AMERICAN LIBRARIES DIRECT
June 13,
2007

Contents
U.S. & World News
ALA News
AL Focus
Booklist Online
D.C. Update
Division News
Round Table News
Awards
Seen Online
Tech Talk
Actions & Answers
Calendar

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Sponsor: Sirsi Dynix

U.S. & World News

Logos of the 12 CIC universities12 CIC universities join Google Library Project
The 12 universities that make up the Committee on Institutional Cooperation announced June 6 that they would join the Google Books Library Project, making up to 10 million volumes from their collections available for digitization and access through Google’s search engine....

Miami appeals court hears Vamos case
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments June 6 in a lawsuit against the Miami–Dade County School Board for ordering the removal of the children’s book Vamos a Cuba and its English-language counterpart A Visit to Cuba from elementary school libraries. The board’s attorney, Richard Ovelmen, told the judges that “The books are rife with factual omissions, misrepresentations, and inaccuracies that render them educationally unsuitable,” adding that they fail to mention that Cuba is a dictatorship....

Highsmith You Never Know @ your library poster used in Collaborative Summer Library ProgramOccult concerns jinx teen read program
Pickens County (S.C.) Library System officials have withdrawn the library’s participation in a nationwide teen reading program (right) within days of its scheduled June 7 launch due to 11th-hour threats against the library, PCLS Director Marguerite Keenan told American Libraries. “My understanding is that it was announced at a church service that we were promoting witchcraft and teaching other religions in our young adult program,” Keenan explained....

Laura Bush at the Schwerin City Library. Photo by Stadtbibliothek SchwerinLaura Bush opens American collection at German library
First Lady Laura Bush presented 100 books in English and spoke to around 60 children as part of the June 6 launch of the “America @ your library” program at the Schwerin City Library in Schwerin, Germany. The program, introduced to the country by the U.S. embassy in 2005, is available in 18 public libraries, 12 of which were once part of communist East Germany....

Arkansas court rules against 2005 library appropriations
The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled June 7 that money approved by the state legislature in 2005 for two library projects was appropriated unconstitutionally. Lawmakers had allocated $190,000 for a new facility for the Jacksonville branch of the Central Arkansas Library System and $50,000 for the Cleburne County Library in Heber Springs directly from the General Improvement Fund, rather than making the funds available to the Arkansas State Library to disburse....

James J. Hill, founder of the Great Northern RailwayHill Reference Library closes railroad magnate’s archive
After more than 30 years of owning the personal papers of railroad magnate James J. Hill (1838–1916), the James J. Hill Reference Library is looking for a new home for them. The private business reference library in Saint Paul, Minnesota, closed the archive June 1 after announcing that it no longer matched the library’s mission of providing practical information to the global business community....

Textbooks for Iraq. From the Iraq Development ProgramBritish publishers, universities donate 300 textbooks to Iraq
A delivery of some 300 academic textbooks donated by 21 British academic libraries and publishers was delivered to the Iraq National Library and Archives in Baghdad this week. Worth an estimated $30,000, the books are the gift of the British Library’s Higher Education section, working with the Society of College, National, and University Libraries, which launched an appeal in February for undergraduate and postgraduate English texts in the social sciences....


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ALA News

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.President’s Program features Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will join ALA President Leslie Burger for a discussion on the important role of our nation’s Environmental Protection Agency libraries. The program, titled “A Contract With Our Future,” will be held June 24 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. during ALA Annual Conference. Kennedy and Burger will discuss what steps need to be taken in order to ensure that future generations have access to environmental information, and live in an environment that is safe, clean, and beautiful....

Cover of The Great American MousicalJulie Andrews to sign books for 100 lucky buyers
In the prefunction area outside Ballroom C immediately following her June 25 program, stage and screen legend Julie Andrews will sign books for 100 lucky holders of a voucher available with purchase of an Andrews title from the ALA Store, where her latest books will be on sale—The Great American Mousical and Thanks to You: Wisdom from Mother and Child....

