American Libraries Inside Scoop

Andrew Carnegie Medal Finalists

George Eberhart — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:01:01 +0000

The best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the US

The American Library Association, along with the Carnegie Corporation of New York, on May 17 announced six finalists for the inaugural Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. The awards honor the previous year’s best fiction and nonfiction books written for adult readers and published in the United States.

Remembering Sendak at the Rosenbach Museum and Library

Laurie Borman — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:32:41 +0000

Maurice Sendak, illustrator and author of nearly 100 books and winner of ALA’s 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where The Wild Things Are, died May 8. He was 83.

ARL Meets in Chicago

George Eberhart — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:51:34 +0000

Stripling Wins 2013–14 ALA Presidency

Beverly Goldberg — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:01:27 +0000

Election results are in: Barbara K. Stripling, assistant professor of practice at Syracuse (N.Y.) University’s School of Information Studies, has been elected the 2013–14 president of the American Library Association.

Library First Purdue Facility Named for African American

Pamela Goodes — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:51:17 +0000

West Lafayette, Indiana, campus dedicates the Roland G. Parrish Library of Management and Economics

Pamela Goodes

Celebrate National Library Workers Day by Nominating a Library Star

Pamela Goodes — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:34:40 +0000

National Library Workers Day is right around the corner, on April 10. In honor of all the unheralded library employees across the country, the ALA–Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) is asking those in the profession to nominate “star” library employees for public recognition.

April Fools! The Year’s Best Library Pranks

Greg Landgraf — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:53:51 +0000

April Fools’ pranks and librarians have a strong tradition. Here are some of our favorite hoaxes from the LIS world this year:

Committee on Accreditation Changes Prompt Resignations

Pamela Goodes — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:50:14 +0000

Pamela Goodes

ALA President Molly Raphael informed the Association’s governing Council March 28 about a change in the leadership of the Committee on Accreditation (COA) beginning immediately through Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, in June. She wrote:

Catalogers, Take This Library of Congress Survey

George Eberhart — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:26:00 +0000

Technical services librarians are invited to participate in a survey that examines the value and use of the Library of Congress bibliographic data and cataloging products.

Why Ebooks Need Libraries

Beverly Goldberg — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:25:40 +0000

About a week ago, an ALA colleague popped into my office with an epiphany. “Libraries will never die out. You know why? If they didn’t exist, people would be inventing them.” As you might imagine, that got us to talking and finding examples—and it certainly wasn’t hard. Little Free Libraries, anyone?

Using Social Media for the Most Effective Job Search

Katie Bane — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:39:28 +0000

How many “channels” are you using to get that next job? Caitlin Williams of San José State University’s faculty staff has been in the field of career development for more than 20 years and led last week’s webinar on the importance of building your online presence purposefully.

Doing PLA Conference—Virtually

Pamela Goodes — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:04:24 +0000

Pamela Goodes

Participants logged in from as far away as Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Alberta in Canada to Hawaii, Oregon, California, and other regions of the US to chat and interact with program presenters and authors during the two-day Public Library Association (PLA) 2012 Virtual Conference, March 15–16, held in conjunction with the ALA d

A Conversation at the Newberry

Laurie Borman — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:51:41 +0000

Author Scott Turow and US Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner discussed the future of authors, books, and libraries at the Newberry Library in Chicago February 22 at the second of the “Conversations at the Newberry” series.

New Literary Awards to Debut at ALA Annual

Beverly Goldberg — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:32:31 +0000

Beginning with the 2012 American Library Association Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, ALA will award new Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction to one adult title in each category.

Voguing in Dallas

George Eberhart — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:35:06 +0000

ProQuest is offering a free trial period to its full Vogue Archive through February 16.

Update (Feb. 2, 2012): ProQuest is offering a free trial period to its full Vogue Archive (1892–2012) from February 2 through February 16. Sign up here.

What Comes After Victory

Beverly Goldberg — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:02:58 +0000

Congratulations, Libraryland! School library boosters hit the 25,000-signature threshold this morning on the White House petition urging that every child in America have access to an effective school library program. (To be exact, there were 25,594 signatures as of 1:49 p.m.

Just Over 6,000 More Signatures Needed on White House School Petition

Pamela Goodes — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:18:38 +0000

The email below was sent January 27 to all ALA members with email addresses. The goal is a mere 6,344 signatures away from reaching the 25,000 goal: the magic number that allows the petition to reach the desk of President Obama.

Copyright Fair Use—Update

Laurie Borman — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:18:20 +0000

If you missed the fair-use panel presented by the ALA Washington Office at Midwinter, you may want to check out ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy and get access to policy briefs, webinars

Booklovers Partake of High Tea and Authors

Pamela Goodes — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:37:15 +0000

Booklovers ended yet another Midwinter Meeting Monday afternoon sipping tea and dining on finger sandwiches while listening to a group of authors tell stories and read from their works before attendees lined up for autograph copies at the Gala Author Tea, hosted by the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends, and Foundations.

Council III Ends Final Session Early

Pamela Goodes — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:08:17 +0000

In a session that ended nearly two hours early Tuesday, Council III took action on measures that covered such issues as the refusal of some publishers to sell ebooks to libraries and the threat to intellectual freedom in the Mexican American Studies Program of the Tucson (Ariz.) Unified School District.

Council II Hears Financial Report, Details on Neal-Schuman Acquisition

Pamela Goodes — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:09:26 +0000

March/April 2012

ALA Council approved programmatic priorities in line with the ALA Ahead to 2015 strategic plan and as a guide to the preparation of the fiscal year 2013 budget, as presented by Treasurer Jim Neal (Council Document #13.0), during its second session on Monday.

Honoring a Legacy That Still Inspires

Pamela Goodes — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:50:04 +0000

With a voice that echoed the melodious tone in sermons and speeches delivered by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. Dr. Lewis V. Baldwin, an ordained minister, addressed the theme “Honoring a Legacy That Still Inspires” during the annual King Sunrise Celebration on Monday.

Harwood: Libraries Must Do Better Job in Addressing Community Needs

Pamela Goodes — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:57:17 +0000

“We live in serious times,” Richard C. Harwood, president and founder of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, told the audience at the start of his presentation at the ALA President’s Program on Sunday about the condition of the United States.

Curley Lecturer Discusses His Life as a Black Panther

Pamela Goodes — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:59:33 +0000

March/April 2012

Support and education for today’s youth is the key to liberation. That was the overall message delivered by Jamal Joseph, author of the newly released Panther Baby: A Life of Rebellion and Reinvention (Algonquin Books), who delivered the 13^th annual Arthur Curley Lecture Saturday.

Lisa Loeb’s ALA Sing-Along

Sanhita SinhaRoy — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:34:24 +0000

Pop musician and children’s recording artist Lisa Loeb entertained nearly 400 people at the Wrap Up/Rev Up Closing Session Monday afternoon at the 2012 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Dallas.