There are no bus seats--instead there are chairs and tables and shelves of books. And there are no passengers--instead there is Pari, who is nervously starting her first day as Mama's library helper. Pari stands tall to hand out notebooks and pencils at the villages and the refugee camp, but she feels intimidated. The girls they visit are learning to write English from Mama. Pari can't even read or write in Farsi yet. But next year she will go to school and learn all there is to know. And that is a wonderful thing. Not long ago, Mama tells her, girls were not allowed to read at all.

    It can support reading initiatives, foster family engagement, encourage visit frequency, and coax interaction out of library lurkers--while barely making a dent in your programming budget. Passive programming can be targeted at children, teens, adults, or seniors; used to augment existing programs; and executed in places where staff-led programming can't reach. It can be light-footed, spontaneous, and easily deployed to reflect and respond to current news, media, library events, and even the weather. But even passive programming pros run out of ideas sometimes, and when that happens, they want a fresh, funny source of inspiration.

    As I did so I had the revelation that in what we do with our memories and the stuff that our parents leave behind, we are all museum makers, seeking to makes sense of the past.’Museum expert Rachel Morris had been ignoring the boxes of family belongings for decades. When she finally opened them she began a journey into her family’s dramatic story through the literary and bohemian circles of the nineteenth and twentieth century. It was a revelatory experience – one that finds her searching for her absent father in archives of the Tate, and which transports her back to the museums that had enriched a lonely childhood. By teasing out the stories of those early museum makers, and the unsung daughters and wives behind them, and seeing the same passions and neglect reflected in her own family, Morris digs deep into the human instinct for collection and curation.

    Libraries support and nurture strong, resilient communities. Day in and day out, the library workers at these institutions are doing much more than ensuring equal and equitable access to information; and their impact stretches far beyond the books, programs, and services they facilitate. Featuring contributions from such library leaders as Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, the late Nicolette Sosulski, and Erica Freudenberger, this collection of inspiring first-hand stories from across libraryland spotlights the countless ways in which library staff are making a difference for their communities. A sharing of the hearts, minds, and spirits of library staff from across the country, the uplifting personal narratives in this book include when a routine reference query inspired a librarian to reach out to a senior patron; how a public library’s annual Diwali celebration has strengthened the social fabric of the surrounding community; the story of a library that burned down, was hit by a hurricane, got sued twice, and yet still reemerged stronger than ever; how the team at the Fayetteville Free Library (FFL) of New York has strategically nurtured a culture of innovation by integrating Syracuse University students into the staff, holding technology “open houses,” and developing other initiatives; and the intervention of a public library staff member that helped a mother keep her son enrolled in school and receive his diploma.Library workers change and save lives every day, and this book is a powerful and nourishing reminder of exactly why libraries are essential.

    But the fact is, linked data is already happening now, evident in projects from Big Tech and the Wikimedia Foundation as well as the web pages of library service platforms. The goal of exposing cultural institutions' records to the web is as important as ever--but for the non-technically minded, linked data can feel like a confusing morass of abstraction, jargon, and acronyms. Get conversant in linked data with this basic introduction from the Association of Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS). The book's expert contributorssummarize the origins of linked data, from early computers and the creation of the World Wide Web through RDF; walk readers through the practical, everyday side of creating, identifying, and representing semantically rich linked data using as an example the funk classic Mothership Connection album from the band Parliament; explain the concept of ontologies; explore such linked data projects as Open Graph, DBpedia, BIBFRAME, and Schema.org's Bib Extension; offer suggested solo and group entry-level projects for linked data-curious librarians who wish to dive deeper; and provide a handy glossary and links to additional resources. This valuable primer on linked data will enable readers at any level of experience to get quickly up to speed on this important subject.

    This important resource from the ALA's Public Programs Office (PPO) features contributions be leaders active in library-led community engagement. Designed to be equally useful as a teaching text for LIS students and a go-to handbook for current programming, adult services, and outreach library staff.

    The author describes how libraries would benefit from an in-house classification system and organization that accounts for both publishers and series.In addition, acquiring comics can often be tricky due to renumbering of series, reboots, shifting creative teams, and more--this book shows you how to work around those obstacles. Shelving and displays that reflect comic readers' browsing habits, creative programs that boost circulation of comics and graphic novels, and how comics can play a vital role in educational institutions are also covered.

    This collection of essays interrogates library practices relating to archives and special collections. Funding and political choices often underpin acquisition, access and promotion of these collections, resulting in unequal representation, biased interpretations, and suppressed narratives. Archives and Special Collections as Sites of Contestation explores the reinterpretation and resituating of archives and special collections held by libraries, examines the development and stewardship of archives and special collections within a social justice framework, and describes the use of critical practice by libraries and librarians to shape and negotiate the acquisition, cataloguing, promotion, and use of archives and special collections. Chapters in this volume discuss the development of new collections through community outreach to marginalized and underrepresented groups, efforts to amend the historical documentary record through digitization projects, cataloguing, authority and description of archives and special collections, using a critical practice framework, ethical and political issues relating to donors, appraisal and access, curation, stewardship and promotion of controversial or sensitive collections, and the decolonization of space and collections.

    Mastering United States Government Information helps them overcome any trepidation about finding and using government documents.Written by Christopher C. Brown, coordinator of government documents at the University of Denver, this approachable book provides an introduction to all major areas of U.S. government information. It references resources in all formats, including print and online. Examples are provided so users will feel comfortable solving government information questions on their own, while exercises at the end of chapters enable users to practice answering questions for themselves. Additionally, several appendixes serve as quick reference sources for such topics as congressional sessions, the most popular government publications, federal statistical databases, and citation of government publications. It serves as a practical and current guide for practitioners as well as a text or supplementary reading for students of library information studies and for in-service trainings.

    

    They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better.” —Sidney SheldonAccording to a 2019 Gallup poll, visiting the library is the most common cultural activity Americans engage in. Here are 43 true stories that show you why. Shared by library workers, volunteers, and patrons from around the United States, these funny, insightful, and moving tales are sure to be a welcome treat for library lovers and an education for anyone who has ever wondered what makes libraries such a uniquely treasured institution. The stories are book-ended by five essays further exploring the value of libraries in the digital age.

    Spanning both concept and practice, Kelly offers a holistic assessment framework suitable to a variety of collections and contexts. With a structure that makes it applicable as both a training tool for practicing librarians and a useful course for library students, this manual- introduces foundational assessment methodologies and then provides concrete guidance on how to contextualize those methodologies within a holistic collections assessment program;- covers topics such as assessment goals, assessment stakeholders, selecting data and methodologies, working through project constraints, and project planning;- includes sample assessment program structures and other useful templates; and- provides step-by-step instructions for more than a dozen specific methodologies, describing which aspect of the collection is being measured, what goals the methodology can address, technological requirements, recommended visualizations, and other helpful points.