The PLA Blog | Official Blog of the Public Library Association
Queering the library
[Please note: throughout this post, I'll be using "queer" to refer very broadly to the LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer, intersex, and asexual/ally) community.] The first session I attended today was Spanning the Generations: Serving the GLBTIQ Community of ALL Ages. Unfortunately two of the speakers, Nancy Silverrod and KR Roberto, were unable to [...]
A latecomer from Indiana
My name is Gretchen and I am not an audiobook person. Oh, I understand why our patrons like them–and why they can be such a boon to reluctant readers–but they’re just not my thing. I’m a very visual person and my mind tends to wander just listening to a story and then I realize I [...]
Playing spot the librarian
When traveling to library conferences, I always like to get warmed up by guessing who else on the plane is a librarian. On this trip, I traveled with two colleagues from Kingston, Ontario, and they pointed out that the game isn’t as easy as it used to be. Or as my mother (also a librarian [...]
Reminder to Complete Your 2009 PLDS Questionnaire
Just a reminder to those of you who participate in PLA’s annual Public Library Data Service (PLDS) Statistical Report, that your completed questionnaires are due on April 6, 2009. To complete the survey online, visit http://illinois.edu/goto/PLDS. You will need to use your library’s individual User Name (your PLDS ID number) and Password as shown on [...]
Two deadlines approaching for PLA Leadership Fellows program
The application deadlines for the two schools participating in the Public Library Association’s (PLA) Leadership Fellows program are quickly approaching. Applications for the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business Leading Organizational Change program are due to the PLA office on Sept. 1. The deadline for applicants for the University of Michigan’s Ross School of [...]
PLA offers new Leadership Fellows scholarship program to members
The Public Library Association is offering a new, innovative educational opportunity to help its members become leaders in public libraries and excel in their careers. PLA Leadership Fellows offers PLA members who are public library managers a chance to attend executive leadership training at some of the best universities in the United States, including: • [...]
The Los Angeles ALA of Anaheim
In my first PLA Blog guest entry, I mentioned my plans for the conference. How did I do? I plan to talk to Tim Spalding about his ideas for revamping classification, because Dewey may not be the best choice for everyone. And to colleagues who are implementing faceted interfaces for their catalogs (Collingswood will be [...]
Everyone Else Likes Having Found: 360 Minutes into the Future of the Catalog
Stephen Abram is a can’t miss panelist. He accepts, more fully than anyone else I’ve seen present at a library conference, that public speaking is theater, and theater benefits from the play of opposites, from presenters willing to play the foil. And so, last Saturday for the LITA Internet Resources and Services Interest Group’s “There’s [...]
Saturday Morning Stretch
I felt like I should show up for Saturday morning’s “Stretching Existing Staff” in disguise. Or, perhaps, in a bull’s-eye t-shirt with a “Kick Me” sign taped to my back. I mean, I know all too well that my colleagues are being stretched, and they know they’re being stretched, and they know that I know, [...]
PACs in the Library 2.0 World (PLA)
PACs in the Library 2.0 World (PLA) This session was a panel consisting of four presenters, each addressing a different aspect. Ross MacLachlan of the Phoenix Public Library Endeca: Developments in the OPAC World The Phoenix Public Library uses Endeca because: it is a search engine it harvests data it enables guided navigation it is [...]
