ALA annual report on the state of America’s libraries

This week, the American Library Association released their annual report on the state of America’s libraries, which includes a round-up of the “Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books” in 2013—in other words, books that people have most often attempted to ban in schools and public libraries.

Digital Learning Day -- February 1st

The ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy is hoping to have libraries participate in Digital Learning Day (libraries of all types) and to that end, here’s a link to a blog post describing the idea.

UAlbany MSIS program earns full reaccreditation from ALA

The Master of Science in Information Science (MSIS) program has earned full reaccreditation from the American Library Association (ALA).

Accreditation is achieved through a review process conducted by an external review panel of practitioners and academics that verifies the program meets the Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Studies.

ALA statement in support of workers' rights

2/24/11 The following is being widely distributed by ALA's Public Information Office and is on the ALA website:

CHICAGO - As thousands protest proposed collective bargaining legislation in Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, American Library Association (ALA) President Roberta Stevens released the following statement in support of those standing up for workers' rights.

"While governments are facing financial challenges, addressing deficits should not serve as an opportunity to strip away the hard-won right of workers to collectively bargain," said Stevens.

"As library visits continue to soar, with job seekers and families turning to our libraries to gain new skills and free access to education resources, the value of library service and staff should be recognized and protected.

"The ALA supports library employees in seeking equitable compensation and recognizes the principle of collective bargaining as an important element of successful labor-management relations. We affirm the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers, without fear of reprisal. These are basic workers' rights that we defend for thousands of academic, public and school library professionals."

The American Library Association is the voice of America's libraries and the millions of people who depend on them. With more than 63,000 members, the ALA is the oldest and largest library association in the world and represents all types of libraries and librarians.

Roberta Stevens President,
American Library Association

ALA 2011 Youth Media Award Winners (Caldecott, CS King, Newbery et al)

The awards were announced earlier this week at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Diego.

Public Library Technology Access Study 2009-10 findings released

The 2009-10 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study is now available online.

ALA also will start tweeting about the release and findings at ala_ors, so, if you or your library “follows” Twitter, please add them to your list.

This year's Study, the fourth in a series, provides national and state-level data and benchmarks of technology resources. Authored by the ALA Office for Research and Statistics and the Center for Library & Information Innovation, the study draws on information provided by thousands of rural, suburban, and urban libraries in every state; by state library agencies; and from interviews with library staff in select states.

The study is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the American Library Association. This digital edition is co-published by American Libraries magazine.

House version of Educator Jobs Bill includes funding for librarians

FROM ALA:

Thank you to everyone who called their members of Congress about the Educator Jobs Bill.

The May 22 draft of the House Supplemental Appropriations bill includes an Education Jobs Fund which specifically appropriates $23,000,000,000 to alleviate shortfalls and prevent impending layoffs of teachers, counselors, librarians, and other school personnel in order to preserve 300,000 jobs in elementary and secondary schools.

This is great news for us. Please call your representative and encourage them to vote for this supplemental appropriation.

Emily Sheketoff
Executive Director, ALA Washington Office

ALA offers $250 in prize money for best online video

The American Library Association is holding a video contest. The first-place
winner will receive $175, and the runner-up will receive $75.

To enter, create a video, upload it to Vimeo, tag it “library advocacy day,” and send your full name, phone number, city, state & the url of your work to jroberts@alawash.org with the subject line “LAD video entry.”

Criteria, restrictions, etc.

Your video must
*illustrate the importance of libraries
*motivate people to attend the ALA’s rally for libraries during Library Advocacy Day
*include interesting visuals and quality sound design
*be no more than three minutes

Once you submit your video into the contest, ALA has a non-exclusive right to use it for promotional use without compensation. You also agree to allow ALA to contact you via email or phone.

All submissions must be uploaded, tagged and e-mailed by 12pm EDT, May 26, 2010. ALA will announce the winners and recipients of the prize money on Tuesday, June 1.

When putting together your video, please consider the Center for Social Media’s “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video” for guidance in using others’ material.

The funds for this contest are provided by the Eileen D. Cooke memorial fund. Cooke served as the director of the American Library Association Washington Office from 1972 to 1993 when she retired after 30 years of service with the association. Her indefatigable service in promoting library legislation and policy issues supporting our nation’s libraries was renowned. Eileen played a major role in the development, renewal and funding of key library legislation. Her admirable reputation on Capitol Hill positioned ALA to achieve innumerable successes. She was also instrumental in planning ALA’s National Library Legislative Day, helping to ensure that elected officials heard the voice of library supporters. Eileen passed away on April 30, 2000 at the age of 71. In her honor, ALA established a memorial fund to support legislative advocacy.

