DEAN AND DIRECTOR OF LIBRARIES: UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY

The University at Albany, State University of New York (UAlbany) invites nominations and applications for the position of Dean and Director of Libraries. This is an exceptional opportunity for an accomplished and innovative leader who will advance the UAlbany Libraries as a strong advocate for the essential role of the library in learning, teaching, and research at UAlbany.

Founded in 1844, UAlbany is the oldest university campus in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, the largest comprehensive university system in the nation. This year UAlbany is educating 12,950 undergrads and 4,650 graduate students within its eight Colleges: College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Education, College of Computing and Information, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, School of Criminal Justice, School of Social Welfare, and School of Public Health. (Established this year, the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity will be the ninth UAlbany College.) Located in New York's capital city, the University at Albany is a neighbor to nineteen other colleges in the Capital Region and is 150 miles north of New York City.

In 2011, the State University of New York and the Office of the Governor embarked on a groundbreaking partnership to establish the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program to elevate SUNY as a catalyst for regional economic development and affordable education. Under UAlbany's NYSUNY 2020 initiative, faculty and researcher hires across the University-wide strategic initiatives will add $117 million in cumulative research expenditures to an already substantial portfolio. With a significant investment in new researchers and support staff, NYSUNY
2020 will be the cornerstone to one of the largest hubs for innovation and R&D in the nation (http://www.albany.edu/nysuny2020). UAlbany has dynamic new leadership in President Robert Jones and Provost James Stellar, which will lead to many opportunities for the University to become engaged in new programming, research and collaborative initiatives.

The UAlbany Libraries hold membership in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and house one of the largest collections in the SUNY system, providing holdings including 2,252,934 print volumes, 2,939,471microforms, 80,144 e-journals and 123,776 e-books to users around the world. The Libraries offer a broad range of in-person and online research and reference services as well as a strong program of information literacy instruction. The University employs 63 faculty and 33 staff members in three libraries: the University Library, the Science Library, and the Dewey Graduate Library.

Key opportunities and challenges for the new Dean will include providing visionary leadership for the UAlbany Libraries; being a strong advocate and spokesperson for the Libraries; leading and further developing a strong, service-oriented faculty and staff; leveraging the Libraries' financial resources wisely and generating additional funding to improve growth and services; valuing and advancing diversity and inclusion efforts; participating effectively in system-level and national collaborations; and guiding and evaluating the adoption of technology.

The Dean and Director of Libraries position represents an outstanding opportunity for an experienced library leader with a history of collaborative and innovative leadership, including managing human, financial, technological, and physical resources. The successful candidate will have a Master of Library Science (MLS) degree from an ALA-accredited library school or its equivalent. A Ph.D. is preferred but not required. The successful candidate will also possess a record of research, publication and service to support appointment to full librarian status; career development that shows progressively responsible and demonstrated leadership experience in an academic or research library; an understanding of the major challenges facing academic research libraries today; a collaborative leadership style that could foster initiatives within the library, across the campus, across the SUNY system, and nationally; demonstrated leadership in fostering and advancing diversity within an organization; public presence and the ability to represent the University effectively in outreach, development, and cooperative relationships; excellent managerial, organizational, communication, interpersonal and problem solving skills; and knowledge of digital trends and experience in a technology-driven information environment.

Review of nominations and applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. All inquiries, nominations/referrals and applications (including resumes and letters of interest responding to the position challenges and objectives outlined above) should be sent electronically and in confidence to:

Beverly Brady
Isaacson, Miller
263 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
www.imsearch.com/5366

Road Closures and Parking Restrictions for both St. Patrick’s Day Parades, City of Albany March 14, 2015

North Albany Limerick Parade – 11:30 a.m-1 p.m.

The North Albany Limerick Parade route:
Kick Off – N. First Street west of N. Pearl Street at the North Albany American Legion Post; parade will proceed east to N. Pearl Street, then south of N. Pearl Street to Emmett Street; east on Emmett St to Broadway; North on Broadway to Wolfert Avenue in the Village of Menands; back south on S. Pearl Street to N. First Street

Road Closures:
N. First Street between Broadway and Van Rensselaer Ave.
N. Pearl Street between Wolfert Ave and Emmett St.
Broadway between Wolfert Ave and Emmett St.
N. Second Street, eastbound at Broadway & eastbound and westbound at N. Pearl St.
N. Third Street, eastbound at Broadway & eastbound and westbound at N. Pearl St.
Lawn Avenue, westbound at Broadway & eastbound and westbound at N. Pearl St.
Bonheim Street, eastbound at Broadway & eastbound and westbound at N. Pearl St.
Lindbergh Avenue, eastbound at Broadway & eastbound and westbound at N. Pearl St.


