September
27, 2006
AL Direct is a free electronic newsletter e-mailed
every Wednesday to personal members of the American
Library Association.
Contents:
U.S. & World News
ALA News
Booklist Online
Seattle Update
Division News
Round Table News
Awards
Seen Online
Actions & Answers
Poll
Datebook
AL Direct
FAQ
Court
affirms Contra Costa’s worship ban
A federal appeals court ruled September 20 that government libraries can
bar religious groups from holding worship services in public meeting rooms.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco voted 2–1
to overturn a May 23 district court injunction that granted the Faith
Center Church Evangelistic Ministries a First Amendment right to use the
public facilities at Contra Costa County (Calif.) Library’s Antioch
branch for “prayer, praise, and worship.”...
Teens
arrested in California high school library arson
Three young adults suspected of setting fires that burned down the San
Lorenzo Valley High School library in Felton, California, were arrested
September 19. The teens told investigators they had been drinking at a
party before they went to the school campus and started lighting fires....
Map
thief acted out of spite, prosecutors say
A Massachusetts map dealer who admitted in June to stealing rare maps
worth about $3 million claims that his actions were partly motivated by
resentment towards curators at the libraries that owned them....
Mel
Gibson posters stay put in Schaumburg
The Schaumburg Township (Ill.) District Library board voted unanimously
September 19 to allow three Mel Gibson posters to remain displayed in
the library. In August, a library patron had requested the removal of
an ALA Read poster, first released in 2000, that depicts the Hollywood
icon holding a copy of George Orwell’s 1984....
Former
Indianapolis trustee guilty of conflict of interest
A former member of the Indianapolis–Marion County Public Library
was sentenced to a year’s probation September 20 after pleading guilty
to a felony count of conflict of interest for his role in hiring a construction
company to coordinate the expansion of its downtown branch....
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Step
Up to the Plate winner chosen at Minnesota Twins game
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Harry
Potter books are the most challenged of the 21st century
In honor of the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week (September 23–30),
ALA has compiled a list of the top 10 most challenged books from 2000
to 2005, with the Harry Potter series of books leading the pack (although
it escaped the top 10 list in 2005).
All but three of the books on this list also were in the top 10 of the
most challenged books of the 1990s....
ALA
supports congressional effort to investigate EPA library closure
The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it has begun closing
its libraries in response to the Bush Administration’s planned $2-million
cuts to the agency’s 2007 federal budget. ALA disagrees with the
EPA’s claims that closing the libraries—which field more than
134,000 requests a year from the agency’s own staff in addition to
requests from the public—will not impede the agency’s mission
to provide environmental information to its staff and the public....
Program
will celebrate First Amendment champions
Eight individuals who have taken risky, at times harrowing, stands on
behalf of the First Amendment in recent months will discuss their experiences
at a program to be held September 28 at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C. Forum participants include New York Times reporter James Risen,
Jack Anderson biographer Mark Feldstein, ABC News reporters Brian Ross
and Richard Esposito, and the four “John Doe” librarians from
Connecticut who successfully challenged an FBI attempt to gain patron
information using a National Security Letter....
Get
a good look at the ALA Councilors
The ALA Governance Office has posted a photo gallery of ALA Council members
(at least those who have submitted a photo). For a complete list of councilors,
view the full roster....
New
rural advocacy toolkit
ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries and the Office for Literacy
and Outreach Services are presenting a new rural advocacy toolkit and
guide to attendees of the Joint Conference of the Association of Bookmobile
and Outreach Services and the Association of Rural and Small Libraries,
September 28–29, in Columbus, Ohio....
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Midwinter
wiki launched
The Midwinter wiki is open to attendees and exhibitors of the ALA 2007
Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, January 19–24. Everyone is invited
to exchange information about Midwinter events, committee work, the exhibit
and trade show, and the city of Seattle. Planning, discussions, networking,
and post-meeting recapping are encouraged....
Air
travel carry-on restrictions eased
Travelers may now carry through security checkpoints travel-size toiletries
(3 oz. or less) that fit comfortably in one quart-sized, clear plastic,
zip-top bag. Beverages and other items purchased in the secure boarding
area near the gates are now allowed....
U.S. Transportation Security Administration, Sept. 26
Business
Librarianship 101 at Midwinter
Learn the basics of business reference by attending the “Business
Librarianship 101: Core Competencies for Business Librarianship”
institute on Friday, January 19, presented by RUSA’s Business Reference
and Services Section during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle....
