Facing a $304 million shortfall for the coming year, Philadelphia’s public schools have started making severe cuts from its so-called “doomsday budget” —many of them to the 43 certified school librarians throughout the district.
White House Honors Library “Champions of Change”
By on June 11, 2013 Leave a Comment
The White House today honored 12 museum and library “Champions of Change” who are making a difference “for their neighborhoods and for our nation” in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Two of the IMLS honorees were named as 2013 Movers & Shakers.
SLJ’s Average Book Prices 2013
By on June 11, 2013 Leave a Comment
Here at last! The numbers our readers have been waiting for—the list of average book prices for 2012 and 2013 to date—are finally available.
A Guide to Chicago’s Best Kept Secrets | ALA 2013
By on June 10, 2013 2 Comments
Suggestions for places to eat in Chicago, along with recommended bookstores, bars, city landmarks, and concert venues.
ALA Hopeful, Excited by White House Push to Overhaul E-Rate Funding
By on June 7, 2013 1 Comment
The White House’s announcement Thursday that it is urging the FCC to overhaul E-Rate—the program that provides discounted Internet access and telecommunications services to U.S. schools and libraries—is an important and nearly unprecedented step forward in closing the digital divide, the American Library Association tells SLJ.
NYC Kids Rally for Libraries; City Council Members Urge Full Funding
By on May 22, 2013 Leave a Comment
More than a dozen New York City Council members, the presidents of New York’s three library systems, and several hundred librarians, library staff, supporters, advocates, and children from nearby schools rallied on the steps of city hall to protest $106 million in proposed funding cuts. Council members Jimmy Van Bramer and Vincent J. Gentile also pledged to introduce legislation that would create a baseline of stable funding for the city’s public library services.
AEP, AAP to Merge; AAP to Create Pre-K Division
By on May 20, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Association of Educational Publishers and the Association of American Publishers have agreed to merge. The two professional groups will combine their programming, professional development, and public policy advocacy operations serving the preK–12 educational publishing industry. Once the merger is complete, AAP will create a new pre-K division.
Connecticut House of Representatives Unanimously Passes Bill to Study Library Access to Ebooks, Legislation Now Moves to State Senate
By on May 14, 2013
House Bill 5614 (An Act Cocerning Ebooks and Libraries) passes Connecticut House of Representatives. Bill now heads to Senate. From the AP: The state House of Representatives voted Tuesday 143-0 to pass a bill requiring the commissioner of consumer protection to report to the General Assembly on the issue by Feb 1. The bill, which [...]
Nebraska: Columbus Library Board Rejects Challenge of Batman Graphic Novel
By on May 14, 2013
From the Columbus Telegram: The Columbus Public Library Board received its second materials challenge in five months and again rejected the protest. This time a patron objected to the book “Batman: The Killing Joke” by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. [Clip] It is currently located in the young adult area of the library, but cataloged [...]
Report: “Cengage CEO Seeking Restructuring, May File Bankruptcy”
By on May 10, 2013
Update May 14: More on This Story in a New Library Journal Article by Meredith Schwartz From Bloomberg: Cengage Learning Inc., the educational publisher owned by Apax Partners LLP, said it’s seeking to negotiate with creditors on a restructuring plan and may need to file bankruptcy as part of its turnaround efforts. “We will seek [...]
SLJ’s 2013 Job Satisfaction Survey | What’s Not to Love?
By on May 6, 2013 Leave a Comment
SLJ’s 2013 job satisfaction survey reveals widespread happiness among librarians, but challenges persist.
ALA Election Results: Young Wins President, Gonzalez Treasurer; Dues Measure Passes by Wide Margin
By on May 3, 2013
According to an ALA press release, “Young received 5,391 votes, while Immroth received 5,029 votes.” Meanwhile, a measure to allow ALA to increase dues in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) without explicit member approval also passed.
Philadelphia May Cut Its School Librarians
By on May 1, 2013 1 Comment
Philadelphia school children are facing an education without librarians—as well as nurses, counselors, athletic coaches, summer school, and school secretaries—because of a $304 million budget shortfall for the 2013–2014 school year.
Hachette to Sell Frontlist Ebook Titles to Libraries
By on May 1, 2013
Hachette Book Group today announced that it will once again sell its frontlist ebook titles to libraries, beginning on May 8. Hachette’s entire catalog of 5,000 ebooks will now be available through OverDrive, Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 platform, and the 3M Cloud Library, under a pricing and licensing model similar to the one employed by Random House.
Keith Curry Lance Receives AASL Distinguished Service Award
By on April 17, 2013 Leave a Comment
The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has announced that the recipient of its 2013 Distinguished Service Award is Dr. Keith Curry Lance, a Ph.D. sociologist who works with school and public libraries and related library organizations.
Urban Librarians’ First Conference Is a Love-In
By on April 8, 2013 Leave a Comment
“Out of the stacks and into the streets” was the rallying cry for the first Urban Librarian’s Conference this weekend in New York City. Organized by Urban Librarians Unite, a grassroots advocacy group, it attracted 120 librarians from around the country.
Goodreads Acquisition Presents Opportunity for LibraryThing
By on April 2, 2013
Amazon’s recent acquisition of Goodreads will likely have a ripple effect on other social media sites targeted at book lovers, with LibraryThing and Bookish potentially drawing membership from any defectors unhappy with the sale. Meanwhile, many Kindle owners will be introduced to Goodreads for the first time, as the site’s social media functions are integrated with Kindle devices. “Goodreads was fully independent…. it made them the natural allies of people who wanted to avoid the consolidation of the industry, in particular publishers,” LibraryThing founder Tim Spalding told LJ.
Amazon.com Will Acquire Goodreads
By on March 28, 2013
Update: Read What Goodreads CEO, Otis Chandler has to say about the Amazon acquisition. From the Blog Post: It’s important to be clear that Goodreads and the awesome team behind it are not going away. Goodreads will continue to be the wonderful community that we all cherish. We plan to continue offering you everything that [...]
Penguin Lifts Library Ebook Purchase Embargo
By on March 27, 2013
Penguin Group today announced that it will be changing the terms on its library ebook lending program, and on Tuesday, April 2, will begin allowing libraries to purchase and lend ebook titles the day that hardcover editions are released, according to The Associated Press. Previously, Penguin had placed a six month embargo on new ebooks, [...]
Cracking the Code: Librarians Acquiring Essential Coding Skills
By on March 6, 2013
For newcomers, computer source code can look quite alien. Librarians might be reminded of the first time they saw a MARC record—a mishmash of recognizable words and bits of information embedded in funky punctuation. But it doesn’t have to be that way–learning code can help librarians customize and improve the usability of web-based resources and vendor interfaces and improve communication with a library’s IT staff and software vendors.
