Valerie Hawkins's blog

Safety in public spaces, including libraries, has always been a concern, but may be more keenly felt in light of certain recent events. A productive and effective library is one in which its staff and patrons feel secure.

The ALA Library recently revised ALA Library Fact Sheet 26 - Internet Use in Libraries. Originally, the focus of the fact sheet was on the prevalence of U.S. public libraries having computers with access to the Internet that their patrons could use. But, as noted in the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study (PLFTAS) 2011-2012, specifically in the section Public Access to and Availability of Public Access Technology (PDF), virtually all public library outlets provide public access to the Internet.

And so the focus of the fact sheet now is on how libraries assist with the ever-growing Internet access needs of their library patrons, especially those whose only Internet access is using the computers that public libraries provide.

Q. I was recently teaching my students about the various literary awards for children’s writers and was asked an interesting question by a student. I have looked on your website as well as on the internet in general and cannot find a complete answer. I am hoping you can help me.

In the design for the Coretta Scott King Award, there are five religious symbols that are in line underneath the child reading the book… . My student asked me what they are. And his whole class is now fascinated with knowing about the design. Can you verify for me what these symbols actually are? Thank you so much for your help.

As you may know, the ALA Library has several pages in its section of the ALA website called “ALA Library Fact Sheets,” which answer fairly common questions about libraries, with sources noted. At some point in our history (and on September 30, we turned 88-years-old!), someone asked what were the top 100 libraries in the country, and we decided to use existing national surveys to respond, ranked by collection size.

The most current federal statistics report on public libraries, Public Libraries in the United States: Fiscal Year 2009 (2011), was published in October of 2011, conducted by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) federal agency.  The report has numbers from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The report found that for FY2009, there were over 169.7 million people registered to borrow books at public libraries.

The ALA Library recently responded to a rather specific question: What television programs consist of librarians interviewing authors? We found a good handful of librarian-hosted TV talk shows from all across the country that provide insight into the writer and writing process. We believe that all of these are current. Please do not hesitate to comment below with corrections. And let us know any that we have missed!

In the newest edition of the Library and Book Trade Almanac™   (formerly known as The Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac) put out by Information Today, Inc., the annual report on book title production now includes audiobook and ebook numbers.

Q. I got to explain to an older patron today that audiobooks can be downloaded! She last listened to an audiobook when they were still on cassette tapes.  Now that she knows, she would love to give her 13-year-old granddaughter something else to listen to on her tiny music player. I told her about the Odyssey Award. Does ALA have any lists of audiobooks for children?

Q. There's been a discussion online about how many YA (young adult) books were published in the last few years.

Q. I wasn't able to be at the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans.  Will the speeches be published somewhere?