AASL
and Dollar General present 20 Beyond Words grants
AASL, Dollar General, and the National Education Association have awarded
the second batch of Beyond Words grants to 20 school libraries affected
by disasters. This fall, nearly $175,000 will be dispensed to hurricane-damaged
schools in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The funds will be used to
replenish school library media centers with much-needed books and educational
materials....
ALCTS
goes “Definitely Digital” at its Midwinter symposium
ALCTS has announced “Definitely Digital: An Exploration of the Future
of Knowledge on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of ALCTS” as
its 2007 Midwinter Symposium, to be held Friday, January 19, in Seattle.
Featured speakers include James Hilton, Lorcan Dempsey, Meg Bellinger,
and Greg Tananbaum....
Religion
and spirituality, 2006
Don Bell and Mike McCabe of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered
Round Table have compiled a bibliography of recent titles in religion
and spirituality for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered persons....
Folksonomy
fundamentals (PDF file)
Billie Peterson-Lugo describes the information-retrieval methodology known
as “folksonomy” in the Tech Talk column of Library Instruction
Round Table News....
LIRT News, Sept., pp. 9–12
ALA
receives Literacy Leadership Award
This month ALA received the 2006 Literacy Leadership Award from the National
Coalition for Literacy, a broad-based alliance of national adult and family
literacy organizations, agencies, and associations. ALA was recognized
for making “21st-century literacy” one of its five key action
areas, for its adult literacy awards, and for its national partnership
to create the online Verizon Literacy Network....
John
Cotton Dana PR award competition opens
Competition is open now for the 2007 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations
Award contest, sponsored by the H. W. Wilson Company and LAMA. The deadline
for entries is December 8....
LAMA/YBP
Student Writing and Development Award
Students enrolled in ALA-accredited library and information studies programs
are invited to submit essays in the Student Writing and Development Award
competition sponsored by LAMA and YBP Library Services, Inc. The deadline
for entries is March 1, 2007....
LC’s
“Letters about Literature” winners
The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Target Stores have
announced the national winners of the 2006 “Letters About Literature”
reading and writing program. More than 48,000 young readers in grades
4–12 participated in this year’s program, which encouraged young
people to read, be inspired, and write to an author—past or present—who
has somehow changed their view of the world or of themselves....
Library of Congress, Sept. 26
British
Library calls for digital copyright action
The British Library has called for a “serious updating” of current
copyright law to “unambiguously” include digital content and
take technological advances into account. In a manifesto released September
25 at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester, the United Kingdom’s
national library warned that the country’s traditional copyright
law needs to be extended to fully recognize digital content....
C|Net news.com, Sept. 25
Spanish
university joins Google book scan plan
Complutense University of Madrid is the first library in a non-English-speaking
country to join the Google Library Project. The library,
the country’s second largest behind the National Library, houses
3 million works, including those by Cervantes and Sor Juana Inés
de la Cruz....
Reuters, Sept. 26
Salt
Lake library to appear in Archie Comics
In issue 570 of Archie Comics, due out October 4, Archie, Veronica,
Betty, and Jughead will visit the downtown Salt Lake City Public Library.
The library’s Urban Room will be featured, along with the teen hangout
Canteena and the shop Night Flight Comics. Library Director Nancy Tessman
is quoted and the library’s anti-shh buttons are given some play....
Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 26
Nonfiction
popular with Guantánamo detainees
Men held captive at this U.S. military base in Cuba are confined to small
cells, but their minds can wander far and wide by reading philosophy,
history, murder mysteries—even Harry Potter. Nonfiction—particularly
philosophy, biographies, and Arabic history—is most popular, the
Army librarians say....
Associated Press, Sept. 24
Library
books draw complaints in West Brazos
Students at West Brazos Junior High School in Brazoria, Texas, won’t
be allowed to check books out of the school’s library after two complaints
about profanity and sexual content were found in books borrowed by children.
One September 19 complaint by a West Columbia resident claimed the book
Zero to Sixty: The Motorcycle Journey of a Lifetime by Gary Paulsen,
which was checked out from the school library by his 12-year-old son,
contained details of sexual acts and profanity....
Brazosport (Tex.) Facts, Sept.
