ALA Presidential Candidates (2013)

Steve speaks with the two candidates for president of the American Library Association for 2013.

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Courtney L. Young is currently Head Librarian and Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and Penn State Greater Allegheny. She is an active leader in the American Library Association (ALA), serving on the ALA Executive Board (2009-2012) and as a past President of the New Members Round Table (2009-2010). In 2011, Courtney was named a Library Journal “Mover& Shaker”, recognized as a Change Agent for her ability to successfully make connections among a diversity of duties in her library, on campus, and in the profession. She graduated from the College of Wooster in Ohio with a B.A. in English and minors in Black Studies and Women’s Studies. She received her M.S. in Library Science from Simmons College.

Before coming to Penn State Greater Allegheny, Courtney worked at The Ohio State University, Michigan State University, where she received a Staff Achievement Award as the assistant instruction librarian, and Penn State’s University Park and Beaver campuses. Courtney frequently presents and publishes on issues related to academic librarianship, diversity, virtual reference, and professional development.

Barbara Immroth has worked as a free-lance indexer, an instructor for the State Library of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh, an assistant in the Brown University Library, a librarian for the University of Denver Library, a children’s librarian at Carnegie Library, and a high school librarian in Pittsburgh. Her research interests center on children’s services, children’s health and children’s literature. She is the author of Texas in Children’s Books and co-author of Teaching Texas History: An All-Level Resource Guide. She edited, with Viki Ash-Geisler as co-editor, Achieving School Readiness: Public Libraries and National Education Goal No. 1; and Library Service for Youth of Hispanic Heritage with Kathleen de la Pena McCook. Her most recent books, written with Bill Lukenbill, are Health Information for Youth: The Public Library and School Library Media Center Role and Health Information in a Changing World: Practical Approaches for Teachers, Schools and School Librarians. She is a past President of the Association for Library Service to Children, a former Trustee of the Freedom to Read Foundation, a past President of the Texas Library Association and a past national President of the Beta Phi Mu LIS honorary society. She is the P.I. for two grants that received IMLS funding: “Youth, Community, Libraries: Empowerment for Success” for Ph.D. student recruitment and “Promoting Information Literacy & Teacher Collaboration through Social Marketing Strategies” for a study of librarian-teacher collaboration. She was the first woman in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, now School of Information, at The University of Texas to direct a dissertation.

Please note that these election episodes are done to be informational, not necessarily as an endorsement of one or more candidates.

Library Marketing Toolkit: Ned Potter

Steve speaks with Ned Potter, author of the Library Marketing Toolkit, and a librarian at the University of York Library.

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Ned Potter works for the University of York Library, as an Academic Liaison Librarian in the Arts and Humanities; previous roles at the University of Leeds Library centered around Digitisation, including the JISC funded LIFE-SHARE Project.

He has a BA in Philosophy / English and an MA in Music, both from York, and an MSc in Information & Library Management, from Northumbria. In 2010 Ned founded LISNPN, a network for New Professionals in Librarianship which now has over 1600 members from 60 countries around the world. With Laura Woods he helped instigate the Echo Chamber movement to try and get library voices better heard beyond the profession, and set up the Library Routes Project to document the paths through librarianship of over 150 information professionals.

In 2011 he collaborated with 3 other librarians to set up the Buy India a Library project, which in just 2 weeks crowd-sourced funds enough to build a permanent library in one of the poorest parts of India, as well as four mobile libraries to travel around Africa. In one heady 24hr period later that year he was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker and a winner of a Special Libraries Association Early Career Conference Award.

Across 2011 Ned authored the Library Marketing Toolkit, published by Facet Publishing / Neal Schuman in 2012. It has been number 1 in Amazon’s Library charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The website to accompany the book, which also features a marketing blog, is at www.librarymarketingtoolkit.com.

In 2012 Ned became a trainer for the British Library and the UK Electronic Information Group, and has provided marketing expertise for diverse clients such as the Bodleian Libaries and the Latvian Ministry of Culture.

Ned enjoys drumming, and writing about himself in the third-person. His main website can be found at www.thewikiman.org.

22: Jan Holmquist

Steve speaks with global librarian Jan Holmquist about buying libraries for India, cycling, and gaining a global perspective on the profession.

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Jan Holmquist describes himself as a Global librarian – because libraries are more important than ever and because the best way libraries can act locally for their communities is to be inspired globally. Jan works as head of library development at Guldborgsund-bibliotekerne – a public library in the south eastern part of Denmark, Europe.

The library as a learning hub in the community is one of Jan’s core beliefs, as is the globally inspired local library where citizens participate to build new knowledge. 

He is part of the German and international library development network – Zukunftentwicklers and the international reading project “Read watch & play”. He is also a speaker, a Dad, crowd funder, music listener and drinker of good coffee. Jan is a member of the international library crowdfunding teams Buy India a Library and Help This Week in Libraries and is working with an international learning project in the spirit of 23 Things about apps on iPad mini.