Albany St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 2PM – 4PM
Parade Route:
Central Avenue starting at Quail Street, parade will proceed east on Central Avenue to Washington Avenue; then east on Washington Avenue to State Street; east on State Street to Lodge Street.

Road Closures:

Librarians & Libraries in Comic Books

LIS workers of all categories are quite commonly utilized in fictional settings, as main and supporting characters, as well as for incidental run-ins with those primary persons.

How exactly are those info-professionals portrayed, in both personality and in comportment? Does it depend on the medium, whether in film or novel, or sequential art? Are secondary characters more likely to be shown as negative librarian stereotypes than primary protagonists?

More from INALJ

The Sun Never Rises: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

The Beinecke Library is home to 500,000 volumes of rare books and "several million" manuscripts making it one of (if not the largest) repositories dedicated to the collection and preservation of rare writings. Among the documents housed therein are an original Gutenberg Bible and, as discussed in these pages earlier, the Voynich manuscript.

Hopefully, the documents will be around for a while, but that's not a given. One of the biggest problems with caring for old books is that the paper (or other materials) they're written on will, over time, disintegrate. The library's job? Slow down that process as much as possible. The solutions: gas, freezers, and stone.

More from Now I Know.

Why Libraries Should Be the Next Great Start-Up Incubators

This old idea of the public library as co-working space now offers a modern answer – one among many – for how these aging institutions could become more relevant two millennia after the original Alexandria library burned to the ground. Would-be entrepreneurs everywhere are looking for business know-how and physical space to incubate their start-ups. Libraries meanwhile may be associated today with an outmoded product in paper books. But they also happen to have just about everything a 21st century innovator could need: Internet access, work space, reference materials, professional guidance.

Why not put these two ideas together?

More from Citylab.

Building Equity: Race, Ethnicity, Class and Protected Bike Lanes, a 36-page "idea book for fairer cities"

From People for Bikes:

Diversity created the city. But diversity has never been easy.

Almost as soon as PeopleForBikes selected its first six Green Lane Project focus cities, we started hearing from their staffers that they wanted to better understand how the values of diversity and equity – of race, of ethnicity, of class – could improve their work to make bicycling mainstream.

[We] on the Green Lane Project team share those values. But we're not diversity or equity experts; we're infrastructure experts.

So, to help city staffers and advocates across the country think about these issues, we've teamed up with the Alliance for Biking and Walking and spent the last eight months talking to people who live and breathe this work: people like Nedra Deadwyler, an Atlanta business owner working to make her street's stoops and sidewalks places for social gathering, or Jocelyn Dicent, a teen activist working to reconnect New York City's Rockaway Peninsula so she and her friends can get to school safely.

25 maps that explain the English language

From Vox.com:

English is the language of Shakespeare and the language of Chaucer. It's spoken in dozens of countries around the world, from the United States to a tiny island named Tristan da Cunha. It reflects the influences of centuries of international exchange, including conquest and colonization, from the Vikings through the 21st century. Here are 25 maps and charts that explain how English got started and evolved into the differently accented languages spoken today.

Volunteer Income Tax Program (VITA)

From HERE:

VITA is a free, IRS-sponsored program to help low and middle-income workers have their federal and State personal income taxes prepared and filed electronically at no cost. VITA also ensures that workers receive all the tax credits to which they are entitled.

Many workers eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Child Tax Credit (CTC) don’t feel comfortable filling out tax forms themselves. However, commercial tax preparers charge significant fees to prepare a return and offer services that can otherwise be provided at no cost at a VITA site. People eligible for EITC and CTC have a no-cost option — they can have their returns prepared and filed at a VITA site.

Every county in the New York State, and most counties in the United States, have at least one VITA site. Visit the IRS VITA site locator. Opening and closing dates vary by site as well as hours and days of operation. In addition, many sites do require an appointment.

After April 15, 2015, many of the VITA site locations close and will no longer be listed on the IRS VITA site locator. Please call the sites directly to confirm that they will remain open after April 15th.

November vote set for Albany High renovation, reconstruction

From the Albany (NY) School District:

ALBANY, N.Y. (Feb. 27, 2015) -- The future of Albany High School is in voters’ hands.

After more than a decade of discussion about how new facilities would best serve students for generations to come, including two years of planning for the current proposal, the City School District of Albany Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday night to let voters decide in November.

The vote will be Nov. 3, in conjunction with the general election. Read the Feb. 27 Times Union for additional coverage. You also can click on the highlighted text to see a Feb. 26 presentation to the school board about the project.

