In a challenging economy, ISTE and ALA grapple with advocating for their school librarian, media specialist membership and then there’s the hot-button issue of digital literacy.
ISTE 2012 | ALA Annual: Candid Thoughts on Change, the FCC Digital Literacy Plan, and Advocacy
By on July 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
Of Leavings and Beginnings
By on July 9, 2012 Leave a Comment
I attended the retirement party of a good friend and colleague recently. It turns out that this was the tip of the iceberg. Someone afterwards sent me an email listing a dozen people from UC Berkeley alone who are retiring, most of whom I worked with in my career. These are, by and large, very [...]
Librarians, School and Public, Tap the Best in Kids’ Apps | ALA Annual 2012
By on July 1, 2012 5 Comments
Talking apps at ALA: Gretchen Caserotti, Amy Graves, Travis Jonker, and John Schumacher hosted a session on using apps with kids in the context of library services, both in public libraries and schools.
LITA Talks Top Tech Trends | ALA Annual 2012
By on June 28, 2012 Leave a Comment
Web developers should prioritize mobile websites over desktop websites, librarians need to design more relevant instructional materials for their users, and the field of experience-based transformational development could have a major impact on the future of educational tools. These were just a few of the topics discussed during the “Top Technology Trends and LITA Awards Presentation,” session last Sunday during the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim.
Internet Archive’s Peter Brantley Urges Librarians to More Actively Reshape the Digital Landscape | ALA Annual 2012
By on June 27, 2012 1 Comment
The Internet Archive’s Peter Brantley made a cogent and precise presentation at the American Library Association conference this week that urged the librarian community to do a better job at directing the multitude of conversations that ultimately affect how and what libraries can do with digital content.
iVerse To Launch ComicsPlus: Library Edition | ALA Annual 2012
By on June 27, 2012 Leave a Comment
iVerse, a digital comics distributor, is debuting a library version of its ComicsPlus app, the company announced at ALA, during the inaugural reception for the Will Eisner Graphic Novel Prize for Libraries. The app is the brainchild of Josh Elder, president and founder of the non-profit Reading with Pictures, who will serve as service manager. [...]
“You’re Not Special” Revisited
By on June 27, 2012 1 Comment
Almost five years ago to the day, I wrote a piece titled “You’re Not Special”. In it, I championed the idea of routinizing common library workflows so that staff could be reallocated to services that directly impact end-users. At ALA Annual in Anaheim, which just ended, I had occasion to refer to that piece again. [...]
The Ebook Elephant in the Room | ALA Annual 2012
By on June 25, 2012 Leave a Comment
For ebooks, “true collection development is going to have to wait…until we have more access, if not all access to everything that’s being published,” Anne Silvers Lee, chief of the materials management division of the Free Library of Philadelphia, said during a Saturday panel discussion at the American Library Association’s annual conference in Anaheim this weekend.
Google Debuts New Service for Libraries at ALA Conference | ALA Annual 2012
By on June 24, 2012 4 Comments
ALA Contemplating a Seal of Approval for Ebook Business Models | ALA Annual 2012
By on June 24, 2012 Leave a Comment
The American Library Association’s Digital Content & Libraries Working Group has had a busy year, and it is now halfway through its two-year mission to help guide ALA in its response to all the challenges and difficulties that ebooks are presenting to the librarian community, with a particular focus on public librarians and the Big [...]
