American Library Association

AMERICAN WRITERS MUSEUM AND CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY ANNOUNCE FULL SCHEDULE FOR SECOND AMERICAN WRITERS FESTIVAL ON MAY 19

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
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This year, the Festival is co-presented by the American Writers Museum (AWM) and Chicago Public Library (CPL), and will be held at the historic Harold Washington Library Center, located at 400 S. State St.

Key Points: 
  • This year, the Festival is co-presented by the American Writers Museum (AWM) and Chicago Public Library (CPL), and will be held at the historic Harold Washington Library Center, located at 400 S. State St.
  • The American Writers Festival aims to transcend the boundaries of a traditional book festival, showcasing the immense contributions made by writers of all genres and styles to American history, culture, and daily life.
  • Building upon the resounding success of the 2022 American Writers Festival , which attracted thousands of attendees to the Chicago Cultural Center and the American Writers Museum, this year's event promises to be even more exceptional.
  • "We are delighted to partner with the Chicago Public Library to bring back the American Writers Festival, a literary celebration that truly reflects the essence of America through its diverse and talented writers," said Carey Cranston, President of the American Writers Museum.

Submissions Now Open for the 2024 John Cotton Dana Awards

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
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IPSWICH, Mass., March 5, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American Library Association (ALA) is now accepting submissions for the 2024 John Cotton Dana Award (JCD). The John Cotton Dana Award is one of the most prestigious awards given to up to eight libraries. The $10,000 awards will be provided by the H.W. Wilson Foundation and honors outstanding library public relations.

Key Points: 
  • Wilson Foundation ~
    IPSWICH, Mass., March 5, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American Library Association (ALA) is now accepting submissions for the 2024 John Cotton Dana Award (JCD).
  • The John Cotton Dana Award is one of the most prestigious awards given to up to eight libraries.
  • The John Cotton Dana Award is one of the most prestigious awards given to up to eight libraries.
  • Libraries of all types and sizes are encouraged to submit entries for a John Cotton Dana Award.

Lerner Publishing Group Receives Eight American Library Association Youth Media Awards

Retrieved on: 
Monday, January 22, 2024
Life, Bear, Retirement, Light, School Library Journal, ERICA, ALA, Book, Lerner, BALL, Sydney Taylor, Shelf Awareness, Booklist, MOON, Kirkus Reviews, American Library Association, Rabbi, PICTURE, BEAR, Picture Book, Sydney Taylor Book Award, Kar-Ben Publishing, Autobiography, Elegance, Slavery, Heart, Lerner Publishing Group, Literature, Publishers Weekly, USBBY, Moon, YALSA

The ALA awards were announced over the weekend and at the Youth Media Awards ceremony during the LibLearnX conference in Baltimore.

Key Points: 
  • The ALA awards were announced over the weekend and at the Youth Media Awards ceremony during the LibLearnX conference in Baltimore.
  • As publisher at Kar-Ben Publishing, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, for the last twenty years, Joni has greatly increased the reach of Jewish children’s literature by producing a significant number of high-quality titles on an ever-expanding variety of Jewish topics.
  • Her efforts have put Jewish books in the eyes of the public and the hands of children on a new scale.
  • “Lerner Publishing Group is honored to receive eight ALA awards and honors in the same year,” said Adam Lerner, Publisher and CEO of Lerner Publishing Group.

Kanopy and Atomic Focus Entertainment Co-Produce First Feature Film, Banned Together, About the Current Wave of U.S. Book Bans

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Student, Moms for Liberty, University, Southern Poverty Law Center, Library, SAN, Partnership, School, ACLU, Liberty, Religion, Book, Party, American Library Association, Gender identity, Librarian, TFC, Congress, PEN America, Parent, The Film Collaborative, Film industry

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As book bans continue to proliferate in communities nationwide, Kanopy has partnered with Atomic Focus Entertainment to co-produce a new documentary titled Banned Together that tackles this explosive topic.

Key Points: 
  • SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As book bans continue to proliferate in communities nationwide, Kanopy has partnered with Atomic Focus Entertainment to co-produce a new documentary titled Banned Together that tackles this explosive topic.
  • The production marks the first original feature film for the filmmakers and the first produced feature film for Kanopy, the entertainment streaming service that is provided at no fee by public libraries and universities.
  • With a cast of visionary teenagers, stirring public protests, private threats, criminal charges, and profanity-laced school board meetings, Banned Together pulls back the curtain on book bans and curriculum censorship in public schools.
  • As these students become national activists, the film documents the larger story of book bans and curriculum censorship across the nation.

City Tech, CUNY Hosts Americans and the Holocaust Traveling Exhibition

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
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BROOKLYN, N.Y., Nov. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- City Tech's Ursula C. Schwerin Library is one of 50 U.S. libraries selected to host Americans and the Holocaust, a traveling exhibition from the U.S.

Key Points: 
  • BROOKLYN, N.Y., Nov. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- City Tech's Ursula C. Schwerin Library is one of 50 U.S. libraries selected to host Americans and the Holocaust, a traveling exhibition from the U.S.
  • Americans and the Holocaust will be on display at City Tech and open to the public by appointment November 28 – December 17, 2023, during which time the City Tech Library is hosting a series of special events pertaining to the exhibition.
  • "CUNY and its City Tech campus are pleased to host Americans and the Holocaust, an exhibit that asks difficult questions that remain relevant today," said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez.
  • Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries is an educational initiative of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association.

Where the Supreme Court stands on banning books

Retrieved on: 
Monday, October 2, 2023
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Some of these efforts have resulted in laws that threaten to jail librarians.