Good luck, happy producing, and we look forward to your outstanding entries.

You may view the latest post HERE.

2010 Woman’s Day magazine library contest open through May 9

CHICAGO – Libraries have until May 9 to promote Woman’s Day magazine’s newest initiative, “why the library is important to my community.” The American Library Association (ALA) and Woman’s Day are looking for stories that showcase the importance and value of libraries within the communities they serve.
Women ages 18 and up are invited to send in their stories in 700 words or less to womansday@ala.org. Up to four stories will be profiled in the March 2011 issue of the magazine or at womansday.com.

Librarians can download free tools to help collect local stories from the Campaign for America’s Libraries Web site (www.ala.org/womansday). Tools include a sample press release and newsletter copy.

A downloadable Web button that can be linked to the official rules on the Woman’s Day Web site (www.womansday.com/ala) is also available.

The initiative continues a nine-year partnership between the magazine and ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries that has generated millions of dollars worth of editorial coverage for libraries. Since 2002, Woman’s Day has asked its readers to write in about “how the library has changed my life,” “how the library helped improve my health” and “how the library helped me deal with the tough economy.”

Woman’s Day magazine is a Partner in the Campaign for America’s Libraries (www.ala.org/@yourlibrary), ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe - use the Campaign’s @ your library® brand. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions, corporations and foundations that advocate the importance of the library in American society.

Other Partners include Carnegie Corporation of New York, Disney Book Group, Dollar General Literacy Foundation, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Univision Radio and Verizon.

Megan McFarlane
Campaign Coordinator
The Campaign for America's Libraries
mmcfarlane@ala.org

Nominations sought for Labor Award

The American Library Association's Reference & User Services Association is seeking nominations for the 2010 John Sessions Memorial Award recognizing library contributions to the labor community.

The award, a plaque supported by a donation from the AFL-CIO, recognizes a library or library system that has made a significant effort to work with the labor community and has consequently brought recognition of the history and contribution of the labor movement to the development of the United States. The award is named for John Sessions, former American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) co-chair of the AFL-CIO/ALA Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups.

Those interested in submitting a nomination can download the nomination form from the awards section of the RUSA website or request the form from Liz Markel, RUSA Marketing Specialist or from Bobray Bordelon, chairperson for the award committee. All nominations must be received by Dec. 15.

Recent award recipients include the U.S. Department of Labors Wirtz Labor Library (2009) for its efforts in supporting the history and contribution of the labor movement in the United States by both maintaining unique and historically significant collections, including rare international material, and making this material accessible to the broader public; The Walter P.
Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich., (2008) for its No Greater Calling online resource chronicling the influence and history of Walter P. Reuther, an American labor union leader; and the James B. Carey Library at the School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. (2007) for its role as a resource for in-depth and specialized information resources and service to the labor community.

Past winners with recent, new contributions are encouraged to apply.

ALA Creative Essay/Library Contest

Atyourlibrary.org is currently hosting a creative essay contest where people are invited to share their experiences at libraries. The winning submission will win $350 and the People's Choice winner will win $100. The top ten finalists will be published on the Web site's homepage.

The deadline for submission is Dec. 7. Submissions can be in the form of a written essay, a video or a photo slideshow.

New York State Assembly supports 2009 Teen Read Week

New York State Assembly members support Teen Read Week and encourage teens to read and visit their local libraries.

The assembly has created a Teen Read reading list based on the 2009 theme, “Read Beyond Reality@ your library.” It encourages teens to read something “out of this world,” just for the fun of it, including sci-fi, fantasy, virtual realities, and much more.
In addition, written materials urge teens to visit their local public libraries.

Teen Read Week, October 18 – 24, is a national literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. It is aimed at teens, their parents, librarians, educators, booksellers, and other concerned adults.

Contact your local Assembly members with information about your library’s Teen Read Week activities and encourage him or her to work with the library in support of teen reading.

To find the Assembly member for your library, visit here and enter your library’s zip code.

For more information on Teen Read Week, visit www.ala.org/teenread.

Media coverage continues to highlight the surge in library visits

...during tough economic times.

More than 900 placements on this topic have appeared on TV, radio, Web sites and in print. More than 800 million people have seen, heard or read stories about the surge since fall of 2008, when the ALA began its media outreach efforts.

ALA files comments to FCC on development of national broadband plan

The American Library Association filed comments before the FCC in response to a Notice of Inquiry on the development of a national broadband plan (as required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).

In the comments, the organization argued that America’s libraries are uniquely situated to deliver on the Commission’s goals for the plan.

