July/August 2017

THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION

NEWSMAKER Reshma Saujani p. 10

Library Card Civic Connections p. 24

PLUS: Exhibit Hall Roundup and Conference Candids

2017Annual Conference Wrap-Up p. 12

July/August 2017

American | 48 #7/8 | ISSN 0002-9769

COVER STORY 12 2017 Annual Conference Wrap-Up Libraryland writ large in the Windy City BY Anne Ford

FEATURES UP FRONT TRENDS 20 Tech Power 2 From the Publisher NEWSMAKER 10 Reshma Saujani Products for efficiency and Annual Conference from Near and Far CEO gets up every morning engagement in the Annual BY Laurie D. Borman “to close the poverty gap” Conference exhibit hall 11 Noted & Quoted BY Marshall Breeding 5 From Our Readers

24 It Starts with ALA SOLUTIONS a Library Card 30 Save Staff Time 4 From the President New labor-saving services Sharing our cities, Leaders in the Library towns, and BY Jim Neal PEOPLE natural places 6 Update 32 Announcements BY Jeffrey T. Davis What’s happening at ALA THE 34 Conference Candids

ON THE COVER: Photo by Cognotes

American Security Cabinets 9 | Crowley 8 | GEICO 29 | Modern Language Association 19 | OverDrive Cover 2 | American Library Association American Libraries 9, 28 eLearning Solutions Cover 3 | Graphics Cover 4 | Resource Description and Access 3 from the PUBLISHER

THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

Address: 50 E. Huron St., , IL 60611 Annual Conference Website: americanlibrariesmagazine.org Email: [email protected] Phone: 800-545-2433 plus extension from Near and Far Career Ads: JobLIST.ala.org PUBLISHER The Shark Club Laurie D. Borman by Ann Kidd Taylor he ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition What’s [email protected] | x4213 always delivers inspiration, amazing programs your beach ACTING EDITOR and speakers, and exciting new products and rea d? Sanhita SinhaRoy Beach [email protected] | x4219 . That’s why the event is the highlight by Jennifer Egan T SENIOR EDITORS of my year. Everyone on the American Libraries team, Amy Carlton including me, gets right in the middle of the action, [email protected] | x5105 The Essential George M. Eberhart reporting and photographing what’s happening. This W. P. Kinsella [email protected] | x4212 by W. P. Kinsella Exit Strategy year, however, I was #alaleftbehind—for good reason. ASSOCIATE EDITORS by Steve Hamilton My oldest son got married in Boca Raton, Florida, on Terra Dankowski [email protected] | x5282 the same weekend as the conference. Phil Morehart Laurie D. Borman [email protected] | x4218 As soon as I returned home, I started all The Time the Scoop posts about the speakers and programs and EDITOR-AT-LARGE Anne Ford Traveler’s Wife, seeing it from afar, as many members do when they [email protected] | x2157 by Audrey Niffenegger can’t attend the conference. It makes me very proud EDITORIAL INTERN Hanako Maki to see how extensive that coverage is, and I encourage [email protected] | x2157 you to visit americanlibrariesmagazine.org to catch EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING ASSISTANT up on any events you didn’t get to see or do, whether Carrie Smith you were also #alaleftbehind or lucky enough to be at The Power [email protected] | x4216 of Habit Octopus Pie ART DIRECTOR by Meredith Gran #alaac17. by Charles Rebecca Lomax Hillary Rodham Clinton’s powerful message ended Duhigg [email protected] | x4217 the conference: “As , you have to be on the ADVERTISING Michael Stack [email protected] | 847-367-7120 front lines of one of the most important fights we have Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement. faced in the history of our country: the fight to defend ALA reserves the right to refuse advertising. truth and reason and evidence and facts. You have to DEPARTMENT Catch up Mary Mackay, Associate Executive Director help us wage that fight one at a time, one library Mary Jo Bolduc, Rights, Permissions, Reprints | x5416 on events at a time, one person at a time.” MEMBERSHIP We’re also including a wrap-up of the conference Ron Jankowski, Director in this issue by Editor-at-Large Anne Ford, starting ADVISORY COMMITTEE you didn’t Joseph M. Eagan (Chair), Lee A. Cummings, Christine on page 12, as well as our regular feature by Marshall Korytnyk Dulaney, Mary L. Hastler, Ben Allen Hunter, Jasmina get to Breeding on interesting exhibit floor products, on Jusic, Susan H. Polos. Intern: Lucy Kelly, Lisa Anne Romano Editorial policy: ALA Policy Manual, section A.8.2 page 20, so you’ll have even more details on the see or do INDEXED Chicago conference. Available full text from ProQuest, EBSCO Publishing, with our With this issue, we also welcome new ALA President H. W. Wilson, LexisNexis, Information Access, JSTOR. Jim Neal to American Libraries. His column is on page 4. SUBSCRIBE Libraries and other institutions: $70/year, 6 issues, US, Canada, extensive Our Newsmaker, Reshma Saujani, was the confer- and Mexico; foreign: $80. Subscription price for individuals in- ence opening session speaker. The founder of the non- cluded in ALA membership dues. 800-545-2433 x5108, email coverage [email protected], or visit ala.org. Claim missing issues: profit , Saujani talked about closing ALA Member and Customer Service. Allow six weeks. of the the gender gap in the technology field by teaching girls PUBLISHED that coding is cool. The interview is on page 10. American Libraries (ISSN 0002-9769) is published 6 times yearly with occasional supplements by the American Library conference. Here’s to happy summer reading. Association (ALA). Printed in USA. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, , and additional mailing offices. POSTMAS- TER: Personal members: Send address changes to American Libraries, c/o Membership Records, ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chi- cago, IL 60611. ©2017 American Library Association. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced or republished without written permission from the publisher.

2 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org TRANSFORMING RDA

The RDA Toolkit Restructure and Redesign Project, also known as the 3R project, will bring about a major transformation to both RDA and RDA Toolkit. The project aims to significantly improve the functionality and utility of RDA Toolkit and will include the implementation of the IFLA Library Reference Model. The new Toolkit is expected to roll out in late Spring 2018 with . . .

• a responsive design, • improved site accessibility, • an integrated display of Toolkit documents, • enhanced search and navigation, • and a whole lot more.

FOLLOW THE PROJECT AT RDATOOLKIT.ORG/3RPROJECT from the PRESIDENT

Leaders in the Library Building on the Libraries Transform campaign

he recent ALA Annual Conference in There are important internal and external Chicago was an outstanding oppor- priorities in the works. tunity for more than 22,000 library Internally, we will recruit, appoint, and workers, exhibitors, and students from develop a new ALA executive director and work across the US and the world to come with the new director of our Washington Office. Ttogether to network, learn, and share. We will implement a unified and coordinated In addition to the many remarkable speakers presentation of our professional education pro- and presentations that made the conference a grams. We will improve our technology infra- rich educational experience, the work of the structure and systems. We will focus on member Association is also noteworthy: engagement and participation. We will improve Jim Neal ■ The Conference Accessibility Task Force issued communication and working relationships among recommendations for accessibility improve- ALA and its chapters, divisions, and round tables. ments at upcoming conferences. External issues will also be a priority. We ■ The Chapter Relations Communications Task will develop a strategy for expanded outreach Force issued a report to help improve chapter to promote librarianship as a career choice for engagement with ALA. students of color. We will develop a cohort of ■ A new Task Force on Sustainability was library workers and trustees with deep infor- launched to help increase implementation of mation policy knowledge and the skills to work sustainable practices by the Association, the in the policy arena. We will build collaborative profession, libraries, and their communities. relationships between ALA and national librar- ■ The new class of 60 Spectrum Scholarship ies, associations, technology organizations, First recipients and the 10th anniversary of the Amendment supporters, social justice communi- Emerging Leaders program were celebrated. ties, and publishers. We will focus on the vitality We made important progress on our four stra- of school libraries as fundamental to our work in tegic directions: advocacy; information policy; all types of libraries. And we will engage the jour- professional and leadership development; and nalism community in a partnership on fighting The equity, diversity, and inclusion. fake news and promoting our shared interest in campaign And at the core of our deliberations was the knowledge literacy. continued strong work of political activism at the The Libraries Transform campaign is our com- celebrates local, state, and national levels to preserve library pelling and consistent message to communicate programs and funding and to advance informa- and celebrate the value and impact of libraries and the value tion policies that support the work of our users. library workers on people’s lives and communi- and impact As I assume the responsibilities of ALA pres- ties. Transformation for me also means rethink- ident for 2017–2018, I want to emphasize my ing what we are, what we are doing, and how we of libraries core vision. We must dare to be bold, courageous, do it. I will focus on the Leader in the Library, the and challenging. We are virtual: engaged with our influence, innovation, and solutions we provide. and library users and with our communities in ever more rig- Libraries make leaders, both those who work orous and effective ways. We are virtuoso: smart in our libraries and those who depend on our workers on and always ready to learn. We are virtuous: radi- libraries. Libraries are a smart investment. people’s cally collaborative, focused on a core set of values, and always working in the public interest. Now is JIM NEAL is university emeritus at Columbia lives. the time for an outward view, not an inward focus. University in New York.

