Category: ala

Anyone can sign up to read the ALA Council listserv. Non-councilors just can’t post [though they can ask Councilors to post for them]. Step has found directions for how to sign up for the list, buried someplace in the ALA web site.

Another bummer for NLW, ALA reports that 41 states have had recent library funding cuts. They have set up a page to collect data on specific instances of budget cuts, feel free to share your funding miseries with them there.

According to the info-commons blog, “ALA is investigating online community software.” While I commend them for putting together an RFP [which they did not do for the website] I think jumping on to the online community bandwagon when there are still serious issues with ALA’s online interactions with members [via the website, via balloting, via email lists, via opt-out initiatives] is a mistake that is going to cost more of ALA’s money for less value and more confusion for ALA’s members. But perhaps you disagree? Feel free to fill in ALA’s survey and tell them what you are looking for. My suggestions: open source platform, ADA compliant, cross-browser/OS compliant, no email feature, strong privacy policy, no opt-out crap, preferably developed in-house so that it can be modified in-house in response to user feedback. Is that too much to ask?

ALA Council has been discussing the hybrid election a lot this week. If you voted in the ALA elections, whether electronically or with a paper ballot, and wouldn’t mind letting me know how you found the experience [easy? hard? fun? unfun?] I could pass on some data to my Council colleagues. Thanks.

ALA is partnering with ebrary to get the full text of American Libraries online. It was not quite working yesterday. Today it seems to be working. To get there, follow these easy steps

1. Go to http://www.ala.org/
2. Click the link to American Libraries. This takes you to http://www.ala.org/al_onlineTemplate.cfm?Section=alonline
3. Click the link on the side that says “Read American Libraries on eBrary” which takes you to http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/alonlineebrary/alonlineebrary.htm
4. log in
5. Click the link that says “search the full text of American Libraries on eBrary”
6. Click the link that says “Click here to search American Libraries online with eBrary”

note: some of these steps can be avoided if you are smart enough to click on the current issue of AL in the upper lefthand corner of the American Libraries main page.
note: do not click on any of the header links once you are using ebrary. Bad things happen.
note: all appearances to the contrary, ebrary is properly written in all lower case.