Registration opens for ALA Midwinter Virtual, Jan. 22-26<https://bit.ly/3kkhnZq> Registration for ALA Midwinter Virtual, Jan. 22-26, 2021, is open. The event will include "New Urgencies for Change" sessions from the Symposium on the Future of Libraries, News You Can Use series, special author events, a virtual Exhibit Hall, the Youth Media Awards, the I Love My Librarian Award Ceremony, live-chat presentations, and networking opportunities. An impressive list of featured speakers includes Opening Session speakers Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, and ALA President’s Program speaker Joy Harjo. Also presenting are actors Ethan Hawke and Cicely Tyson; musician Ziggy Marley; and other notables including, Ruby Bridges, Stan Sakai, Max Brooks, Mina Starsiak, Emmanuel Acho, Natalie Baszile, Matt de la Peña, and Christian Robinson, with more to be announced soon. Read more<https://bit.ly/3kkhnZq> ALA partners with Humble Bundle to support ALA and the Freedom to Read Foundation<https://bit.ly/35j6RgN> The American Library Association (ALA) and Humble Bundle are teaming up to offer library supporters and advocates an opportunity to fund ALA initiatives supporting social justice and intellectual freedom, including the Spectrum Scholarship Program. The campaign will also support the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF).

From Nov. 10 through Feb. 8, Humble Bundle, in partnership with ALA, is offering a one-of-a-kind collection called “Be the Change.” With nearly 50 books with a retail value of more than $800, “Be the Change” spotlights diverse ebooks and audiobooks that feature authors, creators, and characters of color, including “The Sisters Are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America,” by Tamara Winfrey Harris, “Falling in Love With Hominids,” by Nalo Hopkinson, “Neveryona, by Samuel R. Delany, “This Book Is Anti-Racist,” by Tiffany Jewell and illustrated by Aurelia Durand, “The Black Mage,” by Rachel E. Carter, “Your Black Friend,” by Ben Passmore, and many more. Proceeds from the bundle will go to ALA general fund initiatives supporting its social justice and intellectual freedom mission, including the Spectrum Scholarship Program. A portion of the proceeds will also go to FTRF's litigation and education initiatives supporting free expression and the right to read. Read more<https://bit.ly/35j6RgN>

Public libraries critical to health coverage during public health crisis<https://bit.ly/3eSHGoz> The eighth open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) began on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 and will run through Dec. 15, 2020 during what may be the most challenging year in its ten-year history. Millions of Americans have lost jobs due to the Coronavirus pandemic, leaving many without employer-sponsored health coverage. In its third consecutive year, the Public Library Association (PLA) initiative, Libraries Connecting You to Coverage, offers a suite of free tools and resources to help library practitioners assist patrons in enrolling in health insurance coverage. Read more<https://bit.ly/3eSHGoz> Call for nominations for the Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award<https://bit.ly/3n9rZMI> The Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) Coalition Building Committee is accepting nominations for the 2021 Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award. The Gerald Hodges Award recognizes an intellectual freedom-focused organization that has developed a strong multi-year, ongoing program or a single, one-year project that exemplifies support for intellectual freedom, patron confidentiality and anti-censorship efforts. This award consists of a citation and $1,000. Past recipients include the Connecticut Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee (2020) and the Utah Library Association (2019). Read more<https://bit.ly/3n9rZMI> Create an oral history project with this December Core classroom session<https://bit.ly/2IrB98D> The former ALCTS Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS) for several years has created oral histories of commercial binders and preservation librarians, which are available on the American Library Association Institutional Repository (ALAIR). The presenters will demonstrate how to create and process oral histories, and how to upload them to ALAIR. Be a part of this or other history recordings to document the changes in the profession over the past 50 years. This class will also teach you how to lead an independent oral history project. Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, and Futures, will present the Core Classroom “Hearing the Story: Creating an Oral History Project,” from Monday, Dec. 14, 2020 through Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. Read more<https://bit.ly/2IrB98D> Flexible online learning through modular design<https://bit.ly/32wu5OF> If your online instruction program sometimes feels like a constant scramble to keep pace with requests and deadlines, modular design is the answer. Approaching projects, whether large and small, with an eye towards future uses will put you on the path to accomplishing broader, organizational goals. And by intentionally building documentation and structure into your process, you will create content that can be easily scaled modified, adapted, and transformed to meet different learner needs. In her new book “Modular Online Learning Design: A Flexible Approach for Diverse Learning Needs,” published by ALA Editions, experienced online instructor Amanda Nichols Hess shows you how, using project examples of various sizes to illustrate each chapter’s concepts. Read more<https://bit.ly/32wu5OF> [https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=973680d767&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1683020412095377257&th=175b4a25d4ad2f69&view=fimg&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ8pLR4nnh2Pa3wjYcQOI8wKoMPyZZhYyqCdu_F5F-dq8HCDcidsC9VVyzHNSbhqAPmdGyXDcbnIxscg68NNPdp2EGiVdex0h3dWJrBm_iYtJHiRj3yp46EQJSM&disp=emb]<https://2021.alamidwinter.org/> ALA News for 11/3/2020 ALA Executive Board affirms support for libraries, urges members to ‘stand strong’<https://bit.ly/2I28E0w> In this time of unrest and uncertainty, the Executive Board of the American Library Association (ALA) affirms our unequivocal support of ALA members, all library workers and the broader library community. 