Publishing
American Libraries—A centennial suite of publications American Libraries (AL),the ALA’s flagship news and feature magazine and chief perquisite of membership in the Association, marked its centennial year both by celebrating the past (more than 29 million copies published since 1907!) and by starting new projects that will carry it to its next centennial. In January, ALdebuted its new print design, followed by integrated redesigns of AL Direct (the weekly e-newsletter) and AL Online. New content and organization reflect the greater emphasis on technology requested by respondents to a 2006 reader survey, and a second blog, “CentenniAL,” was added. In June, the staff launched AL Focus, the video and podcasting component of AL Online. Editors initiated videocast coverage of conferences at the Association of College and Research Libraries in March and continued at the Annual Conference.
Centennial celebrations culminated at the Annual Conference with sponsored programs (including Julie Andrews with an overflow crowd, a highly praised vendor forum led by Andrew Pace in the exhibit hall, and “Next Generation Libraries: The 2.0 Phenomenon”), cake events complete with tattoos and T-shirts, and distribution of the June-July commemorative print issue.
ALA Editions offers 24 new titles in 2007 ALA Editions published 24 new titles in 2007, helping library professionals ways to maximize expertise in areas as diverse as preschool activities, gaming, designing and managing facilities, analyzing library collection use, and readers’ advisory. Among the top new releases were Out Front with Stephen Abram (Judith A. Siess and Jonathan Lorig); Gamers . . . in the Library?! (Eli Neiburger); two titles in the Public Library Association (PLA) For Results series—Human Resources for Results (Jeanne Goodrich and Paula M. Singer) and Managing Facilities for Results (Cheryl Bryan); The Readers Advisory Guide to Nonfiction (Neal Wyatt); Best Books for Young Adults (with the Young Adult Library Services Association [YALSA], edited by Holly Koelling); New on the Job (Ruth Toor and Hilda K. Weisburg); The Whole Digital Library Handbook (Diane Kresh, a co-publication with Council on Library and Information Resources); and Technology Made Simple (Kimberly Bolan and Robert Cullin). In addition, Serving Teens through Readers’ Advisory (Heather Booth) was selected for the Voice of Youth Advocates “Five-Foot Bookshelf”—books deemed essential for professionals who serve teens.
The ALA Store at the 2007 Annual Conference in Washington set a record for ALA Editions, with the following titles jumping off the shelves: Out Front with Stephen Abram, The Whole Digital Library Handbook, Technology Made Simple, Analyzing Library Collection Use with Excel, and Readers’ Advisory Guide to Nonfiction. Information about all new, recent, and backlisted titles is available—and the current catalog can be downloaded—from the online store.
ALA Graphics—the READ celebrities are YOU!ALA Graphics’ READ CDs that allow people to create their own posters and bookmarks were the star products of 2007. Sharing stories of how libraries, schools, and local governments have used the posters in their communities formed the basis of a campaign that included direct mail and email, an online tutorial accessible through the ALA Store, and creation of a Flickr pool where people can submit the posters they make. On Legislative Day on Capitol Hill in June, the conference partnership with Polaris Library Systems offered legislators a chance to have READ posters of themselves created to use in promoting reading back in their home districts.
 New Celebrity READ posters included Dakota Fanning (an ALA bestseller) holding Charlotte’s Web; Ewan McGregor (another hot seller) holding Beatrix Potter’s Complete Tales; Sasha Cohen and Kite Runner; Hilary Swank holding The Freedom Writers Diary; William H. Macy holding Curious George; “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan holding The Power of Intention; and Corbin Bleu holding The Cat’s Pajamas. James Patterson was featured on an author poster in conjunction with the release of his latest book-to-movie adaptation. Child– and young adult–themed posters included Cantarella (from a Japanese manga series); original art from Patrick McDonnell (of “Mutts” comic strip fame); X-Men (in partnership with Marvel Comics); Raymond Briggs’ wintertime classic, The Snowman; and original art from Karen Katz based on her book Can You Say Peace?
The LISTEN campaign (posters in which stars hold their favorite CD or audiobook) was launched to expand on READ, with Cedric the Entertainer as its first star, closely followed by Los Lonely Boys.
