American Libraries articles from November 2008

American Libraries archives from November 2008

Learning the Hard Way
November 1, 2008... Where is the outrage?" asked Garrison Keillor in his syndicated column, calling the federal bailout of the financial market "a calamity people accept as if it were just one more hurricane.... It wasn't their money they were playing with," he...

Access for All: Building Bridges to Information through Services
November 1, 2008... Access to information. How often have you used that phrase? What does it mean when you say it? The phrase resembles a Rorschach inkblot test, capable of many different meanings. During recent international conference visits, I have learned how...

Money Watch: ALA's Financial Forecast Remains Good-For Now
November 1, 2008... Most everyone is concerned about the world financial crisis and how it is affecting us personally, at our places of employment, and within the American Library Association. We wish we knew how bad the crisis is going to get and when it will be...

Self-help books.(Cartoon)
November 1, 2008... Please Ask Librarian for Assistance [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

ALA launches user-centered website with new look, feel.(NEWS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Visitors to ALA's website will now discover a more user-centered site with a new look and feel, thanks to an upgrade that was unveiled September 23--the result of a two-year, member-driven redesign process. The revamped site features: a...

Batter up.(NEWS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Kentucky Library Association (KLA) President Fannie Cox (left) presents American Libraries Associate Editor Pamela Goodes with an engraved Louisville Slugger baseball bat in appreciation for her October 2 "How to Get Published in American...

AL lifts member-only access restrictions.(NEWS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... American Libraries, ALA's flagship magazine, celebrated the first Open Access Day October 14 by opening up its content on the Web and making its companion weekly e-news-letter, American Libraries Direct, available to anyone for the asking....

ALTA approves new bylaws and name.(NEWS)(Association for Library Trustees and Advocates)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... As as result of a special election, ALA's Association for Library Trustees and Advocates (ALTA) is now the Association for Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends, and Foundations (ALTAFF). The vote was 293 to 31, out of 1,166 ballots mailed....

AASL longitudinal study results released.(NEWS)(American Association of School Librarians)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Nearly 7,000 public and independent school library media specialists responded to the 2008 School Libraries Count! longitudinal study conducted by ALA's American Association of School Librarians. The annual survey gathered data in a...

ALA opposes initial financial bailout bill.(NEWS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... ALA signed on with several groups representing advocates for open and transparent government September 23, "strongly opposing" section 2 (b) (2) and section 8 of the Legislative Proposal for Treasury Authority to Purchase Mortgage - Related...

ALA EVENTS.(CALENDAR)(Brief article)(Calendar)
November 1, 2008... Nov. 7-9: Young Adult Literature Symposium, Nashville, Tennessee, www.ala.org/yalsa. Nov. 15: National Gaming Day@ your library, www .ala.org. Jan. 23-28, 2009: Midwinter Meeting, Denver, www.ala.org. Mar. 8-14: Teen Tech Week,...

Members take concerns to congress.(NEWS)(Margaret Conroy and Mary Clare Zales stressed the importance of high-speed broadband for libraries)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Missouri State Librarian Margaret Conroy and Pennsylvania State Librarian Mary Clare Zales recently testified before congressional committees on behalf of ALA. Speaking before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation...

Candidates receive CPLA Certification.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The ALA-Allied Professional Association Certified Public Library Administrator Program (CPLA) Certification Review Committee has granted certification to two candidates, approved eight new candidates, and renewed seven program courses. The...

Member alert: ALA election process goes all-online.(NEWS)(American Library Association)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... ALA will hold its first all online election in spring 2009. ALA President Jim Rettig said September 29 that since online voting was first introduced as an option five years ago, the number of members using the Web to cast ballots has...

Survey says Champions believe in libraries.(NLibrary Champions Benefits Survey EWS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The results of a 2008 ALA Library Champions Benefits Survey reveals that ALA's major funders became interested in the program due to their belief in the importance of librarians and librarians (38.1%), increased activity in the library...