Loriene RoyPresident-Elect Roy honored with Native American dance
On Friday, June 22, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., hundreds will gather at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian at Fourth Street and Independence Ave., S.W., in Washington, D.C., to recognize ALA President-Elect Loriene Roy with an honor dance and drum music. The event recognizes Roy’s accomplishment as the first American Indian to serve as ALA president....

Vartan GregorianVartan Gregorian to speak at Opening Session
Vartan Gregorian, president of the philanthropic Carnegie Corporation of New York, will speak at the ALA Annual Conference Opening General Session, sharing the stage with former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley. The program is scheduled for June 23, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Hall D of the Washington Convention Center, and will begin with a screening of 100 Years of American Libraries in Three Minutes, a rapid-fire video history of the magazine on the occasion of its centennial....

Many Voices One Nation logoMany Voices, One Nation
ALA will showcase the diverse voices of our world at the “Many Voices, One Nation” program, an evening of literature and performance during Annual Conference, June 22, from 7 to 10 p.m. Join Nancy Garden, Patrice Gaines, E. Ethelbert Miller, and other writers and artists as they weave a tapestry of spoken words, song, and dance celebrating our fundamental unity within the global human family....

One of the Internet safety bookmarksFree internet safety bookmarks available at Annual Conference
ALA is joining with MySpace and the Illinois Library Association to distribute one million free bookmarks containing tips on internet safety at the 2007 Annual Conference. The bookmarks are printed as a series, each aimed at a specific audience including kids, teens, and parents. By distributing these bookmarks, MySpace and the library community hope to help educate youth and parents to make safe and informed decisions online....

Rep. Raúl M. GrijalvaREFORMA program on English-only censorship
Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz., right) and Office for Intellectual Freedom Director Judith Krug will speak about the impact that English-only initiatives have on children and young adult library services. The program will be held 1:30–330 p.m., June 24. The program will address the critical need for library workers to learn how to confront English-only initiatives....

Panel features tech writers and exhibitors
American Libraries “Technically Speaking” columnist Andrew Pace and Smart Libraries Newsletter writer Marshall Breeding will moderate a first-ever panel discussion with leading technologists from seven major library vendors. Titled “Speaking Technically: A Conversation about Cutting‑Edge Library Automation and Technology,” the session will take place on the LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage in the exhibit hall on Sunday, June 24, from 10:30 a.m. to noon....

Special issue of Library Worklife logoBest of ALA-APA Library Worklife
The ALA–Allied Professional Association: The Organization for the Advancement of Library Employees is sending out a free special issue of its electronic newsletter, Library Worklife: HR E-News for Today’s Leaders to individual and institutional ALA members. Twenty-six of the most popular articles since 2004 are included....

AL Focus

American Libraries launches AL Focus video site
American Libraries has launched AL Focus, a video component of the American Libraries Online website. AL Focus is the creation of AL Associate Editor Daniel Kraus and ALA Internet Development Specialist Jenny Levine. Kraus is an accomplished filmmaker whose works include the documentaries Sheriff and the feature film Ball of Wax. He will be in charge of producing and editing video and audio for the new site....

Still of Sohair Wastawy from Bibliotheca Alexandrina videoBibliotheca Alexandrina 5th anniversary
American Libraries Editor in Chief Leonard Kniffel visits (4:42) the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt, for the library’s 5th anniversary. Kniffel takes in some of the local sights (including the ancient library at Serapeum, circa 297 A.D.), and speaks to Library Director Ismail Serageldin and Chief Librarian Sohair Wastawy, among others....

Still from ALA Wheel of Confusion videoALA Wheel of Confusion #1
TESLA? ANSS? ECRR? Join us in a lighthearted look (5:22) at those confounding ALA acronyms with staff members Charles Wilt, Marci Merola, and Adam Burling. Can any of them overcome the mighty wheel? Featuring host extraordinaire John Chrastka and the woman with the answers (most of them, anyway), Karen Muller....