4 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org from our READERS

advocating critical thinking and Watching Access and Sustainability information literacy, one aspect #ALLive on Thank you, Bonnie and Beth, for of which is understanding and this article about the origins and questioning sources of data. social media and continued work of the Ameri- Rachel Ivy Clarke libraries. Very Syracuse, New York can Library Association’s (ALA) interesting stuff. Sustainability Round Table (“Sus- tainability’s Community of Prac- A reply from Kathy Rosa, director Chat section is tice,” The Scoop, May 10). This of ALA’s Office for Research and where it’s at! sentence really resonates with Library of Things Statistics, and author of the arti- @LOWEAM13 in response me: “The very notion of libraries, We have a very successful Library cle: There are many wonderful LIS to the American Libraries where space and resources are of Things here at the Hudson dissertations each year. I locate Live episode, “Social Media: equally accessible to all, puts (Ohio) Library and Historical and read dissertations via univer- What’s Next?” (May 19) them clearly and unequivocally at Society (“The Library of Things,” sity digital archives and online the heart of sustainability.” June, p. 48). Some of the things databases. I select dissertations Great article René Tanner we circulate include Chrome- that have practical implications Tempe, Arizona books, Fitbits, GoPros, puppets, for school, public, academic, in @amlibraries science kits, and ukuleles. It’s and special libraries. Next, I look about the efforts Toolkits for Faculty great fun, and patrons love the for a variety of methodologies, to desegregate including quantitative, qualitative, Thanks for highlighting the need surprise of the . public libraries for online toolkits (“Information Jodie DeLamatre and mixed methods approaches. Literacy Toolkits,” May, p. 54)! Akron, Ohio Those most relevant to current during the Civil At Cal State San Bernardino, we issues and with measurable rec- Rights Movement. ommendations for change are maintain the Critical Information Dissertation Criteria? @DATAQUILTER in Literacy Laboratory for Faculty: I am delighted to see recent then selected for the article. We response to “Desegregat- An Online Toolkit for Teaching doctoral dissertations pertaining will include the selection criteria ing Libraries in the Amer- and Learning (library.csusb.edu/ to librarianship featured in Amer- for this feature in the future. ican South” (June, p. 32) cillab). If you’re curious, you can ican Libraries (“Notable Disser- read more about its development tations,” May, p. 42). As a recent CORRECTIONS You know on the Association of College and PhD graduate, I understand The photo caption for “I Always Research Libraries’ Instruction how much work goes into these Will Refuse” (June, p. 36) mis- you’re into your Section site (bit.ly/2tXanIq). research projects, and I appre- identified the library as being job when you We’ll be surveying faculty ciate the effort to highlight and located in Anniston, Alabama. start listening to members this summer to get communicate the potential value The photo shows the Alexandria a better idea about our kit’s of their findings to our field. (Va.) Library in 1939. a podcast relating current usage and how we can However, I was disappoint- to it. Cheers improve it to better assist them, ed to see “eight of the year’s Our “2017 ALA Annual Con- @DeweyDecibel! especially those who will soon be top LIS dissertations” profiled ference Preview” (June, p. 64) @THEULUNATION in teaching new or revised general without any discussion about incorrectly suggested the Chicago response to the Dewey education courses that have an the selection criteria for excel- Cubs winning the 2016 World Decibel podcast attached critical information lence or what constitutes a top Series was the city’s first champi- literacy outcome. dissertation. From where were onship in 108 years. We regret this Gina Schlesselman-Tarango these dissertations culled? slight against the Chicago White Redlands, California Librarianship is a profession Sox, which won the series in 2005.

FOLLOW US: @amlibraries .com/amlibraries pinterest.com/amlibraries WRITE US: The editors welcome comments about recent content, online stories, and matters of professional interest. Submissions should be limited to 300 words and are subject to for clarity, style, and length. Send to [email protected] or American Libraries, From Our Readers, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795.

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 5 CS

Book Club Central Launches he American Library House. It was designed in Association (ALA) offi- consultation with expert Tcially launched Book librarians to provide Club Central at the 2017 ALA online resources such as Annual Conference and Exhi- author interviews, book bition in Chicago. The website recommendations, and was unveiled and Honorary reviews, as well as infor- Chair Sarah Jessica Parker mation for book clubs: announced her inaugural book discussion questions selection, No One Is Coming to Save Us, a novel by Stephanie and guides on how to Powell Watts (Ecco, 2017). As honorary chair, Parker will pro- start and moderate a vide additional recommended titles throughout the year. Her book club. next pick will be announced in the fall. “It is exciting to No One Is Coming to Save Us is an exploration of the Amer- have the opportunity ican Dream among African Americans in the South. Watts is to share Book Club an associate professor of English at Lehigh University and has Central with libraries, librarians, won numerous awards, including a Whiting Award, a Pushcart book clubs, and readers everywhere,” said ALA Past Prize, and the Southern Women’s Writers Award for Emerging President Julie B. Todaro. “As an online resource, Book Club Writer of the Year. Central will connect people to a new and engaging world of Book Club Central is an initiative of Booklist, United for reading and books.” Libraries, and Libraries Transform, ALA’s public awareness Book Club Central picks and online resources can be found campaign, along with corporate partner Penguin Random at bookclubcentral.org. •

ALA Condemns FCC Vote to the FCC endanger that. America’s librar- Phase III of Libraries Ready to Code, an Weaken Net Neutrality ies collect, create, curate, and dissemi- ongoing collaboration between ALA and ALA condemned the Federal Communi- nate essential information to the public Google to aid library professionals in cations Commission’s (FCC) May 18 vote over the internet and enable our users developing and delivering programming that began undoing strong net neutrality to build and distribute their own digital that promotes computer science (CS) and protections. ALA, along with an ad hoc content and applications. Abandon- computational thinking among youth. library and higher education coalition ing current protections endangers our Between 25 and 50 libraries will be representing more than 100,000 col- mission and ability to serve our commu- selected to receive funding from ALA leges, universities, and libraries nation- nities.” She vowed continued advocacy and consulting expertise and operational wide, stated that no changes to current on the part of ALA for the preservation of support from Google. Individual libraries rules are necessary or desired. This the open internet. may use funding for devices, staffing, coalition, which includes the Associa- marketing, and other costs associated tion of College and Research Libraries, Google to Fund New Libraries with piloting and rapidly iterating on a advocated for the 2015 Open Internet Ready to Code Grant CS educational toolkit. The toolkit, set Order and has continued to be engaged On June 22, ALA announced a com- to release in conjunction with National on this issue. petitive grant program, sponsored by Library Week in April 2018, will consist ALA Past President Julie B. Todaro Google, that will fund a cohort of school of resources for designing and imple- stated: “Net neutrality is critical to ensur- and public libraries to develop resources menting youth CS programming and a ing open and nondiscriminatory access to to help get US libraries “Ready to Code.” resource guide. Grant recipients will also information for all, and today’s actions by The $500,000 pilot program is part of initiate a community of practice.

6 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org AUG. 9–13 National Conference of African American Librarians | Atlanta Success for “Dear bit.ly/ncaal17

AUG. 19–25 Appropriator” Letters IFLA World Library and onths of advocacy work information, software, publishing, and Information Congress came to a promising close other businesses as well as nation- Wrocław, Poland Mwith the delivery of the “Dear al trade associations. The group 2017.ifla.org Appropriator” letters in the Senate. delivered an open letter to the Senate SEPT. The second stage of the Fight for urging members to sign letters in sup- Library Card Sign-Up Month Libraries campaign to preserve federal port of the Innovative Approaches to ala.org/librarycardsignup

funding for the Institute of Museum Literacy (IAL) program and the Library SEPT. 6–9 and Library Services (IMLS) resulted Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Association for Rural and in 21,000 emails sent to the Senate. In Additional information on the group’s Small Libraries Conference total, more than 42,000 emails were continuing advocacy is available at St. George, Utah sent to Congress, along with almost fundlibraries.com. arsl.info/2017-conference

26,000 #saveIMLS tweets since the Both letters received biparti- SEPT. 24–30 campaign began in mid-March. san support in the Senate, gaining Banned Books Week The Corporate Committee for signatures from new and returning ala.org/bbooks Library Investment, an advocacy group senators. The letter in support of IAL SEPT. 27 formed specifically to address fed- received 37 signatures, and the LSTA Banned Websites eral library funding issues, joined the letter received 45 signatures, a new Awareness Day campaign in May. Nearly 30 founding record for the Senate. A full list of sup- ala.org/aasl/advocacy/bwad member companies and organizations porting lawmakers is available online OCT. 8–14 were joined by an additional 60-plus at bit.ly/SenateIMLS. • Teen Read Week teenreadweek.ning.com

OCT. 15–21 National Friends of ALA’s Office for Information Technol- educational opportunities, access to more Libraries Week ogy Policy and Google will offer seven financial resources, and a dedicated staff bit.ly/alafolweek sessions related to libraries and coding, provided by ALA. The missions of FAFLRT including an introduction to Ready to and ASCLA are closely aligned, and there OCT. 29–NOV. 4 Code and a workshop on how libraries will be the opportunity to create interest International Games Week games.ala.org can work to close the digital gap. groups that reflect the needs of federal Ready to Code grant applications and armed forces librarians.” NOV. will open in mid-July. Updates and The two groups plan to present a joint Picture Book Month resources are available at ala.org/tools/ plan to the ALA Committee on Oper- picturebookmonth.com readytocode. ations at the ALA Midwinter Meeting NOV. 3–5 & Exhibits in 2018 and actualize the YALSA Young Adult Services FAFLRT and ASCLA to Merge merger on September 1, 2018. Once Symposium | Louisville, Kentucky In April, the Federal and Armed Forces finalized, the merger will result in the ala.org/yalsa/yasymposium

Libraries Round Table (FAFLRT) voted to addition of up to 300 new members to NOV. 9–11 merge with the Association of Special- ASCLA’s current membership. AASL National Conference ized and Cooperative Library Agencies and Exhibition | Phoenix (ASCLA). Citing declining membership, Public Libraries Invited to Apply bit.ly/aasl17phoenix

FAFLRT President Karl Debus-Lopez said, for Vietnam War Programming NOV. 9–12 “This merger with ASCLA will provide Fifty public libraries will be selected LITA Forum | Denver our members with more networking and through a competitive application litaforum.org

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 7 UPDATE

Kromer Named Washington Office AED

athi Kromer has been named the new associate exec- 20,000 and identified high-level “grass- utive director (AED) of the ALA Washington, D.C. top” advocates within 39 chapters across KOffice. As AED, Kromer will direct and manage the the country. Kromer also was among Washington Office; represent libraries and librarians in the those responsible for legislation that Washington community, which includes Congress, the Exec- created the National ALS Registry and utive Branch, and the Judiciary; and raise the visibility in the was instrumental in the US Department national debate and the public’s consciousness. of Veterans Affairs ruling that ALS is a Prior to accepting a position with ALA, Kromer was vice Kathi Kromer service-connected disease. president of strategy and outreach at the Amyotrophic Kromer has a master of arts in international commerce and Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association. policy from George Mason University and a bachelor of arts While with the ALS Association, Kromer created and exe- in history and political science from University of Pittsburgh. cuted public policy and outreach strategy. She expanded its She has more than 20 years’ experience working with Con- national grassroots program from 2,000 advocates to nearly gress and state governments. • process to receive a programming kit for September 17. The kit will include a pro- accepting job offers. It provides a list of The Vietnam War, a 10-part documen- gramming guide and a DVD copy of the questions employers typically ask, along tary film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick full 18-hour series, with public perfor- with questions to ask employers during that will air on PBS stations beginning mance rights. an interview. In addition, the guide has Recipients will also receive promo- information on networking and provides tional materials, online resources to resources to help individuals manage Well-Rounded support local programs, and opportu- stress during a job search. nities for partnership with local PBS The guide was produced for HRDR Scanners and Services stations. Participating libraries will be by College Recruitment Media. It is required to host at least one program available as a free download at bit.ly/ related to the film before January 1, ALAcareerdev. 2018, along with other promotional and reporting requirements. Small Library College Readiness Applications must be received by Project Applications Open August 1. The application and guide- Applications for rural, small, and tribal lines are available at apply.ala.org/ libraries are open through September 1 Microform Reader-Printers thevietnamwar. for the second cohort of the Young Adult The project is offered by the ALA Public Library Services Association (YALSA) Microfilm Hosting Programs Office in partnership with and Association of Rural and Small WETA Productions in Washington, D.C. Libraries’ (ARSL) project “Future Ready with the Library: Connecting with Com- HRDR Releases Career munities for College and Career Readi- Development Resources Guide ness Services.” Book Scanners The ALA Office for Human Resource Thirty applicants will be chosen to Development and Recruitment (HRDR) participate, beginning with a two-day has published a Career Development orientation in Denver February 8–9, Since 1980, Crowley has delivered Resource Guide, intended to assist library 2018. Cohort members will receive travel premier scanning solutions and conversion staff at all levels in their job search and funding, and their library will receive services for all library requirements. career journeys. funding to hire temporary staff to cover The guide includes sections on job their absence. For the remainder of 2018, Call (240) 215-0224 to request a quote or on-site demo search strategies, self-marketing, and cohort members will participate in online correspondence, as well as interviewing courses and discussions with the goal of www.thecrowleycompany.com strategies and tips on negotiating and planning, implementing, and evaluating

