May / June 2012

Features

Cataloging Then, Now, and Tomorrow

By Elise (Yi-Ling) Wong
If you think it is hard to explain to nonlibrary users what a librarian does, try explaining the job of a cataloger....

Annual Conference Preview: Transforming Our Libraries, Ourselves

By the Editors
Attendees say ALA’s Annual Conference is the “best gathering for professional development opportunities,...

Community Reference: Making Libraries Indispensable in a New Way

By Colbe Galston, Elizabeth Kelsen Huber, Katherine Johnson, and Amy Long
Libraries are constantly evolving to adapt to the needs and desires of our users. Most of these changes have occurred...

Transforming Libraries . . . Continued

By the Editors
When Maureen Sullivan becomes ALA president on June 26, one thing that is certain to continue from Molly Raphael’...

New ADA Signage Standards Take Effect

By Liz Humrickhouse
On March 15, 2012, updates to the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) went into effect. The new standards...

An Academic Spring?

By Barbara Fister

Time to Dine in Anaheim

By Laura Daily
Even a decade ago, the area immediately surrounding the Anaheim Convention Center was more culinary wasteland than...

PLA 2012: Powerful Advice, Practical Solutions

By Laurie D. Borman
Admit it: You snag free books and party at receptions. But who would come to PLA2012 if there weren’t also...

Departments

Newsmaker: Chicago Public Library Commissioner Brian Bannon

Will's World: The Matter of the Master’s

By Will Manley
Don’t get me wrong, I loved library school and I think programs that comprise a master’s degree in...

President's Message: Time Flies When You’re Having Fun

By Molly Raphael

Executive Director's Message: On a Screen Near You

By Keith Michael Fiels
Two items discussed during the ALA Executive Board Spring Meeting, held April 20–22 at the Association’s...

Librarian's Library: Building the Shelfless Library

By Karen Muller

Youth Matters: Make Room for Homeschoolers

By Abby Johnson
Did you know there are an estimated 2 million home-educated children in the United States? According to a report from...

On My Mind: My Year of RDA

By Patricia Frade
I’ve been a librarian for 30 years and have seen a lot of changes during that time. I’ve welcomed them as...

Internet Librarian: Data, Data Everywhere

By Joseph Janes
The Michigan Theater is at 603 East Liberty St. in Ann Arbor. Athletes Tom Brady and Cal Ripken have the same body mass...

Outside/In: Spring Libraryland Tour

By David Lee King and Michael Porter
Our mission with Outside/In has been to take useful ideas from the larger world of trends (outside) to see how they...

In Practice: The Guide on the Side

By Meredith Farkas
Many librarians have embraced the use of active learning in their teaching. Moving away from lectures and toward...

Rousing Reads: Translit: New Genre Collapses Time and Space

By Bill Ott
At the recent Public Library Association conference in Philadelphia, my friend and Booklist columnist David Wright,...

News Stories

Are Harvard’s Realignment Throes Unique—or a Cautionary Tale?

Harvard University Library (HUL) is poised to launch a massive reconfiguration of its services in July. Reorganizations...

One State’s Experience at National Library Legislative Day

Jazzy Wright
Concern over federal and state budget cuts to library programs motivated Georgia State Librarian Lamar Veatch to make...