Library Card Sign-up numbers rise sharply.(NEWS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... As Americans deal with a slumping economy, U.S. libraries are experiencing a dramatic increase in library card registration. According to a 2007 Harris Interactive poll released September 22 during Library Card Sign-up Month, 68% of Americans...

Free gaming day resources available.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Libraries of all types are invited to join in the first annual National Gaming Day @ your library November 15 by registering for two gaming activities--a national video game tournament and a board game challenge. The videogame tournament...

Demco is new King Award funder.(NEWS)(Demco is the official funder of the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustration)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Demco is now the official funder of the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustration. Sponsored by ALA's Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, the King Author and Illustrator Awards were established in 1969 to recognize...

Great Stories CLUB grant deadline nears.(NEWS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... ALA's Public Programs Office and Young Adult Library Services Association are accepting online applications until November 14 at www.ala.org/greastories from all types of libraries for the latest round of Great Stories CLUB (Connecting...

"Pride and passion" libraries selected.(NEWS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... ALA's Public Programs Office, in association with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, has selected 25 libraries to host "Pride and Passion: The African American Baseball Experience," a traveling exhibition telling the story of...

"Step up to the plate" MVP announced.(NEWS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... ALA's latest "Step Up to the Plate @ your library" Most Valuable Player (MVP) is Maplewood Junior/Senior High School library in Guys Mills, Pennsylvania. The library brought in nearly 200 entries for this year's program, which concluded...

The Association's Associations: RUSA.(NEWS)(Reference and User Services Association )(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... RUSA OFFERS VARIED SERVICES The Reference and User Services Association helps information professionals by providing the resources they need to deliver the best service. MARK YOUR CALENDARS At ALA's 2009 Midwinter Meeting, RUSA...

27 years of reading freely.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Banned Books Week--the observance marking the freedom to read, publish, and express opinions of all kinds--was celebrated September 27-October 4 at libraries and a variety of other locations across the country. Celebrated since 1982, the...

Virginia High - Schoolers Rally for Gay - Cure Books
November 1, 2008... Groups of students and parents staged rallies and presented some 85 books on homosexuality from a conservative Christian perspective for inclusion in the libraries at 11 schools in the Fairfax County (Va.) Public School District October 2. The...

Economic Uncertainty Spreads to Library Endowments
November 1, 2008... The stock market losses that have recently hit global markets might be taking some carefully stewarded library endowments along for the ride. Even as the market began its dramatic mid-September seesaw of alarming drops and partial recoveries,...

Timber Funds Won't Bail out Libraries
November 1, 2008... Among the extras added into the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which President Bush signed October 3, was nearly $1.7 billion in federal timber payments. The funds had been sought by four economically devastated Oregon counties...

Ambassador Scieszka.(U.S. & International)(Jon Scieszka)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Author Jon Scieszka shows off his National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Medal September 26 after receiving it from Librarian of Congress James H. Billington in Washington, D.C. The first ambassadorship of its kind was created to...

National medals for Service.(U.S. & International)(Miami-Dade Public Library System is one of the recipients 2008 National Medal for Museum and Library Service)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Miami-Dade Public Library System is one of 10 recipients of the 2008 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, presented October 7 at the White House by First Lady Laura Bush (left) and Institute of Museum and Library Services Director...

Sacramento Director Announces Retirement
November 1, 2008... Ending a seven-year tenure amid accusations of mismanagement, Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library Director Anne Marie Gold announced at a September 25 meeting of the library's governing board that she would retire, effective December 1. A...

Libraries Reach out after Hurricane Ike
November 1, 2008... Just two weeks after New Orleans evacuated in anticipation of Hurricane Gustav (AL, Oct., p. 29), Hurricane Ike's Category 2 force slammed across the Louisiana and southeast Texas coasts after pummeling the Caribbean. Ike left 140 people dead...

