist begins new online effort.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... To ease the complexity of ordering selected online materials, Booklist Online and Title Source 3 from Baker & Taylor announced the launch of a new functionality. The project was unveiled during the Public Library Association conference in...

ALSC heads west for 2008 National Institute.(Association for Library Service to Children )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Housing reservations are now open for ALA's Association for Library Service to Children 2008 National Institute to be held September 18-20 in Salt Lake City. Early-bird pricing for ALSC members will be available through June 30. The...

Deaf America reads.(ALA)(Photograph)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: ALA President Loriene Roy (center) joins National Literary Society for the Deaf President Ricardo Lopez and ALA Honorary Member Alice L. Hagemeyer March 13 at the "'One Book' Reading Promotion Project:...

Calendar.(Brief article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... ALA EVENTS May 13-14: Legislative Day, Washington, D.C. www.ala.org/washoff. June 26-July 2: ALA Annual Conference, Anaheim, California. www.ala.org/annual. Sep. 18-20: Association for Library Service to Children Institute, Salt...

"I Love Libraries" package available.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... A new discounted package for library advocates attending ALA's Annual Conference in Anaheim is available from ALA's new Office for Library Advocacy. The "I Love Libraries" package includes registration for the June 26 daylong ALA...

AASL licensed institute kick-off slated.(NEW ANNUAL CONFERENCE PROGRAMS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... ALA's American Association of School Librarians will launch its newest licensed institute, "Reading and the Secondary School Library Media Specialist," June 27 as a preconference to ALA's Annual Conference in Anaheim June 26-July 2. ...

Alta
May 1, 2008... NEW NAME PROPOSED A joint steering committee made up of select board members from the Association of Library Trustees and Advocates and Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA) met in March during ALA's Public Library Association conference in...

First Lady Laura Bush Reveals Post-White House Agenda
May 1, 2008... In an exclusive interview at the White House March 19, First Lady Laura Bush told American Libraries that she would definitely play a role in the establishment of her husband's presidential library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas....

Victoria library labor dispute resolved.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Staff of the Greater Victoria (B.C.) Public Library returned to work beginning April 2 after the library and its staff reached an agreement that day to end the lockout that had closed the library since February 17 (AL, Apr., p. 22-23). ...

By the numbers.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... $33 million E-book sales in 2007, up from $6 million in 2002, according to the International Digital Publishing Forum. Since the IDPF does not include many smaller publishers and educational or library purchases, it believes the market is...

Library Worker's Firing Sparks Firestorm
May 1, 2008... The firing of a worker at the Tulare County (Calif.) Library two days after she defied a supervisor by alerting police to a patron viewing what she believed to be child pornography has sparked controversy and the threat of a lawsuit. When...

$1-Billion NYPL Expansion to Add Branches, Technology
May 1, 2008... New York Public Library announced a five-year, $1-billion expansion March 11 with the goal of doubling its number of unique users. Adopted after an 18-month study, the improvement plan has three major elements, the library said in a press...

Memphis Mayor Draws Fire for Branch Closings, Political Appointments
May 1, 2008... Memphis, Tennesse, Mayor Willie Herenton, who had already drawn the ire of library supporters for placing political appointees in charge of the Memphis Public Library and Information Center, announced March 18 that the city will close five...

Librarians Stop Abortion Stop-Listing
May 1, 2008... The March 31 discovery by an academic librarian that the administrator of the reproductive-health database Popline (Population Information Online) had placed the search word "abortion" on its stop list, or file of blocked terms, has led to the...

Librarian helps nab prodigious thief.(U.S. & International)(Robert Lopresti of Western Washington University's Wilson Library helps nab James L. Brubaker for theft)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... A Great Falls, Montana, man was arrested March 27 and charged with interstate transportation of stolen goods in relation to the theft in February 2006 of at least 648 maps found on his property. The maps were allegedly torn out of some 100...