21
Most
challenged books in America
This week marks the 25th anniversary of Banned Book Week, an effort by
ALA to promote freedom of access to “unorthodox or unpopular”
written works as well as freedom of expression within these books. “Throughout
history, there always have been a few people who don’t want information
to be freely available. And this is still true,” said ALA President
Leslie Burger. “Banned Books Week reminds us that we must remain
vigilant.”...
PBS newsmagazine NOW, Sept. 22
Detroit
Pistons help renovate school library
The Detroit Pistons are turning a tired Lansing school library into an
attention-grabbing learning arena. Lewton Elementary School in Lansing,
Michigan, became the first school outside Metro Detroit to receive a specially
designed “Live, Learn, and Play Center” from the NBA franchise
during a grand opening September 26....
Lansing (Mich.) State Journal,
Sept. 25
For
Delta librarian, the end
How many have learned to read because of Ronnie Wise? He lost count long
ago. As director of libraries for Bolivar County, Mississippi, one of
America’s least literate places, where 41% of 40,000 residents can’t
read, Wise keeps his mind on what needs doing, not what’s been done,
which might be why he looks so cranky....
Los Angeles Times, Sept. 23
UC-Berkeley
returns 1906 training manual
The original copy of an insurance training manual that escaped destruction
in the San Francisco earthquake and fires of 1906 and later became a symbol
that helped spur the city’s rebuilding was returned September 27
to its owner, the Insurance Education Association in San Francisco, after
60 years in circulation in UC Berkeley’s libraries....
San Francisco Chronicle, Sept.
27
CSU-Fresno
breaks ground on new library
A groundbreaking ceremony September 25 marked the official start of construction
on the new Henry Madden Library
at California State University, Fresno. When the $95-million building
project is completed in fall 2008, the Madden Library will be the largest
academic building (350,000 square feet) on campus. It also will become
the largest library in CSU’s 23-campus system....
Fresno State News, Sept. 26
Pluto
controversy touches NMSU library
A good-natured protest march from mid-campus to Zuhl Library on September
1 reaffirmed New Mexico State University’s affection and support
for its own astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930. The
former 9th planet was downgraded to “dwarf planet” in August.
Library Dean Elizabeth Titus (left) provided background on the Library’s
Tombaugh Papers, given by the family in 2001 and represented at the rally
by the astronomer’s widow, Patricia Tombaugh (right)....
New Mexico State University, Sept. 8
Public
libraries are community technology hubs
A national report
released by Florida State University researchers September 26 reveals
that 99% of all U.S. public libraries provide free public access to computers
wired to the internet and that librarians overwhelmingly (71%) say that
the most important impact of this service is providing internet access
to those who otherwise would not have it. The report, funded by the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation and ALA, also found that insufficient computer
workstations and internet bandwidth pose the biggest challenges for U.S.
public libraries in providing quality services....
Information Use Management and Policy Institute, Florida
State University
National
reading program helps Native communities
Loriene Roy, professor in the School of Information at the University
of Texas at Austin (and ALA President-elect), founded “If I Can Read,
I Can Do Anything,” a national reading program for Native American
children in fall 1999. Roy, an Anishinabe (Ojibwe) enrolled on the White
Earth Reservation and a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, has spent
a lifetime promoting literacy for indigenous students. The goals of the
program are to encourage reading, endorse library use, promote intergenerational
reading, and build book collections at various sites....
University of Texas at Austin, Sept. 25
Audit:
Reading First beset by favoritism
A September 22 internal report (PDF
file) detailing the U.S. Department of Education’s handling of
the multibillion-dollar Reading First grant program criticizes Bush administration
officials for steering funding awards to certain educational publishers
and for illegally dictating to schools which solutions they must use.
Yet another report (PDF
file), from the independent Center on Education Policy, suggests the
program is having a significant impact on student achievement....
eSchool News online, Sept. 25
NCES
has not redesignated school librarians as instructors
In its August 1 report
on 2003–2004 expenditures for public elementary and secondary education,
the National Center for Educational Statistics has modified the way expenditures
are broken down, but it has not changed the underlying structure of financial
accounting for states and school districts. School library media specialists
and school library services continue to be classified as “support-services-instruction,”
stemming from a definition of library media services that has not been
changed since 1980....
ALA American Association of School Librarians
Banned
in the U.S.A.: A quiz
In honor of Banned Books Week, Mental Floss Research Editor Sandy
Wood put together a 12-question cultural-literacy test involving controversial
titles. The first: True or False? Two 1960s children’s books written
by Dr. Seuss were later removed from print (and stricken from his bibliography)
for questionable moral content....