8 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org UPDATE

a college and career readiness (CCR) papers will be considered for publication Programs Assessment: Phase I, will service for middle schoolers in their com- in School Library Research, subject to the implement the first research recommen- munity. Cohort members will also receive journal’s peer review process. dation that came out of an IMLS National two stipends: one to purchase CCR Proposals for papers that report Leadership planning grant in 2014. A materials for their library and another to preliminary findings on research in copy of the 2014 white paper is available use toward a professional development progress should be submitted to Lucy at nilppa.newknowledge.org. activity. This project will also create an Santos Green at lucysantosgreen@ Conducted in collaboration with the online community of practice as well as gmail.com no later than 11:59 p.m. New Knowledge Organization think tank, free, customizable resources for use by Eastern on August 11. Proposals are the project will attempt to answer two all libraries. limited to 1,500 words and should use questions: How can we characterize and The application and requirements are APA style. Selected authors must submit categorize public programs offered by available at bit.ly/yalsafrl. a completed 5,000-word paper by Octo- libraries today? And what competencies ber 9. Full details are available at bit.ly/ and training are required for profession- ESLS Call for Proposals eslsproposals. als working with library programming? The Educators of School Librarians Sec- A series of surveys will be dissemi- tion (ESLS) of the American Association IMLS Funds Outcomes Research nated to library practitioners to assess of School Librarians (AASL) invites sub- The ALA Public Programs Office has the state of current library public missions of original research paper pro- received a $512,000 National Leadership programming, including program types, posals that focus on school library practice Grant from IMLS for a research project to topics, formats, audiences, partner rela- or school librarianship. Three selected understand and document the charac- tionships, and current competencies, and papers will be presented in a concurrent teristics, audiences, outcomes, and value also to identify those skills required in the session at the AASL National Conference of US library public programming. The field that are not being adequately taught and Exhibition. In addition, the selected project, National Impact of Library Public in formal learning settings.

PODCAST

Join American Libraries Associate Editor Phil Morehart as he hosts conversations with librarians, authors, thinkers, and scholars about topics from the library world.

Listen at bit.ly/deweydecibel or find us on iTunes

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 9 TRENDS

City public schools and I wanted Reshma Saujani to do something about it. I really believe we can create ladders up to CEO gets up every morning “to close the poverty gap” the middle class for girls and their families. And I think there are so many innovations that are sitting on the sidelines because we’re not eshma Saujani is not a coder, but that didn’t stop her from founding Girls Who teaching our girls to code. Code, a nonprofit that has—in its quest to confront the gender imbalance in tech Rculture—taught thousands of girls in schools and libraries across the US such What role do you think libraries can skills as computer programming, career confidence, and community involvement. Her have in promoting STEM education forthcoming book, Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World (Viking Books and closing the inequality gap in for Young Readers), will be published in August. American Libraries spoke to Saujani at technology? [There’s a Girls Who the American Library Association’s 2017 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago, Code] club that we have in Carroll just a few highway exits from where she grew up. County, Ohio—a county that’s been decimated by economic inequality and the heroin epidemic—and Girls Who Code has seen expo- problem—maybe bullying, maybe twice a week, 40 girls meet at the nential growth since its founding. access to water—something that library in Carrollton to learn how to To what do you attribute the they’re passionate about, and we’ve code. Fifteen percent of our clubs non profit’s success? We have this made that connection for them. are in libraries, and many of those amazing, authentically girl-led libraries are in communities where movement. We started with 20 girls In a TED talk last year, you said our girls don’t have opportunities. in 2012; now we’ve reached more culture conditions boys for bravery I go to work every day because I than 40,000 girls in all 50 states and girls for perfection. What is it want to close the poverty gap. The through our summer immersion about coding and computer skills rate of automation is so fast, and programs and after-school clubs. that can encourage girls to take families have lost their jobs because We’ve met girls where they’re at. more risks? The whole process is of computers and robots. They We’ve taught them how to solve a trial and error. It’s iteration. That know that the last jobs to go will be annoying semicolon is in the wrong the ones that belong to those who place and you have to do it over are programming those comput- and over again to get your code to ers and robots, and they’re going work, and then there’s this magical to make sure that it’s their girls. moment when it all comes together. Libraries are the ones that are at the So girls are learning how to be forefront of closing the access gap. imperfect—they’re learning how to fail. When they’ve gone through How did libraries influence your that, it’s almost like a superpower. own childhood and education? My father used to take me to the Your own career path has been Schaumburg (Ill.) Public Library, largely in the legal and political and it was the most magical place sectors. When did you realize for me. It’s where I discovered new that you wanted to form a STEM- books and fell in love with stories, oriented nonprofit? I’m a bizarre and it made me a voracious reader. person to have started Girls Who I am incredibly busy, but I prob- Code. My father could tell you, I ably read four books a month. I was terrified of math and science love libraries, and I love librarians. growing up. I discovered I wanted Every time I get a new group of to spend my life solving this prob- girls, I often ask, “Who told you lem when I ran [for Congress] in about Girls Who Code?” And so 2012. I lost, but in that journey I many of these girls will say to me, saw the gender gap in New York “My librarian.” That’s powerful. Photo: Adrian Kinloch Adrian Photo:

10 TRENDS

From the 2017 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition

“When I die, I may not go to heaven; I don’t know if they let cartoonists in. If they don’t, just bury me in the library; The library is as close to heaven as I’ve been.”

LYNDA BARRY, to the tune of Tanya Tucker’s version of “Texas (When I Die),” at the American Library Association (ALA) Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants Reception, June 24, in Chicago.

“I owe my living, my life, my passion “Libraries are where so many queer people to librarians and public libraries.” actually find themselves and find validation of feelings they haven’t quite expressed verbally PASCAL MÉRIAUX, head of the Amiens (France) Comics Resource Center and Festival and the French Comics until they’ve read it in a book. Beginning in the Association, during “Graphic Novel Friday Forum,” June 23. 6th grade, I started volunteering for my local library. I did very small things—just shelve books “I’m only standing here today and move carts from one end of the library because librarians saw something to the other. And it also afforded me as much in me that I didn’t see in myself.” reading time as I could possibly have. So I find RESHMA SAUJANI, founder of Girls Who Code, during the the work of librarians valuable, and I think our Opening General Session, June 23. culture needs them now more than ever.” RAKESH SATYAL, author of No One Can Pronounce My Name (Picador, 2017), during the session “Out and Proud: LGBTQ “CAN I JUST SAY, Literature,” June 24. HANGING OUT WITH “We had heard that all our lives. A FEW THOUSAND But we felt that we belonged LIBRARIANS IS A NICE wherever we wanted to be.” WAY TO SPEND THE DAY.” GERALDINE EDWARDS HOLLIS, one of the Tougaloo (Miss.) Nine arrested for entering a whites-only public library in 1961, after a BILL MCKIBBEN, author and environmentalist, on library assistant told her she didn’t belong in that library. Hollis

Photo: Guillaume Paumier Guillaume Paumier Photo: after his session, June 24. spoke at the program “Desegregating Public Libraries,” June 25.

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 11 The crowd reacts to Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Closing General Session.

2017

Conference Wrap-Up Libraryland ore than 22,700 people gathered at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2017 Annual Conference and Exhibition writ large to learn about, celebrate, debate, and discuss the most press- Ming issues facing the library world today, all while enjoying in the several days of seasonable, sunny Chicago weather. Common themes of the hundreds of programs on offer were children and teen services, social Windy City justice, information access, and science and technology, while big-name speakers such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Bill McKibben, and Hillary Rodham BY Anne Ford Clinton attested fervently to their love and admiration for library profes- sionals and inferred the important roles libraries may play in the future.

12 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org TEENS AND TOTS

At the Opening General Session, Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani kicked things off with a few startling statistics: Last year, the graduated 40,000 computer science majors for 500,000 open jobs. Only one in four American high schools offer com- puter science as part of the curriculum. And today, only 18% of computer science graduates are women. “We’re missing out on women,” she said. “I am a feminist with a capital F, but I don’t believe in gender parity for the sake of gender parity. I teach girls to code because I want to make sure that no innovation is sitting on the side- lines.” She urged attendees to help increase the percentage Clockwise from top: Graphic novelist and National Ambassador for of Girls Who Code clubs in libraries from 15% to 50%: “I’m Young People’s Literature Gene Luen Yang; Nancy Evans, young enlisting you to help me solve this problem.” adult librarian at Levittown (N.Y.) Public Library; refugee and author Sandra Uwiringiyimana. Gender bias was also the focus of a talk by Nancy Evans, young adult librarian at Levittown (N.Y.) Public Library and founder of Strong Girls School, a weekly program for Author and Auditorium Speaker Series speaker Sandra

American Libraries American young women in grades 6–12 that addresses topics such as Uwiringiyimana—who fled the Democratic Republic of self-esteem, bullying, and rape culture. In many ways, the Congo as a child only to see many of her family members program accomplishes something the local school system murdered in a refugee camp—spoke of the need to advocate cannot. For for refugee rights. “We are all so much more connected than Videos available at youtube.com/ example, we think,” she told her audience. “The refugee experience George M. Eberhart/ George AmLibraryAssociation/videos “the school is not too far removed from anyone. It’s not you now, but doesn’t it could happen to your grandchildren or relatives in the deal well with bullying,” said Evans. “They have programs future. What kind of world do we want to live in?” in place, but the bullies know how to work around these National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

American Libraries; Libraries; American programs.” In that way, her program is a safe space for those Gene Luen Yang spoke in a multipart forum on comics in girls looking for information and understanding. the classroom. A MacArthur Fellow and graphic novelist Teens of color, immigrants, and refugees are emerging who has also taught high school computer science, Yang populations in many communities, but how do we best serve shared his experiences from one of his classes, in which them? Promoting and branding your library, opening the he started drawing his lectures as comics and noticed that library before and after school, and asking teens to read and “students preferred me in cartoon form over my flesh-and- review books were a few of the suggestions at the session blood self.” Yang surmised that comics are popular with “Dynamic Ways to Serve Teens of Color,” sponsored by the students because they allow the reader control over the flow

Photos: Cognotes; Rebecca Lomax/ Rebecca Cognotes; Photos: Young Adult Library Services Association. of information.

