Hello, all - I'm back after a multiple conference-related hiatus! Lots going on in ALA News. I've included the most recent two ALA News updates below - as always, you may read all of the latest news, access press kits, and read the latest State of America's Libraries report at the ALA News and Press Center: http://www.ala.org/news/ HIghlights: Congratulations to our own Tashia Munson - the first recipient of the Lois Ann Gregory-Wood Fellowship! The fellowship provides funding and support for mid-career librarians interested in becoming more involved in ALA governance. See you at Midwinter, Tashia! http://www.ala.org/news/member-news/2019/11/tashia-munson-announced-first-lo... ALA continues to push back on Macmillan and their recently instituted embargo on ebooks in libraries. To get involved, see the #eBooksForAll site: https://ebooksforall.org/index.php/get-involved/ The ALA Policy Corps is seeking applicants - the deadline to apply is December 11. Please see the news item below for more information and to apply. The Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness (SCOE) is continuing its work. We are awaiting an update to the information shared with members over the summer. SCOE has proposed a new administrative structure for ALA. To follow the latest SCOE news, follow them on ALA Connect: https://connect.ala.org/communities/community-home?CommunityKey=16858b1c-4cf... Please read on for the latest news... As always, thank you to all of you for all you do. Jennifer L. Dean MLA Board of Directors and ALA Councilor ALA News - November 12 ALA seeks applicants for national Policy Corps<http://bit.ly/2CzZIcS> The American Library Association (ALA) invites library advocates to apply online to join the ALA Policy Corps before December 11. The Corps initiative aims to strengthen advocacy related to key national library policy areas—ranging from broadband equity and copyright/licensing to federal funding and privacy and cybersecurity. “I hope early and midcareer library staff and advocates from every corner of the country will consider bringing their passion and expertise to this important initiative,” said ALA President Wanda Brown. “We need more and more diverse library voices involved with state and national policymaking to advance library values, programs and services on behalf of the communities we serve.” Read more<http://bit.ly/2CzZIcS> ALA announces Libraries Transforming Communities community engagement initiative for small and rural libraries<http://bit.ly/371svVA> Library workers serving small and rural communities often face unique barriers — like small staffs and limited budgets — that limit their ability to pursue professional development opportunities to develop their community engagement skills. Specially designed for the needs of small and rural libraries, Libraries Transforming Communities: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries, a new learning series from the American Library Association (ALA), will help library workers develop facilitation skills to engage with their communities. “Whether hosting a storytime or leading a town hall meeting, library workers today need communication skills to fulfill their broad mission as community educators and leaders,” said ALA President Wanda Brown. “Since launching ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative in 2014, library employees from small and rural communities have been asking ALA for facilitation training to help them become better conveners, and we’re proud to deliver with this special project.” Read more<http://bit.ly/371svVA> New publications detail public library responses to the opioid crisis<http://bit.ly/32GsZx5> The Public Library Association (PLA) and OCLC have released two new publications that demonstrate how public libraries are responding to the opioid crisis in their communities. In September 2018, the two organizations launched a collaborative project to collect and share knowledge and resources to support public libraries and their community partners in addressing this national health crisis. Over the past twelve months, PLA and OCLC have conducted a research study of eight public libraries across the U.S. that are employing a variety of strategies to address the opioid problem. This report highlights the findings from the eight case study sites, highlights emerging practices of how libraries are responding to the crisis in collaboration with their partners, and identifies both the opportunities and barriers that libraries should consider. Read more<http://bit.ly/32GsZx5> New National Library Week materials and more from ALA Graphics<http://bit.ly/2NZEgmM> Excite and inspire readers of all ages with new products from the ALA Graphics winter 2019 catalog! The catalog cover highlights the new National Library Week poster, which touts the 2020 theme, “Find Your Place at the Library,” on the engaging design. A matching bookmark, mini poster, and digital poster file are also available. Shine a light on readers with the new READ® Lighthouse Poster File, a special edition customizable READ® poster background. Read more<http://bit.ly/2NZEgmM> AASL publishes OER toolkit<http://bit.ly/2qPVdsg> The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has released a new toolkit to help position school librarians in efforts to create and curate open educational resources (OER) that will extend their role as leaders within their schools. The OER Toolkit is freely available for download at www.ala.org/aasl/toolkits<http://www.ala.org/aasl/toolkits>. The toolkit was developed to help school librarians who are grappling with how to translate the OER movement to K–12 educational settings. Its goal is to help school librarians understand the process of curating and creating OER for their school, district, and/or state. Read more<http://bit.ly/2qPVdsg> School Librarian Preparation Standards approved by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation <http://bit.ly/2CDRZe4>Prepared by AASL's CAEP coordinating committee under the guidance of co-chairs April Dawkins and Gail Dickinson, the "ALA/AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of School Librarians" fully align with AASL's "National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries." Read more<http://bit.ly/2CDRZe4> ALA 