The $199.5 million renovation and reconstruction project would add a second academic wing, a new auditorium and fine-arts center, new outdoor athletic facilities, and a welcome and wellness center accessible to the community. It also would include space for all of Albany High’s career and technical education programs, currently located three blocks away at the Abrookin Career and Technical Center.

Major renovations would include the current academic building and gym, which would be expanded and also would include an indoor running track. The school’s open courtyard would be enclosed to create a common area and glass-paneled atrium.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Plan minimizes tax impact 

Construction would be extended over seven years to maximize state aid and reduce the cost to taxpayers. The district estimates that residents with the basic STAR exemption would pay an extra $40-$80 for homes assessed in the $150,000-$250,000 range. Seniors with the enhanced STAR exemption would see an increase of $29-$66 for homes assessed in the same range.

The district will work hard throughout the spring, summer and fall to educate residents about the project and answer questions from the community.

The new Albany High would include five smaller learning communities specifically designed to meet future program goals. Albany High currently has four smaller learning communities that were retrofitted into the 41-year-old facility three years ago. When it is completed, the project would add 40 percent more space to the current high school, allowing the school to manage increases in student enrollment that are projected over the next decade.

New facilities alone won’t solve the academic challenges many Albany High students encounter, but the project will help staff design better programs to meet the needs of all students, Principal Cecily Wilson-Turner told the board.

ISIS burns thousands of books and rare manuscripts from Mosul's libraries

From the Independent:

Isis militants have reportedly ransacked Mosul library, burning over a hundred thousand rare manuscripts and documents spanning centuries of human learning.

Initial reports said approximately 8,000 books were destroyed by the extremist group.

However, AL RAI’s chief international correspondent Elijah J. Magnier told The Independent that a Mosul library official believes as many as 112, 709 manuscripts and books, some of which were registered on a UNESCO rarities list, are among those lost...

Among the documents believed lost are a collection of Iraqi newspapers from the beginning of the 20th century, maps, books and collections from the Ottoman period.

Nonprofits: Form 990 Online and e-Postcard filing systems hacked

Here's an e-mail I received today:

The Urban Institute’s National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) recently discovered that an unauthorized party or parties have gained access to the Form 990 Online and e-Postcard filing systems for nonprofit organizations. This unauthorized access affected nonprofits that used IRS Forms 990, 990-EZ, and 990-N (e-Postcard). It also affected users of Form 8868 extensions and filings for charitable organizations in Hawaii, Michigan, and New York.

Water main break on Elk Street blocks access to APL parking lot

To those using the 161 Washington Avenue branch, especially those attending Friends of Albany Public library talk today:

You may have some trouble getting into the parking lot at Washington Ave. today.

There's a water main break on Elk Street, right across from the parking lot. The city has closed off Elk Street between Dove and Lark. As of now, you can't travel down the last part of Elk to get into the APL lot.

The library is open and you can walk into the building using the back entrance. But, you probably won't be able to get into the parking lot.

The library is sorry for the inconvenience and late notice; they just learned about this themselves.

Spread the word!

Little Free Libraries on the wrong side of the law

Crime, homelessness and crumbling infrastructure are still a problem in almost every part of America, but two cities have recently cracked down on one of the country's biggest problems: small community libraries where residents can share books.

Officials in Los Angeles and Shreveport, La., have told the owners of homemade lending libraries that they're in violation of city codes, and asked them to remove or relocate their small book collections.

More from the Los Angeles Times.

10 of the Coolest Librarians Alive

Face it: most librarians are probably cooler than you. After all, their job is to wrangle books, attract readers, and then get the two together — one of our own favorite activities. Though for many years, the librarian stereotype was a severe old lady who couldn't stand excessive noise, the mold has changed (to the extent that even the New York Times has noticed).

Now, many librarians are punk-rock agents of social change, complete with tattoos, tech savvy, and new ideas to get books to the people. Meet just a few of the very coolest librarians alive — and since we know there are hundreds out there, add your favorite book lender (or yourself) in the comments.

"I would like to see a librarian on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine," Porcaro says. "I want to see a librarian on Jersey Shore, in Kanye West’s entourage, and on the coaching staff of the New York Jets. I want to see the first librarian elected President of the United States. Don’t forget, Casanova was a librarian."


More at Flavorwire.

Winning All Over the Map | Budgets & Funding

From the Library Journal:


On the face of it, 2014 looks like it was a pretty good year for libraries at the ballot box: some 148 libraries reporting for this tally won and 42 lost. About 78% of libraries passed funding, bonds, or authority measures in 2014. Over 1.7 million Americans voted yes for their libraries. Only 22% lost. While unfortunate, it doesn’t seem tragic or perilous. But at EveryLibrary, we’re worried about the 1.1 million Americans who voted no this year.