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 13 Clockwise from left: Alexander Hamilton author and keynote speaker Ron Chernow; Geraldine Edwards Hollis, one of the Tougaloo Nine who helped to desegregate the Jackson (Miss.) Public Library; author Rakesh Satyal at “Out and Proud: LGBTQ Literature.”

As for the always-hot topic of screen time for children, collection development specialist for Cuyahoga County a session sponsored by the Association for Library Service (Ohio) Public Library. to Children (ALSC) discussed the American Academy of Similarly, at the ALSC President’s Program, Sarah Lytle of Pediatrics’ (AAP) most recent guidelines regarding kids the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences presented new and digital media consumption. Whereas the AAP formerly research that suggests there is no evidence of learning from recommended no screen time for children under age 2, screens for kids at an early age. She also presented research on as of October 2016 it states that children younger than video chat applications such as Skype and FaceTime and their 18 months—who learn by exploring through touching, effects on children’s ability to learn. What the research reveals tasting, and personal is that a technology that allows you to have social interaction social interactions—are no through its use performs just as well as a live interaction. longer banned from screen Conversely, parents, educators, and caregivers should guard More Online time, but digital media against talking toys, such as baby cellphones, baby laptops, For more coverage of use should be limited to and talking farms, which “render the parent a bystander.” Annual Conference, visit video chatting, such as to The program “Librarians Go to Juvie” revealed that 85% americanlibrariesmagazine connect with relatives who of juveniles involved with the court system are functionally .org/tag/alaac17. don’t live nearby. low-literate, and involvement with the court system dramat- Children 18–24 months ically increases the high school dropout rate. That’s why the who view apps or videos need an adult, developmentally Kalamazoo (Mich.) Public Library runs a program called the speaking, to act as their bridge between the digital and Late Show, which provides bedtime reading services, a book physical world and practice dialogic reading with them. And club, and author visits to the Kalamazoo County Juvenile children 2–5 years—a group frequently targeted by apps Home. Visiting authors such as John Green do , talk marketed as “educational,” though most are proved inef- and eat pizza with the kids, and sign copies of their books fective and sometimes even detrimental to their growth— that the students get to keep when they leave the facility. For should have limited screen viewing time that comes from some students, these are the first books they’ve ever owned. trusted sources such as Sesame Workshop and PBS. “We Students are just one population susceptible to the “fake don’t want to scare parents, but we as professionals should news” phenomenon. Joanna Burkhardt, professor and know what’s ineffective,” said Mary Schreiber, youth director of the University of Rhode Island branch libraries

14 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org “The big story of the Grant administration,” Chernow said, “was the crushing of the Ku Klux Klan…. Hundreds and thousands of African Americans were killed as [the Klan’s] reign of terror spread south. No Southern jury would ever convict members of the KKK, and it turned into a com- plete breakdown of the criminal justice system.… [Grant’s] administration brought some 3,000 indictments against members of the Klan.” That, in addition to his vigorous enforcement of the Fourteenth (citizenship, due process, equal protection) and Fifteenth (right to vote) Amendments, made Grant the “single most important president safeguard- ing African-American rights between Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Baines Johnson.” Geraldine Edwards Hollis was one of nine African- American students at the historically black Tougaloo (Miss.) College who were arrested for entering the whites-only public library in Jackson, Mississippi, on March 27, 1961. In a program titled “Desegregating Public Libraries: The Tou- Activist and attorney Deepa Iyer holds her book, We Too Sing America. galoo Nine,” Hollis told what happened that day, when they were arrested by police: “I went to the desk very confidently and asked for a specific book.” The assistant told the stu- and author of Teaching Information Literacy Reframed: 50+ dents that they did not belong there. “We had heard that all Framework-Based Exercises for Creating Information-Literate our lives. But we felt that we belonged wherever we wanted Learners (ALA-Neal Schuman, 2016), began the session to be,” said Hollis. The Jackson Public Library was desegre- “Helping Library Users Navigate Fake News” by document- gated about one year later. The library plans to dedicate a ing infamous instances of fake news from the past, such as plaque on August 17 to be placed on the building where the Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds radio hoax in 1938. event occurred. Burkhardt offered several tips on how to counteract fake The president’s program of the Asian/Pacific American news, especially for librarians and teachers who help stu- Librarians Association featured South Asian–American dents navigate news and media daily: embrace skepticism; activist and attorney Deepa Iyer, whose 2015 book We Too compare different kinds of sources; find out who writes the Sing America explored the personal stories of South Asians, articles; follow links and citations; make sure headlines, Muslims, Arabs, and Sikhs whose lives were altered by hate images, and stories match; look for odd URLs; do your crimes in post-9/11 America. With the public equating own fact-checking; read everything, not just the headline; Muslims with terrorists, calling for English-only legislation, examine information before sharing it; and check your own holding anti-Sharia Law rallies, and removing references to biases, even if a story runs counter to your beliefs. Islam in school , “these things all come together to form a climate of fear,” Iyer said. She urged libraries to, JUSTICE AND ACCESS among other things, serve as safe spaces for everyone in the community and become knowledge-expanders by featuring Ulysses S. Grant: Civil War general, 18th president of the speakers of color. United States, and … protector of African-American rights? “Libraries are not neutral spaces,” said Annie Pho, Yes, said historian Ron Chernow, author of the acclaimed inquiry and instruction librarian for peer services and biography Alexander Hamilton (the book that became the public programs at UCLA, and one of the panelists at “You basis for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical) and presenter Can’t Stay Neutral on a Moving Train,” a session on how of the conference’s keynote address. Chernow’s next book librarians can integrate social justice themes into library is Grant (Penguin, October), and in his talk he attempted to programs and exhibits. “Often I feel helpless with the bar- set the record straight on a much maligned and misunder- rage of current events and I have to remind myself that as a stood individual. librarian I do have the skills and the space in the library to

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 15 From left: The Martian author Andy Weir; environmentalist Bill McKibben.

create stories about those groups who are underrepresented comments about and marginalized.” their bodies, and She described a number of projects she was associ- the like—and ated with at UCLA, particularly “American Concentration asked attendees if they had experienced any of these behav- Camps,” which brought together photos and documents on iors from patrons. Nearly everyone in the room raised a the forced relocation of Japanese Americans during World hand. The presenters listed several best practices for fighting War II. Another panelist, Miriam Neptune, digital scholar- harassment from patrons and creating a supportive environ- ship librarian at Smith College in Northampton, Massachu- ment for staff, including having an antiharassment policy setts, described a pop-up program she worked on called the and assuring employees that you will act on complaints. Black Unicorn Project, a weeklong installation that cele- In “Intellectual Freedom and Open Access: Working brated the lives and experiences of people of color. Toward a Common Goal?” panelists answered a variety of An impromptu musical performance took place at the “Out questions on the topics of the socioeconomic dimensions and Proud: LGBTQ Literature” program, as author Rakesh and diversifying the homogeneous world of scholarly pub- Satyal broke out into song at the end of his talk, singing lishing, as well as making authoritative research publicly “Goodnight, My Someone” from The Music Man (sung by the accessible to all. This conversation works in both directions, character Marian the librarian, not coincidentally). For many they summarized. It’s important to make research available queer youth, Satyal said, the library is a place where they to the public, but it’s equally essential to learn from what the “find themselves and find validation of feelings they haven’t public has to teach us as well. quite expressed verbally until they’ve read it in a book.” Censorship takes different forms: government-led, In the session “It’s Not Just ‘Part of the Job’: Breaking the economic, and self-imposed, to name a few. Translating and Silence on Sexual Harassment in the Library,” Katie McLain, making marginalized works available helps shed light not reference assistant at Waukegan (Ill.) Public Library (WPL), only on other cultures but on the often-subtle mechanisms and her colleague Amanda Civitello, marketing and commu- of oppression that operate even in more open environments. nications manager at WPL, defined sexual harassment, iden- The program “Banned Abroad: Stories of International tified the behaviors associated with it, discussed how libraries Censorship” invited panelists who have worked as publish- can empower staff, and offered resources for what to do next. ers, translators, editors, and researchers to discuss their Civitello displayed a list of examples of sexual experiences with works that have been censored or banned harassment—touching, asking about marital status, in their original languages.