Happy 200th, Mr. Pratt.(U.S. & International)(Enoch Pratt Public Library)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Enoch Pratt Public Library staffers Holly Tominack, portraying a "Library Hon," and Vince Fitzpatrick, dressed as Enoch Pratt, roll out a book-shaped cake September 10 for the Bicentennial Birthday Celebration of the Baltimore library's...

EPA Reopens Five Shuttered Libraries
November 1, 2008... The five Environmental Protection Agency libraries whose closures in 2006 as part of a cost - cutting measure by President Bush elicited a storm of controversy (AL, Oct. 2006, p. 8) reopened September 30. In a report to Congress submitted in...

Trenton Library Plans to Close All Branches
November 1, 2008... A potential citywide budget deficit of as much as $28 million has led the Trenton (N.J.) Public Library to develop plans to close all four of its neighborhood branches. Library Director Kimberly Bray announced the library board's decision, which...

Lucky 13.(U.S. & International)(Jackson-George Regional Library System)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... A September 19 lunchtime visit to Jackson-George (Miss.) Regional Library System's Lucedale branch nets Thelma Killian (center) a Friends of the Library gift basket, presented by library Manager Becky Wheeler (left), marking the 100,000th...

A uke for you.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Patrons at Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts, can now check out ukuleles and instructional DVDs. Local music store owner Joe Blumenthal (center, flanked by Forbes staffers Benjamin Kalish, left, and Jason Mazzotta) donated the...

Nampa Board Restores Joy of Sex Books
November 1, 2008... The Nampa (Idaho) Public Library board voted unanimously September 5 to return to open circulation The Joy of Gay Sex and The New Joy of Sex in the latest move in a two-year battle between area social conservatives and freedom-to-read advocates...

Archivist sentenced for N.Y. library thefts.(Daniel D. Lorello )(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... A New York state archivist who stole hundreds of historical artifacts beginning in 2002 from the New York State Library was sentenced October 2 to two to six years in prison. Daniel D. Lorello must also pay $125,500 in restitution, to be...

Wales 1.(GLOBAL REACH)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The Cardiff Council's plan to sell up to 18,000 books from local libraries to generate as much as [pounds sterling]3 million ($5.2 million U.S.) in needed revenue hit a roadblock in September when groups opposed to auctioning off Welsh...

France 2.(GLOBAL REACH)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Music scholars were celebrating September 18 after the municipal library of Nantes announced it had stumbled upon a previously unknown score in its collection that had been composed by Mozart around 1787. Library staff came across the...

Germany 3.(GLOBAL REACH)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Berlin's Central and Regional Library estimates that up to 150,000 of its holdings were stolen by Nazis from Jews, freemasons, social democrats, and other minorities persecuted between 1933 and 1945. A project to identify looted items is...

India 4.(GLOBAL REACH)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Atif, the alleged Mujahideen militant killed in a September 19 police raid in Jamia Nagar, India, had formulated a unique code language to plan and execute the serial blasts in Delhi on September 13, say police sources. Five suspected...

China 5.(GLOBAL REACH)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... A digital library for the blind, where the visually impaired can listen to electronic books, music, or online lectures for free, has opened in Beijing. Located in the National Library, the facility was jointly set up by the Information Center...

New Zealand 6.(GLOBAL REACH)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The University of Waikato in Hamilton pulled a master's thesis by philosophy student Roel van Leeuwen from its shelves in September after the subject of the study, far-right activist and occultist Kerry Bolton, complained to the...

Cuba 7.(GLOBAL REACH)(Rhonda Neugebauer and Dana Lubow to support Cuban librarians)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... A plan to deliver a bookmobile from the United States started with two U.S. librarians, Rhonda Neugebauer and Dana Lubow, who had organized librarian delegations to the island and wanted to support Cuban librarians, who had told them that a...

Book Festival Draws 120,000
November 1, 2008... More than 120,000 book lovers gathered September 27 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the eighth annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush. [ILLUSTRATION...