Nonetheless, we’d like to figure out why winners win and losers lose, in order to help ensure that there are more of the former and fewer of the latter in the future. At EveryLibrary, we hear stories from both winning and losing campaigns that try to make sense of an election, that try to put a frame around voter behavior. The winning campaigns must have played all their cards right; the losing campaigns must have missed something. What elusive but critical error did the losers make?

Visit the Albany Public Library for Free Income Tax Assistance

APL should be your first stop for income tax assistance and resources this tax season. Several of our branches are providing free federal income tax preparation services for people with an annual  household income limit of $53,000. 

Volunteers from the Internal Revenue Service Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and the AARP Tax-Aide program provide the services. For more information, please call the Washington Ave. Branch Reference Department at 427-4303.

Here is the schedule of free income tax assistance programs available at APL:

WINTER BREAK FUN FOR KIDS & TEENS at Albany Public Library

Beat the winter break blues with some fun and educational activities at Albany Public Library!  

We've got even more activities listed on our online calendar. Come visit us during the break! 

Feb. 16 (Mon) 

+ Ice Skating Party at 12-3 pm -- Swinburne Skating Rink

+ Teen Spa Day at 2-4 pm -- Delaware Branch

+ Marshmallow Catapults at 3-4 pm -- Washington Ave. Branch

Feb. 17 (Tues)

+ Claymation Creations at 1-3 pm -- Delaware Branch

+ Junior Claymation Creations at 10:30 am-12 pm -- Delaware Branch

+ Fly with Empire State Aerosciences Museum at 3:30-5 pm -- Howe Branch

Feb. 18 (Wed)

+ Appy Hour with PBS Kids at 10:30-11 am -- Delaware Branch

+ Elephant Toothpaste at 3-4 pm -- Washington Ave. Branch

Feb. 19 (Thurs)

+ Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament at 2-3:30 pm -- Pine Hills Branch

+ Bear Snores On at 2:30-4 pm -- Delaware Branch

+ Chinese New Year -- 3-4 pm - Washington Ave. Branch AND 4-5 pm - Howe Branch

Feb. 20 (Fri)

+ Fly with Empire State Aerosciences Museum at 2-3 pm -- Bach Branch

Feb. 21 (Sat)

+ Walk Like a Chicken at 10:30-11:30 am -- Washington Ave. Branch

+ Discovering the Past with Our American Girl Dolls at 1:30-3:30 pm -- Delaware Branch

+ Draw Pirate Maps at 2-3 pm -- Bach Branch

Albany snow emergency begins Tuesday, Feb 10 at 8 p.m.n

City of Albany officials have declared a Snow Emergency that will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 10, at which time all normal parking rules and regulations will be temporarily suspended. Snow emergencies are declared so that snow can be loaded onto snow removal trucks and removed from City streets. Because parking can be difficult to find during and after snowstorms, extra parking locations around the City will be open on Monday and Tuesday evenings, February 9 and 10 (see locations and times below).

During the first 24 hours of the snow emergency (from 8 p.m. Tuesday, February 10, until 8 p.m. Wednesday, February 11) all vehicles must be parked on the even numbered side of the street. During the next 24 hours (from 8 p.m. Wednesday, February 11, until 8 p.m. Thursday, February 12) all vehicles must be parked on the odd numbered side of the street. After the second 24-hour period please stay tuned for further announcements. For Snow Emergency information, call 476-SNOW.

Silencing the Alarm: the USA Patriot Act

If you have a smart phone or tablet — an iPhone or iPad, for example — it collects a lot of data about you. So in turn, Apple... also knows a lot about you. And various governments may be interested in that information. That can be unsettling for some customers, so in 2013, Apple started issuing a “Transparency Report” every six months or so. As Apple explained in its first report..., the document is designed to inform Apple’s customers about “the requests we [Apple] receive from governments seeking information about individual users or devices.” Shortly thereafter, Apple offers a caveat: “We have reported all the information we are legally allowed to share.” Basically, there are some government requests that Apple can’t tell us about.

Which is why the second to last line of the Transparency Report is so interesting. It reads, matter-of-factly:

Apple has never received an order under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.

For context, if you head over to Wikipedia, you’ll find that Section 215 has a very specific feature which makes Apple’s disclosure somewhat odd:

This section of the PATRIOT Act is controversial because the order may be granted ex parte [without the other party present to object -- this is very rare in the U.S.], and once it is granted — in order to avoid jeopardizing the investigation — the order may not disclose the reasons behind why the order was granted.