16 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org Susan Harris, editorial director of the online magazine Words Without Borders, believes it is impossible to publish Council Approves literature without being political. She emphasized that works in translation can help humanize people from other Statement on Climate countries, particularly for Americans who often are taught to view others “strictly through a political prism.” Harris explained that the limited number of publishers translating Change, Honors Fiels works into English effectively bans marginalized voices by n American Library Association (ALA) “Statement making them difficult to access. on Global Climate Change and a Call for Support Afrom Libraries and Librarians” (CD#41) passed as SCIENCE AND TECH amended, as did a resolution on “Libraries as Responsible Spaces” (CD#44.2). Andy Weir, author of the bestselling novel The Martian—the Executive Board members read a tribute resolution fictional but scientifically accurate tale of an astronaut who (T#3) for ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels, finds himself stranded on Mars, which was adapted into an who is retiring in July after 15 years of service. Fiels urged Oscar-nominated film—charmed the crowd at his Audito- members to continue their hard work despite current rium Speaker Series presentation, recounting his career’s efforts to undo the progress the profession has made. trajectory with genuine zeal. He spoke about his forthcom- “We need to be here in a hundred years,” he said. “People ing book, Artemis (Crown, November), a crime thriller set around the world understand that libraries are synon- on the moon. Weir described his research process and how ymous with democracy, enlightenment, and creating a he discovered that mineral elements already in existence on better world.” the moon could be used to construct livable structures for Council passed four motions: one clarifying educa- humans. “It’s a weird feeling to be at the tail end of success,” tion requirements for future ALA executive directors in he said. “Will I be a one-hit wonder? I’ll find out.” the ALA Policy Manual (CD#17.1); “Politics in American Noted author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, whose Libraries: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights” 1989 book The End of Nature is said to have been the first (CD#19.12); “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: An Inter- popular exposé of human-caused climate change, minced pretation of the Library Bill of Rights” (CD#19.13); and no words in his talk on the battle for a livable planet—a “Definitions of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” (CD#44.1). battle, he says, that we are currently losing. “We need Council approved a FY2018 budgetary ceiling of to understand the vast scale and pace of the problem of $66.7 million (CD#13.3). climate change in order to get the right scale and pace of Reports were received from the Center for the Future our solutions,” he stressed. “We are past the point where we of Libraries (CD#39), Committee on Diversity (CD#44), can solve this problem by local or personal action. An array Committee on Legislation (CD#20.1), Committee on Orga- of solar panels on your home will not make a difference. nization (CD#27.1), Conference Accessibility Task Force We need to join together globally.” However, he said later, (CD#37.1), Council Election Tellers Committee (CD#12.3), “there shouldn’t be a library around without a bunch of solar Freedom to Read Foundation (CD#22.1), Intellectual Free- panels on the roof. It’s a symbolic connection between solar dom Committee (CD#19.11–19.13), International Relations energy and the enlightenment that comes with knowledge.” Committee (CD#18.1–18.2), and Policy Monitoring Commit- Science liaisons in search of free-access materials flocked tee (CD#17.1). to a panel session on open educational resources (OERs), Memorials were read for Eric Moon (M#10), Marija J. where Merinda McLure, associate professor and health and Sanderling (M#11), Robert Henry “Bob” Rohlf (M#12), human services librarian at University of Colorado–Boulder, Dorothy Evans (M#13), Joy L. Lowe (M#14), Pauline suggested that librarians start where they are, embrace Manaka, and Amanda Rudd. Tributes were offered for collaboration, and look to the OER community, especially Harry Bruce (T#2) and the 20th anniversary of the victory the successful examples. McLure also armed the audience in the Communications Decency Act case (T#4). with a variety of resources related to OERs. The “2016 For complete coverage of ALA Council at Annual Student and Course Materials Survey,” conducted Conference, visit americanlibrariesmagazine.org/tag/ by Florida Virtual Campus, provides excellent insight into ala-council. •

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 17 spaces can coexist happily with libraries, she pointed out, as libraries have always embraced change.

LIBRARY LOVE

Speakers delivered moving tributes to the ways in which libraries have changed their lives. In her Auditorium Speaker Series session, researcher and author Brené Brown, who has been studying shame, vulnerability, courage, and other social science topics for more than 15 years, told the crowd that she can measure important mile- From left: Actor Sarah Jessica Parker with No One Is Coming to Save stones in her life Us author Stephanie Powell Watts; social science researcher and through libraries. author Brené Brown. She recalled one male librarian average costs for student course materials, while “Opening who saw her nurs- the Textbook: Educational Resources in US Higher Educa- ing her newborn tion, 2015–16” by Babson Survey Research Group provides a on the library snapshot of the footprint of OERs on campus and perceived floor and his barriers to adoption. caring response The Library and Information Technology Association’s before giving her Top Technology Trends panel presents the current and access to a private future technology that will be affecting library services room: “‘This is for years to come. This conference’s program included not acceptable. We will find somewhere much better for perspectives on resource sharing, public libraries, library you than this.’” consultants, European libraries, and academic libraries. Brown’s profession of libraries and librarians as a refuge Panel member Tara Radniecki, engineering librarian at was the perfect segue into her talk about belonging, the topic the University of Nevada, Reno, shared tips on managing of her forthcoming book Braving the Wilderness (Penguin makerspaces, such as charging fees, knowing the cost per Random House, September). She concluded that humans use of your technology, supporting all types of makers, and need both vulnerability and courage for true belonging, creating a local network. along with an immutable spirit and sense of self to navigate “Don’t create a bunch of rules. Create a framework and the inevitable isolation. “I think the greatest measure of true trust [users],” was the advice of Rebecca Stavick, executive belonging is dissent,” Brown declared to applause. director of Omaha, Nebraska–based Do Space, in a session Before a packed auditorium at the President’s Program, on how to create a successful tech space. Do Space is a actor Sarah Jessica Parker—who is a member of multiple community technology library that provides users access to book clubs, leader of online book discussions, and past technology and innovative learning experiences. Manag- appointee to President Obama’s Committee on the Arts ing a tech space, Stavick said, should start with the space’s and Humanities—reminisced about her trips to the Clifton mission. Consider how it fits into your library’s mission and branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton use that as a tool to help you get the work done. Traditional County as a kid, and raved about taking her own children to library services are extremely popular, but technology the Jefferson Market branch of the New York Public Library.

18 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org P MLASubscribe to Publications of the Modern Language Association of America “I have wanted for a very long time to take a more active and public role in supporting writers, readers, and libraries,” said Parker, who was on hand to launch ALA’s new online platform of reading resources and rec- ommendations, Book Club Central, of which she serves as honorary chair. Alongside then–ALA President Julie B. Todaro, Parker unveiled the website and the club’s inaugural fiction selection: No One Is Coming to Save Us (Ecco, 2017) by Stephanie Powell Watts. Parker had high praise for librarians. “If a library is the very heart of a community, the librarians keep the heart beating,” she said. “You can’t know what your physical, emotional, and intellectual shelter has meant to me.” An estimated 3,200 conference-goers arrived well www.mlajournals.org before the Closing General Session to hear former First Lady, US Senator, Secretary of State, and 2016 Dem- ocratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton The leading journal in literary studies for speak on topics ranging from fake news to resilience to more than a century, PMLA reaches over literacy and reading to censorship. And hiking. “After 24,000 subscribers and more than 1,600 this election, one of the things that helped me most— libraries—the largest circulation of any aside from long walks in the woods and the occasional glass of Chardonnay—was once again going back to the scholarly journal in the humanities. familiar experience of losing myself in books,” she said. She recalled the excitement of getting her first library Print and online Free trial card: “When I got that library card, it felt like I had been formats for libraries subscription handed a passport to the world.” Clinton ended her nearly 30-minute talk with a pow- With an online For a free trial erful message to attendees: “As librarians, you have to subscription, libraries subscription to the be on the front lines of one of the most important fights receive the issues from online version of PMLA, we have faced in the history of our country: the fight 2002–16 as well as the please e-mail to defend truth and reason and evidence and facts. You current year’s issues, [email protected]. have to help us wage that fight one book at a time, one all in searchable PDF. library at a time, one person at a time.” A subscription that For more information, Without the exposure to books in school and at the includes print copies please write or call local public library in her hometown of Park Ridge, Illi- along with online access Library Subscriptions nois, Clinton said she would not have been as successful is also available. as she is today. She said, too, that librarians are chang- Modern Language ing lives every day: “Even when it’s hard, even when it Association feels thankless, please know you are making a differ- Online subscription 85 Broad Street ence.” She thanked librarians and encouraged them not only $200* Suite 500 New York, NY to give up. “You’re really standing up for tens of millions PMLA is available from of others who need your advocacy, your voice, your 10004-2434 all major subscription quiet commitment. I’m with you.” phone 646 576-5166 services. An online fax 646 576-5160 archive of PMLA issues ANNE FORD is American Libraries [email protected] editor-at-large. from 1884 to 2011 is available through JSTOR. *Price subject to change.

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 19 TECH POWER Products for he 2017 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago featured an impressive array of technology products and services for libraries. efficiency and Organizations of all sizes were represented, ranging from corporate Tgiants with their large booth installations to smaller companies with engagement simpler tabletop displays. This mix reflects the current state of the library technology industry where large, consolidated, and diversified corporations in the Annual dominate; midsized companies continue to create and support a narrower set Conference of products and services; and small start-ups appear, bringing new energy and innovation. exhibit hall I probably spend more time in the exhibit hall than most conference attendees—you may have seen me browsing the aisles or rushing to my next BY Marshall Breeding appointment. The meetings I have with company executives and product experts inform much of my research and writing for months to come as a chronicler of the library technology industry. Since the ALA Annual Conference is the largest exhibition of its kind in the world, space permits only selected highlights and not a comprehensive report. Here is a quick virtual tour of the exhibit hall, which begins with the large and familiar brands and will finish with some of the more recent start-ups and innovators.

20 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org THE BIG LEAGUES

Google was the largest organization represented. An occasional ALA exhibitor, this year Google was promoting “Libraries Ready to Code,” a joint initiative with ALA (see p. 6) that is making $500,000 available for the creation of tools and resources for libraries to foster the development of programming expertise by youth in their communities. ProQuest always takes a prominent place in the hall, now with Ex Libris, which it acquired in late 2015, stewarding most of its tech-related products and services. Its Alma platform is in full force in sales and implementations among large academic, research, and national libraries, but Ex Libris is now turning up the volume on newer additions to its product family, such as its Leganto course list–management software. Summon has joined Primo in the lineup of Ex Libris discovery services. A new interface for Primo was on view, as well as a new look for the staff side of Alma. Google promoted its Libraries Ready to Code joint initiative with ALA. EBSCO Information Services likewise divides its exhibit- hall displays between a massive arsenal of databases and other content products and its ever-growing technology of Baker & Taylor in 2016. Now exhibiting together, the two interests. For the last year or so, EBSCO has been energet- organizations jointly offer an incredibly diverse array of ically promoting FOLIO (The Future of Libraries Is Open), content and technology products. On the technology side, an open source library services platform it helped launch Destiny has been adopted by the vast majority of PreK–12 in 2016. During this ramp-up phase, EBSCO is actively school libraries in the US. Follett has long been a major educating the library community about the architecture and distributor of content products oriented to schools and other concepts underlying this new platform, in the same way academic institutions; Baker & Taylor extends its reach Ex Libris groomed the market for its view of “unified dis- deeply into public libraries. Despite its prowess in products, covery and delivery” as it put the final touches on Alma. For this year Follett showcased its library advocacy efforts. FOLIO, the buzz is over the advantages of its microservices Follett also sponsored “Empowering Students as Creators,” architecture, modular design, and interchangeable apps a joint initiative with Future Ready Schools, its own Project for specialized tasks and workflows. EBSCO has engaged Connect, the Alliance for Excellent Education, and Digital Index Data, a well-respected software development firm, for Promise, that provides a microcredential (digital badge) to the creation of the initial FOLIO framework and apps. GOBI librarians who build and sustain creative learning environ- Library Solutions (a collection development and acquisitions ments for students. platform) and Stacks (a turnkey library website solution) Everything converged on BLUEcloud in the SirsiDynix were also featured in the EBSCO area. booth. This new web-based multitenant platform delivers Marking 50 years since its founding in 1967, OCLC had a modern interfaces as well as new areas of functionality for larger presence than usual at this year’s conference. Its prod- its Symphony and Horizon integrated library system (ILS) ucts and services have expanded dramatically from its initial products. This year SirsiDynix prominently featured its role as a cataloging utility for libraries in Ohio. Now a global “Power of Libraries” campaign to help libraries increase both organization, OCLC has not only expanded its product line their visibility and perceived value by their communities. but has created a governance structure more inclusive of Innovative Interfaces came to the conference on the its international membership. OCLC featured its flagship heels of its announcement that all 333 public libraries in WorldShare Management Services (WMS) and WorldCat the Republic of Ireland are now live on a single instance Discovery platforms; newer additions to its slate of services of its Sierra ILS. The company continues to develop its include Digby, a mobile app for WMS designed for student Innovative Open , a new multitenant platform workers; its new Tipasa interlibrary loan management created to deploy its products. More than 150 libraries have system; and the resource-sharing technologies it recently implemented products based on this stack, including its acquired from Relais International. MyLibrary mobile app for patrons, resource sharing utilities, Follett, already one of the largest organizations serving and a new Innovative Knowledge Base product in support of

Photos: Cognotes Photos: libraries, increased its size by a third through its acquisition electronic resource management.

