Category Archives: Programming

Programming

ARCHIVES ALIVE Shines Light on Special Collections Programs

“Some institutions are reimagining traditional programs in the form of interactive exhibits and experiential tours, while others are experimenting with digital tools to enhance collections access, build new community connections and encourage citizen participation. Individually and collectively, the new programs and projects are repositioning special collections as core assets of our public libraries in the 21st century.”

– Diantha Dow Schull, Author, Archives Alive

Archives Alive: Expanding Engagement with Public Library Archives and Special Collections is the first book to examine public library archives and special collections through the lens of public engagement.   Published by ALA Editions, the book will be available June 2015.  RESERVE YOUR COPY TODAY. 

Continue reading ARCHIVES ALIVE Shines Light on Special Collections Programs →

Issues & Trends, Programming

Family Place Libraries: A Timely National Initiative

In September 2012 the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced a National Leadership Grant of $450,000 to the Middle Country Public Library (MCPL), located in Suffolk County, Long Island (NY) for Family Place Libraries: A Model for Institutional Change. The grant enables MCPL to create a network of 28 libraries across eight states that will implement, evaluate and communicate the value of Family Place Libraries, an early childhood and family service model that  focuses on parents/caregivers as first teachers, is organized around the developmental needs of the whole child, and links library services with other regional and local family support agencies.

By supporting expansion, evaluation, and national communications of the Family Place Libraries service model, IMLS is helping to spotlight libraries that are in the forefront of new research-based practices. The grant to MCPL has added significance given the confluence of factors that are stimulating a national consensus that early childhood learning services are essential for national achievement, equity and economic productivity.  Continue reading Family Place Libraries: A Timely National Initiative →

Issues & Trends, Programming

“Farewell to Manzanar” Focus of California Reads in Fresno

In 1942 the United States adopted Executive Order No. 9066, calling for the forcible exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast through detention in internment camps.  This order affected more than 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent who were interned for nearly three years during World War II. 
Detainee at Manzanar Internment Camp by Ansel Adams
Detainee at Manzanar Internment Camp by Ansel Adams

Fresno County is the only part of California where there were two assembly centers for local Japanese Americans ordered to relocate to internment camps.  Thousands of residents were brought to these camps for processing before being sent on to permanent camps in other states.  For those rounded up for internment, the experience was life changing.  No longer accorded the rights that they expected and deserved as Americans, those imprisoned now symbolize the potential for democracy itself to be eroded in time of uncertainty and crisis.    Continue reading “Farewell to Manzanar” Focus of California Reads in Fresno →