| Originally posted on District Administration by Abby Spegman | Students want to spend time in the active, group-learning learning spaces schools are building Steven Yates has a message for would-be school librarians. “If you’re coming to this because you like to read and you want to manage a collection of books, then you showed up about … Read more
Published on April 26, 2016
A piece by LARB Magazine. Check out Melissa Dinsman’s interview with Laura Mandell, full professor of English and the director of the Initiative for Digital Humanities, Media, and Culture at Texas A&M,
Read moreThe Digital in the Humanities: A Special Interview Series
By Rivkah K. Sass, Director, Sacramento Public Library
Randomly select 20 strangers and ask them what they think about their local public library. You’re likely to get 20 different answers, and most of them are probably not what you want to hear. As we think about who we are, what we do and, more importantly, what our brand is, chances are that our customers think we’re about books while we try to convince them that we’re so much more. After all, many of us loan games, do prom dress drives, teach punk-rock aerobics, partner with microbreweries (Edgar Allan Porter, anyone?), and offer 3D printing services. We push the envelope of what we loan and how we program for one reason and one reason only: to get people in the door so that they can discover what we really have to offer — ideas, inspiration, and access.
Libraries in New York State—like their counterparts across the country—are experimenting with new ways to draw patrons in and engage them in reading, creating, and strengthening their ties to the community. In short, they are working to become more relevant. The Pittsford Public Library, for example, hosts drop-in sessions on mastering the Kindle, the iPad, … Read more