Key Points: 
  • Some of these efforts have resulted in laws that threaten to jail librarians.
  • Bans – and the banning of bans – have already ended up in the courts.
  • They alleged that school officials violated students’ First Amendment rights when they removed books that discussed, race, racism and LGBTQ+ people.

Encounters with new ideas

    • The case specifically focused on the school library and was not about curriculum in the classroom.
    • One student, on behalf of four other students in the school district, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court.
    • The suit claimed that removing the books from the library infringed upon the students’ First Amendment rights to freely access ideas and information.

An unclear ruling

    • The ruling was divided – five justices affirmed the appeals court’s decision in favor of the students, though not all of them agreed on exactly why.
    • Justices Thurgood Marshall and John Paul Stevens signed on to this opinion, which was not a majority opinion.
    • Two justices wrote concurring decisions, but only one agreed with the trio’s overall conclusion that the board had unconstitutionally infringed on students’ rights.

The current state of the law

    • Therefore, they ruled, school officials may remove books only for sound educational reasons or legitimate purposes – such as pervasive vulgarity or lack of educational suitability.
    • If any of the current cases reach the Supreme Court, the current justices could rule differently, of course.

$6.8 Million Public-Private Partnership to Bring Kinetic Fiber Internet to 6,300 in Bullitt County

Retrieved on: 
Monday, September 25, 2023
Technology, Mobile, Wireless, Software, Networks, Internet, Carriers and Services, Partnership, University, OfficeSuite, American Library Association, Computer, School, Kinetic, Speedtest.net, Stump, SD-WAN, Commonwealth, Solitude, Family, Commerce, Internet service provider, Renewable energy, Cable television, Video game, Tourism, Book, Windstream Holdings

Some 6,300 homes and businesses in Bullitt County will be able to get high-speed fiber internet for the first time, due to a $6.8 million public–private partnership with broadband provider Kinetic, officials said.

Key Points: 
  • Some 6,300 homes and businesses in Bullitt County will be able to get high-speed fiber internet for the first time, due to a $6.8 million public–private partnership with broadband provider Kinetic, officials said.
  • Under the partnership, the county will commit $2 million from its general fund to support the project.
  • “I applaud Kinetic and Bullitt County for investing together, in partnership, so that some 6,300 homes and businesses in remote areas of this great county benefit from fiber broadband,” Bullitt County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Anita Stump said at a project announcement at the Bullitt County Central Library in Shepherdsville Monday, Sept. 25.
  • “High-speed internet is a key part of our plan to build a better Kentucky and a better Bullitt County,” Nemes said.

ALL IN and Engage Brief U.S. Senate on Adult Literacy's Link to Economic Opportunity

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 21, 2023
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network (ALL IN) and Engage partnered today to provide a briefing for the U.S. Senate on the vital link between adult literacy and economic opportunity.

Key Points: 
  • Briefing encourages membership in the U.S. Senate Caucus on Adult Literacy
    WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network (ALL IN) and Engage partnered today to provide a briefing for the U.S. Senate on the vital link between adult literacy and economic opportunity.
  • Low literacy lies at the core of multigenerational cycles of poverty and crime, and impedes the overall economic growth of communities.
  • "Adult education offers a pathway to opportunity and we've got to do a better job of reaching and teaching adult learners.
  • Today's briefing included an overview of the current adult literacy landscape, as well as a panel discussion with speakers representing employers, adult learners, adult education providers and workforce preparation organizations.

American Library Association Releases Preliminary Data on 2023 Book Challenges

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
The Color Purple, Native Son, Prince, BBQ, Public library, The Handmaid's Tale, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Freedom, Gender identity, The Kite Runner, Education, Gender Queer, Librarian, Brave New World, The Des Moines Register, Politics, Parent, Beer, Constitutional right, American Library Association, Young adult, Marin County Board of Supervisors, And Tango Makes Three, First, Hatred, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, School, John Nance Garner, Banned Books Week, Collection, The Hate U Give, ALA, Clinton Public Library, I Love You, Intellectual freedom, Library, News, Book, Handmaiden, All Boys Aren't Blue, Bookbinding, Beloved

CHICAGO, Sept. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Library Association (ALA) has released new preliminary data documenting the continued rise in attempts to censor books and materials in public, school and academic libraries during the first eight months in 2023.

Key Points: 
  • CHICAGO, Sept. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Library Association (ALA) has released new preliminary data documenting the continued rise in attempts to censor books and materials in public, school and academic libraries during the first eight months in 2023.
  • In the past, most challenges to library resources only sought to remove or restrict a single book.
  • *ALA compiles data on book challenges from reports filed with OIF by library professionals and from news stories throughout the U.S. Because many book challenges are not reported to ALA or covered by press, this data represents only a snapshot of book censorship throughout the year.
  • A challenge to a book may be resolved in favor of retaining the book in the collection or result in a book being restricted or withdrawn from the library.

Kinetic Offers Free Digital Literacy Courses

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Technology, Carriers and Services, Telecommunications, Software, Networks, Internet, Other Education, Continuing, Training, Education, Digital divide, Learning, Kinetic, Library, American Library Association, Computer, Video game, Tutoring, Book

People of all ages can learn how to use computers and navigate the online world through free new courses offered by high-speed fiber internet provider Kinetic.

Key Points: 
  • People of all ages can learn how to use computers and navigate the online world through free new courses offered by high-speed fiber internet provider Kinetic.
  • The online Kinetic Digital Literacy Program includes 12 video courses in three categories—essential computer skills, basic office software skills and daily technology skills.
  • Our promise is to increase digital equity by bringing our best internet experience to these communities and improving digital literacy so that everyone can be a full player in today’s digital world.
  • “This free program helps learners develop computer and online skills that are essential for digital success.”
    To take a course or learn more about the Kinetic Digital Literacy Program, visit Kinetic’s digital literacy website .