American Libraries articles from May 2010

American Libraries archives from May 2010

Tell Us a Story
May 1, 2010... There's nothing quite so satisfying as a good story well told. We all tell stories, and libraries are the best places in the world to share them. With a growing national trend toward taking advantage of the cultural and literary programs,...

New Normal for Libraries: Embracing Today's Challenges for a Better Tomorrow
May 1, 2010... I was recently invited to address librarians, support staff, and administrators at one of our largest public library systems about dealing with changing and challenging times for their libraries. For my talk, I borrowed a term we hear frequently...

Corner books: out of business.(Commic)(Cartoon)
May 1, 2010... MORE PEOPLE ARE USING THE LIBRARY THESE DAYS THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S FREE. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EVERYTHING HAS A COST.

Correction.(Correction notice)
May 1, 2010... CORRECTION: Robert Walton, an administrator at Claremont University Consortium, was incorrectly identified as Robert Wilson (March, p. 43). AL apologizes for the error.

Yes, we have books about the fear of heights.(Commic)(Cartoon)
May 1, 2010... "Yes, we have books about the fear of heights. They're on the top shelf." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Raise funds with "Dinners for Spectrum Scholars".(ALA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... ALA President Camila Alire, President-elect Roberta Stevens, and Immediate Past President Jim Rettig have joined together for a special year-long Spectrum presidential initiative to raise $1 million for the Spectrum Scholarship Program. ALA Past...

Kettering names ALA as Center for Public Life.(ALA)(American Library Association and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... ALA and the Kettering Foundation have signed a research agreement to establish a Center for Public Life. The center will train librarians from different types of libraries to convene and moderate deliberative forums that will frame issues of...

Spring is time to "Step Up to the Plate".(ALA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... Season five of "Step Up to the Plate @ your library," sponsored by ALA's Campaign for America's Libraries and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's Step Up to the Plate program, is open for registration at ala.org@yourlibrary, click on...

Candidates Sought for 2011 Election
May 1, 2010... The ALA 2011 Nominating Committee is soliciting nominees to run on the 2011 spring ballot for the offices of ALA president and councilor-at-large. The committee will select two candidates to run for president-elect and no fewer than 51...

The Association's Associations: ALTAFF
May 1, 2010... LET ALTAFF SHOW YOU THE MONEY Even as the national economy seems to be eking out a small recovery, libraries of all types across the country continue to reduce staff and hours, or close altogether. What's a librarian to do? Many librarians...

Hemingway Home named landmark.(ALA)(Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida, has been designated a Literary Landmark by ALA's Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends, and Foundations. The dedication ceremony was held March 14 during the finale of...

Calendar.(ALA)
May 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,...

Honorary member nominations open.(ALA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... 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 of...

Louisiana advocates.(ALA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... ALA President Camila Alire (far right) joins members of the Louisiana Library Association (LLA) during its 84th annual conference, "Louisiana Libraries: The Heart of Our Communities," in Baton Rouge March 10-12. Alire hosted a preconference on...

State of America's Libraries: Usage Soars, Funding Shrinks
May 1, 2010... When jobs go away, Americans turn to their libraries to find information about future employment or educational opportunities. This library usage trend and others are detailed in the 2010 State of America's Libraries report, released April 11 by...

Public Librarians Rally for Centrality
May 1, 2010... I spent my entire childhood at the library," singer Natalie Merchant exulted during a surprise appearance that opened the Public Library Association's national conference in Portland. Noting that Leonardo da Vinci was her idol when she was 7,...

Faculty Survey Tracks Changing Perceptions of Campus Libraries
May 1, 2010... A new survey of U.S. colleges and universities has some troubling findings for libraries about their declining use by faculty, but also holds clues as to how they can maintain their relevance. The report of the results, Faculty-Survey 2009:...

Global Reach
May 1, 2010... HAITI (1) A Duke University graduate student has discovered what is believed to be the only known printed copy of Haiti's Declaration of Independence. While researching the early independence of Haiti in February, Julia Gaffield found the...

