ALA News

CHICAGO–Core hosts the webinar “The Search For Meaningful Work: Overcoming Low Morale, Quiet Quitting, and Dead End Jobs” on October 24, 2023, at 1 p.m. CT. This presentation centers on creating a meaningful work life while also exploring how to break free from unfavorable elements.

[Chicago, IL] -- The annual BRASS Best of the Best Business Web Resources Award list was announced today by the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA) Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS).

CHICAGO - Libraries, schools, bookstores, and groups around the world will be calling attention to censorship – and ways to fight it – October 1 – 7, 2023. The American Library Association and Unite Against Book Bans will mark this year’s event with a slate of programs, a call to action on Let Freedom Read Day, videos from the Banned Books From the Big Chair read out, and more.

Washington, D.C. – Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel today announced that reinstating net neutrality protections will be on the agenda for the full FCC meeting on October 19, 2023. According to a fact sheet released by Rosenworcel, “the Chairwoman is proposing the FCC take the first procedural steps toward reaffirming rules that would treat broadband internet service as an essential service for American life.” 

CHICAGO — Published by Facet Publishing and available through the ALA Store, “Halo Data: Understanding and Leveraging the Value in your Data” proposes a paradigm shift in methodology for organizations to properly appreciate and leverage the value of their data. Co-founders of the data consultancy firm Carruthers and Jackson, authors Caroline Carruthers and Peter Jackson have many years' experience in data strategy, management, and technology. Their book begins by reviewing the current state of our understanding of data.

CHICAGO - Tracie D. Hall, executive director of the American Library Association (ALA), is set to receive the Roosevelt Institute’s Freedom of Speech and Expression Award at the 2023 Four Freedoms Awards on Saturday, September 23. Held annually, the prestigious awards program honors individuals who represent the principles proclaimed by President Franklin D.

NEW YORK CITY — Beloved reading advocate, writer, and television and film star LeVar Burton will lead this year’s Banned Books Week, which takes place October 1–7, 2023. Burton is the first actor to serve as honorary chair of Banned Books Week, an annual weeklong event that highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.

New data shows record surge of challenges in public libraries

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) has released new preliminary data documenting the continued rise in attempts to censor books and materials in public, school and academic libraries during the first eight months in 2023.

CHICAGO–Join Core for the webinar “Dropping the Other I-Word: Local Library of Congress Subject Heading Replacements” on November 1, 2023, at 1 p.m. CT.

Washington, D.C. – The Public Policy and Advocacy Office (PPA) is pleased to announce the release of the updated ALA Advocacy Action Plan Workbook, which is available online. The guide is a project of the Committee on Library Advocacy (COLA) and updates the 2009 workbook developed by the American Library Association (ALA) and United for Libraries (UFL).  

Nadia Orozco-Sahi has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Career LIFT Award, sponsored by OCLC and Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures. They are the Library Services Coordinator at the University of New Mexico.

CHICAGO — Most college students are novice researchers for whom Google is the first resort. But the sort of information usually found this way often lacks substance and is of questionable authority. Academic librarians and instructors can save students from fruitless, random web searching with the help of the new sixth edition of “The College Student’s Research Companion: Finding, Evaluating, and Citing the Resources You Need to Succeed,” published by ALA Neal-Schuman.

CHICAGO - The American Library Association (ALA) has released a new LibGuide designed to help library workers use Library of Congress (LOC) Digital Collections in programming and educational opportunities.

If you need financial help to get through your graduate program, you should know that scholarship funds are now available. The American Library Association (ALA) has more than $300,000 available to students who are studying in library science or school library media programs at the master's degree level. Get your application in early. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2024.

The American Library Association is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for the 2024 Jason Reynolds / Simon & Schuster Travel Grant.

The grant will cover the expenses of five (5) Black/African American youth or teen services librarians or school librarians/media specialists who work in either public or school libraries. 

CHICAGO - In response to the recent threats of violence to Chicago-area public libraries, the American Library Association (ALA) Executive Board released the following statement:

The American Library Association (ALA) vehemently condemns the violence, threats of violence and other acts of intimidation that are increasingly taking place in America’s libraries, including the recent bomb threats to Chicago-area public libraries, putting the lives of our communities, families, and library workers in danger.

CHICAGO —Branding isn't just for celebrities and corporations. Published by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and ALA Editions, “Elevating the School Library: Building Positive Perceptions through Brand Behavior” by Susan D. Ballard and Sara Kelly Johns shows how school librarians can raise and deepen positive perceptions of school libraries through developing a brand in alignment with the AASL Standards.

The American Library Association Publishing Committee provides a grant of up to $5,000 for the preparation of print or electronic reading lists, indexes, or other guides to library resources that promote reading or the use of library resources at any type of library. Funded projects have ranged from “A Resource Guide about Disabilities, Disability Theory, and Assistive Technologies” to “A Bibliography for Queer Teens” to “Graphic Novels & the Humanity of Mental Illness” to “Web Accessibility Resources for Libraries.”

CHICAGO–Core hosts the webinar “Best of Core at ALA Annual Conference: Dialogues in Metadata; Bridging the Gap Between Library and Information Science Education and Metadata in Practice” on September 26, 2023, at 1 p.m. CT.

CHICAGO — Serving as both an accessible introduction for LIS students and a go-to reference for current practitioners, “Foundations of Information Law,” published by ALA Neal-Schuman, is designed to empower readers to understand, rather than be intimidated by, the law. Authors Paul T.