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.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 08, 2015
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
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!
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!
Tuesday, July 07, 2015
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
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
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/
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 02, 2015
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.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
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.
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.
Friday, May 29, 2015
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.
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.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
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?
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?
Thursday, May 21, 2015
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Librarians Versus the NSA
Under the Patriot Act, the government can demand library records via a secret court order and without probable cause that the information is related to a suspected terrorist plot. It can also block the librarian from revealing that request to anyone. Nor does the term “records” cover only the books you check out; it also includes search histories and hard drives from library computers. The Muslim-American who uses a library computer to correspond with family abroad, or the activist planning a demonstration against police brutality—those digital trails are vulnerable to surveillance, along with everyone else’s.
The government’s power to vacuum up our personal details seems unstoppable, but a lot of it depends on how much we give away. Alison Macrina wants librarians and library users to be less complicit.
More from The Nation.
The government’s power to vacuum up our personal details seems unstoppable, but a lot of it depends on how much we give away. Alison Macrina wants librarians and library users to be less complicit.
More from The Nation.
Monday, May 04, 2015
Read APL children's librarian Christina Stenson-Carey's blog
A community of readers
“I sha’n't be gone long.—You come too.”
from “The Pasture” by Robert Frost
When I was a new children’s librarian I had the opportunity to listen to Sharon Creech, the Newbery Medal winning author, speak at a staff meeting. She used the above quote from Robert Frost to invite her audience on a short journey through all her wonderful books. Similarly, I would like to invite you along with me on this blogging journey.
As a librarian, the very best part of my job is talking with readers about books.
More from the Times Union.
She is the children's librarian at the branch nearest my home.
“I sha’n't be gone long.—You come too.”
from “The Pasture” by Robert Frost
When I was a new children’s librarian I had the opportunity to listen to Sharon Creech, the Newbery Medal winning author, speak at a staff meeting. She used the above quote from Robert Frost to invite her audience on a short journey through all her wonderful books. Similarly, I would like to invite you along with me on this blogging journey.
As a librarian, the very best part of my job is talking with readers about books.
More from the Times Union.
She is the children's librarian at the branch nearest my home.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Join Amy Biancolli for lunch at Friends of the APL Book & Author event, Sat., April 25
PLEASE join
The Friends of the Albany Public Library
for the
Spring Book & Author Event
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Community Room, Albany Public Library, 161 Washington Ave
Second floor (across from the new children’s room), 1:30 p.m.
Speaker: Amy Biancolli
Topic: "Living and writing in Smalbany: A love story."
Amy Biancolli was born in Queens, grew up in Connecticut and holds degrees from Hamilton College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
She has published three books so far: one musical biography, "Fritz Kreisler: Love’s Sorrow, Love’s Joy"; and two memoirs, "House of Holy Fools: A Family Portrait in Six Cracked Parts" about her childhood family; and “Figuring Sh!t Out: Love, Laughter, Suicide, and Survival,” about her husband, who died in 2011, and dealing with the blessings of life in the aftermath.
Luncheon Buffet
University Club
141 Washington Avenue (1 block from the APL)
12 NOON
Good food for $20.00
Checks payable to the Friends of the Albany Public Library may be sent to:
Friends of the APL, 161 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12210
Reservations by Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Photo credit: Danny Richardson. Bio via timesunion.com and figuringshitout.net
Saturday, April 11, 2015
BDSM and beheading videos: The evolving role of the librarian
No job is without its perils, and for a college librarian today, one of those just might be having an associate dean overhear you explaining to a student how to create a more accurate BDSM scene for a photo shoot inspired by “Fifty Shades of Gray...”
It was awkward, but part of my job as a librarian is to help patrons research a topic, whatever that topic might be. Google has many people convinced that librarians are no longer necessary — probably the same people who predicted our demise when the personal computer was first introduced. Yet we librarians are still here, providing free resources, information and computer access to our communities. The profession is evolving, of course: adapting to new technology and, more significantly, being reshaped by culture...
The thing I love about my profession is that I am always learning. A patron approaches me with a question, and in helping them I discover worlds I never knew existed.
More from the Washington Post.
It was awkward, but part of my job as a librarian is to help patrons research a topic, whatever that topic might be. Google has many people convinced that librarians are no longer necessary — probably the same people who predicted our demise when the personal computer was first introduced. Yet we librarians are still here, providing free resources, information and computer access to our communities. The profession is evolving, of course: adapting to new technology and, more significantly, being reshaped by culture...
The thing I love about my profession is that I am always learning. A patron approaches me with a question, and in helping them I discover worlds I never knew existed.
More from the Washington Post.
Sunday, April 05, 2015
Local librarian Lauren Cardinal devoted to the neighborhood
Since Lauren Cardinal was 4-years-old she made weekly visits from her South Allen Street home to return a tote filled with books to the Pine Hills library. Reading was a passion of Cardinal’s, but it wasn’t until her late 20s that she made books her career.
Lauren Cardinal working at the reference desk/Hanna Teal
Lauren Cardinal works at the reference desk in the Pine Hills Library/Hanna Teal
Cardinal is a full-time librarian at the Pine Hills branch of the Albany Public library where her responsibilities include ordering newly released books and coordinating programs for the library. The reference desk is her favorite task because she gets to meet the library’s patrons.
“You get a core group of people that come in just to see you. Whether it’s to ask for your opinion on a book, ask for your help, or just ask how you are doing,” said Cardinal. “It makes the job so much more meaningful.”
More from the Pine Hills blog.
Lauren Cardinal working at the reference desk/Hanna Teal
Lauren Cardinal works at the reference desk in the Pine Hills Library/Hanna Teal
Cardinal is a full-time librarian at the Pine Hills branch of the Albany Public library where her responsibilities include ordering newly released books and coordinating programs for the library. The reference desk is her favorite task because she gets to meet the library’s patrons.
“You get a core group of people that come in just to see you. Whether it’s to ask for your opinion on a book, ask for your help, or just ask how you are doing,” said Cardinal. “It makes the job so much more meaningful.”
More from the Pine Hills blog.
Saturday, April 04, 2015
Library Aid Received +$5M Increase in FY15-16 NYS Budget
The New York Library Association (NYLA) is pleased to report that thanks to the tireless efforts of NY’s library advocates (like YOU), we have had a very successful budget cycle. Our message that "Libraries Are Education", and that library funding should increase proportionately with increases in school aid has been heard loud and clear.
Included in the NYS FY2015-16 Budget:
Thursday, April 02, 2015
Teaching about the Holocaust
Over 11 million people died during the Holocaust, and about 1 million of them were Jewish children. The tragic details of the events of the Holocaust are very painful, yet the persecutions and murders, and World War that followed make up an important part of our world's history.
Approaching a lesson plan on the Holocaust can be overwhelming. Many teachers begin with the story of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who documented her family’s stay in an attic, hiding from the Nazis. This story can be a starting point to help students connect and understand the events that took place nearly 80 years ago.
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