ALA Editions’ Irish import, marketing manager Catherine English, celebrates her new status as a US citizen. When asked about the process, she took a wistful tone: “The deepest cut: I had to renounce Guinness for Budweiser. Cruel, but apparently necessary.”

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Teacher’s College Press approached me about the possibilty of co-publishing Partners in Literacy. A partnership with the American Library Association was a sensible idea for a publisher for the education market addressing, as the subtitle states, schools and libraries building communities. In evaluating the possibility, I first looked at the quality of the press and then author credentials. Impressive. Publishing for more than a century, Teachers College Press is affiliated with Columbia University and its leading graduate school of education. The authorship is a compelling father-daughter partnership. They write in the acknowledgments, referencing their strong relationship and good communication, “It was a natural next step for us to dialogue about similar problems we were wrestling with in different, but closely related, community-based institutions, and roll up our sleeves to write about.” Sondra Cuban is a librarian with 14 years experience in public libraries of Hawaii. She holds a Ph.D. and focuses her research on adult literacy. She served 4 years as a research associate at Havard’s National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. Larry Cuban is professor emeritus of Education at Stanford University, a historian by training, and former high school teacher.

As I read through manuscript I noticed a difference in perspective that was subtle, yet striking, ideas about the profession and its practices, expressed from the outside looking in. That’s what clinched it for me. We’re proud to bring you this co-publication with Teachers College Press.

While I note the new, I can’t resist a plug for the old. Natalie Ziarnik’s School and Public Libraries is a beautifully written book. I farmed her manuscript out to a freelance editor who liked it so much she wanted to buy a copy for a teacher relative of hers.

Here’s a nice summary review from the Wired Compiler blog. Includes comparison with Shelfari and LibraryThing features. First learned of it from Libraryman (thanks, Michael!).