ALA News for June 26, 2018 NEWS FROM THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ALA President Loida Garcia-Febo announces “Libraries = Strong Communities” advocacy effort Today American Library Association (ALA) President Loida Garcia-Febo introduced “Libraries = Strong Communities,” a national advocacy effort aimed at highlighting the value of academic, public and school libraries. This initiative is uniquely positioned to ignite public awareness of the value of libraries and library staff and create a groundswell of support at the local, state, national and global level. Garcia-Febo announced the effort during the ALA Annual Conference & Exhibit Inaugural Banquet in New Orleans. http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2018/06/ala-president-loida-garcia-fe... ALA, ALSC respond to Wilder Medal name change During the ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans, the Board of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), voted to change the name of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award to the Children's Literature Legacy Award. This award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a significant and lasting contribution to children's literature. ALA President Jim Neal and ALSC President Nina Lindsay released a joint statement about the name change. http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2018/06/ala-alsc-respond-wilder-medal... ALA's Libraries Ready to Code releases beta collection at 2018 Annual Conference The American Library Association’s (ALA) Libraries Ready to Code initiative, sponsored by Google, has released the beta version of the Ready to Code Collection at the 2018 Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans. A release reception was held Friday, June 22, at the Morial Convention Center. The Libraries Ready to Code Collection is a cache of resources developed, tested and curated by libraries, for libraries to create, implement and enhance their computer science (CS) programming for youth. In the nine months since Libraries Ready to Code announced the 28 grantee libraries participating in the project, the cohort has piloted a range of programs with support from Google and ALA’s youth divisions - the American Association of School Librarians, the Association of Library Service to Children and the Young Adult Library Services Association. http://www.ala.org/news/member-news/2018/06/alas-libraries-ready-code-releas... AASL announces 2018 Best Apps and Best Websites for Teaching & Learning The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced its 2018 Best Apps and Best Websites for Teaching & Learning at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in New Orleans. The annual lists honor 25 apps and 25 websites that provide enhanced learning and curriculum development for school librarians and their teacher collaborators. These technology resources are chosen for their ability to foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation and collaboration and for their support of AASL’s “National School Library Standards.” http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2018/06/aasl-announces-2018-best-apps...