ALA News

CHICAGO — From researching to remixing, library users need your guidance on a wide range of copyright topics. The way to move beyond “yes, you can” or “no, you can’t” is to become a copyright coach. In “Coaching Copyright,” published by ALA Editions, librarian and attorney Kevin L. Smith teams up with information literacy expert Erin L. Ellis to offer a framework for coaching copyright, empowering users to take a practical approach to specific situations.

CHICAGO — Today, the Public Library Association (PLA) announced that registration and housing are officially open for the PLA 2020 Conference. The conference will take place Feb. 25-29 in downtown Nashville, Tennessee; most events will be held at the Music City Center, located at 201 Fifth Avenue South. 

CHICAGO—Nominations are being accepted for the 2020 Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) preservation awards. ALCTS presents three Preservation Awards, through its Preservation and Reformatting Section, to honor individuals whose work represents the finest achievements in research, collaboration, creative work, leadership and service in preservation or to support a new preservation staff member’s participation in preservation activities at the ALA Annual Conference.

Sign up by Oct. 1 to join launch webinar

Today United for Libraries, the American Library Association (ALA) Public Policy and Advocacy office and the Census Counts campaign launched Library Census Champions, a new network of state, local and tribal library Trustees helping their libraries and communities prepare for the 2020 Census.

EXTON, Pennsylvania — United for Libraries is offering free access to the recording of the National Friends of Libraries Week webinar, which was held on Tuesday, September 10 at 2:00 p.m. eastern, on the United for Libraries website. Featured speakers include Judy Bentzen (Friends of the San Juan Island Library) and Katie Norris (Friends of the Charleston Public Library).

CHICAGO - American Library Association (ALA) and its professional affiliates, including the American Indian Library Association (AILA), Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), Joint Council of Librarians of Color, Inc. (JCLC, Inc.) and REFORMA: the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, will donate funds to libraries that are on the front lines of defending equity, diversity and inclusion.  

CHICAGO – In October, the Public Library Association (PLA) will host a webinar on the benefits to library service of mapping and leveraging community data. The webinar will feature King County Library System (KCLS), a 50-branch system encompassing urban, suburban and rural areas outside Seattle, Wash. Presenters Lisa Fraser and Elizabeth Nash will explain how KCLS uses data and mapping to better understand the populations within its diverse service territory, and how it in turn offers programs and services in response to the needs and interests of these communities.

CHICAGO – The Educators of School Librarians (ESLS) Section of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announces the recipients of the 2019 AASL Research Grant. Sponsored by School Library Connection, the grant recognizes excellence in manuscripts addressing a persistent and recurring challenge in the field of school librarianship. The grant consists of a $350 award and the opportunity to present the paper at the AASL National Conference. 

CHICAGO — Knowledge Management (KM) has been around for over 20 years as a set of tools and methods for connecting, collecting and creating knowledge. Lots has been written, and there are tens of thousands of practitioners out there—including in-company specialists and consultants. Unlike Lean, Agile and other business improvement methodologies, KM has never had a single agreed set of tools, or a commercial accreditation or standard. Attending a KM conference can feel a bit like visiting an international street food market.

CHICAGO—Nominations are being accepted for the 2020 Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) awards for professional achievement. These two awards honor individuals whose work represents the finest achievements in research, collaboration, creative work, leadership and service in acquisitions, and for outstanding promise in technical services.

If you are interested in nominating a candidate for any of the awards, contact the chair of that award jury. The deadline for nominations and supporting materials is Dec. 1.

Image Comics is celebrating Banned Books Week with the ALA Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table and the ALA Intellectual Freedom Round Table by producing a week of Library Livestream webinars featuring creators and librarians in conversation on a number of pressing topics! Libraries around the country are invited to welcome their patrons for these exciting creator conversations during Banned Books Week, the annual celebration of the freedom to read, which runs from September 22 – 28.

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services (YALSA) has selected Elsworth Carman, Director at the Iowa City Public Library, as the winner of its 2019 Symposium Diverse Program Stipend.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is pleased to announce the release of its equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) statement along with new resources that support the EDI-related work of the association. These materials, part of an ongoing commitment to EDI within the division and throughout the youth services library profession, further articulate and amplify ALSC’s commitment to EDI.

CHICAGO—Nominations are being accepted for the 2020 Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) awards for innovation and collaboration. ALCTS presents two awards to honor individuals and/or groups whose work represents the finest achievements and leadership in collaboration and innovation.

If you are interested in nominating a candidate for either of the awards, contact the chair of that award jury. The deadline for nominations and supporting materials is Dec. 1.

ProQuest Coutts Award for Innovation

CHICAGO—Nominations are being accepted for the 2020 Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) awards for outstanding achievement and promise in the field of cataloging, classification, and metadata management. The awards are presented by the Cataloging and Metadata Management Section of ALCTS. One award honors an individual who shows promise in the field of metadata, while the other recognizes an individual whose work represents the finest achievements in research, collaboration, creative work, leadership and service.

CHICAGO—Nominations are being accepted for the 2020 Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) awards for excellence in publication. ALCTS presents two Publication Awards to honor individuals for outstanding achievement in research and writing in the field of library collections and technical services.

If you are interested in nominating a publication for either of the awards, contact the chair of that award jury. The deadline for nominations and supporting materials is Dec. 1.

CHICAGO - The Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) of the American Library Association seeks nominations for the 2020 David Cohen/EMIERT Multicultural Award. 

The David Cohen/EMIERT Multicultural Award recognizes recent articles that include significant new research related to the understanding and promotion of multiculturalism in libraries in North America.  Works published between January 1, 2018 - December 31, 2019 are eligible. The 2020 award application deadline is January 3, 2020. 

CHICAGO—Nominations are being accepted for the 2020 Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) awards for outstanding achievement and promise in the field of serials and continuing resources. The awards are presented by the Continuing Resources Section of ALCTS. One award honors an individual who shows outstanding promise in the field of serials, while the other recognizes an individual whose work represents the finest achievements in research, collaboration, creative work, leadership and service.

The American Library Association Publishing Committee provides a grant of up to $5,000 for the preparation of print or electronic reading lists, indexes or other guides to library resources that promote reading or the use of library resources at any type of library.

Funded projects have ranged from “A Resource Guide about Disabilities, Disability Theory, and Assistive Technologies” to “A Bibliography for Queer Teens” to “Graphic Novels & the Humanity of Mental Illness” to “Web Accessibility Resources for Libraries”.

CHICAGO – The American Library Association (ALA) and Rakuten OverDrive have collaborated on a digital reading program – a national “digital book club” – which connects readers nationwide with simultaneous access to the same ebook through their public libraries.