Spotlight

• Hiring People with Disabilities: It Works for the Library!

  By John B. Harer, PhD

  October was the National Disabilities Employment Awareness Month. Before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, people with a disability found it difficult to secure employment. The ADA now regulates what employers can do when there is a person with a disability in the applicant pool. The ADA requires that employers must consider a “qualified individual with a disability …who meets legitimate skill, experience, education or other requirements of an employment position … Read the rest

ALA-APA News

• Bellingham library expects to launch a foundation next year to diversify funding

  By Kie Relyea, The Bellingham Herald (WA): October 22, 2010

  Bellingham Public Library could launch its own foundation by mid-2011 in keeping with what other libraries are doing, said Pam Kiesner, its director.

  The idea of a foundation isn’t surprising to Bellingham Public Library officials. Its board of trustees decided a few months ago to form a foundation, but was slower getting to it than expected because of cutbacks in the library’s budget as a result of the city’s ongoing … Read the rest

• Rye library board president calls potential budget cut ‘devastating’

  By Theresa Juva, The Journal News (Westchester County, New York): October 24, 2010

  The Rye Free Reading Room would have to close two days a week, chop its collection spending in half and eliminate many children’s programs if the city slashes funding by $190,000 next year, library leaders told the City Council last week.

  And dramatic increases in employee health and retirement costs next year are expected to hit the budget hard, officials said. To save money, they have implemented … Read the rest

Career Advancement

• ALA Editions Offers eCourses Rich in Professional Development Content

  ALA Editions, the publishing imprint of the American Library Association, is offering six new courses ideal for professional development, in addition to the line of general skills courses from MindLeaders™ already offered.  The Courses are hosted at classes.alaeditions.org.

  Copyright & Electronic Resource Management, developed by library consultant and attorney Lesley Ellen Harris, covers the legal, strategic, and practical implications of using, publishing, and re-distributing licensed digital content.

  Five other courses were adapted from ALA Editions books, written by … Read the rest

• Quit Your Job With Class

  By Bryan Ochalla
  Reprinted with permission from Associations Now, v. 6, no. 10 September/October.

  HR consulting firm Right Management says nearly 60 percent of workers will want to give notice to their current employers when the market improves.

  If you plan on being one of them, you’d be wise to take the advice of Alison Doyle, job search expert for About.com.
  “It’s really important to resign the right way,” she says. “You can very diplomatically leave a job and … Read the rest

• Clarification to October LW article “AAMLA Recruits, Retains and Advocates for African American Male Librarians”

  By Alonzo W. Hill, AAMLA President

  This letter is an honest attempt to clear any confusion that may have surfaced since the publication of an article by African American Male Librarian Association (AAMLA) board member Raphael Jackson in ALA-APA’s October 2010 issue.  Mr. Jackson’s article, entitled “AAMLA Recruits, Retains and Advocates for African American Male Librarians,” made statements that are inaccurate and which were not approved by AAMLA.

  First of all, we are not affiliated with the BCALA, … Read the rest

Recruitment

• Last Night I Dreamed I Was Driving a Bookmobile

  By Laura Francisco

  Last night I dreamed I was driving a bookmobile.

  I’ve yet to parse the Freudian implications, but in the dream I was in full charge of that big boy – a hefty white truck filled with books, a few helpers and a really comfy and modern seating area. Furthermore, the Dreamland Library System had thoughtfully installed a conveyor belt in the parking garage that automatically parked the vehicle. All I had to do was align the truck’s … Read the rest

Salaries

• Salary Survey: 2010 Librarian Pay Up 3 Percent Despite Economic Woes

  By Jenifer Grady

  How can the American Library Association (ALA) and ALA-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) report that librarian salaries rose three percent in 2010 when librarians are losing jobs; salaries are stagnant; hours are being cut; and new librarians are struggling to find positions? Despite the conditions faced by some individual librarians and libraries in 2010, the aggregate of 11,554 salaries reported by directors and human resources (HR) staff from public and academic libraries calculated to a mean librarian salary … Read the rest

Work/Life

• The Dreadful “But”

  By Julie Zuehlke

  When we speak the word “but,” we negate the statement that goes before that “but” and set up an argumentative style. When we write the word “but,” the same holds true. Try to eliminate the “but” from your language. Spoken and written. All the time. It’s more difficult than you think AND it will change the way you think.

  Consider the person who says, “I like her as a friend, but . . . .” You know … Read the rest