Jan blogs at janholmquist.wordpress.com and tweets at @janholmquist – You can also find him on other social networks via about.me/janholmquist

Tom Angleberger – Librarians are ROCKSTARS!

Steve, in collaboration with Allison and Michelle from the Authors are ROCKSTARS! podcast, chats with author and illustrator Tom Angleberger about the awesomeness of libraries, librarians, and Star Wars!

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Tom is the author and illustrator of the Origami Yoda series, in addition to many other great novels for young readers. His next book, Art2-D2’s Guide to Folding and Doodling, will be on bookstore shelves in March 2013.

It was a great pleasure to team up with Allison and Michelle for this special project. Be sure to check out the first part of this series over on their site, with author Kirby Larson and add their show to your podcast-listening queue today!
 
 

Kirby Larson – Librarians are ROCKSTARS!

Take a listen to the newest episode of the Authors are ROCKSTARS! podcast for a special collaboration we call Librarians are ROCKSTARS! We spoke with author Kirby Larson about her love of libraries and librarians, and got a sneak peek at her new book, Hattie Ever After, hitting bookshelves on February 12.

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Allison and Michelle were a delight to work with, and you’ll see part two with another great author here on Thursday.

21: Best Books of 2012 (Part Two)

Steve speaks with a group of librarians about their favorite books of 2012 (and some sneak peeks into 2013).

Stephanie Anderson:

Far From The Tree by Andrew Solomon
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
The Passage of Power by Robert Caro
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg
Building Stories by Chris Ware
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
By Blood by Ellen Ullman
The Legend of Pradeep Mathew by Shehan Karunatilaka
I Am An Executioner by Rajesh Parameswaran
Zona by Geoff Dyer
The Lifespan of a Fact by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal
The Red Book by Carl Jung
Coming in 2013:
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Lullaby of Polish Girls by Dagmara Dominczyk
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
Darien Library Staff Top 10:
Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Burn Down the Ground by Kambri Crews
Elsewhere by Richard Russo
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
Far From The Tree by Andrew Solomon
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane
Quiet by Susan Cain
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Thomas Maluck:

Message To Adolf by Osamu Tezuka
Daredevil by Mark Waid & various artists
The Graphic Canon by Various
A Wrinkle In Time adapted by Hope Larson
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Coming in 2013:
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura 

Julie Jurgens:
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
Four Mile by Watt Key
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand
Long Lankin by Lindsay Barrclough
Black Dog by Levi Pinfold
It’s a Tiger by David LaRochelle & ills. by Jeremy Tankard
A Boy, a Bear and a Boat by Dave Shelton
Marching To The Mountaintop : How Poverty, Labor Fights, And Civil Rights Set The Stage For Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Final Hours by Ann Bausum
The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins
Coming in 2013:
The Beatles Were Fab (And They Were Funny) by Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer
Seagulls Don’t Eat Pickles by Erica Farber

Leah White:

The Twelve by Justin Cronin
At the Mouth of the River of Bees by Kij Johnson
Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson
Redshirts by John Scalzi
Store of the Worlds by Robert Sheckley

20: Best Books of 2012 (Part One)

Steve speaks with a group of librarians about their favorite books of 2012 (and some sneak peeks into 2013).

Liz Burns:
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough
Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
FitzOsbornes at War by Michelle CooperComing in 2013:Game by Barry LygaKiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers by Kirsten MillerQuintana of Charyn by Melina MarchettaPaper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

Kelly Jensen:
Crazy by Amy Reed
Me & Earl & The Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Thumped by Megan McCafferty
Something Like Normal by Trish DollerStatistical Probability of Love and First Sight by Jennifer E Smith
The Children and the Wolves by Adam Rapp
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo
This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
Butter by Erin Jade LangeThe List by Siobhan Vivian
The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis
The Opposite of Hallelujah by Anna Jarzab
172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
Catch & Release by Blythe Woolston
Coming in 2013:
17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma
Absent by Katie Williams
The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding
When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Kristi Chadwick:
Cold Days by Jim Butcher
Ashes of Honor by Seanan McGuireDiscount Armaggeddon by Seanan McGuire
Deadline (Newsflesh Trilogy) by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire)
Angel’s Ink: The Asylum Tales by Jocelynn DrakeIronskin by Tina Connolly
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Coming in 2013:
Chimes at Midnight & Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire
Greenlight for Murder by Heywood Gould

Anna Mickelsen:
The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks (#2 in the Lightbringer Trilogy)Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth
Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas (Fitzhugh Trilogy #2)
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
Coming in 2013:
A Memory of Light by Brandon Sanderson & Robert Jordan
Ever After by Kim Harrison
Anything by Sherry Thomas
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent, Marie Brennan

Sarah Statz Cords
Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, an Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work by Jeanne Marie Laskas
Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace by D.T. Max
My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
Always Put In a Recipe and Other Tips for Living from Iowa’s Best-Known Homemaker by Evelyn Birkby
George Harrison: Living in the Material World by George Harrison
Read This! Handpicked Favorites from America’s Indie Bookstores
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
Reinventing Bach by Paul Elie
Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Coming in 2013:
American Isis: The Life and Art of Sylvia Plath by Carl Rollyson
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
My Brother’s Book by Maurice Sendak
Detroit by Charlie LeDuff
Gun Guys by Dan Baum
Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris
Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing with Others by Stacy Horn

