Greetings and happy winter! Arrowhead Library System (ALS) has a long-standing commitment to maintaining a collection of current publication titles of interest to librarians, library staff and library trustees. The collection is housed at the ALS Headquarters in Mountain Iron, but all titles can be requested via the online catalog (if you have a borrower’s card from an ALS library) or via the statewide MnLINK catalog (if you have a borrower’s card from Duluth Public Library). If you have questions about borrowing titles from the ALS Professional Collection, feel free to call ALS staff! Here are the latest additions to the ALS collection:
Middle & Junior High Core Collection, 13th Edition
Edited by Julie Corsaro, Kendal Spires, and Claire Fielder
Grey House Publishing, 2017
011.625 MID 2017
In addition to recommended youth titles, the Middle & Junior High Core Collection database covers review sources and other professional aids for librarians and school media specialists. Entries provide complete bibliographic data, price, subject headings, a descriptive annotation and evaluative quotations from a review when available.
Selected and recommended by specialists in library service to young people, listed books encompass a wide variety of topics for youth. Among nonfiction entries, special importance is given to works devoted to technology, personal values, and current social and political issues, with special emphasis on ethnic diversity. Fiction entries encompass a broad spectrum of contemporary and classic fiction and literary works that are of interest to young readers, including many titles that are frequently part of the school curriculum.
Titles are searchable by subject, author, grade level, Dewey Decimal number and more.
Features include:
- Content for collection development, readers’ advisory and curriculum support
- Complete bibliographic data for purchasing guidance
- Coverage of graphic novels
- Full-text book reviews of recommended books
- “Similar Books” and “Other Books by this Author” suggestions in each book record
- Starred reviews, book lists and awards
The Dysfunctional Library: Challenges and Solutions to Workplace Relationships
Jo Henry, Joe Eshleman and Richard Moniz
ALA Editions, 2018
023 HEN 2018
Frankly, it’s not something we like to talk about. There is an unfortunate stigma to acknowledging workplace dysfunction, let alone trying to grapple with the problem. But negative behaviors such as incivility, toxicity, deviant behavior, workplace politics, and team and leadership dysfunction not only make the library a stressful workplace, they also run counter to the core values of librarianship. An important tool for library leaders and managers as well as library staff, this book examines these negative relationship-based issues and suggests practical, research-based solutions by
- discussing the importance of understanding oneself as related to the library workplace;
- identifying attributes specific to libraries that foster personal success;
- showing how organizational dysfunction is rooted in problems such as poor communication, inadequate leadership, and lack of employee engagement;
- breaking down relatable scenarios to analyze what’s behind them and how to defuse them, ranging from a gossipy coworker who fails to contribute to the organization to workplace bullying and mobbing;
- exploring causes, results, and potential solutions in the areas of cyberloafing, fraud, theft, and sabotage;
- delving into the importance of conflict management, surveying a variety of approaches and applications;
- examining the use of teams in libraries and the impact of favoritism, nepotism, and sexism; and
- providing techniques for successful collaboration, leadership, organizational communication, and other key management topics.
By tackling the dysfunctional library head on, managers as well as library workers who find themselves in a toxic situation will be poised to better meet library goals and move the library forward.
The Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship, 2nd Edition
Edited by Paul Glassman and Judy Dyki
Neal-Schuman, 2017
023.2 GLA 2017
The Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship integrates theory and practice to offer guidelines for information professionals working in art and design environments who need to support and anticipate the information needs of artists, designers, architects, and the historians who study those disciplines. Since the first edition of this title, the world of art and design libraries has been transformed by rapid advances in technology, an explosion in social media, and the release of new standards and guidelines. This new edition, offering mostly entirely new chapters, provides an accessible, fully updated guide to the world of academic art and design libraries from a range of international experts who reflect current practice at a global level. Featuring a foreword by Clive Phillpot, Fermley Press, London (formerly Director of the Library, Museum of Modern Art, New York), this book’s coverage includes:
- Case studies and library profiles, providing benchmarks for developing facilities;
- Teaching and learning, including the ACRL Framework;
- Special collections, metaliteracies, instructional design, and cultural differences;
- Developments in institutional repositories, digital humanities, and makerspaces; and
- Contemporary library design, spaces for collaboration and sustainability.
Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management, 4th Edition
Peggy Johnson
ALA Editions, 201
025.21 JOH 2018
Technical Services Quarterly declared that the third edition “must now be considered the essential textbook for collection development and management … the first place to go for reliable and informative advice.” For the fourth edition expert instructor and librarian Johnson has revised and freshened this resource to ensure its timeliness and continued excellence. Each chapter offers complete coverage of one aspect of collection development and management, including numerous suggestions for further reading and narrative case studies exploring the issues. Thorough consideration is given to:
- traditional management topics such as organization of the collection, weeding, staffing, and policymaking;
- cooperative collection development and management;
- licenses, negotiation, contracts, maintaining productive relationships with vendors and publishers, and other important purchasing and budgeting topics;
- important issues such as the ways that changes in information delivery and access technologies continue to reshape the discipline, the evolving needs and expectations of library users, and new roles for subject specialists, all illustrated using updated examples and data; and
- marketing, liaison activities, and outreach.
As a comprehensive introduction for LIS students, a primer for experienced librarians with new collection development and management responsibilities, and a handy reference resource for practitioners as they go about their day-to-day work, the value and usefulness of this book remain unequaled.
Public Library Collections in the Balance: Censorship, Inclusivity, and Truth
Jennifer Downey
Libraries Unlimited, 2017
025.213 DOW 2017
This book addresses contemporary issues in censorship and intellectual freedom and can serve as an invaluable resource for librarians and other library staff and as an eye-opening read for MLIS students. It covers the waterfront of intricate and thorny issues regarding intellectual freedom, including determining strategies for patron privacy, deciding how to filter public computers, handling challenges to items in a collection, and recognizing and eliminating under-the-radar self-censorship during collection development and weeding. Readers will also gain an understanding of the perils of over-reliance on community assessments and other evaluative tools and consider important concerns of public library employees, such as whether to restrict borrowing privileges of R-rated movies and M-rated video games to patrons of various ages, and the legalities that surround these questions.
Each chapter blends instructive background narrative with practical advice, research findings, and relevant information about librarianship’s professional guidelines, including the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement. Vignettes, “what would you do?” examples, effective non-confrontational techniques for conflict resolution, and lists of tips and traps help readers to think critically about their own biases and rehearse possible responses to controversial situations. Librarians, library staff, and MLIS students can use this book for personal professional development, as supplemental reading for MLIS courses or professional training workshops, or as a resource for library policy-planning discussions.
The Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness: An Empathy-Driven Approach to Solving Problems, Preventing Conflict, and Serving Everyone
Ryan J. Dowd
ALA Editions, 2018
025.508694 DOW 2018
Homelessness is a perennial topic of concern at libraries. In fact, staff at public libraries interact with almost as many homeless individuals as staff at shelters do. Empathy and understanding, along with specific actionable advice that’s drawn from experience, makes all the difference in working with this group. In this book Dowd, executive director of a homeless shelter, spotlights best practices drawn from his own shelter’s policies and training materials. Filled with to-the-point guidance that will help frontline public library staff and managers understand and serve this population better, this resource
- includes facts about homelessness every librarian should know;
- debunks widespread myths about these individuals, explaining how they see themselves, what issues they struggle with, and how libraries can shift towards supporting them;
- shares de-escalation techniques like showing respect, ways to avoid making things personal, and using proper body language;
- walks readers through dealing with common issues like a sleeping patron, questionable hygiene, offensive behavior, and asking a patron to leave; and
- advises on how to provide backup to a colleague and when to call the police.