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 21 THE MIDDLE TIER queues often associated with library lending services. On the security front, Bibliotheca introduced its RFID Pre- A number of midsized technology vendors continue to make mium exit gate with a 63-inch corridor between detection their mark. pedestals, considerably wider than competing products. Auto-Graphics offers two contrasting products. SHAREit The company also featured its new smart recommendations provides large-scale interlibrary loan and resource-sharing feature for its self-service kiosks, providing suggestions for capabilities for many statewide initiatives. Its VERSO ILS has print, digital, or combined formats according to the prefer- been adopted primarily by small to midsized public libraries, ences of the patron. reaching incrementally into larger organizations. EnvisionWare demonstrated a selection of its diverse The Library Corporation has accelerated its development product line, assembled to address different aspects of of the new LS2 modules for its Library•Solution ILS, used user experience within the library. Originally known for its mostly by midsized public libraries. LS2 Cataloging was PC Reservation and LPT:One print management systems, released just prior to the conference. The company con- the company offers solutions for digital scanning, RFID tinues to enhance its CARL•X ILS oriented to larger-scale technologies, self-service checkout, automated material libraries. New versions of CARL•Connect and CARL•Con- handling, electronic payment stations, and interfaces, as nect Discovery were released in recent months. well as analytics and consoles to comprehensively manage Book Systems demonstrated the latest versions of its and assess their performance. EnvisionWare also offers the Atriuum ILS, used mostly by small public, school, and spe- 24-Hour Library, a self-enclosed book vending system able cial libraries. to dispense a collection of 350 items. BiblioCommons, previously known for its low-key market- Tech Logic, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Library Cor- ing, has increasingly upped its public presence. Its BiblioCore poration, offers a variety of products supporting self-service discovery environment for public libraries continues as its and automated material handling. The company has recently flagship product, now supplemented by BiblioWeb, a fully launched its new CircIT interface for its full line of self-service managed web presence for public libraries, and BiblioEvents, products, with the ability to present more engaging content for managing and promoting events and programs. Tapping to patrons, including surveys, event calendars, selected pro- into the company’s expertise in user experience, these prod- grams, or collections. Tech Logic recently launched ValueIT, a ucts have been designed to integrate seamlessly with each new product genre designed to help libraries gain new value other. BiblioCommons emphasizes not only the interfaces from donated or weeded materials (see p. 30). Combining used by library patrons but also designs them to optimize a sorting system that handles large batches of material with the discovery of library resources and events through Google software that determines the value of materials and identifies and other search engines. the highest price on Amazon, ValueIT could dramatically increase the revenue libraries gain from donations or discards EFFICIENCY AND SELF-SERVICE beyond what they traditionally receive from book sales. PV Supa not only offers a range of sorters and self-service Libraries continue to look for products to help manage kiosks based on both RFID and electromagnetic technolo- their physical collections, especially through self-service gies, but it also demonstrated its Smart Block, a modular technologies and automated material-handling equipment. meeting and working enclosure with optional multimedia A variety of vendors demonstrated an interesting array of capabilities. Its Extended Open Hours Library includes a sorters, RFID technologies, and other equipment, each with variety of technologies, including keypad entrance control, a distinctive approach to improving efficiency behind the security cameras, and software controls that enable libraries scenes and enhancing user experience as they take advan- to provide access to selected areas of their facilities outside tage of self-service. of staffed operating hours. Bibliotheca, which acquired 3M Library Systems in 2015, Lyngsoe Systems demonstrated midsized sorting systems, ranks as the largest global provider of self-service, RFID, but the company is best known for producing some of the and automated material-handling products, and is a major largest-capacity sorting systems that would be impossible to competitor in ebook and lending. Recent news bring into the exhibit hall. includes the expansion to support downloadable EPUB 3 in its Cloud Library service. This format was previ- OPEN SOURCE SERVICES ously supported only by online web-based readers but is now available for download and offline reading. Bibliotheca has Organizations providing services surrounding open source also introduced a pay-per-use model for ebooks, an increas- software continue to flourish. ByWater Solutions provides ingly popular business model that avoids the long hold hosting and support for the open source Koha ILS, with

22 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org hundreds of clients in the US and a growing presence interna- tionally. The Equinox Open Library Initiative, recently shifting from a for-profit to a nonprofit business model, ranks as the dominant provider of services for the open source Evergreen ILS, which its founders helped to create, as well as for Koha, and the FulfILLment interlibrary loan system. The organiza- tion has created the Sequoia cloud-based hosting platform for its products to ensure optimal performance and reliability.

START-UPS AND INNOVATORS

TIND provides services for the Invenio open source software created by the CERN research facility in Switzerland. This relatively new start-up offers products addressing a variety of needs, ranging from the TIND ILS that provides a full range of modules needed for a full ILS to the TIND IR for an institutional repository or publishing platform. Most recently, the company has deployed the TIND RDM to sup- port the management of research data, an area of increasing interest for academic libraries. The Caltech Library recently acquired this product to support its CaltechDATA service that allows all members of the university to deposit research STEMfinity showcased its hands-on science products. data sets for long-term preservation and access. Odilo, a relative newcomer based in Spain, continues to expand and refine its products. The company has developed and MatterHackers, but there were several more. STEMfinity an ebook lending platform with access to content licensed featured a variety of hands-on products and tools to stimu- from major publishers as well as that owned by the library. late interest and teach concepts in the science, technology, Yewno, a new spin-off out of Stanford University, has engineering, and mathematics fields to PreK–12 students. created a discovery environment able to search, browse, Another genre of products introduces virtual reality into and connect concepts rather than keywords within the the library makerspace scene. The Oculus Rift headset with texts. Based on machine learning and a novel user inter- touch sensors was demonstrated by New Media Learning. An face, Yewno Discover was launched earlier in 2017 and was organization called Makerspaces.com provides services to oriented to general scientific literature. At this conference, help schools and libraries acquire the equipment and exper- the company launched Yewno Life Sciences, a new product tise needed to launch a new makerspace. applying the same technologies to biomedical resources. No tour of the exhibits should go without a word of Another set of organizations apply technology to enhance thanks to the many vendors who make costly investments and assess how patrons interact with a library’s physical not only to rent exhibit space but to dedicate considerable spaces. SenSource, which has developed technology for personnel to the conference. I’m continually impressed by counting people and vehicles, demonstrated how its prod- the detailed information they are able to share about their ucts can be applied within a library context. The company products, and especially with the enthusiasm and dedication offers sensors to count visitor traffic and provides analytics they hold not only for their own organizations, but for the and reporting tools to help libraries make data-driven deci- broader library community. The vendor community plays an sions on staffing or operating hours and quantify data for important role in the conference and contributes a consid- reporting to funders or oversight boards. BluuBeam special- erable portion of its financial support. Since libraries rely on izes in services related to the Apple iBeacon technology to technology for almost every aspect of their work, the exhibit assist libraries in promoting services or featured collections hall at the ALA Annual Conference offers a unique opportu- by pushing messages to patrons who have opted into the nity to scope out current state-of-the-art trends. service and downloaded the associated app. The exhibit hall had a section dedicated to products in MARSHALL BREEDING is an independent consultant, speaker, writer for Smart Libraries support of library makerspaces, and 3D continues Newsletter and Library Technology Reports, and to be a big hit. Two booths that were particularly effective in editor of the website Library Technology Guides. demonstrating many types of 3D printers included LulzBot

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 23 It Starts With a Library Card Sharing our cities, towns, and natural places

BY Jeffrey T. Davis

24 July/August 2017 he romantic appeal of library cards is hard to deny. A look at the hashtag #firstlibrarycard on social media Twill turn up stories, photos, and enthusiasm about the milestone of receiving one’s first card. Whether they’re used or not, library cards are tokens of belonging and potential. They come with privileges and responsibilities and a whole new relationship to the world. They’re a big deal. For kids, a library card is often their first entry to member- ship in grown-up society as individuals who are independent of their families. Library cards represent belonging for adults as well. For new immigrants, a library card may be the first material sign of membership in their wider new community. Whether one is a first- or fifth-generation American, the com- munity library is the same, membership is the same, and the card is the same. The 2014 Pew Research Center survey and report From Distant Admirers to Library Lovers—and Beyond looked at types This is an of public library engagement in the US. Of the two groups excerpt from least engaged with libraries—“distant admirers” and “off the The Collection grid”—28% nevertheless reported that they have a library card. All Around: That’s kind of remarkable. Sharing Our Cities, Towns, The thing itself and Natural It makes sense to start with a noninstrumental view of library Places by Jeffrey cards. They have meaning to people whether or not they are T. Davis (ALA used. The cards confer civic membership. They embody access Editions, 2017). to a place in the city. From that starting point, we can extend library cards’ meaning and use in practical ways. Used frequently or infrequently, the cards themselves are carried around, seen, and handled by library members. Their designs affirm the library’s brand and can communicate in other ways. San Diego Public Library created limited- cards for In partnership with Comic-Con and issued them with library the National Football registration at the event; special library League and the Seattle cards were created for the opening of Seahawks, Seattle Public its new Central Library; and when new Library printed 30,000 special-edition library cards members register, they can choose a card in 2015 for National Library in one of five colors. Similarly, Seattle Card Sign-Up Month. Public Library created cards in partner- ship with the National Football League and

