Albany Public Library CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND

All Branches Closed Sept. 5-7

    

All APL branches will be closed Saturday, Sept. 5, through Monday, Sept. 7, for the Labor Day holiday. We'll re-open with regular hours on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

New Hours at All APL Branches

In case you haven't heard the news yet: All APL branches are changing hours starting Tuesday, Sept. 1. 

We are adjusting opening and closing times at our branches in an effort to bring you more morning hours, more evening hours, and more options of locations to visit when your favorite branch is closed. 

We hope the new schedules work for you, and welcome your feedback!

Garbage Collector Rescues Discarded Books for Children

Of the 19 public libraries in Bogotá, Colombia, all are located far from the poorer regions of the city, thus restricting many people’s access to books.

Thankfully, 53-year-old garbage collector Jose Gutierrez is working hard to ensure that children everywhere are exposed to the joy of reading. As ABC News reports, Gutierrez began “rescuing books from the trash almost 20 years ago, when he was driving a garbage truck at night through the capital’s wealthier neighborhoods.” Due to the shockingly large number of abandoned books, Gutierrez was able to create a “makeshift community library stacked…with some 20,000 books” in his own home.

Gutierrez champions the power of books.

More from ElectricLiterature.

Albany Public Library at at City Hall's "Back to School Night"

From WNYT, Channel 13:
Parents can sign their children up with groups like the YMCA, Albany Public Library, the Boys and Girls Club and lots more.

From the Albany Times Union:
Participating groups included the Albany Police Athletic League, the Capital District YMCA, the Albany Public Library, the Boys and Girls Club, the City of Albany's Department of Recreation, and Liberty Partnerships Rising Stars Program.

Financial Resource Guides for Newcomers to the United States

Please download the following Newcomer Guides in PDF format. For other publications from the CFPB, please visit http://www.publications.usa.gov/ and search using “cfpb.”

Ways to receive your money

Have you received a paycheck but aren’t sure whether to cash it or put it into a bank account? This guide provides information about receiving wages or payments. You can use this guide to compare the benefits and risks of getting paid in cash, with a check, by direct deposit, or on a card. [English| Español]

Checklist for opening an account

If you’re interested in opening a bank or credit union account, you can use this guide and checklist to make sure you have the required paperwork before opening your account. [English | Español]

Ways to pay your bills

Are you trying to decide whether to pay your rent by check or credit card? Take a look at this guide to compare the benefits and risks of paying regular and one-time bills by check or money order, by direct debit, online, or in cash. [English | Español]

Selecting financial products and services

If you’re trying to decide which financial services are right for you, this guide provides information about common transactions, including ATM cash withdrawals and debit card purchases. [English |Español]

23 Things: Libraries for Research Data

Presentation for "The Research Data Alliance and IFLA: Building Bridges for Research Data", August 17, 2015, at IFLA 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa. Created by Michael Witt, Purdue University Libraries. Handout: http://bit.ly/1IoYnlg


Go to HERE.

Museums and Mobile – a Huge Opportunity for Digital Visitor Service

Mobile devices represent a significant opportunity for visitor engagement – before, after and during visits. In a major survey done in 2012-2013, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London discovered that almost two thirds of their visitors own a smartphone and bring it with them to the museum, and the majority of survey respondents said they use their phones to “enhance their cultural visits.”

Survey results showed that the use of mobile devices for accessing the V&A website doubled from January 2012 to January 2013, with the “Visit Us” and “What’s On” pages showing the most activity. While it might be easy to think of smartphones as primarily onsite resources, evidence shows that they’re used to support the potential visitors' decision-making process.

More from Lucidea

The People You Can Check Out of the Library

Libraries are, increasingly, more than just books — they’re repositories of information, with all that knowledge made open to the public. You can scan decades-old magazines now stored on microfiche, check out CDs and DVDs (and maybe vinyl and VHS tapes if you have a device that can play them), and surf the Internet with reckless abandon. If a person’s experience or ingenuity is stored on a form of media, it may be available for check out.

But what about all that knowledge which isn’t written down or recorded — what about the oral histories? If an organization called “the Human Library” gets its way, you’ll be able to check that out of the library, too. That is, you’ll be able to check out that other person.

The Human Library aims to reduce stigma and prejudice through the power of storytelling.

More from Now I Know.

The Ultimate Wish: film about Nagasaki and Fukushima, August 10 at APL

NOTE NEW LOCATION!

The Ultimate Wish (2012)
Director, Robert Richter

Presents moving, unforgettable living witnesses who survived two of the world's most momentous radiation crises: Nagasaki in 1945 and Fukushima in 2011. This film raises profound questions about war, American foreign policy, technological failure, the courage to survive and the importance of taking positive actions to prevent future nuclear disasters.