2020 has taken a toll on libraries and library workers. All of us have had to pivot to provide services online, and for many of us, with shrinking resources. Library professionals have shown ourselves to be innovative and forward-thinking. Yet, like everyone, we have been forced to make difficult decisions, both for ourselves and the communities we serve. Despite the unique difficulties faced in 2020, ALA and the more than 300,000 library workers across America continue to demonstrate the core values of librarianship, which have stood the test of time. America’s libraries have weathered seasons of turmoil and stability. Library professionals have proven their tenacity and emerged with renewed vigor from the most challenging times, economically, socially and politically. Read more<https://bit.ly/2I28E0w> ALA Statement on Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping<https://bit.ly/3k2UycV> On September 22, the White House issued its Executive Order On Combating Race And Sex Stereotyping, prohibiting federal employees, contractors, and grant recipients from discussing or considering concepts such as critical race theory and white privilege and discouraging diversity education and training. This order is based on the patently false and malicious claim that diversity training—which is aimed at fostering a more equitable and just workplace and dismantling systemic racism and sexism—reflects a "Marxist doctrine" that is itself racist and sexist. The American Library Association rejects this claim. We are painfully aware that libraries and the profession of librarianship have been—and still are—complicit in systems that oppress, exclude, and harm Black people, indigenous people, and people of color, and deny equal opportunity to women. We assert that a commitment to learn from the painful and brutal legacies of our history is essential to the fulfillment of our promise as a country of equal rights and opportunities. Read more<https://bit.ly/3k2UycV> ALA decries latest FCC failure on net neutrality<https://bit.ly/363NGa7> On Tuesday, October 27, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) majority approved an order responding to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's remand in Mozilla v. FCC. The court ordered the FCC to address the impact of its Restoring Internet Freedom Order, particularly the Order’s reclassification of broadband Internet access service on three key issues: 1) public safety; 2) competitive access to pole attachments; and 3) support for the agency’s Lifeline program, which provides broadband subsidies for low-income Americans. Read more<https://bit.ly/363NGa7> Public libraries invited to apply for $5,000 American Dream grants for adult literacy services<https://bit.ly/3oWEyfS> The American Library Association (ALA) and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation invite public libraries to apply for grants to expand services for adult English language learners or adults in need of basic education and workforce development. Up to 16 grants of $5,000 each will be awarded. Public libraries are eligible if they serve adult English language learners and are located within 20 miles of a Dollar General Store, distribution center or corporate office. Visit the Dollar General Store Locator. Read more<https://bit.ly/3oWEyfS> ‘2019 Academic Library Trends and Statistics’ now available from ACRL<https://bit.ly/2TOngDk> The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announces the publication of "2019 Academic Library Trends and Statistics," the latest in a series of annual publications that describe the collections, staffing, expenditures, and service activities of academic libraries in all Carnegie classifications. The one-volume title includes data from Associate of Arts Colleges, Baccalaureate, Master’s Colleges and Universities, and Research/Doctoral-granting Institutions. The 2019 survey data is available through ACRL Metrics, an online subscription service that provides access to the ACRL survey data from 1999-2019. Read more<https://bit.ly/2TOngDk> YALSA releases Outstanding Books for the College Bound recommended reading list<https://bit.ly/3eoJNQI> The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has released its long-awaited Outstanding Books for the College Bound (OBCB) recommended reading list. The list was curated by YALSA’s 2019 OBCB Committee. Read more<https://bit.ly/3eoJNQI> Updated caregivers toolkit available<https://bit.ly/3kXsuZv> The American Library Association's Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) announced the relaunch of its Caregivers Toolkit. The toolkit includes the following categories: General Resources, Caregiver Organizations, Caregiver Support, Employer Resources, Government Agencies, Library Resources, Webinars and Training, Research/Statistics, Articles and Grief Support. The recently updated and expanded Toolkit is intended to provide easy access to vital caregiver resources that benefit library workers caring for loved ones. This effort is part of ALA’s commitment to support library staff wellness and is made possible by members of the ALA Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship. Read more<https://bit.ly/3kXsuZv> WEBINARS Core webinar: What You Need to Know about Library Assessment Focus Groups<https://bit.ly/34Uvu3g> Core webinar explores information technology fluency and poster design<https://bit.ly/3oRZRiT> Create more effective policies and procedures with this Core webinar<https://bit.ly/2TRqara> Core webinar helps you build a holistic employee engagement framework<https://bit.ly/3erJ1Cv> ALA PUBLISHING Makerspaces in practice<https://bit.ly/2TPi2Hx> A holistic collections assessment framework<https://bit.ly/3kW9Tx4> AWARDS AND GRANTS Nominations open for 2021 IFRT John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award<https://bit.ly/2JzNMib> [https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=973680d767&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1682372444945572992&th=1758fcd338e2e480&view=fimg&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ9gzIS82TZuKvf803HCUO_zFMka-xjsBHt082ScLBK_x9Nr9D2mWQzMskkxDvhc7F_TnLAw_xpkXXtKhfW1sX9nuoIF2r99ymDE5rYdwFz6Ou3aN9SCftl_Fu0&disp=emb]<https://2021.alamidwinter.org/> Jennifer L. Dean - PhD, MLIS MLA President and ALA Councilor Pronouns: she, her, hers Pronounced: jeh-nih-fuhr deen Dean of Libraries and Instructional Technology Distance Education Coordinator University of Detroit Mercy Libraries / Instructional Design Studio 313-993-1090 / deanjl@udmercy.edu Chat with a librarian 24/7: https://libraries.udmercy.edu/contact/ [cid:51c976a6-e3da-4767-b73f-c227d6f49a89]