Emerging Leaders Poised for Action

March 3, 2014

What’s it like to be selected an Emerging Leader? Find out about this year’s class of 56 up-and-coming librarians in our cover story. Once again this year we’re featuring each Emerging Leader on trading cards, which will be available at the 2014 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas. Not only are these leaders smart and savvy, they’ve got a sense of humor, too. I enjoyed chatting and laughing with the ELs as they posed for their card photos. They began their project assignments and had a day of discussion and training at Midwinter; look for their project results at Annual. A thank-you for the cards goes to our advertising sponsors, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Information Studies, which now offers an MLIS with a Public Library Leadership program. OCLC is also an advertising sponsor.

A healthy number (more than 12,000) of hardy souls braved flight cancellations and prickly weather to attend Midwinter in Philly in late January. It was well worth the minor inconvenience to visit a bustling exhibit hall with 421 exhibit booths; hear Ishmael Beah, Wes Moore, and other authors speak; sample beer and cheesy vegan food at the What’s Cooking @ ALA stage; sit in on Council conversations; and attend programs. As I listened to a prison librarian and a school librarian talk about their patrons finding meaning in Moore’s first book, The Other Wes Moore, it made me proud to be a part of this organization. These are librarians who help open the world through reading. For a wrap-up on Midwinter, see our article, and search #alamw14 at The Scoop blog.

Specialty libraries offer lots of unusual collections. For film buffs, it’s tough to find original silent films, as so many were not saved. The Library of Congress and others are working to collect and digitize these gems for wider access. See Phil Morehart’s story.

You’ve probably heard someone at some point tell you that he gets all the information he needs by googling. Assuming you’re composed enough to not snort, you can provide a few tips to said someone about what’s not found through Google. Many of those sources, from simple to sophisticated, are listed in the ALA Editions book, Going Beyond Google Again by Jane Devine and Francine Egger-Sider. Read our excerpt from their book.

Finally, we bid farewell to Will Manley, our back page columnist since September 1992. Will is retiring his column to focus on writing a novel, and we will miss his humor and personal perspective on the library world. Senior Editor Bev Goldberg, who has been working with him for much of that time, says, “He was sometimes a lightning rod for controversy but that’s what endeared him to so many readers—and infuriated others. Whatever subject Will tackled, he did it with a flair all his own.” Look for our new back page feature in the May issue.

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