Photo: © espies/Adobe Stock; card: Seattle Public Library

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 25 the Seattle Seahawks. Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library offered ■ 60,000 Nashville (Tenn.) public school students’ IDs func- a Sesame Street card to accompany an exhibition. Cleveland tion as library cards. Public Library created a card honoring local comic book ■ 70,000 Washington, D.C., public secondary school stu- author Harvey Pekar of American Splendor fame. dents receive the city’s DC One Card, a school and munic- Library cards create a connection with members. Using ipal ID also available to adults. The card provides access them may remind users of the time they got their card—their to park and recreation centers and programs, serves as a membership—at a special event or a local occasion, or when transit pass, and is an activated library card. they just selected their own color. They’re part of the library ■ 154,000 Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) public school stu- community, with a history that is both personal and shared. dents’ IDs function as library cards. One way to build on library membership is to make the library card the hub of access to other community resources. Denver’s My Denver card is an ID/pass for youth ages 5–18. The card was first developed as a teen pass to city One way to build on parks, recreation facilities, and programs and was issued by public schools on an opt-in basis. Library services were library membership is added in January 2013. The library imported the My Denver database records into its integrated library system (ILS) to make the library card as needed. Beginning in 2016, all Denver public school the hub of access to other students are issued a My Denver card via school registration with a simple opt-in. The schools provide Denver Public community resources. Library (DPL) with a data file that is loaded into the ILS. These accounts require no other activation for database and ebook access. For circulating materials, youth using the library obtain a library barcode to add to the record, but no other forms or permissions are required. Libraries have led library card campaigns for years. In “The big thing is making it really clear and easy for 1987 the American Library Association (ALA) launched parents,” says Jennifer Hoffman, manager of books and Library Card Sign-Up Month. That effort originated with borrowing at DPL. “One of the things we realized early on then–Secretary of Education William J. Bennett who said, is that the kind of parent who’s going to see the library as a “Let’s have a national campaign … every child should obtain benefit for their child probably has already signed up their a library card—and use it.” Every September, thousands of child for a library card. We have to be prepared for duplica- public and school libraries join in this national effort. tion and how to deal with that.” While the My Denver Students belong here card started inde-

The recognition of library membership as a valuable focus pendently of the design: ToshWerks.com Card Stock; ©Adobe Photo: continues to grow. In 2015 the Obama administration’s ConnectED initiative set a goal for public libraries in 30 cities to register every student for a library card. The challenge is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Urban Libraries Council, and ALA. In some cases, the San Diego goal is pursued through traditional means—essentially, Public Library library card campaigns partnered with schools. In others partnered with cases, library membership is directly integrated with school ToshWerks, a local enrollment. Library registration and activation are auto- design studio, to create matic via school enrollment in each of these districts: limited-edition library ■ 15,000 Kansas City, Missouri, public school students’ cards for Comic- Con 2016. IDs function as library cards (the ID numbers require a library prefix for operation). ■ 20,000 Boston public high school students receive the city’s Boston One Card. The student ID also serves as a library card, community centers pass, and transit pass.

26 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org Earlier this year Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library introduced a special edition Where the Wild Things Are card with a launch event at Park Slope’s PS 118, the Maurice Sendak Community School.

library, the library was envisioned early on as a partner. frequently noticed that its members wanted easier access to Today there are 70,000 cards activated for online services the downtown library, in part driven by perceptions of lim- with DPL. No visit to the library is needed for that level of ited parking in the area. The library also had data showing membership. To activate a card for full borrowing privileges, that its patrons came from all over the city but that some students need only visit the library and present their card. underserved neighborhoods had transportation barriers Just as important, Denver’s Office of Children’s Affairs impeding access. Making it easier to visit the library became has worked with the Denver Art Museum and the American a strategic plan initiative. Museum of Western Art to add museum admission benefits They first experimented with a program that allowed and discounts to the My Denver card, including admission to any patron at the library with a valid library card to receive the Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Center for the Perform- a pass for a bus ride home the same day. The program was ing Arts, Denver Zoo, and Denver Museum of Nature and good for Tuesdays through Thursdays and was available Science. Work is under way to include mass transit access. from all library public service desks. The limited schedule All of this places DPL at the hub of Denver youths’ access proved confusing, though, so it was later expanded to all to local arts, culture, recreation, and education. That’s real six days with bus service. A simple tracking program limits community membership. patrons to two uses per week. The library complemented the program with a summer bus to the library, free to students Who needs a ride? up to age 18 and adults riding with them. Iowa City Public Library’s strategic planning process led to “It’s wonderful to go to a school and say, ‘Hey, if you have the development of an innovative partnership. The library, trouble getting to the library, all you have to do is show your

Photo: Gregg Richards Gregg Photo: which does a community survey every five years, had library card and you can hop on a bus!’” says Kara Logsden,

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 27 community and access services coordinator for Iowa City Public Library. “It’s brought a lot of kids into the library.” The bus rides are all charged to the library at a discounted rate by Iowa City Transit. The library budgets for the cost, which was a little more than $2,000 in 2014. Statistics on the program show strong and growing use. In summer 2015 there were more than 3,200 summer bus rides downtown. While the usage is measurable and has tangible benefits, investing the library card with real-world applications like this has intangible value as well. The membership role of the library card grows. Members have access to the library and to their city: books, public places, programs, and mobility. Local citizens Programs like these demonstrate excellent ways that librarians have extended memberships. Local govern- ments have also led noteworthy programs of civic Iowa City membership, usually with ties to libraries. Munic- Public Library ipal IDs are photo IDs provided by an increasing offers free bus rides number of cities and counties. The cards help to the library in the community members who have difficulty summer for kids under obtaining state-issued IDs—undocumented 18 and their adult immigrants, the homeless, foster youth, the caregivers. elderly, and formerly incarcerated individuals—

to gain better access to civic and economic life. Public City Library Image: Iowa

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28 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org The largest municipal ID program is ’s experience in all aspects of these projects. Where the IDs are IDNYC, with 863,464 cardholders as of June 2016. Library led by other city departments, libraries should be primary registration is not automatic, but the IDNYC card can be enrollment centers. The fit with libraries’ mission and tied to existing library accounts or used to open new ones expertise is clear and consistent with the fundamental role at all three library systems that cover New York City’s five of membership and community identity in library practice. boroughs. About 10 other cities offer municipal IDs, and an equal number are seeking them. In most cases, govern- A home for community ment agencies run the service, but there are also private membership and nonprofit-administered programs. A survey of 70,000 Library membership is important to facilitating access to the IDNYC cardholders found that among immigrant cardhold- world around us. It ties a wide variety of programs and ser- ers, 36% rely on the municipal ID as their only form of photo vices together. It is also a reminder that making the valuable identification, and 77% reported that their IDNYC card has resources around us more available to all has a longstanding increased their sense of belonging to the city. institutional home and practice: the library and librarianship. IDNYC and other municipal ID programs have paired There are many directions for benefits attached to library additional benefits to the IDs, including discounts at cultural membership yet to come. The thoughtful, deliberate work of institutions and local businesses, access to park and recre- local-access librarians will yield results that we can all learn ation centers, and the inclusion of emergency and medical from. We know that librarians have the expertise, experi- information. Over half of IDNYC survey respondents have ence, connections, and place in the community for the job. used the card to obtain free memberships to 40 cultural Let’s see what they come up with. institutions and to receive discounts on groceries, pharma- cies, and fitness centers. JEFFREY T. DAVIS is branch manager at San Diego Public Library. He has worked in branch While these programs have not originated with libraries, and central libraries from the South Bronx (N.Y.) libraries have been active partners in them. Where localities to downtown San Diego. His previous experi- do not have the interest or capacity to lead on municipal IDs, ence includes collection development and elec- libraries might pursue a leading role. They have relevant tronic resources management.

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americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 29 ValueIT sorts weeded and discarded books based on value using Tech Logic’s automated materials han- dling system, preparing them for resale online.

an account owned by the library or Friends group, allowing for a quick return on the book. When materials are sold online, Amazon deducts all shipping, handling, and fees and deposits the proceeds directly into the library’s or Friends’ account. The ValueIT software also mon- itors and adjusts the price of books being sold online to keep them competitive, maximizing the return on used materials. They are priced so that 50% of library materials will sell within 30 days, and 90% will sell over the life of the listing. Tech Logic can assist in the setup of ValueIT processing. The specific sorting equipment configuration and purchase price depend on Save Staff Time library requirements. The equip- ment may be purchased outright or New labor-saving services leased, with payment built into the software commission fee. More information on ValueIT is taff time is a valuable stream for libraries, but it is often available at tech-logic.com. resource, and automating limited by the staff or volunteer certain tasks can allow time required to properly sort, MeeScan staff members to focus on price, and sell items. Tech Logic’s Self-checkout is an established way tasks that need a human new ValueIT software automates to save staff time, but it often comes Stouch. Automatic book sorting and the process of sorting and pricing with a large investment in hard- self-checkout are not new ideas, but donated and discarded books, turn- ware and software. Bintec Library innovations in these areas continue, ing a new or existing automated Services has introduced meeScan, a providing new ways for libraries to system for handling materials into a mobile-based self-checkout system. maximize their return on donated part-time book sale volunteer. Patrons download an app (avail- and discarded books, minimize After the system scans a book’s able for iOS, Android, and Black- the footprint of self-checkout, and barcode, the software queries a Berry) onto their smartphone that, maintain their collections—and copy of Amazon’s book pricing based on geolocation, identifies save staff time. database—updated twice daily— the library branch they are in. After to determine its value. Based on scanning or entering their library ValueIT a library’s parameters, high-value card information, patrons scan an Selling donated and weeded mate- books can be boxed and shipped item’s barcode to check it out from rials can be an important revenue to Amazon for sale online through anywhere in the library.

30 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org SUBMISSIONS To have a new product considered, contact Carrie Smith at [email protected].