And a new line of posters celebrated the ALA youth media awards. ALA Graphics partnered with YALSA on the first-ever Teen Tech Week in March, around the theme “Get Connected,” and continued to produce the official Teen Read Week product for 2007 with the humorous theme “LOL @ your library.” Graphics also worked with the Office for Intellectual Freedom on September’s Banned Books Week (the second year that promotional items have been available through ALA Graphics), with the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) on “So Much to See, So Much to Do @ your library,” and with the Public Information Office around National Library Week’s “Come Together” theme.
ALA TechSource—Gaming and more ALA TechSource, publisher of Library Technology Reports (LTR), Smart Libraries Newsletter and the TechSource Web site, continued to garner attention for innovation as well as high traffic for the blog (running as high as 160,000 visits some months, and close to 1,000,000 total for the year). The high-profile library bloggers offering complementary expert perspectives on the latest issues in 2007 included Michelle Boule, Tom Peters, Karen G. Schneider, and Michael Stephens.
 Library Technology Reports continued to provide bimonthly practical professional-development information about cutting-edge technologies with issues titled “Gaming & Libraries: Intersection of Services” (Jenny Levine); “Functional Requirements of Bibliographic Records (FRBR)” (Bradford Lee Eden); “Digital Audiobook Services through Libraries” (Thomas A. Peters); “Technology Competencies and Training for Libraries” (Sarah Houghton-Jan); “Open-Source Software for Libraries” (Casey Bisson); and “Next-Generation Library Catalogs” (Marshall Breeding). To further help librarians meet their users’ needs where those users actually are, social software continues to be a key focus.
In addition to Levine’s “Gaming & Libraries,” Michael Stephens’ 2006 “Web 2.0 & Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software” has remained a single-copy bestseller and was cited in Wired magazine in March.
ALA TechSource initiated interactive gaming on the exhibit floor at ALA conferences, with Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, and Nintendo Wii attracting intrepid movers and shakers at both Midwinter and Annual. The gaming highlighted the related LTR issue “Gaming & Libraries.” As a result of this LTR and Levine’s passion for integrating the user-centered service of gaming in libraries, ALA TechSource developed and produced the first ever ALA TechSource symposium: “Gaming, Learning, and Libraries,” held in July in Chicago. The 350 attendees (from as far away as New Zealand and the Outer Hebrides in Scotland) registered a high level of satisfaction and a request for a repeat event in 2008.
Booklist publishes more than 8,000 reviews  Booklist spent its 103rd year again assisting, supporting, and entertaining collection developers and readers’ advisers with more than 8,000 recommended-only reviews and with features on a variety of topics. In addition to the regular publication schedule of Booklist and Book Links print magazines, Booklist Online added content and features, and statistics showed a dramatic increase for Booklist Online usage, with more than 1.2 million visits. Four regional OCLC and other sales groups came under contract to sell Booklist Online subscriptions in various regions of the country. A partnership with the Downers Grove (Ill.) Public Library led to a free, interactive, expert-moderated book club with forums for readers to get and share information and ideas. Booklist continues to co-sponsor the Michael L. Printz Award (for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature), the Alex Awards (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12–18), and the new Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production.
ALA-APA publishes library salary surveys  For the second year, the ALA Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) published surveys reporting salaries of librarians and support staff. The ALA-APA Salary Survey: Non-MLS—Public and Academic featured salaries for staff employed as librarians but who do not have ALA-accredited master’s degrees in library science. Both printed surveys also indicate the minimal educational requirement for each position. In addition, the ALA-APA’s Library Salary Database debuted in 2007. Subscribers can create reports of data by library type, region, and state from the 2006 and 2007 Salary Surveys; ALA-APA offers 30-day and annual subscriptions. Finally, Library Worklife: HR E-News for Today’s Leaders, the ALA-APA monthly online newsletter, entered its fourth year of publication, with human-resource related articles as varied as research on non-MLS salaries, personal branding, recruiting for a diverse student staff in academic libraries, demonstrating return on investment, personal tax tips, and managing in unionized libraries.