EPA gives timeline for library reopenings.(U.S. & International)(Environmental Protection Agency )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The Environmental Protection Agency submitted March 26 its EPA National Library Network Report to Congress on the state of the EPA National Library Network. The report set a September 30 deadline for the reopening of the four libraries that...

New Orleans unveils $650-million plan.(U.S. & International)(New Orleans Public Library)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... New Orleans Public Library used the Public Library Association's Minneapolis conference (see p. 64-65) to announce a $650-million master plan to fund the construction of 13 libraries and operation costs for the next 25 years. The primary...

University library donors default, Sue.(U.S. & International)(Paul and Irene Bogoni sues Friedsam Memorial Library)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Paul and Irene Bogoni, who had pledged $2 million for an addition to Friedsam Memorial Library at St. Bonaventure (N.Y.) University, have said that they will not pay the final $900,000 of their gift, and they have filed a suit in State...

Sacramento Judge Indicts Trio in Scam
May 1, 2008... Two contractors and a former facilities supervisor for Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library made their first court appearance April 2, following their arrest the previous week on felony charges in an alleged billing scam, the Sacramento Bee...

LC Group urges Copyright changes.(U.S. & International)(Library of Congress Section 108 Study Group)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The independent Section 108 Study Group, which was set up in 2005 by the Library of Congress to reexamine the exceptions that apply to libraries found under Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act, issued its final report March 31 with...

Spokane moms win school-library funds.(U.S. & International)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The advocacy of three determined Spokane women has resulted in the first-ever state-level support for school libraries in Washington. A compromise budget passed March 12 includes $4 million, which breaks down to $4.09 per student, for the...

Family Challenges Two Books over N-Word
May 1, 2008... The parents of an 11-year-old student at the Hillsborough County (Fla.) School District's Turner Elementary School in New Tampa announced in mid-March that they would seek the removal of two media-center novels that contain the n-word: The Land...

Book Groups reiterate readers' privacy rights.(U.S. & International)(American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the American Association of University Professors, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and PEN American Center)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Six organizations have banded together to fire two new salvos in an ongoing battle against the use of National Security Letters to obtain information about individuals' reading habits under the USA Patriot Act. On March 17 the American...

Lincoln library cost fight settled.(U.S. & International)(Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The state of Illinois will collect more than $3 million from three contractors and deflect claims totaling another $7 million under a settlement over cost overruns and construction delays at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum...

Libraries Blasted for Pulling Programs
May 1, 2008... Two public libraries in Ohio have become embroiled in charges of censorship from local community groups. In a decision sharply criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Library...

Satisfied customer.(U.S. & International)(Jaida Dean)(Hennepin County Library)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Jaida Dean of Mound, Minnesota, appears quite pleased with her check-out choice--McDuff's Wild Romp by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers. Dean was one of the many patrons who attended the Renovation...

Asia rising at UC Berkeley.(U.S. & International)(Starr East Asian Library at University of California, Berkeley)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: A new facility at the University of California at Berkeley gathers the school's vast Chinese, Japanese, and Korean collections under one roof. The C.V. Starr East Asian Library, which opened March 17, is...

San Francisco branch rebuilding boom.(U.S. & International)(San Francisco Public Library Noe Valley/Sally Brunn branch)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (third from right) joins City Librarian Luis Herrera (fifth from left) and other city and library officials for the March 8 ribbon-cutting of the refurbished San Francisco...

The Squirrel Lady visits.(U.S. & International)(Marci Christian)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Marci Christian, aka the Squirrel Lady, reads a story March 13 at Madison Heights (Mich.) Public Library. As part of her visit, children listened to a squirrel story, made squirrel crafts, and danced the...

In-service reads.(U.S. & International)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Villa Park (Ill.) Public Library's youth- and adult-services readers advisors led book discussions as part of the library's in-service day March 7. The day saw lively conversations centered around the four...

Spreading sensitivity about Sikhs.(U.S. & International)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Jagir Singh Bains (left) presents a multimedia collection about Sikh culture for Queens Library's Glen Oaks branch March 7 to Senior Librarian Norman Malwitz as New York State Assemblyman Mark Weprin looks...