Read more at Now I Know

Solomon Northup at Albany Institute of History and Art Feb. 12

Clifford Oliver will portray Solomon Northup, an upstate New York free man who was kidnapped into slavery and spent 12 years of his life enslaved. His narrative, 12 Years a Slave, was the basis for a Fox Searchlight movie by the same name. Learn about Solomon Northup, a man of great courage who faced tremendous adversity and lived to write his narrative.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, February 12 from 6:00-7:00 pm at Albany Institute of History and Art - 125 Washington Avenue, Albany 12210.

A family friendly event.

Visit the AIHA website for details.

Librarian/Archivist (Schenectady, NY)

The Schenectady County Historical Society is seeking an enthusiastic individual with a strong interest in local and public history and a commitment to public service for the position of Librarian/Archivist.  In addition, the successful candidate will have the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with Society staff, Board of Trustees, Board Committees, volunteers, donors, and the general public.

The Society’s Grems-Doolittle Library specializes in local history and genealogy.  The Library collects these materials in a variety of formats and makes them available for use by the public in person and through remote access. 

Frugal Service Station Worker Leaves $6 Million to Hospital, Library in Small Vermont Town

From Slate:

A 92-year-old man known to be very careful with money—so careful that one acquaintance knitted him a winter hat because she was worried he couldn't afford one —left $6 million in what his attorney describes as investment income to the town’s hospital and library when he died. The man, Ronald Read, was a high school graduate and World War II veteran who worked at JC Penney after retiring from his job at a service station.

The Brooks Memorial Library will receive $1.2 million from Read—twice as much as its entire current endowment—and $4.8 million will go to the nonprofit Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.

Google’s slow fade with librarians

Librarians have been interested in the Google Books project since it began in 2004. It was a heady time to be an information worker. Google used to actively court libraries, and librarians. They showed up at our conferences in 2005, tossed a lot of money around, pumped us for information, talked big talk about partnerships and the beautiful music we could all make together.

They added a librarian resource center to Google. It had a pretty cool URL, and a picture of a library on it. They knew our weaknesses. Things looked serious.

They whispered sweet nothings in our ears about how much we all had in common in a special newsletter just for librarians...


MORE from MEDIUM.com.

Health Care Decoded

If you find the world of health insurance to be confusing, you’re not alone. Many people have a difficult time sorting through the buzzwords and terminology to figure out exactly what they need to know about their health insurance coverage. We’ve rounded up some of the top health insurance terms you’re likely to hear. And we’ve broken them down to explain what they really mean.

More from CDPHP.

The benefit of reading books

"It's no secret that reading is good for you. Just six minutes of reading is enough to reduce stress by 68%, and numerous studies have shown that reading keeps your brain functioning effectively as you age. One study even found that elderly individuals who read regularly are 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimer's than their peers. But not all forms of reading are created equal."

http://mic.com/articles/99408/science-has-great-news-for-people-who-read-actual-books

20 heroic librarians who save the world

If information is power, then there's no hero mightier than a librarian. Librarians are superheroes, adventurers, explorers and invaluable guides to other heroes. Here are 20 amazing librarians who save the world every day!

As Spider Robinson writes in The Callahan Touch, "Mary Kay is one of the hidden masters of the world — a librarian. They control information..." So here are 20 librarians... who might be a lot of help if you're in a tight corner.

More from IO9

Get ready for National Consumer Protection Week

Every year, National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), encourages people and businesses to learn more about avoiding scams and understanding consumer rights. This year, NCPW takes place March 1-7, 2015. NCPW highlights free resources from government agencies and consumer organizations to help people make smarter buying decisions and spot rip-offs.

What can you do besides checking out the materials for yourself? Share the NCPW partners’ free consumer publications with friends and family, co-workers and other people in your community. By sharing information about how to avoid frauds and scams, identity theft, staying safe online, using credit wisely, managing debt, and other topics, you can help protect those you care about. Order free materials from the FTC for you,  family and friends.

But there’s more that you can do to join us in National Consumer Protection Week: host an event

Albany Police Department Advisory: Phone Scam Alert

The Albany police have received reports of a phone scam in which the caller claims to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

In reported cases, the caller has been calling residents and leaving the following phone message:

"Hello we have been trying to reach you. This call is officially a final notice from IRS Internal Revenue Service. The reason of this call is to inform you that the IRS is filing a lawsuit against you to get more information about this case file. Please call immediately on our department number 202-239-7350. I repeat 202-239-7350. Thank you."

The phone message is a scam in attempt for the victim to call phone scammer back and provide personal and financial information.

More from Nixle.

