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Posts tagged ala
Emerging Leaders present best practices for video game collection development
27 months ago
Emerging Leaders present best practices for video game collection development
Are you thinking about starting a video game collection for your library? Are you wondering how to take your video game collection to the next level? Join the 2011 ALA Emerging Leaders Team G for a poster presentation on video game collection development at the ALA Annual Conference on Friday, June 24, 2011 from 3:00pm – 4:00pm in Conference Center Room 271-273.
Team G, comprised of Erik Bobilin, Abby Johnson, Kate Kosturski, Jonathan Lu, and Nicole Pagowsky, will present information on issues and best practices when developing a video game collection, including Circulation & Access, Selection & Purchasing, Weeding, and an ideal MARC record. The team surveyed public, academic, and school libraries across the United States and Canada and spoke with experts in the field to find out what innovative ideas might change what we know about video game collections in libraries.
ALA’s Emerging Leaders program allows new professionals to gain experience and create personal networks within the American Library Association by working with a group on an assigned project.
For more information, check out the team’s website: http://bit.ly/libvideogames
JP and I had the opportunity to work with the awesome Team G over the past six months on this program. They’ve done some amazing work with this project that I hope you all will check out if you’re going to be at ALA 2011.
8bitlibrary+Unshelved+IMchat=#MIH
011 months ago
Can you really hold an interview on IM chat…with four people?
Perhaps, we here at 8bitlibrary (Andrea & JP) gave it a whirl with library comic legends, Bill Barnes & Gene Ambaum from UNSHELVED, which coincidently (nah, not coincidently at all, we’ve been planning this post since ALA MidWinter) is celebrating its 9th anniversary/birthday…TODAY: February 16th.
Here’s a snippet from the chat:
Andrea: sooooooo – unshelved….
happy early birthday!!!
Bill: Thank you.
Gene: Thanks!
Bill: Next year is our 10th. I think we’ll have to do something awesome.
Andrea how does a 9 year old comic strip behave?
Gene: I’m thinking cake
Andrea (you’re doing something awesome now)
10:37 AM Gene: Lots of random crying and temper tantrums. We’re hoping Unshelved will hit puberty soon.
JP: Why “un”shelved. Why not “de”shelved?
like that whole defriending/unfriending scandle
Bill: Unshelved predates defriending.
It also predates Facebook, Twitter, and the iPhone.
10:38 AM Unshelved is your grumpy uncle who doesn’t understand technology.
JP: Do you guys work in a library now?
Bill: I never worked in a library. And I never will.
Gene: Occasionally. But very occasionally. I left my full-tiMe job in library land in October 2009.
10:39 AM Andrea So Unshelved has become a fulltime gig?
Gene: It has!
Bill: It’s a little more than fulltime.
Andrea How does that feel?
Gene: fulltime+
Andrea Where do you get your “material” now?
Bill: I love answering to no one other than my wives.
10:40 AM Andrea plural?
JP: Poligamy!
Yes!
Now we’re getting somewhere
Gene: It feels strange whenever I have a moment to think about it. It’s usually when someone asks Me what I do for a living. “I write a comic.” “You draw a comic?” “No. Let me explain.”
Bill: I have my actual wife and two collaborators who I very much feel married to.
10:41 AM Andrea makes sense, interesting phrasing
JP: Ok, so you left your job(s) for Unshelved. Is this a “forever” thing for you guys?
Gene: I get my material mostly when I’m in line at Target, trying to return something, or just watching people lose it with their kids. Probably my favorite place to people watch these days because the red shirts make it so easy to figure out who’s the employee behaving badly and who’s the customer.
I’m like two questions back…
JP: Sorry lolBill & Gene of Unshelved
For the complete (hilarious) transcript, read on…
Last chance to add a petition signature!
21 year ago
Hey all,
All of the petition signatures for the creation of a Comic Book and Graphic Novel Member Interest Group in the American Library Association need to be in by 4pm EST today, Tuesday January 4th. If you haven’t added your email signature yet, it’s easy!
- Go here.
- Follow instructions/ fill out your info.
- Click submit!
