Stories about the American Library Association
Driving the news: The American Library Association said libraries are struggling to acquire ebooks because of an “abuse of market power by dominant firms,” as part of a report for the House Judiciary Committee’s digital markets investigation that was made public Thursday.
https://www.axios.com/amazon-library-ala-antitrust-ebooks-679e8e4d-97bc-4b91-98dc-353d607e6cd2.html
Urgent! Contact Your Senator About S. 1010
If passed, Congress would voluntarily hand over the power to appoint the copyright advisor to the president.
The Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (S. 1010), a Senate companion to House bill (H.R. 1695), will be voted on by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee this Tuesday, in spite of previous concerns by committee members. This legislation would make the position of the Register of Copyrights subject to Presidential appointment and Senate confirmation. Under current law, the Librarian of Congress selects the Register. ALA strongly opposes this bill and needs you to contact your U.S. Senators to express your objections to this bill and ask them to vote against it.
From Send a Message
Thanks Thanks Robin!
And, in fact, a number of female librarians did experience breakdowns, requesting long leaves of absence to recover. In 1900, the Brooklyn Public Library Association proposed “to build a seaside rest home for those who had broken down in library service,” McReynolds writes. One speaker at the American Library Association’s 1910 conference claimed he knew fifty librarians who had become incapacitated by the work, including some who died before their time.
From Being a Victorian Librarian Was Oh-So-Dangerous | JSTOR Daily
Can you believe it’s almost 2018? That means it’s time to look back at some of the notable library-related stories from the past year.
10. Librarians Fight Fake News
The problems with fake news caused many of us to revamp our web evaluation handouts into guides for spotting bogus information sources.
9. Elsivier Roundup
Elsivier made several headlines this year, in the form of boycotts and resignations. Their buyout of bepress also raised eyebrows.
In related news, Beall’s List went dark in January.
8. ALA’s Trump Statements
Late last year, many librarians were quick to jump on an initial (and now retracted) press release by the American Library Association about being “ready to work with President-elect Trump.” Recent statements have taken a far more militant tone.
7. Milo’s Book Cancelled
Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos found himself out of a book deal after making pro-pedophilia comments. The use of sensitivity readers and related author edits also made the news this year.
6. Whither the Open Web?
It’s too early to tell what the end of net neutrality will mean for the Internet, although most experts predict it won’t be a good thing.
Bonus: Favorite Presentation
For anyone sick of hearing about how, “during these hardships, it’s time for you to demonstrate your coping skills,” the ACRL talk, Resilience, Grit, and Other Lies: Academic Libraries and the Myth of Resiliency is for you.
5. Remember Electronic Reserve?
I first heard about the Georgia State e-reserve lawsuit in grade school. Well, not quite, but after almost a decade, the case is still open.
4. Chinese Censorship
Both Springer and Cambridge found themselves in hot water this year for agreeing to self-censor parts of their web publications for Chinese readers.
3. Little Free “Libraries” Criticism
An interesting point about those community bookshelves was made recently: they don’t often reside in “book deserts” where the need is greatest.
2. The Opioid Crisis
A staggering number of people die every day from overdoses in the United States. This year, public libraries found themselves on the front lines in the fight against opioid overdoses.
1. The Paradox of Tolerance
In the wake of neo-Nazi protests, librarians found themselves discussing the fine line between protected and hate speech.
What was your favorite story of the year?
LITA’s Patron Privacy Interest Group has partnered with the ALA IFC’s Privacy Subcommittee to create new checklists to support library patron privacy policies.
The checklists cover:
data exchange between networked devices and services
e-book lending and digital content vendors
library management systems/integrated library systems
library websites, OPACs, and discovery services
public access computers and networks
students in K-12 schools.
From New Checklists to Support Library Patron Privacy – LITA Blog
“Libraries play a vital role in our communities, and Google is proud to build on our partnership with ALA,” noted Hai Hong, who leads US outreach on Google’s K-12 Education team. “We’re excited to double down on the findings of Ready to Code 1 by equipping librarians with the knowledge and skills to cultivate computational thinking and coding skills in our youth. Given the ubiquity of technology and the half-a-million unfilled tech jobs in the country, we need to ensure that all youth understand the world around them and have the opportunity to develop the essential skills that employers – and our nation’s economy – require.”
From Central NY News:
Statement from ALA Prez Julie Todaro confirms that she is concerned how core values of free access, intellectual freedom and privacy will fit with the president elect Donald Trump’s administration. [aren’t we all]
“It is clear many of those values are at odds with messaging or positions taken by the incoming administration.”
Will this statement soften the blow of Todaro’s statement on November 15? (reprinted below):
“We are ready to work with President-elect Trump, his transition team, incoming administration and members of Congress to bring more economic opportunity to all Americans and advance other goals we have in common.”
In announcing his retirement to ALA staff, Fiels said, “It has been an incredible honor to have served my colleagues, libraries, and the public in this position for going on 15 years, during which we have made significant strides—and weathered a few storms. The staff and membership of ALA are the most amazing group of individuals that anyone could ever ask to work with.”
From ALA Executive Director Fiels Announces Retirement | American Libraries Magazine
Libraries are timeless treasures.
Even as pulpy paperbacks get swapped out for electronic ink, we still crave a physical space where we can surround ourselves with knowledge. When done right, those spaces can be works of art.
To find the most beautiful libraries in each state, Tech Insider looked at past and current award-winners as judged by the American Institute of Architects and the American Library Association awards, and relied on our own judgment for states who have never won.
Make sure to give these a look on your next road trip.
Hayden’s confirmation unanimously passed a rules committee vote in June. However, the vote by the full body was held up for five weeks as a result of a Republican-led hold-up, The Washington Post reports. No reason was given for the delay, but some conservatives have reportedly taken issue with positions she took as the leader of the American Library Association, as well as her lack of academic organizations.
From Carla Hayden Confirmed To Head Library Of Co | WBAL Radio 1090 AM
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