This week I’ve been immersed in reviewing the chapters of a forthcoming contributed volume from ALA’s Government Documents Round Table. Ably edited by Andrea Morrison, Managing Electronic Government Information in Libraries: Issues and Practices fully covers the territory, from collection development to cataloging to reference to preservation and many topics in between.

Yesterday I was particularly pleased by the usefulness of the chapter on integrating government resources into information literacy instruction. Chapter authors Barbara Miller and Barbara J. Mann point out that government information, particularly electronic government information, is perfectly suited “to illustrate principles of information literacy such as determining and differentiating between primary/secondary sources, developing critical thinking skills, determining bias, understanding issues of copyright and intellectual property, evaluating Internet sources, and understanding freeware databases versus restricted (or copyrighted) information.” They follow with concrete examples and suggestions for incorporating government information sources into the framework of information literacy standards, as well as tips for promoting awareness of government resources among nonspecialist staff and the public.

*But Were Afraid to Ask

In this guest post, Editions Marketing Manager Catherine English reflects on the joy of stress as she sends the latest version of the ALA Editions catalog off to press. (Congratulations, Catherine!) –JLF.

I have what well-meaning friends would term a toxic relationship with the ALA Editions catalog. I feel chronically tired, angry, and frightened throughout the process, and sustain a morbid fear (usually realized) of losing control. So what keeps me coming back for another onslaught every six months or so? The end result. That solitary glorious print sample that arrives on my desk before it reaches the homes of 150,000 ALA customers nationwide. The vibrancy of the new book covers and the smell of the freshly inked pages. The high fives from my Editorial and Marketing colleagues as I swagger down the ALA hallways basking in my catalog afterglow. In short: the prestige.

Putting together the Editions seasonal catalog is an onerous task and requires the input of a number of ALA staff.

CAST OVERVIEW (first billed only):

Catherine English, Marketing Manager: Catalog producer, design coordinator, marketing copywriter, book cover design coordinator, author biographer, list manager, new product trainer, and all around Orson Welles

Eugenia Chun, Editorial Assistant: Marketing packet wrangler

Jenni Fry, Acquisitions Editor: A recurring role involving my catalog copy, her red pen, and many strikethroughs and question marks

Christine Schwab, Managing Editor: See Jenni’s role, above, and multiply x 10

Mary Mackay, Director of Marketing: The “Post-It Queen,” Mary provides suggestions and cross-marketing tips

Patrick Hogan, Director, Online Resources: While still in his former role as Editorial Director of ALA Editions, Patrick and I defined the current frontlist. He also gently talked me off the ledge when I asked to include books that hadn’t yet been signed.

Tina Coleman, Editions Marketing Coordinator: Index proofer and list coordinator

Kimberly Saar, Production Designer: Catalog designer, book jacket designer, and all around marketing design guru. (After the ninth pass of our current catalog, Kim has taken leave for exhaustion.)

If you, too, like the smell of freshly inked pages, you can request a print copy of your very own.–JLF.

Betsy Bird, the blogger of A Fuse #8 Production has signed with ALA to write a book with the working title “KidLit: Finding Old and New Classics in Your Collection.” Before talking with Betsy about a concept for the book, I was captivated by her distinctive, engaging voice in the blog. I was also amazed that she not only could read so many new children’s books, but also go to so many publisher parties, and still find time for so many blog posts. In the book, Betsy will share her tips for keeping up with the new literature. What caught my attention is that she has her eyes on forgotten gems as well. The Winged Girl of Knossos, by Erick Berry, is one she mentioned in a telephone conversation. On her blog she describes it as “a retelling of the Icarus myth that would go over like gangbusters with today’s Lightning Thief loving crowd.”

Betsy Bird was in the Chicago area this past weekend for the first Kidlitosphere blogger conference, which she reported on in few posts. Another ALA Editions author, Adrienne Furness, who blogs at What Adrienne Thinks About That also attended.