The PLA Blog | Official Blog of the Public Library Association
Shepard Fairey, Lawrence Lessig, Steven Johnson REMIX it up at NYPL.
Shepard Fairey, I clearly remember the first time I saw your iconic “Andre the Giant has a Posse” sticker. Oh, and please see the last lines of this post. I went to high school in the midwestern cultural hub commonly known as Ann Arbor, Michigan and have nothing but the fondest memories of that place. [...]
Audio. Books. Volume 1.
Librarians. In bands. Perhaps we should listen to them, right? Here are three bands that I happen to like, all of which have librarypeoples in them. Are you a librarian with a band? If you are the type to be cool and drop a comment on this post I just might feature you in a [...]
Genetic Literacy and Public Libraries
Here’s a post from Lisa Chow and Alice Dontanville: What does genetics literacy have to do with the public library? Quite a lot, as it turns out. It has been only 13 years since a team of international scientists succeeded in determining the sequence of the human genome. This momentous—and well-publicized–event was the culmination of [...]
Please, MASTERPIECE, we want some more…
Free Online resources For Teachers and Bookk Clubs “The Tales OF charles Dickens” On MASTERPIECE CLASSIC in 2009 on PBS. No one does Dickens like PBS’s MASTERPIECE, which has been airing lavish, magnificently acted works by the incomparable author for most of the four-decade history of the series. And no one offers teachers and reading [...]
Tell PBS if you value Curious George materials
Recently, children’s librarians nationwide received a Curious George Earth Science banner, which offered easy-to-use activities on its reverse side. Now PBS needs to hear from those of you who have used the activities! A number of librarians who answer a brief online survey (located at zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB2283Y6S64YW) will win 25-book sets of Curious George Flies a [...]
Getting closer to the trifecta
A while back I wrote a post about the library programming trifecta: have a program, tie it to materials, and give it online presence (preferably a social, participatory web presence rather than a static one). I try to practice what I preach, so I want to share with PLA Blog readers a couple of programs [...]
Technology and Unions in the Public Library
Here’s a well-stated call to action from Chris Maisano of Brooklyn Public Library. Is your union working for you? Can you make it work for you? We all know that our profession is in the midst of a transitional period from an older conception of librarianship grounded in print culture to…well, we really don’t know [...]
Philadelphia Junto: Rethinking the Library
Visual notes by Jonny Goldstein There’s really no better place for a group to discuss the future of public library facilities and services right now than the city of Philadelphia. With the potential closure of 11 Free Library of Philadelphia branches and mixed feelings in the community about whether those closures are a good choice, [...]
PLA on Facebook
PLA is now on Facebook! Check out our page, and show your support by becoming a fan. We’ll be updating the page regularly with photos, events, and other information.
Librarians at New York Comic Con
Here’s a guest post from Molly Phelan, Library Information Supervisor at Brooklyn Public Library, Cypress Hills Branch. More public libraries have been adding manga and graphic novels to their collections, and in return those libraries have seen a boost in circulation rates. Every year, New York Comic Con welcomes librarians with programming geared just for [...]