Date: Monday, August 10 Time: 7:00 – 8:45 pm
Place: Albany Public Library, Pine Hills Branch, 517 Western Ave, Albany, NY
Sponsored by Upper Hudson Peace Action Information: elaineklein@hotmail.com

Film is free and open to the public.

Where are the books? Libraries under fire as they shift from print to digital.

The hallmark of public libraries — the printed book, bound by covers and centuries of page-turning — is being shoved aside by digital doppelgangers.

Around the country, libraries are slashing their print collections in favor of e-books, prompting battles between library systems and print purists, including not only the pre-pixel generation but digital natives who represent a sizable portion of the 1.5 billion library visits a year and prefer print for serious reading.

[Millennials prefer reading in print. Yes, you read that right.]

Some of the clashes have been heated. In New York, protesters outside the city’s main branch have shouted: “Save the stacks! Save the stacks!”

More from the Washington Post

SUMMERFEST IS JULY 11

Outdoor Party for Families at Delaware Branch is Library-Fan Favorite

It's almost time for the Albany Public Library's annual outdoor party at the Delaware Branch! Join us at 331 Delaware Avenue from 1 to 3 pm on Saturday, July 11, for SummerFest! We've got lots of great activities for the whole family.

We'll celebrate summer reading with:
+ Fun games and prizes
+ Bounce house obstacle course
+ Magic by Mr. MagicMan
+ Cool giveaways
+ Yummy refreshments


Kimono Dragons, the awesome surf-rock band that provided the music for the super-cute Summertime Reading video (watch it on YouTube), is playing that day, too.

All kids and teens who sign up for summer reading at SummerFest get a raffle ticket and chance to win a bike from the Albany County District Attorney's WORDS campaign.

Many thanks to our summer reading sponsors:
+ Price Chopper
+ Stewart's Shops
+ Friends of Albany Public Library

Join us at SummerFest on July 11 -- we promise it'll be a blast!

Rezone Albany Meeting - Monday, July 13, 2015 at 6pm at Albany Public Library, Washington Avenue

A New Unified Sustainable Development Code (USDO) for the Entire City

The second consultant product related to the citywide USDO is an Annotated Outline showing how a new Development ordinance can be structured and revised to address weaknesses identified in the Technical Report and implement the key planning goals in Albany 2030. The Annotated Outline has now been posted in www.rezonealbany.com for your review, and they welcome your comments.

A Public Meeting will be held to discuss the Annotated Outline. 
Monday, July 13th, 6:00-8:00 PM 
161 Washington Avenue Branch of the Albany Public Library 12210 

Public Meeting: Technical Report & Annontated Outline

Source URL: http://www.rezonealbany.com/event/public-meeting-technical-report-annontated-outline

Thought you might be interested in both attending this meeting and in reading the Public Draft of the Technical Report available on the Rezone Albany website at http://rezonealbany.com/document/rezone-albany-technical-report-public-draft.  

Smithsonian Announces Release of Freedmen's Bureau Records

On the 150th anniversary of “Juneteenth” (June 19), the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and FamilySearch announced the digital release of 4 million Freedmen’s Bureau historical records. In addition, a nationwide effort seeking volunteers to transcribe the handwritten entries has begun.

A collaboration with FamilySearch, the largest genealogy organization in the world, the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and the California African American Museum, the Freedmen’s Bureau Project makes the records of freed slaves available and accessible by taking the raw records, extracting the information and indexing them to make them searchable online. Once indexed, it will be possible to find an ancestor by going to the site, entering a name and discovering a family member.

The Freedmen’s Bureau was organized near the end of the American Civil War to assist newly freed slaves in 15 states and the District of Columbia. From 1865 to 1872, the Bureau opened schools, managed hospitals, rationed food and clothing and even solemnized marriages. In the process, it gathered priceless handwritten personal information, including marriage and family information, military service, banking, school, hospital and property records on potentially 4 million African Americans. The records are the property of the National Archives and Records Administration, where they have been carefully preserved and protected for decades.

More from the Smithsonian.

Libraries in Nepal

The American Library Association is partnering with READ Global (Rural Education and Development) libraries in Nepal to collect monetary donations in North America, which will be sent to READ Nepal, which is leading the relief effort. The Nepal Library Relief Fund will help to rebuild libraries and archives in Nepal that were destroyed or damaged by the earthquake on April 25, 2015, followed by a series of aftershocks including one of 7.3 magnitude on May 12. 