Global Reach
May 1, 2008... UNITED KINGDOM 1 Two primary schools in Bristol, England, have withdrawn storybooks about same-sex relationships after objections from Muslim parents. Up to 90 parents gathered at the schools to complain about King and King and And Tango...

Jon Scieszka
May 1, 2008... Popular children's author Jon Scieszka was recently named the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress (AL, Mar., p. 25), a role he calls "the perfect opportunity to tell people the things that we know...

Skype[TM] as Conference Tool
May 1, 2008... Using familiar technology such as Skype in groundbreaking ways doesn't have to be difficult or costly: just ask library staff who are taking advantage of it to plan or participate in conferences. Skype is used by millions of people every day as...

Music Downloading Looks to Big Labels
May 1, 2008... Banks of CDs for borrowing may slowly disappear from libraries in the years ahead, but the idea of lending music to patrons is still very much with us. As more and more libraries begin offering digital downloads, however, the big music labels...

Houston launches wireless network.(News)(Houston Public Library launches Wireless Empowered Community Access Network )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... With the support of partners Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Tropos Networks, and Verizon Wireless, Houston Public Library launched the first of 10 Wireless Empowered Community Access Network (WeCAN) "bubbles" in the Gulfton Super Neighborhood...

Tech Giants Form OpenSocial Foundation
May 1, 2008... Yahoo, MySpace, and Google announced March 25 that they have agreed to form the OpenSocial Foundation to ensure the neutrality and longevity of OpenSocial, which is a set of common application programming interfaces (APIs) for building social...

IMLS internet report.(News)(Institute of Museum and Library Services )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The Institute of Museum and Library Services has released the results of a national study on the use of libraries, museums, and the internet. The report, sponsored through a cooperative agreement with a University of North Carolina at Chapel...

Teeming with technology.(News)(Lewis Library and Technology Center )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Located in downtown Fontana and part of the San Bernadino County (Calif.) County Library, the new Lewis Library and Technology Center opened April 19 featuring every high-tech option known to...

Drm-free audiobooks.(TECH BRIEFS)(OverDrive will offer downloadable audiobooks without digital rights management )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Beginning in May, OverDrive will offer downloadable audiobooks without digital rights management that will be compatible with most MP3 players and mobile phones. Thousands of titles will be sold at borders.com, and a limited selection of...

Alternative master file formats.(TECH BRIEFS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the Dutch national library in the Hague, has released a study on the usefulness of JPEG 2000, PNG 1.2, Basic JFIF 1.02, and TIFF LZAW formats for storing master files of digitization projects as part of a review of...

Facebook adds privacy, chat options.(TECH BRIEFS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Facebook introduced new friend list-based privacy controls at a March 18 press conference, in which users can set specific privacy levels for different friend groups. Facebook also demonstrated a forthcoming instant messaging application for...

LC launches interactive site.(TECH BRIEFS)(Library of Congress launched myLOC.gov)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The Library of Congress launched myLOC.gov, an online companion to the real-world Library of Congress Experience, April 12. The web site mirrors the exhibit with interactive and educational features on the Early Americas, and also functions...

Digital Defense: A Primer for the Preservation of Digital Materials
May 1, 2008... Digital preservation is a set of activities aimed at ensuring access to digital materials over time. Materials to be preserved must be assessed, selected, and brought under the control of the custodial institution. Descriptive metadata,...

Syndicate to Communicate: Exert Greater Control over Your Web Presence with RSS
May 1, 2008... Libraries are constantly changing--with new collections, technologies, services, and events. Consequently, a library's website must be frequently updated to reflect these changes. Some libraries have no access to the server that hosts their...

Spring Awakening: Creativity Is Busting out All Over
May 1, 2008... Spring is gorgeous in Seattle, from the crocuses in late January through cherry blossoms on the Quad in March and tulips and flowering trees in April, and the promise that the sun will, one day, return. This spring was set off for me this year...