Border Location Offers Unique Opportunities for Reforma Attendees
November 1, 2008... President Luis Chaparro called the 452 attendees including 61 exhibitors, at the Reforma National Conference part of an extended family. The gathering of the American Library Association's affiliate organization, the National Association to...

Topic modeling research grant to Yale.(TECHNOLOGY)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Yale University Library has received a $749,990 National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for its "Improving Search and Discovery of Digital Resources Using Topic Modeling" project. Topic modeling is an...

Michigan Evergreen grows.(TECH NEWS IN BRIEF)(Niles District Library joined Branch District Library and Grand Rapids Public Library as pilot libraries on the Michigan Evergreen )(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Niles District Library joined Branch District Library and Grand Rapids Public Library as pilot libraries on the Michigan Evergreen shared ILS October 6. The final four pilot libraries--Traverse Area District Library, Interlochen Public...

Website usability.(TECH NEWS IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Jessica Hupp offered a 57-point checklist for website usability at the Virtual Hosting blog September 4. Reminders include providing contact information, minimizing the number of needed plug-ins, using alt and title tags, and testing the site...

Read banned blogs.(TECH NEWS IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... At his Blue Skunk Blog September 23, Doug Johnson proposed a Blocked Bytes Week. Like Banned Books Week, Blocked Bytes Week would take on censorship and celebrate the freedom to read, but with an emphasis on the freedom to read online.

WorldCat via iPhone.(TECH NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... OCLG has created a WorldCat interface designed for the iPhone or iPod Touch. The interface can be accessed at mobileworldcat.org,

Enhanced Book Search API.(TECH NEWS IN BRIEF)(Google Book Search application programming interface )(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Google has released a collection of new tools for the Google Book Search application programming interface that allow book previews to be embedded on websites. The tools also allow sites to display full-text search results from Book Search,...

OverDrive compatible with Zune.(TECH NEWS IN BRIEF)
November 1, 2008... OverDrive has released its Media Console v3. 1 update. The new release makes OverDrive's audiobooks compatible with Microsoft's Zune digital media player.

Single sign-on.(TECH NEWS IN BRIEF)(Serials Solutions has introduced Single Sign - On)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Serials Solutions has introduced Single Sign - On access control for the 360 Search federated search service. When activated, users need to authenticate only once per session and can move between 360 Search and native resource interfaces.

Cloud computing prevalent.(TECH NEWS IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Most Americans, 69%, use cloud computing applications, even though few are aware of the term, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project's Use of Cloud Computing Applications and Services report. Web-mail services are the most...

Firefox functions.(TECH NEWS IN BRIEF)(Firefox 3)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Firefox 3 is known for its extendability, but it also has some built - in functions that are frequently overlooked. PC Magazine reported on "8 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do" September 29, including "smart bookmarks" that generate lists...

Save Sites for later.(TECH NEWS IN BRIEF)(Instapaper)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... At the Mashable blog September 15, Palin Ningthoujam identified 11 services for helping to collect URLs that are worth checking out but that you're too busy to look at right away. Making his cut are Instapaper, which enables later viewing on...

Digitizing bin Laden.(Yale University Library archives Osama bin Laden audiotapes)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Yale University Library is processing, preserving, and archiving 1,500 audio tapes recorded in Osama bin Laden's Afghanistan headquarters from 1988 through 2000. The collection includes recordings of religious sermons, celebrations after...

Google Stops: A Cautionary Tale Warns of Technological Hubris
November 1, 2008... The Machine Stops" is a cautionary tale about overdependence on technology. In a future world, all of humanity lives, literally, within the confines of the Machine, which provides for all of their needs, both bodily and mentally. All...

CMS for Next-Gen Websites Using Drupal to Manage Library Web Content
November 1, 2008... The past few years have seen tremendous growth in what is possible for a library's web presence. No longer limited to static websites, we can now make our sites more dynamic, more participatory, and easier for staff to manage. And it doesn't...