Donavan Vicha interviewDonavan Vicha on ASCLA and RUSA
ALA Manager for Membership Development John Chrastka sits down (or stands up, actually) with Donavan Vicha, Web Program Officer for ASCLA and RUSA (10:37). John finds Donavan right in the middle of an online class being held in the virtual world of Second Life, and they use the opportunity to chat about avatars, virtual book talks, voice-to-voice interface, Moodle, and RUSA’s section of ALA/Arts Island in Second Life....

Cover of Home Front HeroesFeatured review: Reference
Shearer, Benjamin F., editor. Home Front Heroes: A Biographical Dictionary of Americans during Wartime. Jan. 2007. 3 vols., 935p. Greenwood (978-0-313-33420-7).
Here is a unique A–Z biographical dictionary that profiles 1,001 individuals whose actions “affected how the United States made, supported, perceived, and protested its major war efforts from the Revolution to Gulf War II.” The editor is a librarian who has written and edited several reference works, and the 65 contributors are experts in history and other relevant areas. Numerous black-and-white portraits enhance the biographical sketches, which highlight the subjects’ wartime contributions (although some oddly allude to multiple marriages and offspring when those details seem irrelevant)....

@ Visit Booklist Online for other reviews and much more....



D.C. Update

Enjoy a smoothie at the Queen of Sheba Ethiopian restaurantA guide to dining in D.C.’s Penn’s Quarter (PDF file)
In this Annual Conference restaurant guide, DC Public Library’s Elena Tscherny reveals that Washington is the culinary paradise of the East. She writes: “My husband Alex, already enjoying his retirement from the Library of Congress, is my constant companion in our weekly explorations of the wonderful downtown restaurants offering local and international cuisines.”...
American Libraries 38, no. 6 (June/July): 112–117

Family and friends at ALA Annual Conference
You can purchase one of three types of passes for your people: Exhibits Only at $25, Exhibits Plus at $35, or Exhibits Supreme at $50. You can purchase them on site. All passes are four-day passes, but can be used on any single day or combination of days....

The Secrets of the Wise Men of Zion is the first documented version of the Protocols published outside of Russia. Published in Charlottenburg, Germany, 1920. From the U.S. Holocaust Museum exhibit.U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
The museum, located at 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, S.W., has on ongoing special exhibition on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. “A Dangerous Lie” explores the continuing impact of the most widely distributed antisemitic publication of modern times. Today, technology has made the Protocols available to anyone with internet access, and it continues to be circulated by those who promote hatred, violence, and even genocide....
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Arthur Hull leading a drum eventDrumming, anyone?
If you missed the drum circle at the ACRL National Conference, you can catch another at Annual. Ethnomusicologist Arthur Hull, the father of the modern-day community drum circle movement, will lead a two-hour community group drumming event open to everyone at all levels (cost is $5), and with drums and other percussion instruments provided. It will be Saturday, June 23, 3 to 5 p.m., at the National Music Center, 801 K Street, N.W. Contact Keith Russell for more details....
Village Music Circles

Division News

YA authors LIVE on stage
Join YALSA Monday, June 25, for an afternoon featuring contemporary young adult authors at the LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage at the ALA Annual Conference. The event will feature Carolyn Mackler, Nick Hornby, Gene Luen Yang, and others....

Cover of Using Interactive Technologies in LibrariesNew LITA guide on interactive technologies
LITA Guide #13, Using Interactive Technologies in Libraries, is now available for preordering. Edited by Katherine Hanson and H. Frank Cervone and published by Neal-Schuman and LITA, the guide will be available on June 13. Leading information professionals offer helpful forecasts for the future of such major technologies as RSS, wikis, blogs, and podcasting....

Cover of new PLA toolkitPLA introduces new Toolkit for Success
PLA will introduce its latest publication, Libraries Prosper with Passion, Purpose and Persuasion: A PLA Toolkit for Success, at ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. The toolkit provides guidance for the entire advocacy planning process, including goal setting, audience analysis and identification, message and strategy development, and tactic evaluation and selection. PLA will present a demonstration of the contents and application of the toolkit on Sunday, June 24, from 1:30 to 3:30....

Round Table News

CLENERT Annual Conference events
“Learning When There Is No Time to Learn” and “Learning for Library Staff” are two Continuing Library Education and Networking Exchange Round Table programs at Annual Conference....

