Read all of PW's live coverage of the 2015 American Library Association annual conference.
Gloria Steinem: Librarians Saved My Life
At a standing-room only auditorium event at the 2015 ALA Annual Conference, feminist pioneer, writer, and activist Gloria Steinem talked about her how her nomadic childhood echoed throughout her life, and read from her upcoming memoir Diary of a Nomad: My Life on the Road, which chronicles her peripatetic life as an organizer and spokeswoman for issues of equality. Steinem delivered a spirited and welcoming talk to the packed house, who cheered each time she praised librarians.
On E-Books, Libraries Push for Options
E-books were in the news at the 2015 American Library Association Annual Conference, with W.W. Norton announcing just before the show that it would finally begin lending e-books. But Norton's announcement was not even brought up at the annual update session from the ALA's Digital Content Working Group, yet another sign that librarians, while happy to have made progress on library e-books, are focused on the next steps in the e-book market--developing sustainable collections and improving the user experience.
Doerr, Stevenson Win Carnegie Medals
At a packed reception at the American Library Association annual conference in San Francisco, Anthony Doerr and Bryan Stevenson were announced as the winners of the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction.
Pelosi Honors Baltimore Librarians For 'Heroic' Work During Unrest
We all saw the dramatic images of the unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody this past April. What many observers did not know, however, was that the Enoch Pratt Free Library's Pennsylvania Avenue Branch was at the epicenter of the protests. And through it all, the library stayed open, serving a community in need of both critical services and a safe haven. For its efforts, the library was given the first annual Tech Logic People First Award, which was presented at the opening general session of the ALA 2015 Annual Conference by a famous Baltimore native: House minority leader Nancy Pelosi.
On a Historic Day, Roberta Kaplan Delivers a Powerful Keynote
"Wow. What a day." With those opening words, civil rights lawyer Roberta Kaplan began a powerful opening keynote speech at the 2015 American Library Association annual conference in San Francisco. Her remarks came just hours after a historic Supreme Court decision legalized same-sex marriage, and two years to the day since the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a landmark gay rights victory that Kaplan argued, and writes about in her new book, Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA. The talk also came at the start of what should be an especially festive Pride weekend in the Bay Area.
Sloan, Knight Foundation Grants For Digital Public Library of America
The 2015 American Library Association annual conference is off to a great start for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). On June 26, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and John S. and James L. Knight Foundations announced $3.4 million in new investments that will help connect online collections from coast to coast by 2017.
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