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Discover the Latest Resources in the Study of Romance Languages and Literatures

In the newest guide from ALCTS Publishing’s Sudden Selector’s Guide series, authors Deborah Raftus and Jeffrey Staiger take a look at the resources necessary to provide support for college and university programs in Romance languages and literatures. The Sudden Selector’s Guide to Romance Languages and Literatures provides those new to acquiring, collecting, and managing materials in the study of Romance languages and literatures a starting point for becoming a successful selector in this unique subject area. Loaded with important tips, tools, and references, this guide will help you develop the skills necessary to select valuable resources for those studying Romance languages and literatures. Beginning with how they became librarians of Romance languages and literatures, Raftus and Staiger share their experiences and provide guidance as well as present “Insider’s Tips” that will help any new Romance languages and literatures selector. In addition, readers will learn about acquisitions travel to purchase books…Continue Reading

Patron-focused Cataloging

This article is from our guest blog contributor, Graeme Williams, Online Catalog Analyst. Is your cataloging focused on your patrons? As a patron, I look at the process of cataloging backwards, starting with the OPAC (a search results or item page).  From the item page, I can display the MARC record and see what the cataloger did.  If I want, I can then look up the cataloging rules that the cataloger followed. That means that my model of cataloging is inextricably tied to the OPAC configuration.  Cataloging rules don’t say anything about what should be displayed on a search results page; that’s determined by the interaction of the OPAC with the data in the catalog.  What do you want patrons to see? Let’s consider a vexing example, the multi-author anthology.  You’re a conscientious cataloger, so you type the whole table of contents into an enhanced 505 field.  So what?  If your…Continue Reading

Continuing Education in September

ALA and Core are committed to supporting our members, staff, and all librarians and library workers during these uncertain times. We will continue to offer online learning opportunities, and will do our best to accommodate the remote needs of our attendees. We will also continue to offer group registration, providing individual logins for each group member registered for Core webinars. Please contact Core with any questions or concerns.  *Core Webinars Available for Free to ALA Student Members and LIS Faculty.  Online Learning Opportunities Creating a Strategic Library Communication Plan to Convey the Library’s Value and ValuesPresenter: Doralyn RossmannWednesday, September 161:00pm – 2:30pm CDT Expand the Horizon: Challenges and Opportunities in Working with Metadata for Unusual Content TypesPresenters: Nathan Hall, Jasmine Clark, Monique LassereModerators: Ilda Cardenas, Rachel B. Turner, Mingyan LiWednesday, September 231:00pm – 2:00pm CDT Crisis Communications for LibrariesPresenter: Cordelia Anderson, APRWednesday, September 301:00pm – 2:00pm CDT

Get Ready for the Core Election

We’re excited to announce our first Core election. Balloting will take place in ALA Connect from October 5-25, 2020. All Core members in good standing as of October 5, 2020, will be able to vote in this special election. Information on how to access your ballot will be sent before the election opens. The first President of Core will be chosen from among the three Presidents of the former divisions, ALCTS, LITA, and LLAMA. There are also two candidates for President-elect. You can learn more about the candidates on our Core election page. There will also be an online town hall meeting with the candidates in October that will be recorded for those members who cannot attend. Election results will be announced October 26, 2020, and the new Board of Directors will be seated on November 2. If you have any questions, please contact us at core@ala.org. Sincerely, Kerry WardExecutive…Continue Reading

Gender and Library Technology

This article is from our guest blog contributor, Dr. Sharon Whitfield, Electronic Resources and User Access Librarian at Rider University. Designing library databases and websites that work for diverse populations is essential to ensuring equity in information literacy. Unfortunately, how differing genders interact with online information resources and the possibility of gender biases in their development has received almost no attention in the library technology community. Yet, there is research to support that there are significant gender differences in the use of library technology. Kim (2010) reports that gender differences may cause potential disparity in the benefits of using library website resources. Kim (2010) finds that female library users seek out resources that are easy to use, while male library users seek out resources that allow them to reach their research goal. Taylor and Dalal (2017) report gender differences in information literacy where males are more “confident” in their information…Continue Reading

Meet Executive Director of Core, Kerry Ward

Kerry Ward is the Executive Director of the American Library Association’s new division, Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures. Kerry has been at ALA for over 20 years. He started in the old trustees division (now United for Libraries), moved on to LLAMA, and recently has served as director for ALCTS as well. His career has been in nonprofit management, and he’s most interested in how associations must innovate to remain relevant. Kerry lives on the far north side and walks his greyhound, Murphy, at the beach every morning. Yes, even in January. He’s passionate about travel, and he and his partner, Rob, are looking forward to the day we can all get on planes again. In the meantime he’s working on Core, ship models, and mixing the perfect martini.

Build a Robust Library Communications Plan with this Core webinar

A coordinated and strategic plan for communication and outreach can highlight your library’s value significantly. It can create a common experience and understanding for your library’s community of stakeholders including users, boards, administrators, donors, and social media networks. A strong communications plan keeps the library focused on objectives from the strategic plan and prevents resources from being wasted. On Wednesday, September 16 at 1 pm CT, Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, and Futures will present the webinar “Creating a Strategic Library Communication Plan to Convey the Library’s Value and Values”. This webinar will outline the purpose and development of a library’s values, mission and vision statements, a strategic plan, a communication plan, and the embedding of that plan in organizational culture. This webinar is ideal for library managers and leaders. Presenter: Doralyn Rossmann, Associate Professor and Head of Digital Library Initiatives at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman, MT. Attendees will learn how…Continue Reading

#CelebrateCore

Yesterday was a little bittersweet as we all said goodbye to the former ALA division’s, Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, Library Information and Technology Association, and Library Leadership and Management Association. Today is a new day at ALA! Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures is a community of nearly 7,000 library professionals in core functions of management and leadership, technical services, and technology shaping the future of the profession by aspiring library leaders, preserving library resources, and empowering libraries through technology. Together we stand stronger that ever before and that’s worth celebrating! We hope you’re just as excited as we are to move forward, encouraging members to find community, share expertise, and enhance library careers. Let’s celebrate our community on Twitter and Instagram! Got virtual balloons? Will you help us spread the word on social media? Sharing is caring. Use the hashtag #celebratecore in your posts. Cheers!