American Libraries articles from September 2006

American Libraries archives from September 2006

Awards, and the Work That Wins Them
September 1, 2006... To be honest about it, I never really put much stock in awards. Oh sure, I watch the Oscars--but mostly to make fun of the gowns and the nominees for best song. I used to watch the Miss America Pageant, until it became, rather than amusing, kind...

Who Are You and What Do You Do?
September 1, 2006... Almost every day now I find myself talking to one reporter or another on topics from small-business services to foreign-language materials in libraries. A daylong media pitch tour in New York City with ALA's partner ProMedia Communications...

IMLS Funds Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship
September 1, 2006... The Institute of Museum and Library Services has awarded nearly $1 million to ALA's OFD and the University of Pittsburgh's School of Information Sciences for the new Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship that will offer tuition support and stipends to 10...

Dues increase phase-in underway.(American Library Association)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The three-year phased-in dues increase approved by ALA personal members to support the goals of the ALA Ahead to 2010 plan began September 1 (AL, June/July, p. 7--8). Several divisions and round tables also are instituting dues increases this...

ALA committee volunteers sought.(American Library Association)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... ALA President-Elect Loriene Roy is seeking applications and nominations for members to serve on the 2006--2007 ALA and Council committees, with the appointments to be effective at the conclusion of the 2007 Annual Conference in Washington,...

Juan Williams joins JCLC speakers list.(American Library Association)
September 1, 2006... Author and journalist Juan Williams will address the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color, "Gathering at the Waters: Embracing Our Spirits, Telling Our Stories," October 14 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Dallas to discuss his new book Enough:...

COA announces accreditation actions.(American Library Association)(Committee on Accreditation)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... ALA's COA has announced accreditation actions taken during the 2006 Annual Conference in New Orleans under the 1992 Standards for Accreditation of Master's Programs in Library and Information Studies. The accreditation of the following...

ALA wins Freedom of Speech Award.(American Library Association, Newberry Library)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Chicago's Newberry Library presented ALA with the John Peter Altgeld Freedom of Speech Award July 29 during the 20th Annual Bughouse Square Debates, a celebration of outdoor soapbox oratory sponsored by the library, in Washington Square Park....

AASL to support emerging leaders.(American Library Association)
September 1, 2006... AASL is supporting ALA President Leslie Burger's "Emerging Leaders 2007" initiative (AL, June/July, p. 12) by providing two of its members with $500 stipends for travel to attend meetings to be held in conjunction with ALA's Midwinter Meeting...

New CPLA online courses approved.(American Library Association)(Certified Public Library Administrator)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The ALA-APA Certified Public Library Administrator (CPLA) Program Certification Review Committee has approved two new online courses--Budget and Finance, and Organization and Personnel Management--the first library-school-sponsored courses to...

More hurricane donations needed.(American Library Association)
September 1, 2006... Thanks to donations from ALA's Hurricane Relief Fund, the Erath (La.) Middle School Library, which was flooded by a tidal surge, has $3,288 to rebuild its biographies section. Library supporters have provided $1,100 to the Sabine Parish (La.)...

JobLIST site combines online ads.(American Library Association)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Employers and job seekers in library and information science and technology now have a completely searchable and all-inclusive web resource at their command with the official launch of JoBLIST (joblist.ala.org). A joint project of...

ALA Non-MLS Survey available.(American Library Association)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The first edition of the ALA-APA Non-MLS Salary Survey, a companion report to the annual ALA-APA Survey of Librarian Salaries published in 2005, is now available. The survey, conducted by ALA-APA and ALA's ORS, is the first to collect...

Teen Tech Week logo winner named.(Ahmad Ghadban)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Ahmad Ghadban of the Wood County (Ohio) District Public Library is the winner of the YALSA Teen Tech Week (TTW) logo design contest Plug into Technology. Ghadban's logo will be used in marketing and promotional materials of the first TTW...

Lexington site of 2007 Arbuthnot Lecture.(American Library Association)
September 1, 2006... Lexington, Kentucky, will be the site of the 2007 ALSC May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture, to be delivered by children's illustrator and author Kevin Henkes March 4, hosted by the University of Kentucky's School of Library and Information...

Historic signing.(American Library Association)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Saif Al-Jabri (left), president of the Special Libraries Association's Arabian Gulf Chapter, and 2005-2006 ALA President Michael Gorman prepare to sign a memorandum of understanding May 31 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, recognizing the...