FAFLRT Annual Conference events
The Federal and Armed Forces Libraries Round Table is offering tours of the U.S. Census Bureau Library at Annual Conference....

GLBTRT Annual Conference events
“Aging Issues for GLBT Patrons” and “Addressing the Information Needs of Female-to-Male Transsexuals” are two Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table programs at Annual Conference....

IRRT Annual Conference events
“International Library Partnerships” and “Opportunities to Participate in Global Library Development” are two International Relations Round Table programs at Annual Conference....

LHRT Annual Conference events
“Washington, the Nation, and the World: Papers in Honor of John Y. Cole” and “Library Policies of American Occupation: Japan Was Not Iraq” are two Library History Round Table programs at Annual Conference....

LIRT Annual Conference events
The Library Instruction Round Table is hosting a program on “It’s Showtime for Instruction Librarians! The Making of Short Films for Marketing and Instruction” at Annual Conference....

LRRT Annual Conference events
“Information Seeking Behavior from Childhood through College” and “Research: A User Experience” are two Library Research Round Table programs at Annual Conference....

LSSIRT Annual Conference events
The Library Support Staff Interests Round Table is co-hosting the “Conference Within a Conference” at Annual Conference....

MAGERT Annual Conference events
“Library Security for Maps” and “200 Years of the Coast Survey” are two Map and Geography Round Table programs at Annual Conference....

NMRT Annual Conference events
“Navigating the Rapids: Myths and Realities of Intergenerational Workplaces” and “Using Past Lives to Launch Your Library Career” are two New Members Round Table programs at Annual Conference....

SORT Annual Conference events
The Staff Organizations Round Table is sponsoring walking tours to explore historic sites near DuPont Circle at Annual Conference....

SRRT Annual Conference events (PDF file)
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Multicultural Idea Exchange” and “Darfur: The Library’s Responsibility and Our Community’s Need to Know” are two Social Responsibilities Round Table programs at Annual Conference....

Awards

Lucille C. ThomasFTRF Roll of Honor Award
Lucille C. Thomas, immediate past president of the Brooklyn Public Library’s board of trustees and former assistant director of the New York City Board of Education’s Office of Library, Media, and Telecommunications, is the recipient of the 2007 Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor Award. Thomas is a longtime advocate of the principles of intellectual freedom and equity of access to information in public and school libraries....

Cover of The Deadly EmbraceW. Y. Boyd Literary Award
Robert Mrazek’s novel The Deadly Embrace is the winner of the W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction for 2007. “It is a very compelling tale that enables the reader to obtain a perspective of what it was really like in war-weary England in the days before the Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944,” said jury chair Robert Schnare....

Six Spectrum doctoral fellows announced
The first six recipients of the Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship have been announced by ALA and the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences: Janet Ceja Alcalá (University of Pittsburgh), Tammy Mays (University of Wisconsin at Madison), Liladhar Pendse (University of California at Los Angeles), Elisabeth Rodriguez (University of Pittsburgh), J. Brenton Stewart (University of Wisconsin at Madison), and Vivian Wong (University of California at Los Angeles)....

AASL Distinguished School Administrators Award
Nathan S. Greenberg has won AASL’s 2007 Distinguished School Administrators Award. Greenberg is superintendent of schools in the Londonderry (N.H.) School District and a member of the Board of Directors of the New England School Development Council....

Miriam Braverman Memorial Prize
Marcel LaFlamme has been awarded the 2007 Miriam Braverman Memorial Prize by the Progressive Librarians Guild for his essay titled “Towards a Progressive Discourse on Community Needs Assessment: Perspectives from Collaborative Ethnography and Action Research.” LaFlamme is enrolled in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College in Boston....
Progressive Librarians Guild, June 6

FLICC awards for federal librarianship
The Federal Library and Information Center Committee has announced the winners of its national awards for federal librarianship, which recognize the many innovative ways that federal libraries, librarians, and library technicians fulfill the information demands of government, business, and scholarly communities and the American public. The award for Federal Librarian of the Year went to Carla Pomager, systems/acquisition librarian for the Army General Library Program....
Library of Congress, June 12