EDIT: We’ve got more than enough signatures, but if you want to sign as a show of solidarity, look for JP at ALA Mid Winter! He’s got long hair and wears flashy kicks.
Thanks everyone for your help and support. We’ll keep you informed as the process moves forward.
- J 2 the P
Cranky Kong agrees with the Library of Congress
0
So after putting in my ear horn, I heard that the Library of Congress had banned access to Wikileaks. This is terrific news for libraries across the country! The reason that is given for the block is that the L.O.C. wants to protect information. One of the Library of Congress’ employees is Roberta Stevens, who is the current president of the American Library Association! I knew that the good old ALA would come back around, and the fact that Roberta has yet to release any type of statement on this subject is a clear indiction that libraries are moving BACK in the right direction again!
This is a smart move, but I dare them to really give it their all and run with that philosophy (one I find, in fact, that they are far too weak on). Roberta & the L.O.C, if we are going to start banning content, let’s make it happen:
BAN YOUTUBE NEXT!
Plenty of music videos are on there, with no money going to the holders of the intellectual property rights for these videos. We are in the business of protecting people, here. Garbage like this should have been banned years ago. And I don’t appreciate videos like this:
BAN THE BEATLES!
They poisoned the minds of our kids then, and they are poisoning them now. What people are forgetting is that the world never ever ever changes. If it was a bad idea then, it is a bad idea now. As long as we keep trying to suppress expression, we will keep America safe! Besides, those guys are British.
Protect our youth from this meaningless "music".
BAN BANNED BOOKS WEEK!
Banned books week DOESN’T REPRESENT ALL OF US. I support SAFE libraries, and if there is one thing you are doing by banning Wikileaks, it is keeping libraries safe. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say you are keeping AMERICA safe. No one can download anything from Wikileaks if it is banned by the L.O.C., so Let’s Keep America Safe through more bannings.
Ban Banned Books Week! Thinking for yourself leads to drivel like the video I linked you to.
BAN ALL UNAPPROVED INFORMATION!
I think, in the end, the best way to be sure that America Stays Safe is by banning all disemination of information that is not first reviewed and cleared by many MANY levels of task forces, committees, and review boards. We need to be sure to put obstacles in the way of the free flow of information so that our kids stay safe. It’s called America the Beautiful for a reason, and I think we need to keep ALL ugly information out of the hands of all Americans.
Roberta Stevens, I implore you: DO NOT RELEASE ANY STATEMENTS DISAGREEING WITH THIS MOVE BY YOUR EMPLOYER! As the young kids say now, “You go for it, girl!“. To make any public statement disagreeing with the Library of Congress puts your job in jeopardy (and no, not my favorite television program) and it makes the American Library Association look like a bunch of hippies with no back bones.
And lastly, I hear that the Library of Congress is now “archiving public tweets”, so in order for me to have this on the public record, I will be tweeting this entire post, 140 characters at a time, from my twitter account @8bitCrankyKong. [Editor's note: Cranky Kong is clearly delusional and doesn't even have a twitter account, but you can follow us at @8bitlibrary]
In conclusion, I hope that we see more clear leadership from the Library of Congress and their staff member, ALA President Roberta Stevens! This is Cranky Kong, signing off.
(this is posted on behalf of Cranky Kong by JP, who sorta DOESN’T like the precedent this banning sets)
(he also kinda likes the ALA)
ALA Comic Book and Graphic Novel Member Initiative Group
61 year ago
by JP
in advocacy, collection development, event, link, literacy, marketing, news, programming, teen
Hey 8bitlibrarians,
Guess what? We’re starting a Comic Book and Graphic Novel Member Interest Group in the American Library Association! Robin Brenner, Creator and Editor-in-Chief of www.noflyingnotights.com & I will be co-conveners, with the fab Tina Coleman serving as our ALA Staff Liaison.
BUT WAIT! Before we can make it happen, a
“Petition to Establish a Comic Book and Graphic Novel Member Initiative Group
in the American Library Association”
must go before the ALA’s Committee On Organization (COO) to be voted on and approved. We need 100 signatures on that petition. Would you kindly help us get them?