The library as a life raft, by Scott Jarzombek

A new Times Union blog, by the director of the Albany Public Library.

After being away for several years, I was given the opportunity to return to APL and Albany as the executive director. I am very happy to be back. This is an exciting time for the library, and libraries in general. I’m also happy to be back in my adopted “hometown,” this time as a father with a very different perspective on life and community.

Read more HERE.

Come celebrate the new APL Youth Services Room on Tuesday, Feb. 3

The Albany Public Library has been making some great changes at the Washington Ave. Branch. The staff invites you to celebrate the grand opening of the beautiful new Youth Services Room on Tuesday, February 3, at 10 am. The staff will show you the new youth space on the second floor, which features:

· A fresh, colorful, modern look with improved lighting and furnishings
· Separate areas, along with computers and iPads, for children and teens
· Comfortable spots to sit and read, work on homework, and use technology
· Plenty of room for programs, including story times, arts and crafts, and STEM activities
· A daycare quality play kitchen and LEGO table
· Puzzles, games, building sets, and toys to enjoy in the room
· An expanded picture book collection with titles arranged by themes
· An “express checkout station” right in the room for young patrons and their families to check out materials

You will also hear from APL director Scott Jarzombek and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan about the importance of cultivating a love of reading and learning in our city’s youth, which is nurtured every day at the public library.

Please bring your little ones to the event, as there will be a special story time and craft activities for the young visitors.

Come on Feb. 3 for the opening celebration of the Washington Ave. Branch Youth Services Room. Please spread the good word about APL and this special event!

Albany: Learn to download free library books on your e-reader

Librarians from Albany High School and the Pine Hills Branch of the Albany Public Library are teaming up to teach people how to download free library e-books and audio books on their e-readers.

You can learn how at one of two sessions, the first of which will be held Wednesday from 6:30-7:45 p.m. in the Community Room of the Pine Hills Branch, located at 517 Western Ave.

City School District of Albany students will be able to download books from the district's online library. Others with Albany Public Library cards will be able to download books from the public library's collection.

Please bring your device with you. For more information, call the Pine Hills Branch at 482-7911 ext. 223 or the Albany High library at 475-6320.

Another session will be held Feb. 11 at the Pine Hills Branch.

Progress in the Making: 3D Printing Policy Considerations through the Library Lens

Libraries nationwide are expanding access to 3D printing. Library makerspaces that offer 3D printing services provide people with the ability to create essentially any object they can imagine. These libraries serve as labs of innovation and experimentation for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to bring new products to market — and for everyone to advance learning and creativity.

As 3D printing becomes more common inside and outside of libraries, it has the potential to transform our society in a number of ways and, in the process, raises numerous new issues for policymakers to consider.

This paper provides a history and overview of 3D printing technology; discusses the potential economic impacts of the growth of the 3D printing industry; outlines the role 3D printing now plays in formal education and libraries; provides an analysis of the policy implications of 3D printing; and offers insight into the role the library community should play as lawmakers, government agencies, companies and the courts craft frameworks for 3D printing activities. The paper’s public policy discussion cuts across a number of issues, including intellectual property, intellectual freedom and individual liberty and product liability.

Why reading paper books is better for your mind

You got an e-reader over the holidays. What should you load it up with?

Beach reads? Sure. “Ulysses”? Probably not.

We know a lot about the pros and cons of reading a hard-copy book vs. reading electronically. The problem is, many of us refuse to listen.

Don’t get me wrong: Digital reading has some real advantages. Ask people what they like most about reading on digital screens, and you hear over and again about convenience.

More from the Washington Post.

National Drug Facts Week, Jan. 26-Feb. 1

There are less than two weeks till National Drug Facts Week, January 26-February 1. National Drug Facts Week (NDFW) aims to shatter the myths about drugs and drug abuse for teens, using science and support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and locally-organized events. NIDA provides a wealth of ideas and materials for schools, groups and event organizers, including many that can be used anytime:

• NDFW teaching guide
• NIDA teaching guides 
• Activity ideas for NDFW events
• Online toolkit for promoting NDFW events
• National Drug IQ Challenge quiz
• Marijuana: Facts for Teens 
• Free materials to download or order
• Drug Facts Chat Day, a live online chat held between high school students and NIDA scientists

Sonny Hausgaard obituary

He was a member of the board of the Friends of the Albany Public Library.