Seen Online

Inmates file lawsuit over book ban
Inmates at the federal prison camp in Otisville, New York, were stunned at what they saw at the chapel library on Memorial Day: Hundreds of books missing from the shelves, part of a post-Sept. 11 federal directive designed to prevent radical religious texts from falling into the hands of violent inmates. Three prisoners have filed a lawsuit over the policy, saying their constitutional rights were violated. They say all religions were affected—Islamic prayer books, Christian books, and ancient Jewish texts were among those removed....
Associated Press, June 10

Edmonia Lewis's sculpture The Bride of Spring. Photo from the Paris-Bourbon County Public LibraryKentucky library identifies rare sculpture
Late last year, a sculpture sitting inside the front entrance of the Paris–Bourbon County (Ky.) Public Library for 30 years was an artwork created by Edmonia Lewis in the 1870s and long considered lost. The Bride of Spring (right) is a rare creation by the first African-American and Native American female sculptor to gain international fame....
Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader, June 10; Paris-Bourbon County Public Library

Incoming freshmen and summer reading
Many of next fall’s first-year college students have thrown their tasseled caps in the air and are ready to pick up the sunscreen and surfboards, but there may be another item to put in the beach bag: a book assigned by the university. In an attempt to welcome students to the college classroom experience before they even move into the dorms, a growing number of universities are dishing out summer reading assignments to their first-year students....
U.S. News & World Report, June 7

Second Life version of the Santa Clara University LibrarySanta Clara University’s Second Life
With the completion of Santa Clara Island imminent, Santa Clara University is expanding into the internet game called Second Life. The island features three digital replicas of campus buildings: the de Saisset Museum, Mission Church, and a completed version of the library currently under construction. The virtual library has the most functionality. A small staff of librarians and assistants can help visitors through chatting and possibly voice communications when that feature is added to the game....
The Santa Clara, May 24

America’s obsession with secrecy
Case Western Reserve University Journalism Professor Ted Gup writes: “Today the nation’s obsession with secrecy is redefining public and private institutions and taking a toll on the lives of ordinary citizens. Excessive secrecy is at the root of multiple scandals—the phantom weapons of mass destruction, the collapse of Enron, the tragedies traced to Firestone tires and the arthritis drug Vioxx, and more. In this self-proclaimed Information Age, our country is on the brink of becoming a secretocracy, a place where the right to know is being replaced by the need to know.”...
Washington Post, June 10

Egypt says university must allow veils
An Egyptian court ruled June 9 that a U.S.-accredited university in Cairo was wrong to bar a female scholar who wears an Islamic face veil from using its facilities. The American University in Cairo, seen as a bastion of Western liberal education in Egypt, had revoked Iman al-Zainy’s longstanding library privileges after she donned the niqab, a face veil that leaves only the wearer's eyes uncovered....
Reuters, June 9


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Tech Talk

Joomla logoDrupal, Joomla, and Moodle: Tools to use
With Drupal and Joomla, you can build a website that contains forums, bulletin boards, chat rooms, blogs, media, document editing, newsletters, customizable RSS feeds, calendars, and much more. Moodle combines many of the social software tools we love, like RSS and wikis, with the functionality and layout of a traditional course management tool....
ALA TechSource blog, June 6

Ebrary’s e-book survey (PDF file)
Content provider ebrary has compiled the results of its informal e-book survey conducted to better understand the digital content needs of the library community. Anyone interested in receiving a copy may register or visit the ebrary booth at ALA Annual Conference. One finding was that respondents ranked Google and other search engines as the least prevalent factor driving e-book usage....
Ebrary, June 11

LibGuides integrates with Facebook
LibGuides is a system for publishing information and creating social networks centered around library resources. Librarians create Guides that contain any kind of content, then publish them online for users to interact with. LibGuides is also available from Facebook, enabling users to access the library content, chat with reference librarians, and even search the catalog, all from their facebook homepages....
Springshare