Will Social Media Activism Reverse the Fortunes of Besieged Libraries?
May 1, 2010... Library workers and supporters nationwide are turning to social media to spread the word about proposed funding cuts and recruit advocates. Despite what looks to be a very bleak FY 2011, social media blitzes to stave off cuts for the current...

Gates Foundation, IMLS Research Proves Patrons Value Online Access
May 1, 2010... The economic downturn has led to dramatic increases in library visitation across the nation, including unprecedented demand for free computer and internet access. Over the last year, Americans have flocked to libraries to go online and find help...

American Libraries: "Read for Your Life" Is Your Ambassadorship Theme. Why?
May 1, 2010... American Libraries: "Read for Your Life" is your ambassadorship theme. Why? KATHERINE PATERSON: I wanted to talk about a broad range of things that would be inclusive of not only reading that you do for your own enjoyment, nourishment, and...

How the World Sees Us
May 1, 2010... "Before parents accept the wisdom of a school board to cut school librarians, they should ask: Will my child graduate with a 21st-century resume, or a 19th-century transcript?... As the information landscape becomes ever more complex, why does...

Let's Review Everything: Why Stop at Books?
May 1, 2010... For many years, readers' advisory has been a fundamental and valuable library service that has helped library patrons and others decide what books to borrow from a library or to buy from a book dealer. Librarians have also been prolific writers...

Gadgets and Gizmos: Personal Electronics and the Library
May 1, 2010... If we think back, we can imagine a time before the book and, once books became inexpensive and widespread, what a revolutionary and democratizing tool the book was for sharing information. It must have been incredible to think that you could...

The Biggest Front Porch: The Medium Changes the Way We Tell Our Stories
May 1, 2010... There are few pleasures in life as rewarding as being in the presence of a great storyteller--an opportunity I get every year when the University of Washington SLIS hosts the Spencer Shaw Lecture, in honor of our beloved emeritus faculty member....

Dipping into the Stream: Building Collegial Ties on Twitter and FriendFeed
May 1, 2010... When you think of Twitter, you might think of Oprah. You might think of Ashton Kutcher. But do you think of Roy Tennant, Jessamyn West, and ALA's Association of College and Research Libraries? While social networks are useful for keeping up with...

From Children's Literature to Readers Theatre: Get Kids Excited and Engaged with Books by Getting Them Onstage
May 1, 2010... Five 2nd-graders stand before a group of 20 preschool children sitting on the rug in the library's story area. Each of them is holding a hardback copy of Eric Rohmann's picture book A Kitten Tale (Knopf, 2008). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After...

A Literature of Risk: Teens Dealing with Violence and Other Risky Behaviors Can Get Help from Young Adult Fiction
May 1, 2010... Risky behaviors remain very real factors in the daily lives of 21st-century teens. Ranging from physical and emotional violence to drug and alcohol abuse, from risky sexual practices resulting in STDs and unintended pregnancies to driving...

Fixing the Federal Depository Library Program: The System Must Respond to the Digital Age and a Weakened Economy
May 1, 2010... In April 2009, the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) released its updated Federal Depository Library Program Strategic Plan, 2009-2014 (tinyurl.com/y8xde7c), which summarizes the current condition of the Federal Depository Library Program...

Those Who Can Do. Those Who Can Do More, Volunteer: A Thriving Volunteer Workforce Can Help Libraries Fill the Gaping Holes Caused by Funding Reductions, Staff Cuts, and Reduced Hours
May 1, 2010... The world is in fiscal meltdown, with libraries feeling the heat. Layoffs and budgets cuts in Philadelphia, threatened branch closings in Boston, reduced hours and services in Charlotte, North Carolina: These big stories overshadow how commonly...

Everyday Existence: The Founder of StoryCorps Talks about the Central Role of Libraries in This National Oral History Project That Records the Lives of Ordinary People
May 1, 2010... A confession: I am a library freak. I believe deeply in the importance of libraries and think of librarians as some of the most amazing, committed, brilliant, and radical professionals I've ever been lucky enough to meet and work with. I believe...

