11.07.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:26 am by Pamela Goodes
Authors Charles R. Smith Jr. and Laurie Halse-Anderson generated laughs and cheers from the capacity crowd attending the Author Banquet November 6 during ALA’s American Association of School Librarians national conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Smith talked about his experiences in writing, photography, and sports in his work of creating children’s books by mixing presentations of his poetry. He reiterated his desire to show boys that there are many ways to pursue their interests, no matter what they may be. His books include Rimshots, Hoop Kings, Hoop Queens, I Am America, and his latest endeavor Twelve Rounds to Glory. He told the crowd that his initial desire to writing was to be “an engine for kids to be motivated to learn.”
Anderson, who said she never intended to be an author, began her presentation by discussing how she grew up as a shy child who escaped in her school library. Her first novel, speak, was a National Book Award finalist, a Michael L. Printz Honor book, a New York Times bestseller, and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. The book is under consideration for a movie.
Because the library “saved her life,” Anderson was adamant about book banning, calling it ”a profoundly un-American activity.”
“Censorship is a devil’s brew of fear, frustration, and power,” she maintained, calling recent increases in book challenges ”definitely political.”
“Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance,” Anderson continued. “Every time a library budget is cut or a librarian position eliminated, it is another form of censorship. It’s stealing from children and interfering with education.”
“People who don’t value libraries or librarians have picked a fight with me.” she said. “When they rip the roof off the library, they are weakening our country. Libraries are not luxuries, but the foundations of our country. Libraries are a holy place, a sanctuary; saving lives, saving our country, and changing the world for the better.”
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11.05.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:57 pm by Pamela Goodes
dana boyd, called the “high priestess” of networked social media and an internationally recognized authority on online social networking sites, said school librarians can play a crucial role in “keeping the digital doors open to help young people think about learning beyond the classroom.” She delivered the opening session keynote address November 5 during the 14th national conference of ALA’s American Association of School Librarians in Charlotte, North Carolina, which carries the theme “Rev Up Learning @ your library.”
A doctoral candidate at the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Information and fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, boyd has unique and controversial perspectives on how America’s youth are engaging in sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube.
“There is a lot of social learning that goes on in schools that we need to figure out how to support,” boyd explained. “You can play a tremendous role in helping children think through the kind of environment they are living in.” In doing this, boyd told school librarians that they “need to be as public and transparent as possible in every way” when dealing with children and social networking, “In the same way that you keep the doors open in schools, you need to keep the digital doors open online,” she urged, providing such tips as sharing passwords with principals.
“Digital media makes visible what is going on in the everyday lives of children and that’s not always pretty,” boyd said, “Social media helps kids make sense of things. Young people are getting access to more information than ever before, often unstructured and with no easy way to make sense of it.”
More than 3,000 school librarians, educators, publishers, and guests are expected to attend the only national conference dedicated entirely to the needs of school library media specialists probing such issues as information literacy, technology, 21st-century learning skills, and how to advocate for school library media centers.
In addition to two full-day and five half-day preconference workshops, as well as school and educational tours, Thursday’s conference business began with the Exploratorium, which showcased new practices that are transforming the library media center. The two-hour educational session showcased best practices from the school library media community, including a presentation from ALA President Camila Alire, “Presidential Initiative: Libraries: The Heart of All Communities” that focused on advocacy for 21st century literacies and libraries.
After boyd’s address, it was party time in the exhibit hall, complete with refreshments. More than 200 exhibitors welcomed conference participants for the first chance to get a glimpse at their products and services.
The evening ended with “A Storytelling Extravaganza” featuring the original and traditional stories of Steven Henegar, the heartfelt stories using handmade masks and stylized movement of Kuniko Yamamo, and musical programs presented in the tradition of Griot of Madafo.
AASL is also reducing the conference footprint by going green. To reduce paper waste, the ALA division’s virtual component, “b there-Your Virtual Track Pass,” is housing all session materials and speaker resources online at www.ala.org/aasl/bthere, including boyd’s presentation as well as an exclusive interview. All registrants have free access to these resources for an entire year.
In addition, conference signage is made of recyclable materials and printed with eco-friendly inks. Attendees are also receiving eco-friendly conference bags, which they may donate to a local charity at the end of conference. Surplus promotional items and books from exhibitors will also be donated to local charities. The Charlotte Convention Center has placed recycling stations in convenient places and employees are encouraged to minimize energy consumption by powering down unused convention areas and machinery. Caterers are buying locally grown and organic foods, using recyclable papers and plastic, and will donate surplus food to local food banks. For a complete list of conference green initiatives, visit www.ala.org/aasl/charlottegogreen.