Hectic Pace logoShameless self-promotion
Andrew Pace writes: “Many of you have perhaps heard that I am moderating a debate at ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., titled ‘The Ultimate Debate,’ Saturday, June 23, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. I hope you will join me and the debaters—Karen Schneider, Joe Janes, and Stephen Abram—as we discuss ‘Do Libraries Innovate?’ For pre-debate rabble-rousing, see the LITA-L list archives!”...
Hectic Pace blog, June 13

Browser keyboard shortcuts
Mozilla offers a complete list of Firefox keyboard shortcuts and their Internet Explorer and Opera equivalents. Discover the wonders of Alt + Home, Ctrl + U, Ctrl + L, and Ctrl + Plus sign....
Mozilla.com

Bluetooth logoHow Bluetooth works
There are lots of different ways that electronic devices can connect to one another. This article takes a look at a method of connecting devices called Bluetooth that can streamline the process. A Bluetooth connection is wireless and automatic, and it has a number of interesting features that can simplify our daily lives....
How Stuff Works

A historical glimpse into library automation
Andrew Pace writes: “I love those old volumes of the Journal of Library Automation, precursor to Information Technology and Libraries, LITA’s scholarly publication. The forefathers of library automation (sorry, they seem to have been all men in that first issue) were there for the 1968 inaugural issue—Ned Morris, Richard Johnson, Robert Wedgeworth, Richard Chapin, Dale Pretzer, and, one of my absolute favorites, Richard De Gennaro. They wrote about Texas A&I’s acquisitions system, Stanford’s book catalog, Brown’s fund-accounting system, machine-readable shelf lists, and the nascent history of library automation.”...
“Technically Speaking,” American Libraries 38, no. 6 (June/July): 52

Actions & Answers

Web 2.0: The sleep of reason
Michael Gorman expresses his views on the internet and credulity to get the ball rolling in an ongoing forum on Web 2.0: “Bloggers are called ‘citizen journalists’; alternatives to Western medicine are increasingly popular, though we can thank our stars there is no discernable ‘citizen surgeon’ movement.” In part 2, he rants, “Digital Maoism is an unholy brew made up of the digital utopianism that hailed the internet as the second coming of Haight-Ashbury—everyone’s tripping and it’s all free; pop sociology derived from misreading books such as James Surowiecki’s 2004 The Wisdom of Crowds.”...
Britannica Blog, June 11–12

Ad for Edna O'Brien's August Is a Wicked Month (Simon & Schuster, 1965)Book ads: The Golden Age, 1962–1973
Advertisements for books have been around nearly as long as books themselves, and in the New York Times, they’ve appeared since shortly after the first issue of the newspaper went to press in September 1851. The Times Paper Cuts blog takes a look at ads from the Golden Age, when they were fresh, pushy, serious, and wry, often all at the same time. There was a new sense of electricity in the culture and in the book world....
Paper Cuts, June 11

Lit 50: Who really books in Chicago
The Chicago literary community has entered one of its most tumultuous times, what with the prospects of a major Borders retreat and the closing of the Virgin Megastore and Tower Records, along with the near-death experience of one of Chicago’s best-known independents, Women and Children First. But there are many Chicago literary movers and shakers who keep the books in the stores and in our minds....
NewCity Chicago, June 5

Illustrator Matthew Reinhart. Photo by Char GwizdalaChar’s BookExpo superlatives
Char Gwizdala, a librarian at Queens (N.Y.) Library, offers her take on the best events at BookExpo this year, among them the most patient author (Matthew Reinhart, right), the yummiest give-away, the coolest picture-taking event, the most socially conscious exhibitor, the coolest and most unassuming couple, and the best swag....
Char’s blog, June 3

Bartlesville update
Maureen Johnson, whose book The Bermudez Triangle is under reconsideration by the Bartlesville (Okla.) Mid-High school, writes: “The first thing is that the only librarian on the committee, the only person who stood up for the book . . . was removed from her position as a chair of one of the library committees by Janet Vernon, the head of the committee, and the person who still refuses to talk to me about the book.”...
Maureen’s Blog, June 8

