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Editor's Corner: Closing the Gun Show and Online Sales Loophole: A Historic Step in Curbing Gun Violence
No full textIn a significant move to bolster public safety, the United States has taken decisive action to close a dangerous loophole that allowed firearms to change hands without proper scrutiny. The Department of Justice’s recent announcement not only marks a pivotal moment in the fight against gun violence but also instills a sense of reassurance in the public.For years, the so-called “gun show loophole” has been a contentious issue. At gun shows and through online sales, private transactions have occurred without the rigorous background checks required of licensed dealers. This gap in regulation has allowed firearms to end up in the wrong hands, posing a serious threat to public safety. The Biden administration, demonstrating its commitment to public safety, has long acknowledged the urgency of this issue. With the publication of a new rule in the federal register, the government is taking a historic step to close this loophole
Implementing a Transparent and Sustainable E-resource Assessment Plan in an Era of Continual Change
No full textMost academic libraries perform some level of collection assessment for e-resources. However, traditional e-resource assessment procedures pose multiple challenges related to their adaptability, transparency, and sustainability. At the Valley Library at Oregon State University, a multi-tiered assessment process is continually revised and refined to reflect the changing scholarly communication landscape and address the needs of both our library and our community. This paper discusses how this collection assessment system is currently set up, and outlines the challenges, benefits, and future considerations for other libraries interested in adapting their own e-resource assessment practices
Editorial: A New Look for Library Resources & Technical Services
No full textThose of you who enjoyed the double issue on open access likely noticed that Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS) articles have a new look. After years of maintaining its signature double-column layout, LRTS is now published in a single-column format. What prompted the change, you ask? A few months ago, a reader reached out to request that LRTS switch to a single-column format. The reader rightly noted that the change would improve the accessibility of the content. Specifically, the formatting issue relates to screen reader technology. Screen readers frequently default to reading text from left to right, top to bottom. The dual column format increases the chances that text may be read by the screen reader out of order, which is compounded on pages that also include tables or figures. The linearity of the single-column format mitigates this potential issue with screen readers. Accordingly, the single-column request was brought immediately to the LRTS Editorial Board and delivered in the very next issue. The change may seem minor, but we’re quite pleased that we can respond in an agile manner to such requests, and appreciative that ALA Production Services was able to quickly facilitate said change
Feeling Is First: The Golden Rule of Working with Children in Libraries
No full textMy parents were never big talkers when I was growing up. Dad, especially, was a questioner and a listener—an occupational benefit, I suppose, as a clinical child psychologist and family therapist.He gardened our thoughts and emotions—three daughters, so there was a lot to grow—patiently, tending both the wild brambles and the delicious fruits with the gentle rain of his attention and the loving warmth of his presence.It did not matter where we were or what we were doing
Why Stickers Are Powerful Magic: The Argument for “Magical, Ephemeral Badges”
No full textMy sister runs half-marathons and marathons and will likely train for an ultra-marathon one day. (They might as well call it a super-duper-whoop-de-doop-doop-you-could-never-do-this marathon of the master overlords!)When I asked her before her first big race if she was going to get one of those incredibly annoying “26.2” stickers and put it on her car, she answered something along the lines of, “A thousand and ten percent I will, and just watch me fill up my entire back window with them, you weakling.
ALSC Committees: Taking Care of Business!
No full textALSC committees move the work of our division forward through their expertise, creativity, commitment, and hard work. We are so grateful for all our committees and working groups for all they do!We don’t have space here to acknowledge them all but enjoy these photos of various award selection committees from LibLearnX in Baltimore this past January. After a year of reading, listening, discussing, and deliberating, these members came together in January, chose their 2024 winners, and had the opportunity to celebrate and gather for photos during the Youth Media Awards press conference
Research Roundup: Toolkits: Free Resources that Are Easy to Use
No full textLibrarians love toolkits! Easy-to-navigate, often with colorful titles or lists linked to other resources, toolkits are becoming more and more popular. Each year, the list of toolkits useful for librarians seems to grow. Although it was hard to pinpoint the best toolkits to feature in this column, the co-authors have chosen some to annotate and provide a list with more for you to explore at the end of the column
Censorship, Surveillance, and Higher Education in Prisons
No full textSince the launch of the Department of Education’s Second Chance Pell experimental sites initiative in 2016, there has been a massive growth in the number of higher education in prison (HEP) programs. With the full restoration of Pell grant eligibility for students in prison having taken place on July 1, 2023, we will likely see college programming continue to grow in the coming years. However, colleges that operate within prisons are subject to oversight by the relevant Department of Corrections (DOC), and, in many cases, undergo the same or similar media review procedures as people receiving mail or books from outside their facility. With reading lists and syllabi subject to review and approval by DOC staff, it is of paramount importance to understand how prison censorship policies intersect with the intellectual freedom that is required for a true, high quality college education. Based on research conducted by Ithaka S+R, we offer here some key observations on the policy landscape in which HEP programs operate and how instructors navigate this censorious learning environment
Silencing LGBTQIA+ Voices
No full textThe United States has been in a book-banning crisis for the past three years. According to the American Library Association, in 2021 there were 1,858 titles targeted; in 2022, 2,571 titles; and in 2023, 4,240 unique titles were challenged (American Library Association 2024). This is the highest number of titles targeted since the ALA began collecting this information 20 years ago. In 2010, former Office for Intellectual Freedom Director Barbara Jones estimated that only 75–80 percent of challenges are reported. It is almost impossible to know, for example, if books aren’t purchased for collections because they might provoke controversy (“Campaign Urges Book Challenge Reporting” 2011). Following the pattern of the past two years, almost all of the top ten challenged titles in 2023 were diverse books. Seven of the books focus on LGBTQIA+ content or have LGBTQIA+ characters
Alert Collector: Building Collections
No full textI had no idea supplementing my archaeological grad school funding (or the lack thereof) with a part-time library job would completely change the trajectory of my life. I’d applied on a whim because libraries were always special to me. Certainly I submitted my application thinking, “I love to read! This will be perfect!,” but it also had me remembering how safe and understood librarians made me feel throughout my childhood. As a new adult I was more of a used book store connoisseur because forking out the money ahead of time was easier to plan for than risking fines for a late book. In fact, I almost didn’t apply at all because I knew I had some fine—probably massive—that had kept me away from the library for months because I never had cash on me. (Note: it ended up being 25 cents I paid on my first day of work.