Barbara A. Bintliff.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Barbara A. Bintliff has been appointed director at University of Texas's Tarlton Law Library in Austin.

Kathleen M. Carney.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Kathleen M. Carney has been named director of library services at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Jennifer Chamberlain.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Jennifer Chamberlain has been appointed library director at the University of Wisconsin-Washington County in West Bend.

Karen Bosch Cobb.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * April 2 Karen Bosch Cobb retired as library director at Fresno County (Calif.) Public Library.

Nancy Coriaty.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Nancy Coriaty has been promoted to deputy town librarian at Fairfield (Conn.) Public Library.

Janet Crozier.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * In June Janet Crozier will retire as director of Acton Public Library in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

James L. Farrell Jr.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * James L. Farrell Jr. has been appointed director of the Ossining (N.Y.) Public Library.

Riva Feshbach.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Riva Feshbach has joined the Columbia College Chicago Library as outreach librarian.

Chris Freeman.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * March 1 Chris Freeman became city librarian for Stockton--San Joaquin County (Calif.) Public Library.

Kari Garman.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Kari Garman is now director of Hudson (III.) Area Public Library District.

Gary Hausman.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * In March Gary Hausman was appointed South Asia librarian at Princeton (N.J.) University's Firestone Library.

Sara Heitshu.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Sara Heitshu retired as librarian at the University of Arizona Libraries in Tucson January 15.

Hal Hubener.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * April 30 Hal Hubener retired as director of Blue Ridge Regional Library in Martinsville, Virginia.

Jill Dugas Hughes.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Jill Dugas Hughes became executive director for the Connecticut Library Consortium in Middletown March 1.

Bill Landis.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * March 1 Bill Landis was appointed head of special collections research and instructional services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mark Lester.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Mark Lester has retired from San Diego State University as director of access, administrative operations, and communications.

Margaret Grasberger Lindem.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * March 8 the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia appointed Margaret Grasberger Lindem head of the Veterinary Libraries.

Mary Ann Louviere.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Mary Ann Louviere retired March 26 as manager of the Pascagoula (Miss.) branch of the Jackson-George Regional Library System. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Jeanne McDermott.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * March 24 Jeanne McDermott was appointed school and library marketing consultant at Egmont USA in New York City.

Claire Schubel McLaughlin.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * In April Claire Schubel McLaughlin retired from Canton (Mich.) Public Library as head of the technical services department. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Sonja Melton.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Sonja Melton has he-come manager of the Portage County (Ohio) District Library's Pierce-Streetsboro branch.

Mary Nacu.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Mary Nacu became assistant library director at San Jose (Calif.) Public Library in March.

Danuta A. Nitecki.(Currents)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * In January Danuta A. Nitecki joined Drexel University in Philadelphia as dean of libraries and professor in its College of Information Science and Technology. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Atifa Rawan.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Atifa Rawan retired as librarian at the University of Arizona Libraries in Tucson March 13.

Karen Ronald.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * February 2 Karen Ronald was named town librarian for Fairfield (Conn.) Public Library.

Tinsley Silcox.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Tinsley Silcox recently became director of Green Library and Information Services at St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas.

Joan Smith.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * February 28 Joan Smith retired as head librarian of Capital Area District Library's Okemos branch in Lansing, Michigan.

Sarah Stoody.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * In March Sarah Stoody joined Bradford County (Pa.) Library as children's librarian.

Margaret "Peg" Sullivan.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * In March Margaret "Peg" Sullivan became library marketing and sales manager at Smith System in Piano, Texas.

Bonnie Travers.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * April 2 Bonnie Travers retired as associate librarian in special collections at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Patricia Tully.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * Patricia Tully was appointed university librarian at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, March 1.

Mike Wasilick.(Currents)
May 1, 2010... * March 29 Mike Wasilick was named director of Wake County (N.C.) Public Libraries.

