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This Week in Core – Nov 17

This Week in Core – Nov 17

HAPPENING THIS WEEK

HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Monday, November 17

Tuesday, November 18

Wednesday, November 19

Thursday, November 20

Friday, November 21

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK

Monday, November 24

  • Core Executive Committee will meet from 1pm – 2pm CT

Tuesday, November 25

Wednesday, November 26

Thursday, November 27

  • Thanksgiving holiday

Friday, November 28

  • Thanksgiving holiday

MEMBER OPPORTUNITIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • The Core Strategic Planning Task Force is developing a new strategic plan to guide Core’s work through 2026 and beyond—and we want to hear from you. Whether you’re a current Core member or someone interested in becoming part of our community, your ideas and insights will help shape the priorities and future direction of the division.

The Your Voice, Core’s Future survey includes two parts:

  • Part One features a few brief required questions to help us understand who’s responding and to gather key perspectives from across the community.
  • Part Two offers open-ended questions that invite you to share your thoughts, ideas, and hopes for Core’s future direction. You’re welcome to respond to as many or as few topics as you’d like.

Please take a few minutes to share your perspective and help us build a stronger, more connected Core community.

  • The American Library Association Core Subject Analysis Committee’s Working Group on Local Headings seeks to survey libraries, archives, museums and associated institutions about their involvement in the work of revising subjects, genres, and other authority data in their local catalogs. This work might include changing, augmenting, or masking terms from controlled vocabularies such as Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), creating local headings, etc.

We are distributing two surveys to assess both (1) needs for implementing local subject headings and (2) existing methods utilized for implementing local subjects.

  1. Take the survey on local heading needs to share what support you think your institution would need to make changes to subjects, genres, and other authority data in the local catalog.

AND/OR

  1. Take the survey on methods used for local headings to share what methods your institution uses or has used to make changes to subjects, genres, and other authority data in the local catalog.


The surveys will close on December 5, 2025. If you have questions about the survey or the Working Group, please email working group chairs Allison Bailund abailund@sdsu.edu or Rebecca Saunders rlsaunders@email.wcu.e

  • Core is seeking proposals for in-person preconferences at the 2026 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. The deadline to submit a preconference proposal is Friday, December 12, 2025. Please submit preconference proposals here.
  • Core is seeking online course instructors for Fundamentals of Cataloging and Fundamentals of Institutional Repositories. If interested in teaching, please submit an Online Course Instructor Application – Core Handbook. The deadline to submit an application is Sunday, November 30. 
  • Present a webinar or moderate an e-Forum Discussion for Core! Send your e-forum discussion idea to core-eforum+help@groups.io. Complete the webinar proposal form to submit your webinar idea.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES!

Check out these new titles which are available in the Core/ALA Store.

  • The High-Impact Digital Library: Innovative Approaches for Outreach and Instruction. Digital library terminology like “accessible,” “discoverable,” and “searchable” usually presumes passive collections waiting to be found by motivated information seekers. Rarely do we envision collection managers initiating outreach with those most likely to benefit from the collections. 
  • A Complete Guide to Creative Technology Spaces in Academic Libraries: Media Labs, Makerspaces, and More. Beyond the loaning of laptops and phone chargers, libraries are branching out into supporting patrons by providing spaces and services that encourage art, communication, and innovation. Perhaps you’ve been tasked with building such a space in your academic library. It might be a media studio, a virtual reality lab, or even a combination space that has a podcasting suite, equipment circulation, 3D printing, and a computer lab. Or maybe you’ve been doing this for a while; you know it’s time to expand, but you’re not quite sure which direction to take or what equipment you need.
  •  Generative AI and Libraries: Claiming Our Place in the Center of a Shared Future. Addressing a topic of great concern with both urgency and clarity, this book offers a compelling vision for libraries to claim their central role as trusted stewards of knowledge and architects of a responsible and equitable AI-driven world.
  • The Digital Accessibility Handbook for Libraries. Providing concrete guidance on integrating accessibility into all aspects of a library’s digital work, this book will serve as your one-stop guide to accessibility standards, processes, and best practices.


To have your committee meeting, Core event, or Core member opportunity listed in a future issue of This Week in Core (TWIC), contact the Core Office at core@ala.org a few weeks ahead of time and title your message “TWIC Post Request.”