Filled with real life stories that illustrate the effectiveness of Dowd’s approach, this one-of-a-kind guide will empower library staff to treat homeless individuals with dignity.
Reimagining Library Spaces: Transform Your Space on Any Budget
Diana Rendina
International Society for Technology in Education, 2017
027.8 REN 2017
With the advent of modern technologies and the rise of participatory and active learning pedagogy, the traditional school library model is no longer as effective as it once was. Reimagining Library Spaces helps librarians rethink the library space, including the changing role of technology, showing ways to transform how students learn in and use these spaces. Find the guidance you need to make smart and efficient updates to your library space that encourage the use of technology to improve student learning. This book includes: tips and strategies for transforming your outdated library space on a small budget; how-to’s for addressing the challenges and opportunities brought about by the changing role of technology, including collaborative learning labs, makerspaces and ways to support BYOD; and practical suggestions for finding ideas to improve your space, inventory your library and survey your community.
Grit in the Classroom: Building Perseverance for Excellence in Today’s Students
Laila Y. Sanguras
Prufrock Press, Inc., 2017
370.154 SAN 2017
The combination of sustained hard work and resiliency, grit is the difference between those who give up and those who don’t. Grit in the Classroom: Building Perseverance for Excellence in Today’s Students assists educators in creating a learning environment that fosters grit development for all students, regardless of ability. Each chapter includes stories to illustrate the research and ideas presented and ends with discussion questions that can be used to continue the conversation. In an era of talent development and the pursuit of excellence, learners must be equipped with the perseverance that is essential to reaching high levels of success. This book provides a rationale for teaching grit in the classroom with the goal of propelling this topic into discussions of building passion and talent in today’s students.
Reading by Right: Successful Strategies to Ensure Every Child Can Read to Succeed
Edited by Joy Court
Facet Publishing, 2017
372.4 COU 2017
Reading by Right: Successful Strategies to Ensure Every Child Can Read to Succeed provides a collection of chapters from international experts covering aspects of overcoming reading difficulties or reading reluctance in children and young people. The book reveals strategies that are proving effective in overcoming barriers to reading from birth to teens, looking at practices and projects from around the globe and revealing some common principles and drivers that have generated success. Content covered includes:
- an examination of the current state of reading in the UK and internationally and what the latest research tells us about children who are failing to read;
- how youngsters become “reluctant readers” and how to improve the situation for everyone;
- examples of successful projects from the Republic of Korea and Finland, countries that consistently perform well in reading tests and international league tables; and
- analysis of diversity in publishing and children’s books, drawing on expertise from authors and publishers.
This book will be valuable for readers from all those professions that engage with young people and families and with the development of literacy, including librarians; teachers; service managers; consultants and other professional practitioners; and also to concerned parents.
Easy Graphic Design for Librarians: From Color to Kerning
Diana K. Wakimoto
ALA Editions, 2018
741.6702 WAK 2018
From the layout of a library’s web banner to its printed newsletter to the swag handed out during summer reading programs, libraries make their visual identities known through the many forms of communication they produce and share. And even if “graphic designer” isn’t technically in your job description, chances are you’re still doing it. Wouldn’t you like to do it better? In this approachable introduction to graphic design, Wakimoto speaks directly to library staff. Her book leads readers through a structured exploration of design concepts that can be applied immediately to library-specific projects. Perfect for complete novices as well as those wishing to build on existing skills, this book
- offers a concise overview of graphic design fundamentals such as typography, color, layout, and using images;
- outlines a design process for busy librarians that emphasizes a pragmatic approach to creating materials;
- explains how to use tools like templates and style guides, and how to choose the right software for a particular project;
- includes guidance on creating bookmarks, brochures, flyers, and buttons;
- shows how to get more bang for your buck through flexible designs that can be repurposed;
- delves into web banner design; and
- provides a resource guide and suggestions for further readings.
Under Wakimoto’s tutelage, librarians in any setting can apply what they learn to create engaging, effective visual communications for their libraries.