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07.20.09
Posted in 2009 ALA Annual Conference at 11:39 am by Pamela Goodes
ALA members approved two resolutions—one supporting “Civil Marriage Equality Regardless of Sexual Orientation” and the other on “Libraries and the Continuing Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan”—at two Membership Meetings during the Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago.
Larry Romans, who coauthored the civil marriage resolution with Locke Morrisey, said some gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered librarians are not permitted to take advantage of tax breaks for couples, multiple car discounts, insurance and retirement benefits, and hospital visitation rights. “Brittany Spears can get a marriage license for a marriage that lasts for a weekend,” Romans noted. “I can’t get a marriage license even though I’m ready to celebrate my 39th anniversary with my partner. It’s not equitable and it affects a lot of us who are library workers.”
Calling the antiwar resolution “a continuation of what we’ve been doing for years,” cosponsor Al Kagan said, “We need to reorient our budget from fighting wars, killing people, destroying cities, destroying people’s homes and livelihoods, and build libraries, support libraries, museums, and cultural institutions in both the United States and in the country that we fought wars in.”
In addition to questions about the Association’s finances, including whether members of the Executive Board were streamlining expenses, a discussion on libraries in hard times was lead by Committee on Library Advocacy representative Patty Wong and Washington Office consultant Chris A. McLean. ALA past president Carol Brey-Casiano and Washington Office consultant John Windhausen also talked about the work of the Office for Library Advocacy in a discussion titled “Libraries in Tough Times.”
The two resolutions were sent to ALA Council, where the one on civil marriage passed and the one on war failed, primarily because the majority of councilors found it outside the role of the Council.
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07.15.09
Posted in 2009 ALA Annual Conference at 9:29 am by Leonard Kniffel
At the final session of the ALA Council today, Committee on Legislation member Bernard Margolis reported that due to the location of Annual Conference 2010 in Washington, D. C., National Library Legislative Day, held annually in May, will become Library Advocacy Day instead. The event is being planned for June 28 during the conference. The switch will enable more ALA members to participate in the annual lobbying effort.
The event will include a rally in Upper Senate Park near the U. S. Capitol. The rally will feature guest speakers, and the committee hopes that up to 2,500 people will participate from every state in the union.
Council also approved the establishment of a representative group within ALA to assess the proposed Google Book Search Settlement. The Committee on Legislation made the recommendation in consideration of the Settlement’s broad potential implications for the profession in the areas of intellectual freedom, copyright and fair use, privacy, acess, and economics.
During the COA report, debate over the reauthorization of Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, resulted in the adoption of a resolution prepared by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee in which ALA urges Congress to allow Section 215 to sunset. The recommendation will be communicated to Congress and President Obama.
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03.16.09
Posted in ACRL at 1:52 am by George Eberhart
Ira Glass
Closing keynoter Ira Glass made his debut Sunday morning in complete darkness for a few minutes to demonstrate the intimacy and impact of radio. Thirteen years ago, the host and producer of NPR’s This American Life figured out that he felt most comfortable giving public lectures in a studio setting, so he came equipped with a CD player and other audio equipment that allowed him to play clips from previous shows and use music as transitions between his stories and his comments about them.
Glass talked a little bit about story research (which he suspected librarians might enjoy, although he also expected his audience would all look like Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but his major focus was on the techniques he uses to create effective storytelling. “We need characters and a plot,” he said, “and we need them to be pleasurable surprises.” He added that “most journalism makes the world seem smaller and stupider and less interesting” because it tries to eradicate the narrative. “But we live in a world where stories provide hope.”
His formula is a combination of anecdote, more anecdote, and then a brief commentary on the anecdote, glued together with engaging instrumental music that pushes the storyline forward and creates anticipation as well as ambience. It’s the same technique, Glass said, that rabbis and priests use in their sermons: “Even Jesus used this method in his parables.” He placed responsibility on much lameness in radio news on the “topic sentence” (the opening sentence of a composition that states the theme). Unlike every other NPR program, Glass said he does not begin his show by announcing the guests and topics; instead, he launches immediately into the first story and lets the narrative draw listeners into the magic of the tale: “When I hear people’s stories, the world seems to make more sense.”
Perhaps the greatest audience reaction occurred after Glass actually asked for ideas on what to do with the archival tapes of This American Life and whether any institutions would want to keep and preserve them. You could almost hear the bidding process taking tangible shape in the low rumbles of reaction. Glass admitted that he did not take a long view with his program and that he thought its value was in its immediacy in the present: “If it all got destroyed and went away, it wouldn’t be such a bad day,” he said, “but maybe you guys know better than me.” Indeed, before too long AL DIrect may well be carrying news of a new acquisition by a university audio archive.
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