Enclosed in this post is the petition and the statement of purpose for the newly proposed group. If you are an ALA member-in-good-standing (i.e., you’ve paid your membership dues) and you’d like to sign your name to the petition, please fill out this info. An automated email will be sent to my email box and will serve as your digital signature.
Thanks so much, and please help us spread the word by posting / tweeting this link: 8bitlibrary.com/?p=2101
And here’s what you are agreeing to when you email me:
Petition to Establish a Comic Book and Graphic Novel Member Initiative Group
in the American Library Association
To the Committee On Organization (COO)
We, the undersigned members in good standing of the American Library Association, ask that the Committee On Organization approve the establishment of a Member Initiative Group (MIG) concerned with comic books and graphic novels in libraries, pursuant to ALA policy and refer to Council the following “statement of purpose” for the MIG,
“To provide a method for engagement and networking among ALA members interested in comic books and graphic novels. To collaborate with ALA units to support the inclusion of comic books and graphic novels in library initiatives and programs across the Association. To advocate for wider incorporation and acceptance by the profession and the Association for comic books and graphic novels in library services, programming, and collections. This group is open to all members, and encourages participation from members from all library types and members who serve various library user demographics.”
IF YOU AGREE to this, please click here to email me!
Thanks errbody. – J2theP
Congrats to the 2011 ALA Emerging Leaders
11 year ago
Congrats to all of the 2011 ALA Emerging Leaders! The 2011 class includes 8BitLibrary Contributor Brandon Robbins as well as 8BitLibrary friends and family Melissa Brisbin, Lauren Comito, Kate Kosturski, Tiffany Mair, Samantha Marker, and Andromeda Yelton.
CHICAGO - The American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leaders program, now in its fifth year, kicks off with a daylong session during the 2011 ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Diego. Eighty-three individuals have been selected through a very competitive process for the program this year.
The program enables librarians and library staff from across the country to participate in project planning workgroups; network with peers; gain an inside look into ALA structure; and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers.
Participants will receive two days of orientation and education with Maureen Sullivan, an organizational development consultant whose practice focuses on leadership development for the profession, and Peter Bromberg, assistant director, Princeton Public Library in New Jersey. “It’s wonderful to see so many Emerging Leaders from the previous four years now serving in leadership positions across the association. They’ve shown how valuable the Emerging Leaders program is in creating sustainable leadership for ALA’s future. In our fifth year we will continue to build on the lessons learned and success achieved by them,” Bromberg said.
Following the kickoff session, the program will continue in an online learning and networking environment for six months, culminating with a poster session in which the 2011 Emerging Leaders will showcase the results of their project planning work at the 2011 Annual Conference in New Orleans. Participants commit to taking part in all aspects of the program and may have an opportunity to serve on an ALA, Division, Chapter or Round Table committee or a taskforce or workgroup upon completion of program.
Nearly half of this year’s participants have received sponsorships. The sponsors included ALA divisions, offices, round tables, state chapters, ALA affiliate groups and other organizations. Each sponsor commits to financial support of an Emerging Leader in order to defray costs for attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting and the Annual Conference.
Read the complete list of the selected participants and sponsoring organizations (PDF).
JP, Allen, and myself were part of the 2010 class of Emerging Leaders and we highly suggest that you try for Emerging Leaders in the many years to come!
Fighting Fire with Free Speech: Protest Book Burning on 9/11
2In what is emerging as a series on “why I became a librarian”, here’s my next blog post. I started out this series, not realizing at first what it would become, by talking about the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom’s Banned Books Week Machinima contest. As it turned out, there was a short depiction of book burning, in a video game, included in that post:
Denying people the right to freedom of speech via the burning of media is a pretty anti-American act. Libraries are constantly facing struggles in making sure that information, even information some people want to censor, is available to all.
That brings us to my 2nd post on “why I became a librarian”, and I credited a group of musicians as influencing my future career. You know who is another group of musicians who influenced many people? The Beatles. (this post happens to come on the 1-year anniversary of the release of the first Beatles video game)
How did they deal with this American opposition to their British music? They took the true ideals of America, staging protests and standing up for what is right:
And that brings us back to this post. In the most un-American way possible to remember 9/11, a pastor in Florida will burn copies of the Qu’ran.