For libraries with RFID Baker & Taylor Customized or electromagnetic security systems, meeScan stations Library Services can be purchased or leased. The stations sync with the app How does your library USER: Robert Moffett, through a secure cloud interface use Baker & Taylor’s Cus- division chief of access to desensitize only items that tomized Library Services services, Gail Borden have been checked out. MeeScan (CLS)? Gail Borden Public Public Library District, offers 24/7 monitoring of the Library District (GBPLD) Elgin, Illinois system and web-based techni- uses the full CLS suite, which PRODUCT: Baker & Taylor Cus- cal support. Once installed, the includes extensive collection software is configured remotely, tomized Library Services development assistance so no onsite technician is needed. from Baker & Taylor librari- DETAILS: The Customized Library MeeScan software works with ans and fully cataloged and Services are a suite of technical any integrated library system processed items. services solutions including col- that supports SIP2 lection development and analysis, protocol, which includes How does Baker & Taylor’s cataloging, and processing. the most common CLS serve your library’s systems; free system needs? The main ben- compatibility testing is eficiaries of CLS are GBPLD library cardholders. They receive also available. books faster than before. Books arrive fully cataloged and pro- MeeScan queries cessed and are shelved immediately after invoicing. CLS staff the library’s ILS for have become an extension of library staff, and the library relies all decision making on them to help serve customers better. and processing. For added security, What are the main benefits? Using outsourced services like patron transactions Baker & Taylor’s CLS was considered at Gail Borden only after are sent over a staff defined clear goals for how CLS would affect staffing and secure connection time management within the whole library. Those goals included and are not stored, increasing staffing levels in the newly formed Division of Commu- according to the nity Services and Program Development, building a home for a company. Ano- burgeoning digitized collection, creating new partnerships with nymized report- community groups, and shortening wait times at all service desks. ing information GBPLD forged a partnership with Baker & Taylor and learned includes transac- that it could maintain high professional standards, allowing tions per month, other services throughout the library to benefit. Fast forward, items processed and GBPLD’s CLS experiment has been paying dividends for the per month, and constituents of the library district by helping the library save a histogram of $220,000 over four years without reducing staff. items checked out per hour What would you like to see improved or added? Baker & Taylor for each recently launched a new version of its online ordering product, day over one Title Source 360, and, as with any new system, the library has month. seen some hiccups. Staff have continued our open dialogue with MeeScan, a Pricing starts at $250 per Baker & Taylor, and the company is listening, with enhancements mobile-based month and is based on library self-checkout forthcoming. And a free Title Source 360 is always on the wish type and size. For more informa- system. list; the ordering tools of other vendors are free and comparable tion, visit meescan.com. in functionality. •

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 31 ON THE MOVE

Sara Duff became assessment librarian in Acquisitions and Collection Services Jennea Augsbury, lead library tech- layperson and the promotion of civic at the University of Central Florida nician for the Department of Veterans responsibility and good government. Libraries in Orlando in April. Affairs in Dallas, was named the Fed- Amy Mars, research and instruction eral Library and Information Network’s In April Nicholas Faragan became librarian at St. Catherine University in director at Westport (N.Y.) Library Federal Library Technician of the Year St. Paul, has received the Minnesota Association. May 5. Academic Innovators Award from Smyth County (Va.) Public Library Vivian Davidson the Academic and Research Libraries appointed Walter Robert “Robb” Hewitt, retired chief Division of the Minnesota Library Farmer director, effective July 1. librarian for the Rocke- Association. feller Foundation, Boca Raton (Fla.) Public Library named librarian at the Carne- Safi S. M. Safiullah, manager of Salt Vicky Fitzsimmons to the new position gie Library of Pitts- Lake City Public Library’s Marmalade of digital librarian in May. burgh, and librarian and instructor at branch, was named Librarian of the Kacy Guill became county librarian at Atlanta University’s School of Library Year by the Utah Library Association Trinity County (Calif.) Library in June. and Information Science, received an May 18. honorary doctor of humane letters The Federal Library May 28 Dawn Hammatt became direc- degree at Carnegie Mellon University tor of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presi- and Information Net- in Pittsburgh May 21. dential Library and Museum in Abilene, work named Michael Kansas. Alice Knapp, president of Ferguson Steinmacher, director Library in Stamford, Connecticut, of Barr Memorial David Isom joined Temple University received the Fairfield County Bar Library in Fort Knox, Law Library in Philadelphia as reference and faculty services librarian in May. Association’s Liberty Bell Award for Kentucky, as Federal Librarian of the outstanding community service by a Year May 9. • In April Carl Leak started as life sci- ences librarian at George Mason Univer- sity Libraries in Fairfax, Virginia. Jessica Olin became director of library In May Jennifer Smith joined Waterford services at Genesee Community College (Conn.) Public Library as head of chil- Patrick Lyons became innovation dren’s services. librarian at Temple University Health Sci- in Batavia, New York, in July. ences Libraries in Philadelphia in April. Sarah M. Potwin joined Niagara Falls Washington University in St. Louis appointed Denise Stephens university Ferndale (Mich.) Area District Library (N.Y.) Public Library as executive direc- librarian and vice provost, effective July 1. appointed Jenny Marr as library direc- tor July 1. tor, effective June 5. July 1 Charla Wilson joined North- May 15 Daniel Sabol began as director western University Libraries in Evan- In May Allison Martel joined Springfield of Pound Ridge (N.Y.) Library. (Mass.) College as digital technologies ston, Illinois, as archivist for the black experience. librarian. Utica (N.Y.) Public Library named Chris- topher Sagaas director in June. May 1 Rebecca McCall joined the Uni- versity of North Carolina at Chapel Peter Shirts joined PROMOTIONS Hill’s Health Sciences Library as clinical Emory University’s Heil- librarian. May 1 Luren E. Dickinson became direc- brun Music and Media tor of Beaumont (Calif.) Library District. In May Jenessa McElfresh joined Clem- Library in Atlanta as son (S.C.) University Libraries as health humanities librarian in Ann Dutton Ewbank, director of the sciences librarian. music June 15. library media program at Montana State

32 July/August 2017 | americanlibrariesmagazine.org SUBMISSIONS Send notices and photographs to Amy Carlton, [email protected].

MORE ONLINE americanlibrariesmagazine.org/currents

University in Bozeman, was promoted to associate professor July 1.

June 14 the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley (N.Y.) Community Library promoted Mae Maxine Benne, 93, a professor of at the University of Wash- Kerrilynn Jorgensen to head of teen ington in Seattle from 1965 to 1988, died March 26. Prior to becoming a profes- services. sor, Benne worked at Yakima (Wash.) Valley Regional Library, Southfield (Mich.) Library, and (as coordinator of children’s services) North Central Regional Library Kelley Landano was promoted to in Wenatchee, Washington. county librarian of Fresno County (Calif.) Public Library in June. Elodie Blackmore, 87, who retired in March as director of East Smithfield (R.I.) Public Library, died April 9. Lewiston (Maine) Public Library pro- moted Marcela Peres to director, effec- Phyllis J. Hudson, 83, a librarian at the University of Central Florida (UCF) tive June 1. Libraries in Orlando for 34 years until her 2005 retirement, died April 20. Hudson received the UCF Excellence in Librarianship award in 1989. During her career, Santa Clara County (Calif.) Library Dis- she chaired the United Faculty of Florida Women’s Rights Committee, served as trict promoted Clare Varesio to com- president of the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Florida munity librarian at Cupertino Library Chapter, chaired the Florida Library Association Women in Libraries Caucus and April 27. the Collective Bargaining in Libraries Caucus, and served as a director of the National Education Association Florida Teaching Profession Board.

RETIREMENTS Thomas Martine, 66, assistant order librarian at Princeton (N.J.) University Library, died April 19. • Library Development Specialist Karen Balsen retired from New York State Library June 1. Darby O’Brien retired as director of Dan Hoppe was promoted to associate Utica (N.Y.) Public Library in June. executive director of human resources Princeton (N.J.) University Library June 12. Deputy University Librarian Marvin June 30 David M. Peter Bielawski retired in June. retired as dean of learning Kathi Kromer became associate exec- resources and technolo- utive director of the Washington Office Mark Darby retired as head of cataloging gies at Vincennes (Ind.) June 5. and database management at Temple University. University in Philadelphia April 30. United for Libraries promoted Beth Mary Rennie stepped down as execu- Nawalinski to executive director, effec- tive director of Erie County (Pa.) Public April 5 Ann Frellsen retired as collec- tive July 31. Library June 2. tions conservator at Emory University Tory Ondrla has been promoted to Libraries in Atlanta after nearly 27 years. Jim Rettig retired as library director at Association of College and Research the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, June 30 Barbara A. B. Maryland, May 31. Libraries conference manager. Gubbin retired after 12 years as director of Brian E. C. Schottlaender retired after 18 May 8 Elizabeth Serrano joined the Jacksonville (Fla.) Public years as university librarian at the Uni- Association for Library Service to Library. versity of California, San Diego June 30. Children as membership marketing specialist. Judy Larson retired May 26 as children’s Rick Speer retired as director of Lewis- librarian at Harris County (Tex.) Public ton (Maine) Public Library in May. Lindsey Simon joined the Public Aware- Library’s Maud Marks branch. ness Office as public awareness cam- paign coordinator April 24. Nancy Pressman Levy, head of Prince- AT ALA ton (N.J.) University’s Donald E. Stokes Valerie J. Williams joined ALA Editions/ Library for Public and International Payroll Coordinator Hugh Hoebbel left ALA Neal-Schuman as senior adminis- Affairs, retired in June. ALA June 7. trative assistant May 8.

americanlibrariesmagazine.org | July/August 2017 33 34 BOOKEND

the engaged librarians embracing theirwork, hemight beonto some ation, pleasesendpress material to [email protected]. THE BOOKEND L Conference Candids ■ ■ ■ Attendees captured oncamera, counterclockwise from top: Reshma (see Saujani p nology, takes aselfiewithauthor British Columbia Institute ofTech- Alison Griffin(left), librarian Library Tippecanoe Count Jos Holman,county librarian gress CarlaHay photo taken withLibrarianof Con- New York Library, gets Public her librarian for young adultservices at Ricci Yuhico (righ Mother Goose Banned, abannedbooksBanned, r and ExhibitioninChicago. Judgingby themyriad moments ofenergiz Jim Nealsaidat theClosingSes ibrarians are rock star , reads from showcases librarians, theirwork, andtheirwork spaces. For consider- at Stand for the den (left). t), managing y (Ind.) Public y (Ind.)Public The InnerCity . 10). s,” American Library Association (ALA) President eadout. at at at at sion ofthe2017ALA AnnualConference ■ ■ ■ Library Syst manager at MadisonCounty (Mis and Antoinette Giamalv puter Systems Institute inChicago Sarah Miyashiro (left)oftheCom- Dewey Decibel LibrarySystPublic at Bryan–College Station (Te Jennifer W Mar Chelsea Johnson, librarian through anobstacle course tries herhandat steering adrone finder shall (Mich.)District Library in the Gaming Lounge intheGaming ilhelm, reference librarian em, learnto play podcast butt em, shows offher thing. a, branch at at . on. x.) . Star-

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