Privacy International logoGoogle adjusts privacy policy
Google will make the data it stores about end users anonymous in its server logs after 18 months, according to a June 11 blog post by the company’s global privacy counsel. Previously, Google had said it would make the data anonymous after 18 to 24 months. The decision comes in the wake of a letter (PDF file) sent in May from a European Union data protection working group regarding the company’s privacy policies and a report released June 9 by Privacy International that ranked Google worse than any other internet company in protecting user privacy....
Computerworld, June 12

LC to name National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
The Library of Congress has created the post of National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Appointed for a two-year term by the Librarian of Congress, the ambassador will speak to the importance of fiction and nonfiction in the lives of young people. The appointment of the first ambassador will be announced in January 2008....
Library of Congress, June 7

Andre StriegelFSU chemist preserves LC materials
This summer, a Florida State University chemist will use his knowledge of cellulose, a key component of paper, to help the world’s largest library find ways to preserve its vast treasure trove of books, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, and pamphlets, many irreplaceable. André Striegel, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at FSU, has been invited to serve as the first Preservation Research and Testing Professor in Residence at the Library of Congress Preservation Research and Testing Division....
Florida State University, June 4

Grants to Native American libraries
The Institute of Museum and Library Services June 12 awarded Native American tribes across the country $1.3 million in grants to improve library services. In all, 229 grants will strengthen library service for 237 Native American tribal communities and Alaska Native villages....
Institute of Museum and Library Services, June 12

Still from Multnomah County Library videoLiteracy and learning at the Multnomah County Library
Produced by Portfolio Productions for the Library Foundation in Portland, Oregon, this video (3:55) illustrates how Multnomah County Library’s innovative literacy and reading programs inspire the practice of reading for life....
YouTube, May 24

National Library of Australia to add WorldCat records
The National Library of Australia has agreed to add some 12 million bibliographic records to WorldCat, making these records visible to web searchers worldwide. Australian libraries will use WorldCat to catalog, find, and share library materials....
OCLC, June 11

Annual Conference 2007 logo

As the demand for library service continues to climb, more than 20,000 library professionals and supporters will gather in Washington, D.C., from June 21 to 27 at the Washington Convention Center for the ALA Annual Conference, the largest library conference in the world. 


Cover of Storytimes for Two-Year-Olds

Judy Nichols’s Storytimes for Two-Year-Olds outlines techniques and programs proven to engage young audiences—ultimately making them lifelong readers. This classic bestseller, first published in 1987 and expanded in 1998, returns in a refreshed third edition in 2007. A classic! From ALA Editions.


Campaign for America's Libraries programs logo

Consider going to these public relations, marketing, and advocacy programs from the ALA Public Awareness Committee and the ALA Washington Office.


In this issue
June/July 2007

Current AL cover

An AL Timeline

ALA Presidents Speak across a Century

Ken Burns Archives America

Librarians of Congress

Conference Preview


Career Leads from
ALA Joblist logo

Content Services Manager, WebJunction, Seattle, Washington. WebJunction is hiring immediately for a Content Services Manager to oversee the team running several web content programs and services. The Content Services Manager will manage all existing and new web content products and services, and will leverage online community building tools to increase the value of content offerings....

@ More jobs...


Library Technology Reports, May/June cover

Casey Bisson, with the help of Jessamyn West and Ryan Eby, reports on open source software and its use and importance in libraries in the May/June issue of Library Technology Reports.


Rayburn House Office Building

Library Day on the Hill. On Tuesday, June 26, busloads of librarians and library supporters from across the country will descend upon Capitol Hill to call attention to the value of today’s libraries, as well as the issues the library community is facing. The event is free but does require registration. There will be buses leaving from the 7th St. entrance of the Convention Center and going to a drop point on Capitol Hill.

Public Perception
How the World
Sees Us

“I am inclined to think, sir, that perhaps the two most valuable and satisfactory characteristic products of American civilization are the librarian, on the one hand, and the cocktail on the other. I will not attempt, sir, the delicate question of deciding which is best, but I am given to understand that some of us have sampled both and found them equally satisfactory and equally stimulating.”