How the World Sees Us
November 1, 2008... "I wanted to be a children's book author and a librarian." Actress JENNIFER GARNER, reminiscing about her childhood while visiting her home town of Charleston, West Virginia, People, Sept. 20. "When you spend all your money on bombs, you...

Not Just the Facts: Toward a Library and Information Humanities
November 1, 2008... When I explain to people that I am studying library and information science, I always cringe a little at the word "science." It seems like such a misleading name for the field, given that so much of what librarians engage in--from reader's...

Are You Following Me? in Today's Libraries, Training Is Paramount, and That Calls for Leadership
November 1, 2008... Mary Lou Brown works on a busy circulation desk. One minute she is teaching patrons to use the new self-checkout stations, the next minute she is answering questions about how to download audiobooks to an iPod. Later this afternoon Mary Lou will...

After-School Success Stories; in Six Years of Trial and Error, a Grassroots Effort to Save a School District Has Blossomed into a Thriving After-School Program Helping Thousands of At-Risk Students
November 1, 2008... Ohio's Maple Heights School District was in a state of academic emergency. The district scored abysmally on its 2002-2003 year-end report card, meeting only 6 of 22 minimum requirements on the Ohio Department of Education's state indicator...

It's Never Too Late to Retool: An Uprooted Public Librarian Adjusts to a High-Tech Academic Environment
November 1, 2008... Much has been written about teaching information literacy to library users and about in-service training for library professionals and paraprofessionals, but little has been said about mid-career librarians who must retrain when moving from an...

Public Library Ratings Corrected
November 1, 2008... Technology is a wonder; it can also be a horror," says Thomas J. Hennen Jr., whose eighth public library rankings article appeared in the October issue of American Libraries (p. 56-61). Just after the issue went to print, Hennen discovered an...

ALSC Institute Opens with a Utah "How Ya Doin'?"
November 1, 2008... What can be better than a lively library conference with fabulous speakers, down-home hospitality, tons of networking opportunities, and a bit of silliness? A "Yee-haw!" welcome by Provo (Utah) City Library Director Gene Nelson, wearing...

Laurie Allen.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... Haverford (Pa.) College has appointed Laurie Allen coordinator for research, instruction, and outreach.

Jose L. Aranda.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... Jose L. Aranda has joined Dona Ana Community College in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as instructor for the library science program.

David Baldwin.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... David Baldwin is the new associate dean of the library at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

Robert D. Briell.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... October 31 Robert D. Briell retired after 25 years as director of Warren--Trumbull County (Ohio) Public Library.

Dawn Cadogan.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... Valdosta (Ga.) State University has named Dawn Cadogan reference librarian and instructor of library science. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Patrick Carr.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... Patrick Carr has joined East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, as electronic and continuing resources acquisitions coordinator.

Ian Chan.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... Ian Chan has been appointed web development librarian at California State University in San Marcos.

Margaret Cincotta.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... Margaret Cincotta became director of Garden City (N.Y.) Public Library October 13.

Eleanor Cook.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, has named Eleanor Cook assistant director for collections and technical services.

Christopher Cronin.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... Christopher Cronin has joined the University of Chicago as director of metadata and cataloging services. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Barbara Custen.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... The County of Los Ang]eles Public Library has appointed Barbara Custen assistant director for public services.

David D' Onofrio.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... David D' Onofrio recently became special collections librarian at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

H Jennifer Doty.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... H Jennifer Doty joined the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as city and regional planning librarian August 13.

Barbara Doyle-Wilch.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... July 1 Barbara Doyle-Wilch retired as dean of library and information services at Middlebury (Vt.) College.

Marguerite Dube.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... Marguerite Dube has been promoted to director of Chester County (Pa.) Library.

Greg Edwards.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has promoted Greg Edwards to library services director. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Elizabeth Fowler.(Currents)
November 1, 2008... On September 15 Elizabeth Fowler became director of Chesapeake (Va.) Public Library. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]