Reds and reading.(American Library Association)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... REDS AND READING grand-prize winners pose with Cincinnati Reds player Ryan Freel for a Read poster on view in each of the 42 Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County branches. The annual incentive program, which began on the Reds'...

Wellness check.(American Library Association)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... ALA Vice-President/President-Elect Loriene Roy (center) takes a break July 22 from a Native American health information services conference to visit the Placitas (N.Mex.) Community Library. Joining Roy are (from left) volunteer Rebecca Watson...

LITA Celebrates 40th Anniversary
September 1, 2006... The year 2006 marks the 40th anniversary of the Library and Information Technology Association--many years of providing services by and for its members and the profession. LITA is celebrating throughout the year in a variety of ways, and...

Net Neutrality and How It Just Might Change Everything
September 1, 2006... The alliance is unlikely: the American Library Association, actress Alyssa Milano, Ebay, the Gun Owners of America, musician Moby, Google, MoveOn.org, the Christian Coalition of America, Microsoft, and hundreds of other organizations, blogs, and...

House Passes Bill Restricting Social-Networking Sites
September 1, 2006... Schools and libraries that rely on e-rate funding would be required to prohibit minors from using chat rooms and social-networking sites like MySpace under legislation passed July 26 by the House of Representatives (AL, Aug., p. 10). By a 410-15...

"John Doe" Court Records Released
September 1, 2006... Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ordered August 2 the full disclosure of court records related to Doe v. Gonzales--the challenge to the FBI's 2005 demand that Connecticut's Library Connection consortium turn over records of patrons'...

Digital Transition Brings Changes to LC's Workforce
September 1, 2006... The growing emphasis on digital initiatives is compelling major shifts in the Library of Congress's workforce. In an August 16 article posted on the website of Government Executive magazine, LC Director for Workforce Acquisitions Bill Ayers said...

Congressional Management Foundation.(Washington Briefs)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... A recent survey by the Congressional Management Foundation found that over half of congressional staffers polled said they believe the form e-mails they receive from constituents are sent without the constituents' knowledge. The ALA...

National Museum and Library Services Board.(Washington Briefs)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The U.S. Senate confirmed California State Librarian Emeritus Kevin Starr and four other presidential nominees to serve as members of the National Museum and Library Services Board on August 3. The board advises the Institute of Museum and...

Indiana Librarian Triggers Nationwide Toxic-Toy Recall
September 1, 2006... A serendipitous conversation during a summer-reading promotion between an Indiana children's librarian and a staff member of Bloomington Hospital triggered the August recall of thousands of toys containing hazardous lead levels that libraries...

New WorldCat Search Site Offers Public Access
September 1, 2006... OCLC has launched a new destination website that will allow users to search the holdings of libraries participating in the WorldCat database directly rather than finding the records as part of search-engine results. The firm says the aim of...

Indianapolis board will recognize union.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library board agreed unanimously August 17 to recognize an employee union if enough workers support it. Board President Louis Mahern, who has previously resisted demands for collective bargaining, said in...

Tennessee judge rules library can privatize.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... A county chancery court has determined that the Jackson-Madison County (Tenn.) Library board is empowered to outsource the library's management to a private company. In his July 31 ruling, Chancellor James F. Butler said the board has the...

Providence to Keep Branches Open
September 1, 2006... After accepting a financial consultant's report that questioned the leadership ability of the Providence (R.I.) Public Library, the city's Finance Committee agreed to the report's recommendation July 20 to allocate an additional $250,000 to help...

NYPL's Reading Room No Longer in a Class by Itself
September 1, 2006... Some 25,000 reference books in the Rose Main Reading Room of the New York Public Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library are getting a new classification system this year. Since the 1890s, the Reading Room collection has been arranged...

University of California Joins Google Library Project
September 1, 2006... The University of California joined five other research libraries August 9 in Google's efforts to digitize books and provide access to their contents through its search engine. The deal covers more than 100 libraries on the university's 10...

Firings precede new DCPL Director.(U.S. and International)(District of Columbia Public Library)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Days before Ginnie Cooper began her tenure as director of the District of Columbia Public Library July 24, acting director Ellen M. Flaherty summarily dismissed five senior librarians. Board President John W. Hill said in the July 20...