—Croydon (England) Public Librarian L. Stanley Jast, responding on behalf of overseas visitors to a welcoming address by Louisiana Purchase Exposition President David Francis, at the first session of ALA Annual Conference, Oct. 17, 1904, held at the St. Louis World’s Fair.


From the CentenniAL Blog

Still of Mr. Rogers from the Library Video Magazine

American Libraries has just introduced AL Focus, a new site for video content. But it’s not even our first attempt at a regular video series: That was Library Video Magazine, whose story began in 1983. A brief news mention in the February issue (p. 105) announced the availability of “a pioneering ‘ALA-TV Conference ’83’ telecast” for people unable to attend Annual. AL Editor Art Plotnik coordinated production of the program, a five-hour telecast of conference highlights and a live “bibliographic institute” with call-in questions, viewed by 2,500 people at about 120 sites around the United States and Canada. Appearing in the broadcast were library leaders such as Plotnik, Henriette Avram, Linda Crismond, and Peggy Barber, and celebrities like Ray Bradbury, Richard Attenborough, and LeVar Burton....

See the CentenniAL Blog for more....

AL 100 logo


Cover of Library Administration & Management

Discover 50 years of LAMA’s legacy in “A Brief History and Timeline of the Library Administration and Management Association, 1957–2007,” by Robert Daugherty and Robert F. Moran Jr. in the Summer issue of Library Administration & Management (PDF file).

Ask the ALA Librarian

Cover of Less Is More book by Donna J. Baumbach and Linda L. Miller

Q. Due to staff shortages in recent years, our collection hasn’t been weeded in a while. With some recent new hires and volunteers, we began the process. But it’s become abundantly clear that there will be many discards, and we don’t have the space to sell all of these to the patrons. We’d be willing to donate them. Do you know of anyone that could use them?

A. We’re glad you’ve been able to return to weeding, which is an important (if sometimes misunderstood) step in collection evaluation and development. See the ALA Professional Tips wiki for further assistance.

The ALA Librarian welcomes your questions.


Calendar

ALA Courses

July 1–30: Pain in the Brain: Adolescent Development and Library Behavior, Power Programming for Teens, and Using Electronic Databases with Teens. Online courses offered by YALSA. Register by June 15.

July 1–Aug. 10: Making the Match: Finding the Right Book for the Right Teen at the Right Time. Online course offered by YALSA. Register by June 15.

July 22–24: Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium, Chicago. Sponsored by ALA TechSource.

July 23–Aug. 17: Selecting Spanish-Language Materials for Adults. Online course offered by ASCLA.

Aug. 5–10: ACRL/Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Ongoing: ALA and the Southeast Florida Library Information Network offer ALA members more than 1,500 e-learning courses from Element K.

Ongoing: AASL offers licenses to host a one-day regional institute, Collaborative Leadership.

Ongoing: LITA offers licenses to host several one-day regional institutes: User Centered Design: Design Process and Usability, Establishing an Institutional Repository, Wireless Networks in Libraries, and XML and Libraries.

Ongoing: LAMA offers licenses to host several one-day regional institutes.

Ongoing: PLA offers a variety of online courses through e-Learning @ PLA.

Ongoing: ACRL offers a series of podcasts on issues in academic librarianship.

@ More...


Contact Us
American Libraries Direct

AL Direct is a free electronic newsletter emailed every Wednesday to personal members of the American Library Association.

George M. Eberhart,
Editor:
geberhart@ala.org

Daniel Kraus,
Associate Editor:
dkraus@ala.org

Greg Landgraf,
Editorial Assistant:
glandgraf@ala.org

Karen Sheets,
Graphics and Design:
ksheets@ala.org

Leonard Kniffel,
Editor-in-Chief,
American Libraries: lkniffel@ala.org

To advertise in American Libraries Direct, contact:
Brian Searles, bsearles@ala.org

Send feedback: aldirect@ala.org

 

AL Direct FAQ:
www.ala.org/aldirect/

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ISSN 1559-369X.