New Product News – July/August 2015 “Public Libraries”
New Product News delves into the world of library vendors, products, and services to find the standouts that combine innovation and quality.
July/August 2015Volume 54, No. 4
Using Superhero Comics to Teach Young Children Intellectual Property Concepts
On January 5, 2014, The Simpsons television series aired “Steal This Episode.” Homer Simpson discovers that he enjoys pirating movies so much that he decides to share them with his neighbors. He installs a large outdoor movie screen and offers lawn chairs and popcorn for his friends to view the illegally acquired flicks. He doesn’t charge […]
Project Outcome: Helping Libraries Capture Their Community Impact
Project Outcome is PLA’s latest field-driven initiative, helping libraries to capture their impact in the communities they serve. In 2013, libraries and researchers formed a task force with a mission to develop and test a simple set of outcome-based surveys for any library type to use when measuring the outcomes of their services and programs. Project Outcome builds on the task force’s work by providing resources and support to help any library set strategic goals, measure outcomes, communicate their findings, and successfully achieve their goals.
Public Library Advocacy: An Evidence-Based Perspective on Sustainable Funding
A new evidence-based perspective on evaluating the advocacy efforts of public libraries is being developed. By drawing on research from other disciplines and the latest studies on libraries, a set of advocacy best practices is emerging. Findings show that building strong relationships with funding decision-makers and other related tactics of interpersonal influence could be important advocacy tools.
A Librarian Walks Into a Bar…
I knew just how I was going to begin this column. And that’s the problem. I was going to talk about the critical juncture in the history of public libraries at which we find ourselves today. I knew this venue would offer an opportunity to create urgency around how we in public library service must band together and shift the narrative about public libraries to ensure the lasting relevance of libraries to the communities they serve.