In Chicago, the ALA will be staging a protest to this act.
Fighting Fire with Free Speech: ALA Will Protest Book Burning with 9/11 Qur’an Reading
“The librarians of America will not stand by and let ignorance rule,” says ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels. “For every would-be book burner, there are thousands of readers who will speak out for the freedom to peaceably assemble and read whatever they choose.”
Book burning is the most insidious form of book banning, and just as the American Library Association is preparing to celebrate the freedom to read during Banned Books Week, along comes one Rev. Terry Jones of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida. The good reverend’s idea of world outreach is to commemorate the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001 with a public burning of the Qur’an, the Muslim holy book.The mind-boggling logic behind Jones’s plan has attracted the attention of Muslims and media around the world, and this morning, news sources reported that Gen. David Petraeus had personally pleaded with the reverend to restrain himself because of the potential for retaliatory violence against U.S. troops and citizens overseas that the book burning could provoke.
Meanwhile, the American Library Association and librarians across the country will move the Qur’an to the top of the Banned Books Week agenda. (Leading the way by modeling tolerance, an Oklahoma public library has been hosting an exhibit of artwork inspired by Muslim tradition.)
“Free people read freely,” says Barbara Jones, director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. “That is a fundamental principle of the American Constitution and a basic mission of public libraries. We don’t burn books, we read them.”
Whether or not the Rev. Jones (who is no relation to ALA’s OIF director) proceeds with his plan, librarians and library advocates will assemble on the steps of the American Library Association headquarters in Chicago this Saturday at 1 p.m. for a public reading from the Qur’an to counteract the burning in Gainesville, and Banned Books Week will launch on September 25 with readings from the Qur’an.
Link to the ALA’s full post on the topic.
PLEASE HELP US HELP THE ALA SPREAD THE WORD BY TWEETING THIS LINK:
http://bit.ly/dgkn2t
This is why we became librarians, folks. Let’s stand up for Freedom of Speech.
Banned Books Week ’10 Machinima
2As the video game medium grows in cultural importance, it is natural that game players will want to use these communication tools (are they REALLY games?) in creative ways. A good friend of 8bitlibrary.com, filmmaker Justin Strawhand, released a documentary in 2006 titled (appropriately) 8 bit. The trailer for the movie, interestingly enough, includes a shot of an artist who used a video game to depict “book burning”, see if you can catch it about 1 minute in:
The largest movement towards “using video games as to make art” is called Machinima. When you make a Machinima, you record video game characters as your “actors”, the video game is your “set”, and you are the director. Machinima is so popular that the PR campaign for the upcoming game Halo: Reach include humorous machinima commercials using Halo as the tool to make the commercials. Here’s an example of machinima:
And that brings us to the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom’s contest:
Banned Books Week 2010: Second Life Machinima Contest
Calling all filmmakers! As part of our celebration of Banned Books Week (BBW) in Second Life this year, we’re inviting everyone to take part in our Banned Books Week Machinima Contest. Machinima is filmmaking within a real-time, 3-D virtual environment like Second Life.
Your inspiration for your machinima entry should be “Think For Yourself and Let Others Do the Same,” the theme for this year’s BBW campaign. Submissions will be accepted between August 22 and September 25, 2010. Participants can enter as many videos as they’d like. The grand prize winner will receive 10,000 Lindens; a BBW 2010 T-shirt; and their video featured on the OIF Blog and in AL Direct. For more information about the contest, including rules and specifications, please click here. For further questions regarding the contest, please contact Tina Coleman (AKA, Kay Tairov in Second Life) via e-mail at ccoleman@ala.org.
You know 8bitlibrary.com will be participating! We will for sure be taking that little clip of a “video game book burning” as inspiration.
Please help us help the OIF spread the word about the contest by tweeting this link: http://bit.ly/deMZui
ALA10 Battledecks: JP Porcaro
01 year ago
Mad love to my 8BitLibrary brother JP for representing 8BitLibrary at the ALA 2010 Battledecks competition. I’m proud of you bub.
Want to see the rest of the videos? Click here to be taken to Librarian by Day and the rest of the videos!