The American Library Association's (ALA's) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) strives to educate librarians and the public about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries, and it will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary in 2017. Libraries are a forum for information and ideas (under the First Amendment), and librarians are…

The author of two chapters in the new history of the Association for Science Education (ASE) gives some insights into the process of writing the book, summarises some of the key messages, explores some of the areas that did not make it into the final text, shares some of the surprises uncovered by the research and reflects on how ASE has changed…

The process of identifying and selecting peers for a college or university is one of this volume's definitions for "benchmarking": "a strategic and structured approach whereby an organization compares aspects of its processes and/or outcomes to those of another organization or set of organizations to identify opportunities for…

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Literacy and Reading Section is trying to help librarians address the question: "How can librarians effectively promote literacy and reading?" This guide is IFLA's second publication aimed specifically at librarians and related organizations who want to find ways to…

While the library economy continues its downward slide, the cost of attending the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting seems as high as ever. That is the price of professional participation. These days it seems a bit too high and tends to limit involvement in the old association to librarians in the higher echelons of the field.…

There is joy among those who have the funds to go to Chicago for the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, July 9-15. Every librarian knows there is nothing better than a Chicago gathering, with the city's wonderful haunts, museums, restaurants, and fine memories of past conferences. The conference program covers nearly every…

In this article, the author lists some of his favorites among Chicago's new restaurants. Most of the restaurants listed are easily accessible from the conference hotels by foot, taxi, or public transportation. The Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) helpful trip planner can be used to determine the quickest and easiest routes. The price guide is…

Hard times bring out the ambiguity in politics. Except for fiscal extremists, most politicians in North America want to support their libraries. When "Library Journal" ("LJ") planned to name the heroes and villains in the politics of library funding, they rediscovered that politics just is not that simple, and that it may be a…

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced its 2009 annual lists of Fabulous Films for Young Adults and Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults ages 12 to 18. This article presents the titles that were released in January 2009 during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver,…

One candidate for president-elect of the American Library Association (ALA) is a woman, the other is a man. One can tell them apart by looking at them. But Nancy Davenport and James Rettig are not that far apart on the issues that confront the old association and the profession it serves. They have selected slightly different emphases for their…

Programs examples and discusses the profitability of entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial operations that charge fees for information services and products. Various types of fees and charging mechanisms are described. A list of professional associations, publications, workshops, and selected readings is provided. (CLB)

Focusing on micrographics, this article discusses the role of the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) in the development and sponsorship of standards applicable to libraries. Standards relating to microformats, assessment of microform quality, and truly "archival" conditions are examined. A list of current AIIM…

This report of the May, 1999 meeting of the National Forum on Information Literacy highlights the following topics: (1) activities of FOCAS (Forum on Communications and Society), a CEO-level body within the Communications and Society Program of the Aspen Institute; (2) the National Research Council Report, "Being Fluent with Information…

Discusses XML (extensible markup language), particularly as it relates to libraries. Topics include organizing information; cataloging; metadata; similarities to HTML; organizations dealing with XML; making XML useful; a history of XML; the semantic Web; related technologies; XML at the Library of Congress; and its role in improving the…

This bulletin is a compilation of the standards for accrediting institutions of higher learning employed by the several national and regional associations and of the lists of institutions accredited or classified by each association. It includes lists of the professional schools of law, medicine, dentistry, and library science classified by the…