Eric Young.(Currents)(assistant dean Law Library and Information Technology Center )(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * In March Eric Young became assistant dean of the Law Library and Information Technology Center and assistant professor of law at the Shepard Broad Law Center of Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale-Davie, Florida. [ILLUSTRATION...

Linda Blake.(CITED)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * The Faculty Assembly at West Virginia University Library in Morgantown has selected Linda Blake, science librarian and electronic journal coordinator, as its outstanding librarian for 2010.

Jennifer Lohmann.(CITED)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * Jennifer Lohmann, reference librarian at Durham County (N.C.) Library, has been named the 2010 Romance Writers of America's Librarian of the Year. She was selected for her efforts in support of romance authors and the romance genre represented...

John Amundsen.(At ALA)
May 1, 2010... * In November 2009 John Amundsen was promoted to communications specialist in the Office of Literacy and Outreach Services.

Elise Fette.(At ALA)
May 1, 2010... * Elise Fette became manager of professional development for the American Association of School Librarians in March.

Jenni Fry.(At ALA)
May 1, 2010... * In April Jenni Fry became managing editor for ALA Editions.

Michael Gallego.(At ALA)
May 1, 2010... * In April Michael Gallego became development coordinator for the Development Office.

Oliver Murdock.(At ALA)
May 1, 2010... * Oliver Murdock, administrative assistant in the Washington Office, left ALA March 16.

Molly Sasajima.(At ALA)
May 1, 2010... * March 17 Conference Services' Administrative Assistant Molly Sasajima left ALA.

Christine Schwab.(At ALA)
May 1, 2010... * Christine Schwab, managing editor for ALA Editions, left March 26.

Correction.(At ALA)(Correction notice)
May 1, 2010... * December 22 Kenneth A. Yamashita retired as city librarian at Stockton-San Joaquin County (Calif.) Public Library.

Esther Green Bierbaum.(OBITUARIES)
May 1, 2010... * Esther Green Bierbaum, 81, professor emerita at the University of Iowa's School of Library and Information Science in Iowa City, died February 14.

Sara Jean Davis.(OBITUARIES)
May 1, 2010... * Sara Jean Davis, 57, librarian at Kleberg Elementary School in Dallas, Texas, died in a motorcycle accident March 18.

Richard Sweeney Halsey.(OBITUARIES)(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * Richard Sweeney Halsey, 80, dean at the School of Information Science and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York, from 1981-93, died March 28 after a short illness.

Helga Herz.(OBITUARIES)
May 1, 2010... * Helga Herz, 97, who retired in 1978 as a librarian for the Detroit Public Library, died of leukemia February 27.

Thomas C. Hobbs.(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * Thomas C. Hobbs, 61, reference librarian and assistant professor at the University of South. Carolina at Aiken, died of a heart attack February 28. Hobbs's interest in obituaries as a re search tool led to the Hobbs creation of the Obituraries...

Burton Joseph.(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * Burton Joseph, 79, died of brain cancer March 31. Joseph, a civil liberties lawyer in Chicago, was counsel for the American Library Association in a 1997 suit brought by nearly 20 organizations against a provision of the Communications Decency...

Lillian Lewis.(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * Lillian Lewis, 48, died April 10. Lewis was a former ALA employee who worked in several different units before leaving, most recently the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies and the Reference and User Services...

Liz Oesleby.(OBITUARIES)
May 1, 2010... * Liz Oesleby, 69, died of cancer April 1. She was director of library services at the American University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Donald P. Panzera.(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * Donald P. Panzera, 63, chief of European and Latin American acquisitions at the ibrary of Congress in Washington, D. G., until his retirement in 2007, died March 22 from multiple myeloma.

Marjorie Pierce.(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 1, 2010... * Marjorie Pierce, 92, died March 4. She was library director at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, where she helped get the library involved with Nelinet and taught courses in library science, for more than a decade until her retirement in...