Read how you can help!

Albany (NY) School District needs candidates for vacant seat on Board of Education

The City School District of Albany Board of Education is inviting candidates to apply for its vacant seat.

Albany residents interested in filling the volunteer position can apply through the end of business June 10. Please visit the Board of Education section to find out how to apply.

Interested candidates will have an opportunity to make a five-minute public presentation at the board's June 18 meeting. The board could make an appointment as soon as its July 16 meeting.

Can books save us from what digital does to our brains?

from Medium.com

When I think back on my life, I can define a set of books that shaped me — intellectually, emotionally, spiritually. Books have always been an escape, a learning experience, a saviour, but beyond this, greater than this, certain books became, over time, a kind of glue that holds together my understanding of the world. I think of them as nodes of knowledge and emotion, nodes that knot together the fabric my self. Books, for me anyway, hold together who I am.

Books, in ways that are different to visual art, to music, to radio, to love even, force us to walk through another’s thoughts, one word at a time, over hours and days. We share our minds for that time with the writer’s. There is a slowness, a forced reflection required by the medium that is unique. Books recreate someone else’s thoughts inside our own minds, and maybe it is this one-to-one mapping of someone else’s words, on their own, without external stimuli, that give books their power. Books force us to let someone else’s thoughts inhabit our minds completely.

The library is the last, best socialized institution in America today and you're about to lose it

From Daily Kos:

As an American librarian I am glad to be living in the European Union where library funding isn't under attack to the extent that it is back home in the United States, because readership, literacy and an open based knowledge system that is publicly funded is still valued. In America, library budgets have become low hanging fruit for conservative local and state politicians.

Not only does t beg the question will your state be next but it asks the question what will you do when they come for your library and your kid's summer reading program? Do you really know how many books it's really going to take to make that special child or grandchild in your life a lifelong reader. Do you think you have anywhere near those numbers of books in your private collection?

Job opening: Manager, Adult and Outreach Services - Upper Hudson Library System (Albany, NY)

The Upper Hudson Library System (UHLS) has a challenging opportunity for a creative library professional to join our team. We are a cooperative library system headquartered in Albany, NY, providing services to enhance, support and connect the 29 independent public libraries in New York’s Albany and Rensselaer Counties.

Our new colleague will collaborate with UHLS staff and our member libraries to provide System services focusing on:
• adult services support and continuing education
• e-content collection growth and management
• resource sharing services (delivery, inter-library loan, etc.)
• outreach services

We are looking for a professional who:
• is passionate about public library service
• is ready to be a strong leader in helping our member libraries make a difference in their communities
• understands and seeks to further the important role public library systems play in strengthening library service

You should be able to demonstrate through your skills and experience:
• the ability to plan and organize multiple priorities effectively and efficiently
• resourcefulness and creativity as an approach to both relationship building and problem solving
• the ability to work effectively with other people in a variety of situations
• a confident and effective public presentation style
• an awareness of current trends in public library services, especially in digital collections and resource sharing
• engagement in professional organizations and activities

You must have:
• an MLS/MSIS degree from an ALA accredited institution; and
• a New York State Public Librarian’s Professional Certificate; and
• a valid driver’s license; and
• at least 5 years of relevant professional experience working in a public library, two years of which must include supervisory responsibilities.

This is a full-time position with a competitive benefits package, including participation in the NYS Retirement System. The starting salary range for this position will be $58,000-$63,000, depending on experience and qualifications.

Please submit a cover letter, resume, and the names and contact information for three professional references via e-mail to searchcommittee@uhls.org.The review of applications will begin on June 8, 2015, and continue until the position is filled.

Do We Really Need Libraries?

Andrew Carnegie — in Johnny Appleseed fashion — planted 1,679 library buildings in communities throughout the nation between 1886 and 1919, according to the National Park Service. From Caribou, Maine, to Clarksdale, Miss; from Honolulu to Miles City, Mont.

Many of the structures are grandiloquent cathedrals — edification edifices, little Louvres for the intellect — designed to send the message: Learning is everlasting.

They also gave us the sense that we lived in the United Smarts of America.

Carnegie paid for the construction; the community was charged with providing upkeep and operating costs. Eventually, some of the buildings became obsolete and were repurposed or demolished. Some are still living, breathing libraries.

Albany school budget, library budget and library trustee vote Tuesday, May 19, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Voting for library board, the library budget, AND school budget will be held Tuesday, May 19, along with balloting for two tax-free facilities projects, including one that would provide a new turf athletic field at Albany High School.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. city-wide. The polls may or may NOT be at the same place one votes in the general election.