2020 MIDWINTER MEETING & EXHIBITS Lily King among the authors at United for Libraries Gala Author Tea, sponsored by ReferenceUSA, at Midwinter<http://bit.ly/2NI8YSP> ALA PUBLISHING 50+ programs for tweens, teens, adults, and families<http://bit.ly/2pbpzEU> Assessment data in the academic library<http://bit.ly/2XafEvZ> Techniques for electronic resource management<http://bit.ly/34U0QUN> Information management in the workplace<http://bit.ly/350dphz> Blockchain is explored in new book from the Center for the Future of Libraries<http://bit.ly/33IbGgy> AWARDS AND GRANTS Anonymous donor to match up to $10,000 of ALSC's Annual Fund contributions<http://bit.ly/33FAJ3K> Call for nominations for the Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award<http://bit.ly/2qMEcPs> LITA Opens Call for Innovative LIS Student Writing Award for 2020<http://bit.ly/36VCCeV> WEBINARS LLAMA presents Innovation Incubator Webinar Series<http://bit.ly/2KfN4UJ> Demystifying Interlibrary Loan<http://bit.ly/2O5wgkv> 2020 ALCTS Fundamentals Web Course schedule now available<http://bit.ly/33O20RS> ALA News - November 5 ALA responds to county commission decision to deny digital access to New York Times in Citrus County public libraries<http://bit.ly/2Nj7EFI> The American Library Association has issued the following statement in response to the decision by the Citrus County (Florida) Board of Commissioners to not allow the Citrus County libraries to buy a digital subscription to the New York Times after one commissioner labeled the Times as “fake news.” Read more<http://bit.ly/2Nj7EFI> ALA turns to Congress as Macmillan ignores public call to reverse library e-book embargo<http://bit.ly/2CcYlAP> On Nov. 1, Macmillan Publishers began to limit access to e-books through America’s libraries by instituting an eight-week embargo on library e-book purchases. Despite robust public demand to reverse the policy, the publisher is moving ahead with its plan to limit sales to public libraries. Regardless the size of the library – from large library systems in Washington State and rural libraries in Rhode Island to entire statewide consortiums of small libraries such as in Wisconsin – Macmillan will sell only one copy of a new e-book title for the first two months after release. Read more<http://bit.ly/2CcYlAP> ALA delivers #eBooksForAll Petition, with 160,000+ Signatures, to Macmillan Publishers<http://bit.ly/2qmizWb> American Library Association (ALA) leaders, members and supporters delivered a petition with nearly 160,000 signatures to Macmillan Publishers CEO John Sargent, urging him to reverse the new policy that will limit libraries’ access to e-books. Signed by readers, authors, library staff and patrons from all 50 states, the #eBooksForAll petition demands that library access to e-books not be delayed or denied. ALA President Wanda Brown said, "The mission of public libraries across the country is to ensure access to information and content for all, but Macmillan’s e-book restrictions will drastically restrict our ability to serve millions of readers. Libraries, publishers and authors should be allies - not adversaries - in expanding the number of readers and encouraging the exploration of new titles and subjects.” Read more<http://bit.ly/2qmizWb> ALA responds to Macmillan letter<http://bit.ly/33ggF7X> Hours before the American Library Association (ALA), the Public Library Association and allies were to deliver more than 160,000 petition signatures opposing the planned November 1 embargo on library eBook purchases (and two months after the campaign began), Macmillan Publishers CEO John Sargent directly addressed librarians for the first time. Unfortunately, the letter misrepresents ALA’s longstanding and good-faith efforts to equitably balance the rights and privileges of readers, libraries, authors, and publishers. Read more<http://bit.ly/33ggF7X> ALA unveils shortlist for 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction<http://bit.ly/36Ak6IE> The American Library Association (ALA) has announced the six books shortlisted for the esteemed Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, awarded for the previous year's best fiction and nonfiction books written for adult readers and published in the United States. The two medal winners will be announced by 2020 selection committee chair Donna Seaman at the Reference and User Services Association’s Book and Media Awards (BMAs) event at American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 from 5 -7 p.m. Read more<http://bit.ly/36Ak6IE> ALCTS, LITA and LLAMA collaborate for virtual forum <http://bit.ly/2rhcKtu>The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS), the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) and the Library Leadership & Management Association (LLAMA) have collaborated to create The Exchange, an interactive, virtual forum designed to bring together experiences, ideas, expertise and individuals from these American Library Association (ALA) divisions. Modeled after the 2017 ALCTS Exchange, the Exchange will be held May 4, May 6 and May 8 in 2020 with the theme “Building the Future Together.” Read more<http://bit.ly/2rhcKtu> AWARDS AND GRANTS Tashia Munson announced as First Lois Ann Gregory-Wood Fellow<http://bit.ly/34BDyCS> ALA accepting applications for Library Census Equity Fund mini-grants<http://bit.ly/2rhPMT1> Libraries Ready to Code Opens Call for Applications: Hour of Code Mini-Grants<http://bit.ly/2NKSesB> Nominate a colleague doing cutting edge work in tech education for the LITA Library Hi Tech Award<http://bit.ly/36wyOAx> ALA PUBLISHING Career planning using RUSA's Professional Competencies<http://bit.ly/2NNtCiY> PUBLICATIONS ACRL releases ‘Building Teaching and Learning Communities: Creating Shared Meaning and Purpose’<http://bit.ly/2PRon4K> WEBINARS ALA to host free webinar, release tip sheet on preparing for 2020 Census<http://bit.ly/36D3xMb> Online learning resources webinar<http://bit.ly/2NPQej8> Jennifer L. Dean - PhD, MLIS Dean of University Libraries and Instructional Technology Distance Education Coordinator University of Detroit Mercy Libraries / Instructional Design Studio 4001 West McNichols Rd Detroit, MI 48221 313-993-1090 deanjl@udmercy.edu [cid:d62fa5a4-3c10-428b-b48f-f606556a4235]