How the World Sees Us
May 1, 2008... "Kindle includes wireless access to Wikipedia. I do not need wireless access to Wikipedia. I would prefer to stir-fry my own small intestines than to have continual access to a site where the entry for Klingon is longer than the entry for...

Spurning "Burning": School Librarians Must Avoid Despair and Remain Constant Gardeners
May 1, 2008... This library print collection is, for all intents and purposes, lifeless." This is the final line of "Burning with Frustration," Thomas Washington's September 2007 "On My Mind" column on weeding collections and the lack of interest in reading...

The Elusive E-Book: Are E-Books Finally Ready for Prime Time?
May 1, 2008... In the 12 years I've been researching electronic publishing, a lot of predictions have been made. Had the pundits been correct, half of reading material today would be delivered electronically. In spite of these rosy predictions, individual...

Killed by Kindness: How Well-Intentioned Nostalgia Harms Today's Library
May 1, 2008... "I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library." That oft-quoted remark by Jorge Luis Borges sounds so sweet, so gentle and civilized, so inordinately flattering to libraries. Alas, it is not. Why? Because paradise is a place...

Minds at Play: Teens Gain 21st-Century Literacy Skills Designing Their Own Computer Games
May 1, 2008... The effects of video games on learning and skill development are being widely studied, and the findings are impacting the way educators envision the shape of the 21st-century classroom. Most research has focused upon the learning behavior of...

Information Invigoration: The 2008 List of Outstanding Reference Sources Indicates a Renewed Interest Via Print and Online
May 1, 2008... Gross, chair of the 2007 Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Outstanding Reference Sources Committee and electronic resources librarian for the Missouri Library Network Corporation in St. Louis, says that this year's choices for...

Let's Meet over Books: Authors Rule as Public Librarians Gather in Minneapolis
May 1, 2008... In Minneapolis for the 12th biennial National Conference of the Public Library Association (PLA), March 25-29, public librarians from across the country and around the world gathered for a week of discussions, seminars, exhibits, and programs....

Steve Alleman.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... The University of Missouri at Kansas City has appointed Steve Alleman head of collections.

Meg Anthony.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... Meg Anthony became head of youth services at Deerfield (Ill.) Public Library in March.

Jeffrey Barton.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... In April Jeffrey Barton joined Princeton (N.J.) University as cataloger for Cotsen Children's Library.

Michael Blackwell.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... Michael Blackwell is the new manager of the Dublin branch of Columbus (Ohio) Metropolitan Library.

Amy Buhler.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... Amy Buhler has been named science and technology librarian at the University of Florida's Marston Science Library in Gainesville.

Katie Clark.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... The University of Rochester (N.Y.) has promoted Katie Clark to associate dean of public services and collection development.

Elizabeth A. Curry.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... In March Elizabeth A. Curry became director of library public services for Alachua County (Fla.) Library District.

Kevin Davis.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... Kevin Davis has been promoted to director of libraries for the city of South Portland, Maine. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Rose Dawson.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... Alexandria (Va.) Public Library has promoted Rose Dawson to director.

Elizabeth L. Elder.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... April 28 Elizabeth L. Elder became director of Salt Lake City Public Library.

Samuel T. Huang.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... The University of Florida in Gainesville has named Samuel T. Huang associate dean for advancement and development.

Lace Keaton.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... March 17 Lace Keaton became director of Okefenokee Regional Library System in Waycross, Georgia.

Anne Kenney.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... Anne Kenney was promoted to university librarian at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, March 31.

Lillian Lewis.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... Lillian Lewis, program officer for SOLINET's Historically Black Colleges and Universities Library Alliance in Atlanta, will leave SOLINET May 31.

Gladys Maharam.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... Gladys Maharam, deputy director of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, retired March 14.

Suzanne McGowan.(Currents)
May 1, 2008... Jefferson County (Colo.) Public Library has appointed Suzanne McGowan as manager of the Standley Lake branch. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]