Rocks in the Whirlpool

"Equity of Access" for all to the records of humanity is a key action area of the American Library Association (ALA). By 2005 the Association has declared that it will be the leading voice for equitable access to information resources in all formats for all people. Since the formal organization of the Association in 1876 its members, divisions, committees, task forces and commissions have steadily worked to develop and extend access to library services. This paper provides some of the historical context of the American Library Association’s efforts to define, extend, protect and advocate for Equity of Access. It is important to note that the paper focus is on central tendencies rather than internal debate. Analysis of division, roundtable and affiliate actions that have contributed to the larger picture and have been fundamental to the overall Association’s development of policies for equity of access are not fully addressed

Librarians as Wikipedians: From Library History to “Librarianship and Human Rights”

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia built collaboratively using wiki software, is the most visited reference site on the web. Only 270 librarians identify as Wikipedians of 21,431,799 Wikipedians with named accounts. This needs to change. Understanding Wikipedia is essential to teaching information literacy and editing Wikipedia is essential to foster successful information-seeking behavior. Librarians who become skilled Wikipedians will maintain the centrality of librarianship to knowledge management in the 21st century—especially through active participation in crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is the online participation model that makes use of the collective intelligence of online communities for specific purposes in this case creating and editing articles for Wikipedia

Libraries Build Community: Valdosta State University, Georgia, 2009-2011

Summary of Work- -July1, 2011-December 31, 2011.The IMLS Strategic Plan, 2012 – 2016: Creating a Nation of Learners envisions a democratic society where communities and individuals thrive with broad public access to knowledge, cultural heritage and lifelong learning. The plan identifies the mission of IMLS to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, learning and civic engagement by providing leadership through research, policy development and grant-makin

Adult Services in the Eighties: Final Report

The American Library Association\u27s (ALA) Adult Services in the Eighties (ASE) project was undertaken to supply information about areas of current and unique concentration to aid librarians in identifying, describing, and planning the scope of adult services in their own libraries. The ASE project updates a study conducted in 1954--the most recent national survey on this topic--through the presentation of data about the range of services and the compilation of bibliographic essays on key services. The narrative report, which covers the problem to be studied and activities undertaken in each of the three phases of the project, is supplemented by 11 exhibits. These exhibits make up nearly three quarters of this document: (1) a 1982 ALA goal award proposal submitted by the Adult Services Committee of the Reference and Adult Services Division (RASD); (2) correspondence about attendance at the ASE Assembly and a short questionnaire; (3) the first draft of the final questionnaire; (4) a booklet of library terminology which accompanied the 1954 survey and instructions for updating the booklet; (5) the second draft of the questionnaire; (6) the pretest of the final survey tool; (7) the cover letter and the final version of the questionnaire; (8) a short essay summarizing ASE project goals; (9) a memo about data entry; (10) a reminder note to respond to the survey; and (11) printouts of the data entry, data check, cleanup, and state append computer programs. This report also includes a chronological summary of the landmarks of the ASE project

Librarians and Human Rights

Public libraries in the United States have exhibited continual progress in the expansion of services since the establishment of this public good in the mid-nineteenth century. While the discourse about public library services among its practitioners has evolved along the lines of general progressive thought, this discourse has been framed in a fashion that reflects U.S. values. Even after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 U.S. public librarianship has largely refrained from describing services using a more universal language of human rights. The reasons for this have much to do with political decisions made outside of librarianship that nevertheless have affected the way U.S. librarians describe and activate services. Thus, while we assert that U. S. public libraries do provide services that embody human rights, we also recognize that the connections for front line public librarians in the U.S. to the larger global discourse have yet to be made in a clear manne

Kathleen de la Pena McCook

Kathleen de la Pena McCook, USF Distinguished Professor in the School of Library and Information Science, discusses her efforts to expand and improve the LIS program, by developing a new vision and program plan for SLIS, working with the USF Administration, teaching courses through the Internet, promoting diversity among faculty and students, preserving civil liberties, and reaching out to the community

From the One-Mule Tenant Farmer to the Hillbilly Highway: How Librarians Can Support the White Working Class

The following article presents an overview of the poverty and dispossession of the white working class in the twenty-first century. It explores the manner in which librarians’ diminished connection to labor and denigration of Trump voters are combining to erode the library mission of service to all. It concludes with suggestions for reconnection and renewal