Map Dealer Now Admits Library Theft
September 1, 2006... Some 10 months after pleading not guilty to stealing more than 100 rare maps worth about $3 million (AL, Sept. 2005, p. 14), map collector and dealer E. Forbes Smiley III pleaded guilty June 22 in federal court to one count of theft and later...

Shelters' privileges restored.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The board of the Porter County (Ind.) Public Library voted unanimously June 21 to rescind a month-old policy that had limited borrowing privileges for residents of any of the area's temporary shelters. The discarded policy had restricted...

Inmates challenge ban.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Two inmates have challenged a new policy that bans printed material containing nudity or sexual content from Indiana prisons. The class-action lawsuit, filed July 11 in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, says the policy, which went into...

LC preserves newscasts.(U.S. and International)(Library of Congress)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Library of Congress has entered a cooperative agreement to ensure the preservation of high-interest foreign news broadcasts such as those from the Arabic-language television channel Al Jazeerah. Under the agreement, SCOLA, a nonprofit...

Milwaukee school mandate.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Some three-dozen schools in the Milwaukee Public Schools system have been given 14 months to ensure that a licensed librarian oversees each of their libraries. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction June 26 released the results of an...

Seattle mourns librarian.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Hundreds of family and friends gathered July 20 along a hiking trail to honor the lives of Seattle school librarian Mary Cooper, 56, and her 27-year-old daughter Susanna Stodden. "We know there are bad people in the world," family friend Bill...

Library toe-sucker indicted.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... A grand jury indicted Joseph Colella, 28, for felony gross sexual imposition after he allegedly kissed a woman's foot and sucked her toe at the Boardman branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, Ohio. The woman said...

NYC libraries a line item.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has agreed to "baseline" funding for the library and two other programs, making them permanent allocations in the city's annual budget. In the past, libraries have been a part of what pundits have dubbed...

Texas State Library sues.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Texas State Library and Archives Commission in Austin has filed suit against Mary Ann Davis of Waco and the Robert E. Davis Family Trust to recover 48 documents relating to Texas history from the 1830s to the 1850s. The documents...

Branch manager reinstated.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... A federal magistrate has ordered the Rolling Hills Consolidated Library in St. Joseph, Missouri, to reinstate the manager of its Savannah branch, who was fired in May 2003 for refusing to work on Sundays because it conflicted with her...

Christie's sued over Torah.(U.S. and International)(Christie's International PLC)
September 1, 2006... Brooklyn, New York, antiques dealer Yosef Goldman has filed suit against Christie's auction house in New York to recover $358,000 he paid for a 13th-century Torah that the French National Library says was stolen sometime before Christie's put...

A flush fundraiser.(U.S. and International)
September 1, 2006... Cecil Kramer gets soaked at Dreamworks Animation's first annual Summer Carnival for its employees, held June 20 at the studio's campus in Glendale, California. The event raised over $10,000 to benefit Glendale Public Library's Children's...

Dog daze of Summer.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Hannah Kidder entrances pet-therapy poodle Eclipse and owner Marilou Kennedy with a good book at the Clermont County (Ohio) Public Library's Owensville branch. The three were among those participating in the "Going to the Dogs" summer reading...

By the numbers.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... 156,000 Visitors to Des Moines (Iowa) Public Library's new downtown facility between April 8 and June 28; and 194,163 Population of Des Moines, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 population estimate.--NBC affiliate WHO-TV, Des...

The children's garden.(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... THE CHILDREN'S GARDEN at the Wayzata branch of Hennepin County (Minn.) Library is the setting for Jennifer Smiggen as she plants a seed in a tabletop centerpiece provided by the local Garden Club. Some 260 other picnickers enjoyed a garden...

Racine racers.(U.S. and International)
September 1, 2006... Racine (Wis.) Public Library's Dragon Boat Team, "Powered by Imagination" (in green), also gets some power from its paddles at the Great Midwest Dragon Boat Festival in Racine July 8. The library took first place in the Nonprofit Challenge...

It's carnival time.(U.S. and International)(Caribbean carnival costumes)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Elementary-school student don festival attire August 5 during kick-off ceremonies for the month-long exhibit of Caribbean carnival costumes at Broward County (Fla.) Main Library in Fort Lauderdale. More than 300 people attended the event,...