You may view the post here.

National Volunteer Effort Update from ALA

By early next week, an announcement will come from the White House asking partners, including libraries, to post their local volunteer opportunities online. Since the initiative will then officially launch on June 22, you'll want to have any information on volunteer opportunities at your library ready to go in anticipation of this quick turnaround. We recognize that this doesn't give you much time, but we
hope you will consider being a part of this important initiative.

Please visit www.ala.org/summerofservice to find a one page fact sheet on the initiative from the Corporation for National & Community Service.

Volunteer opportunities can be posted right now by visiting www.serve.gov, and I encourage you to do that as soon as you are able.

The ALA will keep you informed as this initiative progresses, and the next time you hear from us will be after President Obama has announced it publicly. The ALA will also be providing tips and resources for volunteer ideas, best practices, and ways to contribute your own information, ideas and stories, all of which you can access at
www.ala.org/summerofservice.

Prior to the public launch of the service initiative, the Corporation for National & Community Service is looking for volunteer opportunities that will take place on June 22nd to use as potential examples. If you do have such a volunteer opportunity going on in your library, we encourage you to fill out the form posted at www.ala.org/summerofservice and send it back to library@ala.org no later than June 17.

Sincerely,

Keith Michael Fiels
Executive Director
American Library Association

ALA files comments to FCC on development of national broadband plan

This week, the American Library Association ALA comments before the FCC in response to a Notice of Inquiry on the development of a national broadband plan (as required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).

In their comments, they argue that America’s libraries are uniquely situated to deliver on the Commission’s goals for the plan.

You may view the latest post here.

The State of America’s Libraries Report 2009

From the Report Summary:

The value of libraries in communities across the country continued to grow in 2008 — and accelerated dramatically as the national economy sank and people looked for cost effective resources in a time of crisis, according to the American Library Association’s (ALA) annual State of America’s Libraries report, released Monday as part of National Library Week, April 12-18, 2009.

The report states library usage soared as Americans visited their libraries nearly 1.4 billion times and checked out more than 2 billion items in the past year, an increase of more than 10 percent in both checked out items and library visits, compared to data from the last economic downturn in 2001.

However, public funding did not keep pace with use, according to a survey conducted by the ALA. Forty-one percent of states report declining state funding for U.S. public libraries for fiscal year 2009. Twenty percent of these states anticipate additional reductions in the current fiscal year.

+ Children are among the heaviest users of public-library resources. Children’s materials accounted for 35 percent of all circulation transactions, and attendance at library-based children’s programs was 57.8 million.

+ Individual visits to school library media centers increased significantly at the schools that responded to both the 2007 and 2008 surveys: up 22.7 percent for the 50th percentile, up 12.5 percent for the 75th percentile and up almost 25 percent for the 95th percentile. There were no major year-to-year differences in the responses with regard to the other variables.

+ Academic libraries maintain their leading role in partnering to scan and digitize print book collections, with the potential to provide unprecedented access to millions of volumes. Large-scale digitization initiatives include Google Book Search, Microsoft Live Search Books, Open Content Alliance and the Million Book Project.

ALA files comments on Broadband Technology Opportunities Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American Library Association (ALA) submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), defining the position of libraries on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

“Worlds connect @ your library” in Second Life

In celebration of National Library Week, the American Library Association (ALA) will host a series of “Worlds connect @ your library” events in Second Life. “Worlds connect @ your library” is theme 2009 theme for National Library Week.
This year’s attractions and events in Second Life mark the second National Library Week to host “in-world” activities. Attractions open throughout National Library Week will include an ALA / Information Island Archipelago Treasure Hunt. Visitors are invited to explore the Information Island Chain while picking up fun and useful freebies along the way.

Thinkfinity @ your library features new online resource to help supporters advocate for libraries

Add It Up: Libraries Make the Difference in Youth Development and Education” is a new web-based resource that helps advocates make the case for libraries. The site contains talking points, statistics, and links to research that equip library advocates with information to speak articulately on behalf of the impact libraries have on school age children.

To learn more about the “Add it up” web site, visit Thinkfinity.org/@yourlibrary, a collection of resources featuring librarian specific content from ALA. Thinkfinity.org is the Verizon Foundation’s comprehensive program and online portal to 55,000 standards-based, grade-specific, K-12 lesson plans and other educational resources provided in partnership with many of the nation’s leading educational and literacy organizations. Content for Thinkfinity.org is provided through a partnership between the Verizon Foundation and 11 of the nation’s leading organizations in the fields of education and literacy.

Source: American Libraries Association