Hausgaard, Olaf "Sonny" VOORHEESVILLE Olaf "Sonny" Hausgaard, 76, (but always a kid at heart) passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Saturday, January 3, 2015. He is survived by his beloved wife, Anne Hausgaard; and his four children, Lene Hausgaard, Elizabeth Countryman (Jeff), Olaf Christian Hausgaard (Alisa) and Eric Hausgaard (Andrea); Sonny was a very devoted grandfather to his grandchildren, Jason and Bryan Countryman, Emily, Marie and Jacob Hausgaard, Amber and Emily Drew and Becky Hausgaard. A memorial service will be held at B'nai Sholom, 420 Whitehall Road, Albany on Monday January 5, 2015 at a time to be announced in Monday's newspaper. Shiva will be observed Monday and Tuesday evenings commencing at 7 p.m. at 49 Severson Hill Road, Voorheesville. For directions or to sign the online guestbook, please visit, levinememorialchapel.com - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timesunion-albany/obituary.aspx?n=olaf-hausgaard-sonny&pid=173720140&fhid=27355#sthash.eKrHLKWg.dpuf

Green Education and Legal Fund meeting at Arbor Hill/west Hill branch of APL Jan 6

The Green Education and Legal Fund will hold an organizing / planning meeting to discuss how to organize a campaign to get NYS to commit to 100% green renewable energy by 2030. The meeting will be at 7 PM on Tues. Jan 6 in the large meeting room of the Arbor Hill / West branch of the public library, 148 Henry Johnson Blvd. Howie Hawkins will be one of the speakes. The technological steps are laid out in the Jacobson study; how do we organize to make the political steps happen
For more info, Mark Dunlea, dunleamark@aol.com

Albany Seeking Applicants to Citizens' Police Review Board

City of Albany

Common Council

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Citizens’ Police Review Board

The Albany Common Council is seeking nominations of qualified residents of the City of Albany for the following position:

Title of Position:                   

Member, Citizens’ Police Review Board (CPRB)

Term of Appointment:        

One Vacancy expiring 10/26/17

Appointees are eligible for reappointment at the end of their term to an additional term of three years.

Position Responsibilities/Duties:

The CPRB is an independent body established by the City of Albany in 2000 to improve communications between the Police Department and the Community, to increase police accountability and credibility with the public, and to create a complaint review process that is free from bias and informed of actual police practice.  In addition to review and determination on completed investigations of complaints made by citizens against officers of the City of Albany Police Department for alleged misconduct, the nine member Board may make recommendations to the Common Council and the Mayor regarding police policies and practices relevant to the goals of community policing and the exercise of discretionary authority by police officers.  Board members are appointed by the Mayor (4) and the Common Council (5).  The Board is required to, among other things, undergo significant training, and engage in public outreach and education.

8 Surprising Facts About Your Local Librarian

What you may not know about your local children’s or young adult (YA) librarian could fill, well, a library.

“Librarians are much more than stuffy ladies who check out books,” says Katherine Peery, a former children’s librarian in the Dallas-Fort Worth area who now teaches first-year librarians at the University of Texas, Arlington. “In fact, there is a science behind selecting materials and using them to engage children in reading and the world around them,” she says.

Yup — it’s called library science for a reason. And the staff manning the YA desk? They know more about what tweens and teens are plugged into than you think, making them an invaluable resource.

More from Read Brightly

Imagining the Design of the Library That Does Everything

The traditional image of the library as a quiet repository for the written word is less true today than it has ever been. Arguably, libraries have never been merely homes for books, but carry with them an aura of intellectualism that reflexively expands. Today, libraries fulfill myriad roles: community hubs, co-working spaces, depositories for local resources, information, and creativity. They offer children's storytimes, de facto babysitting for older kids, job training, ESL classes, discussion groups, safe space for tutoring, elder care, and more.

This month's proposal for The Architect's City hitches a piggyback ride on last week's symposium, organized by New York's Center for an Urban Future in collaboration with The Architectural League of New York, sharing architects' and designers' takes on the future of the branch library in New York City. Attendance at New York's three library systems—Brooklyn, Queens, and New York, which includes the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island—is rising. Citywide, circulation spiked 59 percent in the last decade.

More from Curbed
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NY man returns library statue 43 years overdue

A 52-year-old New York man has returned a marble sculpture he borrowed in the early 1970s to get him through troubled times.

Scott Stewart tells the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester (http://on.rocne.ws/1zvxsQ7 ) that as a 9-year-old he spent his days at the Rochester Central Library and was allowed to take home art pieces.

In 1971, he borrowed a small statue of an owl protecting its babies because it symbolized his mother's efforts to care for him and his brother.