It takes a library.(Hillary Rodham Clinton visits Blair Library)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Senator Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.) greets the staff of Fayetteville (Ark.) Public Library's Blair Library, named after former University of Arkansas political science professor Diane Divers Blair, a close friend of the Clintons who died in...

Osama bin Laden's Messages maintained.(Censorship Watch)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Members of the Marion County (Fla.) Commission voted 4-1 August 2 to retain Messages to the World: The Statement of Osama bin Laden in county libraries. The action was in response to the June 22 appeal by complainant Brian Creekbaum of his...

Londonistan flap flares in Brooklyn.(Censorship Watch)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library has been accused by Encounter Books publisher Roger Kimball of a left-wing selection bias because it declined to acquire the publishing house's controversial title Londonistan by Melanie Phillips until the adult...

A Visit to Cuba goes back to school libraries.(Censorship Watch)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... When the 2006-07 school year began August 14 for the Miami-Dade County (Fla.) Public Schools, the children's picture book A Visit to Cuba was part of media-center collections districtwide--by court order. A U.S. district court issued a...

Reading's Rocker.(FRIENDS IN DEED)
September 1, 2006... In 2004, Chicago-based singer-songwriter Alice Peacock founded Rock for Reading to fight illiteracy and renew interest in reading. The organization has raised nearly $100,000 and recently made its first round of annual grants to support...

Good public relations in the limelight.(CHEERS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Lee County (Fla.) Library System has won two state awards for its promotional campaign to increase the visibility of its annual daylong Southwest Florida Reading Festival. On August 3, LCLS won the first-ever Award for Overall Promotion...

It's rewarding, being green.(CHEERS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Ballard Library and Neighborhood Service Center of the Seattle Public Library was among the 2006 Top Ten Green Projects honored at the June conference of the American Institute of Architects by its Committee on the Environment....

Healthy advice pays off.(CHEERS)(National Commission on Libraries and Information Science )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science has given its Health Information Award for Libraries to South Carolina's REACH 2010 (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health), a national demonstration project...

Frogs, hats, Curious George ...(U.S. and International)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... ... readings, art, and magic highlighted a wide array of summer reading activities at public and school libraries nationwide. Frog and Toad from the books by Arnold Lobel inspect the stacks at the North Kansas City (Mo.) City Public...

Straight Answers from George Cigale
September 1, 2006... Over the past eight years, Tutor.com has changed the way librarians view online reference work. George Cigale, Tutor.com's CEO since co-founding the company in 1998, leveraged over 15 years of experience in tutoring and education services, most...

Thus Said ... How the World Sees Us
September 1, 2006... "Many libraries are attempting to fight this seasonal illiteracy by offering summer reading programs. They provide a list of suggested books and, occasionally, prizes as an incentive to actually read them. Unfortunately, the titles are about as...

Correction.(Correction notice)
September 1, 2006... Sen. Ted Stevens is a Republican from Alaska, not Arkansas (Aug., p. 9).

On My Mind: Empowerment through Discussion Groups
September 1, 2006... Librarians don't take enough time to talk to each other about the practical matters that concern the majority of our working hours. Attend any meeting and you'll find a frustrated committee chair trying to steer the conversation back to the...

The Next Big Library Legislative Issue: Taxpayers Are Storming the Fee-Based Barricades That Keep Them from Federally Funded Research
September 1, 2006... Sharon Terry is a highly visible advocate for the emerging issue of online public access to federally funded research. Her advocacy stems from painful personal experience. As a young mother, she learned that her two children had a rare and...

Bifurcate to Survive! to Today's Students, Libraries Mean "Books," Not "Information"; Addressing That Misconception May Be Essential to Our Continued Existence
September 1, 2006... According to Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources, a 2005 report from OCLC, the first thing 69% of people think of when they think of a library is "books." The next most common association, "information," is cited by only 12% of...

Time to Break out the Pinstripes: The For-Profit World Needs Us and Has the Cash to Pay Our Worth
September 1, 2006... The summer before my senior year in college was a momentous one because I concocted a plan for the rest of my life. I would begin by earning some advanced degrees--a master's in library science and another in history, specifically. Afterwards, I...

How to Be Popular: Two Prominent Educators Suggest Ways to Ensure Replacement of Our Aging Workforce
September 1, 2006... "Today's Most Unpopular Jobs." That was the March 3 headline at MSN.com. The story noted that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics had projected that certain jobs will experience a shortage of qualified workers. The list that followed cited...