Becky Spratford
The Walking Dead (graphic novel) by Robert Kirkman
The Void by Brett Talley
The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle.
Flesh and Bone (Rot and Ruin trilogy) by Jonathan Maberry
A Bad Day for Voodoo by Jeff Strand
Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel (Book Two in The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series)
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Seed by Ania Ahlborn
Coming in 2013:
Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry
NO24A2 by Joe Hill
Locke and Key (graphic novel) by Joe Hill
Dr. Sleep by Stephen King (sequel to The Shining)

Expect More

Steve speaks with R. David Lankes about his new book, Expect More.

Read the transcript.

Libraries have existed for millennia, but today many question their necessity. In an ever more digital and connected world, do we still need places of books in our towns, colleges, or schools? If libraries aren’t about books, what are they about?

In Expect More, R. David Lankes, winner of the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature, walks you through what to expect out of your library. Lankes argues that, to thrive, communities need libraries that go beyond bricks and mortar, and beyond books and literature. We need to expect more out of our libraries. They should be places of learning and advocates for our communities in terms of privacy, intellectual property, and economic development.

This book is written for the people who support and oversee libraries. This includes college provosts, students, parents, board members, volunteers, and, well, just about everyone who has ever gone to school or pays taxes. You need to know what libraries are capable of, and you need to raise the bar on your expectations. Expect More is a rallying call to communities to increase their expectations for great libraries.

Buy the book in print at CreateSpace (the preferred retailer) and Amazon. It is also available as an eBook from Smashwords for all major platforms.

For more information on the book, to order a copy, or to join the conversation about improving libraries, go to the book’s website http://www.riland.org.

19: Jason Griffey

Steve speaks with Jason Griffey, the Head of Library Information Technology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and creator of LibraryBox.

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Jason Griffey is an Associate Professor and Head of Library Information Technology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. His latest book,Mobile Technology and Libraries, is available as a part of Neal Schuman’s Tech Set, the winner of the ALA 2011 Award for the Best Book in Library Literature. He has also written multiple Library Technology Reports for the American Library Association on topics such as personal electronics in the library, privacy, copyright, and intellectual property. Jason was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2009, and speaks internationally on the future of libraries, mobile technology, eBooks, and other technology related issues. 

His current obsession is the LibraryBox Project, a portable digital file distribution system. He can be stalked obsessively at www.jasongriffey.net andPattern Recognition and is a columnist for the ALA Techsource blog. He spends his free time with his daughter Eliza, reading, obsessing over gadgets, and preparing for the inevitable zombie uprising.

SHOW NOTES

Unglue.it

Steve speaks with Eric Hellman and Andromeda Yelton from Unglue.it.

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Unglue.it offers a win-win solution to readers, who want to read and share their favorite books conveniently, and rights holders, who want to be rewarded for their work. 

They run crowdfunding campaigns to raise money for specific, already-published books. When they reach goals set by the rights holders, they’ll pay them to unglue their work. The rights holders will issue an electronic edition with a Creative Commons license as specified during the campaign. These licenses will make the edition free and legal for everyone to read, copy, and share, worldwide.

At Unglue.it, book lovers can pledge money to support these campaigns; add books to their wishlist to tell the world about their favorites; discuss their favorite books; share their Unglue.it pages via social media; and find direct links to public domain and unglued ebooks that they can read right away.

Campaign to unglue So You Want to Be a Librarian by Lauren Pressley

Eric Hellman, President of Gluejar, is a technologist, entrepreneur, and writer. After 10 years at Bell Labs in physics research, Eric became interested in technologies surrounding e-journals and libraries. His first business, Openly Informatics, developed OpenURL linking software and knowledgebases, and was acquired by OCLC in 1996. At OCLC, he led the effort to productize and expand the xISBN service, and began the development of OCLC’s Electronic Resource Management offerings. After leaving OCLC, Eric began blogging at Go To Hellman. He covers the intersection of technology, libraries and ebooks, and has written extensively on the Semantic Web and Linked Data. Eric has a B.S.E. from Princeton University, and a Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

Andromeda Yelton is a former Latin teacher and recent library science graduate (with a background in mathematics) who’s quickly made a name for herself in the library world. She has a BA in Mathematics from Harvey Mudd College, an MA in Classics from Tufts, and recently completed her MLS from Simmons. She blogs atAcross Divided Networks and at ALA TechSource, and won the 2010 LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award for the article “A Simple Scheme for Book Classification Using Wikipedia”. She is a 2011 American Library AssociationEmerging Leader. Andromeda was one of the leaders of the crowdsourced philanthropy project Buy India a Library. She also has first-hand experience with public broadcasting- she was once a listener contestant on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.