More from the Times Union

Training L.A. librarians to teach science

Longtime Boing Boing pal Tara "Tiger" Brown co-founded LA Makerspace, the first kid and family-friendly makerspace/hackerspace in Los Angeles. Today, she shares word of a terrific new crowdfunding project:

The LA Makerspace has a Kickstarter to raise money to train LA Public Librarians how to run workshops in electronics, robotics, programming, film and Minecraft. We have all sorts of staggering stats around why we need to outside the school system for kids to learn anything...90% of Los Angeles Unified School District 8th graders test below proficient in science and 82% are below proficient in math. It's insane.

And we have more info on why hands-on learning like with maker workshops like the ones we run can improve all of that.

We are providing professional development for librarians because our vision is for every librarian at all 73 LA Public library branches to be trained in running workshops which means that you can go to your local library and take these free workshops and gain amazing skills.



More from BoingBoing

DRM blocks blind people's right to read

Any digital text can be read aloud through text-to-speech, granting people with visual impairments the basic human right to read -- unless there's DRM in the way.

Tricking the technology used by Amazon, Apple, Adobe and Google to stop blind people from adding text-to-speech to their devices isn't hard -- but it is a felony, thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. A UN treaty intended to help people with visual, cognitive and sensory disabilities access copyrighted works has been all but killed by the big publishers.

Groups representing blind people have asked the US Copyright Office to renew the very narrow exemption that allows legally blind people to jailbreak their devices to add text-to-speech, but no one knows if they'll get it. And even if they do, it remains a felony to make or supply the tools that allow blind people to undertake this feat.

More from BoingBoing

In My Library: Alan Alda

There’s a reason why there’s an Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University: The “M*A*S*H” star is obsessed with finding ways we can better understand the natural world.

Alda’s even set up the Flame Challenge, in which scientists compete to answer questions such as this year’s puzzler, “What is sleep?” in ways an 11-year-old can comprehend (a panel of them will pick the winner).

Given his fascination with phenomena, one wonders if Alda ever had to choose between science and acting.

“No, never,” he says. “I always wanted to be an actor and a writer. But as a little boy I’d do experiments, trying to see if I could get something to blow up. I did get my parents to explode. In anger!”

More from the New York Post.

FCC Continues E-rate Reboot to Meet Nation's Digital Learning Needs

Taking significant additional steps to ensure that the nation’s schools and libraries have access to robust high-speed broadband connections, the Federal Communications Commission this week approved further modernization of its E-rate program, the nation’s largest program supporting education technology.

Broadband is transforming 21st Century education and life-long learning. The Commission is implementing a fundamental reset of E-rate, the first such effort since the program’s creation 18 years ago, so that it can keep pace with the exploding demands for ever-faster Internet service placed on school and library networks by digital learning applications, which often rely on individually connected tablets and laptops.

The Commission adopted an Order aimed at closing this connectivity gap by making more funding available for libraries and schools to purchase broadband connectivity capable of delivering gigabit service over the next five years. The Order also provides schools and libraries additional flexibility and options for purchasing broadband services to enable schools and libraries to meet their Internet capacity needs in the most cost-effective way possible.

The Order builds on action taken by the Commission in July to meet another critical need: robust Wi-Fi networks inside libraries and schools capable of supporting individualized learning.

More from the FCC

Why Does Music Education Matter?

Because administrators and politicians generally view music as an “add-on” or “special,” it can be the first program cut from a school facing budget constraints. As a result, supporters of music education constantly struggle to justify music’s importance. They might show how music improves math scores and increases school attendance, or they may demonstrate that the focus and discipline required to master an instrument improve students’ overall academic performance.

Proponents of music education may also discuss one of the most compelling effects of music—the fact that creating music requires individual competence (based on practice and discipline) combined with attentiveness to others in an ensemble, and that this balance prepares children for success in any work or personal environment. They may also point out that learning to lead an ensemble, whether as a conductor, band leader, or first chair in an orchestra, is excellent preparation for leadership of any kind.

They’re right, of course, about all those things. But the underlying reason that music helps improve nearly every area of a child’s life is that music is a critical and necessary part of the human experience.

Read more from The Singing Classroom

To the despair of librarians everywhere, marginalia has marched on

Were you one of those students who, despite your teachers’ warnings, continued to write in your books? If so, you have a lot of company—some of it illustrious (no pun intended). And now, there are a number of efforts going on around the world to capture these scribbled snippets of wisdom.

The notion of “marginalia,” or making handwritten notes and drawings in the margins of book pages, dates back as far as the Middle Ages. Presumably, monks made random drawings and notes to relieve the tedium of the manuscripts they were copying. Once mechanical printing started, marginalia really took off as scholars of the day held debates with the books they were reading—not so different from comment sections on websites.

See more at Simplicity.

There's also a discussion taking place on Reddit.