A Morale Imperative
September 1, 2006... Juicy salaries notwithstanding, libraries must find ways to attract and keep good employees. A recent survey of library managers has revealed that many directors use their ingenuity to sustain productivity and improve staff morale. Released...

The Winners Circle: 2006 ALA Award Winners
September 1, 2006... There is no prouder moment for those who have dedicated their lives to a career in librarianship than being recognized by colleagues and friends for achievement above and beyond the ordinary. This year's winners circle of more than 250 awards,...

Interior Worlds: LAMA and IIDA Name the Best Library Interiors of 2006
September 1, 2006... The winners of the inaugural ALA/International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Library Interior Design Awards demonstrate "excellence in aesthetics, design creativity, function, and satisfaction of the client's objectives," according to the...

Currents: Professionals on the Move
September 1, 2006... In June Elizabeth Adelman was appointed head of collection management at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.) law library. * Paula Alston became director of Montgomery-Floyd (Va.) Regional Library August 1. * August 14 the San Francisco Public...

At ALA.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... July 17 Kathryn Deiss became a content strategist for the Association of College and Research Libraries. * Kimberly Epps joined ALA as a senior registration coordinator July 11. * Brian Searles became advertising sales manager for publishing...

Obituaries-OCLC Founder Kilgour Dies at 92
September 1, 2006... Frederick G. Kilgour, founder of the Online Computer Library Center, died July 31. In 1967 Kilgour established a computerized library network on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus that became known as the Ohio College Library Center....

Cited.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... In July Bryce Benton was selected to receive the Coalition for Networked Information's Paul Evan Peters Fellowship for graduate study in the information sciences or librarianship. * July 24 Norman Horrocks, former director of the library...

Grassroots Report: Unlocking the Joy of Reading
September 1, 2006... Everything changes when you get them reading. The big challenge is to actually get them to want to read." That's what Carole Taylor, teacher at the Harry L. Eastman School in the Cuyhoga County (Ohio) Department of Justice Affairs' Youth...

Internet Librarian: Reclaiming the Little Box
September 1, 2006... New Orleans was great. Yes, beastly hot. Yes, a long way to the outer reaches of the convention center. (Good news about Midwinter here in Seattle: Our center is much more vertical than horizontal.) Yes, everything seemed to move just a little...

Technically Speaking: Parking Content
September 1, 2006... It's hardly original to suggest that one of the goals of a digital library is to collect, describe, preserve, and provide access to (usually) digital content. In this context, the goal of Institutional Repositories seems less lofty--that is,...

Innovative Interfaces sales of Millennium.(Contracts and agreements)
September 1, 2006... Innovative Interfaces sales of Millennium: West Palm Beach (Fla.) Public Library, replacing Auto-Graphics Impact/Verso.

Polaris sales of Polaris.(Contracts and agreements)
September 1, 2006... Polaris sales of Polaris: Clovis-Carver (N.Mex.) Public Library, upgrading from Galaxy; Franklin-Springboro (Ohio) Public Library, replacing SirsiDynix's Dynix Classic; Greenville (Ohio) Public Library, upgrading from Galaxy; Hardin...

MuseGlobal.(Announcements)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Frank Bilotto joins MuseGlobal in the newly created position of vice president, publishing and digital media. An unfamiliar name to most librarians, Bilotto's fomer employer, Vivisimo, is certainly recognizable. As head of publishing there,...

TLC sales of CARL.X.(Announcements)
September 1, 2006... TLC sales of CARL.X: Pasco County (Fla.) Library System, replacing SirsiDynix DRA Classic.

Ex Libris Group.(Alliances and acquisitions)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Ex Libris Group announced that it will be acquired by Francisco Partners, a $5-billion technology-focused private equity fund based in California. The definitive agreement, reportedly valued at $62 million, calls for the acquisition of 100%...

Working Knowledge: Making the Ask
September 1, 2006... I presented a session at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans on how to get your best possible salary and benefits. Afterward, I received the following message from Matthew David, an MLS student who was in the audience: "My basic problem...

Decimating libraries.(Resources for Continuing Education)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Author Rebecca Knuth follows up her riveting 2003 book, Libricide: The Regime-Sponsored Destruction of Books and Libraries in the Twentieth Century, with a new examination of library destruction. In Burning Books and Leveling Libraries:...