Mental Floss, Sept. 25
Banned
books around the world (PDF file)
David Shook has compiled a brief list of books banned recently in Iran,
Albania, Vietnam, China, and other countries....
World Literature Today 80,
no. 5 (Sept.-Oct.): 25
Help
solve the wire loop mystery
Over the last several years, books with a small wire loop have been found
in several libraries across the United States. Initial inquiries found
no satisfactory answer for their presence. Speculation included some sort
of security device to tie the book in place, a method of attaching a bookmarker
to the textblock, or a hook to attach an information tag. Books identified
with these devices to date have been published in London by various firms
between 1908 and 1933....
Michigan State University Libraries
University
of Chicago study notes surprising result
“The more today’s Chicago students use electronic research materials,
the more they do research the old-fashioned way,” writes Andrew Abbott
about a 2005 survey of campus library usage conducted by the University
of Chicago Provost’s Task Force. “The more an individual uses
books, the more he or she uses electronic-research resources, and vice
versa. At the very least, the survey data provides no evidence that traditional
research practices are being replaced by electronic ones.”...
University of Chicago Magazine
99, no. 1 (Oct.)
Digital
access to archival works
Cornell University Library Intellectual Property Officer Peter B. Hirtle
takes a look at Section 108(b) of the copyright law and concludes that
digital technologies could serve as a means of providing access to unpublished
research materials without having to distribute physical copies to other
repositories....
Stanford University Libraries, Sept. 24
Royal
Society launches online journal archive
The complete archive of the Royal Society journals, including some of
the most significant scientific papers ever published since 1665, is to
be made freely available electronically until December in the Journals
Digital Archive. The archive contains seminal research papers including
accounts of Michael Faraday’s groundbreaking series of electrical
experiments, Isaac Newton’s invention of the reflecting telescope,
and the first research paper published by Stephen Hawking....
Royal Society, Sept. 14
Ten
reasons to use Ask.com instead of Google
Sarah Houghton writes: “I think many librarians rely on Google as
their sole search engine, forgetting other search tools and the wealth
of information that’s out there in the invisible web. But there is
one search engine that I’ve come to rely on in addition to the big
G: Ask.com. So, here are my 10 reasons that librarians should use Ask.com
instead of Google.”...
Librarian in Black, Sept. 22
Best
practices for designing web services in the library context
The National Information Standards Organization has released a set of
recommended practices (PDF
file) to use in support of interoperable digital library services.
Included are sections on HTTP caching, filtering of user input, reuse
of output formats, security, and throttling....
NISO, Sept. 19
The
future of the internet
A survey (PDF
file) of internet leaders, activists, and analysts shows that a majority
agree that by 2020, humans will remain in charge of technology; virtual
reality will spawn new addiction problems; people will wittingly and unwittingly
disclose more about themselves, gaining some benefits in the process even
as they lose some privacy; and English will be a universal language of
global communications....
Pew Internet & American Life Project, Sept. 24
Bobby
Bitman promotes the public “libary”
Eugene Levy (as Bobby Bitman) offers his take on kids and libraries in
this sketch (1:43) that aired on SCTV, November 26, 1982: “As
a kid, I was pretty ignorant. Fortunately for me, I ended up in show business.”...
YouTube
Renaissance
Library calendar, 2007
The Renaissance Library calendars have been produced since 2001 by Information
Strategy and Information Management, a consulting and publishing firm
based in Sollentuna, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. Each month features
a photo of a historic library, selected from nominations submitted by
librarians and information professionals in nearly 40 countries. The cover
of the 2007 calendar shows the 1752 rococo-style library of St. Peter’s
Abbey in the Black Forest, Germany....
Renaissance Library Collection
Libraries, schools, or individuals who would like to celebrate the freedom
to read and help ALA get the word out on Banned Books Week 2006
(September 23–30) may freely save several
sizes of web badges for mounting on their websites.
“Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous
of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily
defeat us.”—Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, “The
One Un-American Act,” Nieman Reports 7, no. 1 (Jan.
1953): 20.
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Read Holly
Jin’s description
of Skokie (Ill.) Public Library’s program to welcome children with
special needs in the Fall issue of Interface, ASCLA’s online
newsletter.
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The 2007
Midwinter Meeting will be held in Seattle, Washington, January
19–24, 2007.
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