Building a Home Library for kidsThe ALA–Children’s Book Council Joint Committee used a Carnegie-Whitney grant to produce an updated set of four bibliographies entitled Building a Home Library, one each for ages 0–3, 4–7, 8–11, and 12–14. CBC member publishers submitted titles that were selected by the ALSC’s Quicklists Consulting Committee. The four bibliographies are available in PDF format on the ALSC Web site. “Kids, Know Your Rights! A Young Person’s Guide to Intellectual Freedom” created by the ALSC’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, also is available on the ALSC Web site; this flyer introduces youth to the First Amendment, discusses respecting the rights of others, and offers a bibliography for further reading.
PLA adds more titles to its Results series
 Building on the Results model, the PLA has published Managing Facilities for Results: Optimizing Space for Services, by Cheryl Bryan, which dovetails with the basics outlined in The New Planning for Results: A Streamlined Approach. Managing Facilities guides library directors, staff and boards through the process of prioritizing services that need space, identifying appropriate locations, presenting a case for support, conducting a gap analysis, finding resources and identifying building professionals. Also new in the Results series, Human Resources for Results: The Right Person for the Right Job, by Jeanne Goodrich and Paula M. Singer, presents a strategic approach to human resources; the book focuses on a variety of possible projects and how to staff them, allowing each library to decide where and how to focus their attention.
Other PLA publications—and a download
 The PLA released Libraries Prosper with Passion, Purpose and Persuasion: A PLA Toolkit for Success, at the 2007 Annual Conference. The toolkit provides step-by-step instruction for the entire advocacy planning process. In partnership with the West Bloomfield Township (Mich.) Public Library, the PLA has published Nursery Rhymes, Songs & Fingerplays, a 20-page booklet containing more than 80 of the best rhyming verses for children. The PLA has also published a new monograph, Field Guide to Emergency Response, which includes an instructional DVD that illustrates typical problems that occur after a disaster and demonstrates basic salvage techniques. The PLA has also released its first-ever digital download, The Public Library Service Responses, compiled by June Garcia and Sandra Nelson, which is a revision of the original 13 service responses as defined in the 1997 publication Planning for Results: A Public Library Transformation Process. All are available at the ALA Online Store.
ACRL publication notes
 The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has published Global Evolution: A Chronological Annotated Bibliography of International Students in U.S. Academic Libraries, by Kaetrena D. Davis (made available as free, open-access download in addition to the print version), and Sailing into the Future: Charting our Destiny (ACRL 2007 Proceedings of the 13th National Conference). Choice and R.R. Bowker launched the online edition of the new Resources for College Libraries (RCL) in September 2006. RCLweb, a database of more than 62,000 hand-selected core titles for academic libraries, is the successor to the ALA’s classic reference work Books for College Libraries, the print edition of which was published in November 2006. The ACRL has also released Library Plagiarism Policies: CLIP Note 37 and User Surveys in College Libraries: CLIP Note 38. The former is a pragmatic resource for college libraries and their faculty, staff and administrators to use in developing policies on the prevention and detection of plagiarism; the latter updates a 1995 CLIP Note covering the use of surveys in academic libraries.
In January 2007, Choice launched Choice Reviews Online Version 2.0 (CRO2), the latest version of its online publication. Jointly developed with Booklist Online, CRO2 features a new state-of-the art platform that enables Choice and Booklist to offer separate, customizable, online products to their subscribers. CRO2 includes all of Choice’s editorial content, e.g. bibliographic essays, forthcoming lists, and special features, as well as more than 120,000 Choice reviews.
Standards and guidelines published during the past year include ACRL Trends & Statistics 2005, “Research Competency Guidelines for Literatures in English,” “Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians” and “Guidelines for Instruction Programs in Academic Libraries.” A review of “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education” was also completed.
LAMA offers Outstanding Library Public Relations
 The Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) published Outstanding Library Public Relations: 60 Years of the John Cotton Dana Award and Checklist for First-Time Technical Services Supervisors and has dozen other new titles are in various stages of development. Library Administration and Management became an electronic journal, starting with the fall 2006 issue.
Two books from YALSA
YALSA published two books in 2007: Get Connected: Tech Programs for Teens, by RoseMary Honnold for YALSA (Neal-Schuman), and the third edition of Best Books for Young Adults, edited by Holly Koelling with a foreword by Betty Carter (ALA Editions).
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